Okay, I was unaware of that. I’ve heard of people sealing their past HS transcripts and only putting in their BS transcripts, trying to make it look like they got in 8–> 9. I was curious as to how widespread that was – based on your advice, it doesn’t seem widespread and it seems unethical. Thank you for letting me know.
That is interesting. Maybe it’s different from instrument to instrument? (for instance, Voice majors HAVE to be over 14) I know three current piano majors (and I only know six JPC pianists) who got in 15 or older, and I know they aren’t homeschooled/taking a gap year. Of course, all three got in during COVID, so I’m not sure if their situation applies in my case (seeing as acceptance rates were higher during COVID as less people applied).
It could be different because I play the violin, and you play the piano, but since these instruments are relatively popular, it’s basically the same.
In recent years, it has changed a lot, even compared to just a few years ago. Before COVID and during COVID years, it didn’t really matter what age you are when auditioning—or that’s what I believe, since I got in during COVID at around 11. But as the years started going by and more people started joining, I’ve seen usually 11-13 year-olds make it in, and some 13+ players who are homeschooled and are going to try to go to music conservatory.
The only exception was a girl who played the cello, whom I mentioned before, who homeschooled for 6 months while applying to JPC but switched back to the public system as soon as she got into JPC.
I’m not trying to discourage you or anything, but I think applying to places like MSM or The New School along with Juilliard will be the safer option because, from what I’ve seen, getting into JPC after the age of 13 is really really hard (most professors I know agree, and even my main teacher agrees with this statement).
And I’m not sure if this relates, but for GLACHEMMS schools, they don’t usually allow people to go to JPC unless they are close by. Or when I talked to their music directors and some students at those schools who were former JPC students, they don’t usually allow students to go, and if they do, it really messes up a lot of things. Like for example Andover and Exeter won’t allow students to go to JPC as far as Ik and most piano players go to NEC or just learn at the schools since they have top notch faculty.
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I’m just curious how you would manage boarding school plus the many hours of practice that are required of a high school pianist at the JPC level. I realize that high level public school also requires work, but living at home, you’d have access to your own piano at all hours. Would you have the same at boarding school? Could you manage the academic load there and still have time for several hours a day of practice?
Do you plan to apply for MSM, as a backup?
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And I’ll ask again…if you really want to do an additional year….why wouldn’t you consider a post grad year after 12th grade?
And why wouldn’t you just stay at your top NYC high school? As you noted, those schools have a very good acceptance rate at great colleges, and they have excellent college counseling.
I’m really not clear why you need to or want to transfer…at all.
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I’m not big on “I heard” stories, because usually they’re wrong. But what you describe really won’t work. While a student may repeat a grade at a BS, some of their previous HS courses will be indicated on the BS transcript.
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Boarding is a whole different experience from day schools. If you can swing it, I highly recommend it. As for repeating, super common. Not sure if dropping back two grades is a great idea but it may work. This is a subject to broach during interviews. We sent our son as a young 14 year old. He was fine but the first year was rough, especially since puberty hit him late and he has several classmates 2 years older than him. PGing is generally for athletes needing extra time for strength and mass. You do hear of the odd kid who didn’t get into school of choice doing PG with hopes of better luck reapplying.
@parentologist Great question. First, there are many Andover-JPC, Choate-JPC, and Hotchkiss-JPC students (interestingly enough, no Exeter-JPC students, which I suppose is because Exeter has Saturday classes). Second, nearly all boarding schools have their own practice rooms, equipped with top-notch Steinway Bs. They have the facilities comparable to that of professional music conservatories.
I absolutely do plan on applying to MSM, not as a backup, but as a target. JPC is definitely my reach school, and for good reason.
@thumper1 That’s a fair point. I always was against doing a post-graduate year, but I guess it’s a lot better than repeating two grades. I’m planning on just doing 10 → 10 now.
Regarding your second point, I don’t go to a top NYC high school, I go to a top (NYC suburbs) high school. I have my reasons for transferring, which I won’t go into detail here because there might be people I know who see this post. All I’ll say is that I’ve thoroughly looked over Andover/Exeter/Choate’s Course of Study and those are the courses that I want to take. I’ve talked to people at these schools and the environment is one where I want to be in. I’ve throughly researched the facilities these boarding schools offer, and I know I can take advantage of them. And as I mentioned earlier, the lifetime of connections is one that I want to have – “to be an Andover/Exeter/Choate man is an enviable distinction, and one that I sincerely hope to attain.”
