Which schools allow the music departments to "recruit" or hold spots

I am curious which of these colleges/universities allow professors in the music department to “recruit” of have spots for students they want. Many schools have these spots for coaches of athletic teams, but do they also have them for their music departments. Or do students apply to the college and then work with music departments after admitted. This is for a student who is on the cusp for admissions for most of these schools (based on GPA & scores, although recommendations will be exceptionally strong and grades are trending up (4.0 or close as a junior)): UMich, Vandy, CMU, Northwestern, Rice, Miami (FL), Miami (OH), USC.

Is this to major in music? Auditioned schools?

Major or dual major in music. I think several of these schools I mention require auditions, but that may or may not be “auditioned schools” The student will meet with the key professor at all of these schools before applying to make sure there is a fit.

At UMich, music isn’t a “department”; the “School of Music, Theatre and Dance (SMTD)” operates as a separate college/school within the university. When you apply, you’re primarily applying to the music school. The university establishes certain criteria but every school within it (e.g. school of engineering, SMTD, LSA, etc.) manages its own admissions. You’ll get a better idea of what’s required by starting with the SMTD website, instead of the UofM one:
http://www.music.umich.edu/prospective_students/
Academic requirements, like test scores and grades, are set by each school. For SMTD, they are:
http://www.music.umich.edu/prospective_students/admissions/ug/app_proc/acad_prep.htm

And, yes, within constraints (like acceptable academic credentials), the music professor essentially selects incoming students.

The Frost School of Music at the University of Miami not only requires an audition, but you have to submit a pre-screen to be invited to audition. The pre-screen is due in early December. Check the website. You have to be admitted to the university and the Frost school to major in music.

Yes - to audition and major in music.

Thanks! That is helpful

Good to know about Frost. I didn’t realize that.

Actually, Frost only requires prescreen for jazz, contemporary, flute, and violin applicants. This will be the case at all schools: some instruments require prescreens, some don’t. You have to check the requirements carefully. And they can change from year to year.

Vandy’s Blair School of Music requires applicants to pass a prescreen to be invited to a live audition. Those accepted by Blair after live auditions (applicants will not know their status at this point) are then reviewed academically by Vandy Admissions. Those who pass the academic screen receive acceptance letters. So, it’s music school first, academics second (so basically the opposite of what you were wondering, beaglemom), but applicants only receive one letter. Merit scholarships and need-based aid are available.

The music school audition process is basically as string pop stated it, you may have to pass a pre screen, then you audition. There is another step, though, you have to be accepted by a teacher into their studio, you could play well enough to pass the audition panel, but if no teacher wants to teach you, you don’t get in. At many music schools,when you audition you specify teachers you want to work with, and after the audition the school sees if any of them will work with you, if none of them will (or can, more on that in a bit), they either reject you, or put you on a wait list and then you have to find another teacher. Jacobs at Indiana is a bit different, you audition, get in, and then you try and find a teacher. If the school is within a university, then as stringpop pointed out, you also have to pass the academic screen, which is usualy a bit different in terms of level than straight academic admit but still requires good grades and such.

In terms of students, teachers generally have a certain number of slots in their studio, it ranges (a famous teacher like an Itzak Perlman or Jimmy Lin might only teach a handful of students, other teachers may have a total in the 20 student range). Each year what they have open depends on how many kids graduate or leave, plus the school may cut down the number of slots a teacher has, so with a particular teacher one year they may have very few slots open, another they may have relatively a good number. Those slots usually are for both grad and undergrad, and the ratio accepted is totally up to the teacher. Some schools admissions departments will tell you how many slots they have open, other won’t, more than a few years ago I went to a Juilliard admissions seminar and they say that particular year, for example, they had 1 open slot for flute (grad or undergrad), violins that year was like 35 total across all the teachers, so that would be a very difficult year if you were on the flute. It may be wise to check also when selecting a teacher to see if they take undergrad students, there are teachers who mostly work with grade students.

Just a comment on IU. You can be offered a studio spot. Teachers do reach out and offer spots. It is true that students can be accepted with no teacher and have to find one. IU is big and not perfect but I felt that there was a sincere interest to help students find a good fit. I did know a few students in this position who did very well there. But if people avoid it thinking that there are no studio offers at all that’s not true in all cases.