@Swimmom2006 I understand. I’m not planning to repeat two grades now. If I ABSOLUTELY (and I 99% won’t) have to, I might just take a gap year.
Prep achools often (usually?) reserve PG spots for athletes, or kids with exceptional circumstances. I’m thinking of the Rwandan girl Yale asked Hotchkiss to take for a PG year as she wasn’t quite ready for US college. So, although extremely talented, it would be unclear if the OP would have a decent chance at a PG year. Plus, one year at a boarding school is nothing like 3 full years as part of the community.
I am sure you know better than I, OP, but Hotchkiss is particularly strong in piano; definitely reach out to the head of the department, Fabio Witkowski.
One hopes that you don’t say that to any of those fine schools. Unless you’re prepared for a response of “I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.” 
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@cinnamom1212
First, you’re absolutely right – three years is much better than one, that’s why I’m doing 10 → 10.
Regarding your second point – thank you for letting me know, I will make sure to contact him.
Hahaha, I DEFINITELY won’t say that. Not even to Choate, where JFK went.
On your quote – I think Quayle was inexperienced to take on the task of the Vice Presidency, and it really came back to bite. Despite his youth, his political career basically ended after '92.
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I was thinking three years at the BS and then an additional PG year. Is that not possible? We know kids from this area who were not athletes and did this.
Are you planning to take the train to NYC for JPC or MSM PC if you get accepted? That’s going to be quite a long day from Andover and Exeter. And even Choate.
@parentologist what days do JPC students need to be there. Is there some flexibility in the schedule to align with a BS schedule?
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That is certainly a possibility. I’m still young, and I’m going to focus all of my attention and energy on getting into these schools + pre-colleges first, but if I can do that, I will certainly consider taking a PG year.
Regarding your second point, yes, I will take the Amtrak. I know people who go to Andover/Choate/Hotchkiss + JPC/MSM who do exactly that. Some people might think of it as a hassle, but if I can get into one of these prep schools and pre-college programs, I will gladly do it with all the enthusiasm a 15-year old boy can muster.
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It is an all day Saturday program, as long as 9 am to 6 pm. Rarely, there might be a chamber rehearsal during the week, if the members can meet to do it. It is nice to be able to stay in the city to take advantage of the heavily reduced price admissions to the symphony that are often offered. Not to mention the many hours of daily practicing necessary to take advantage of participation in the program as a pianist. Honestly, I don’t see how a kid could do it while attending an academically rigorous boarding school, especially if they were not located on a commuter line or Amtrak into the city. How are they going to fit in the several hours a day of practice needed, while also performing at the highest level, academically?
But, first he needs to get in, both to JPC and an elite boarding school. Staying in his excellent public school while attending MSM pre is a good alternative, would probably yield acceptances to tippy top schools, but won’t allow him to establish the social connections that he seeks with the children of the wealthiest, most influential families in the nation, and even the world. And in the field that he’s interested in, this is really a very important thing. The exclusive frats/clubs at the tippy-tops are filled with boarding school grads, because that’s who the upperclassmen knew while they were at boarding school. So the URM kid who got into boarding school through a program like A Better Chance might then get into a tippy-top, and get invited into an exclusive frat/club because the upperclassmen knew him at boarding school. This provides socioeconomic and racial diversity to the frats/clubs, while still maintaining an exclusive, closed “old boy” network. But the kid from the Long Island high school probably won’t be invited, because no one at the frat/club came out of that high school. There are other organizations at the tippy-tops that are based upon interests/achievements other than having known each other at elite boarding schools, but they don’t have the same connections to family wealth and power that the frats/clubs do. So like it or not, he’s got the right idea for someone who wants to go into politics. He just needs to get better at hiding the true reasons behind his desire to go to one of these elite boarding schools, needs to develop some narrative other than, “I want to go into politics, so I need to go to school with the children of the politically powerful elite.”
A PG year doesn’t serve his purposes at all, is completely unnecessary. He can achieve what he wants by repeating 10th grade, would have 3 yrs to make connections. Sure, having 4 yrs to do that would be nice, but going from 10th back to 9th grade would be a very big mistake. The fact is that a 19 yr old is going to have issues with the fact that kids at boarding schools are treated as the minors that they indeed are. As it is, if he repeats 10th, he’ll still be 18 for at least the second half of his senior year, but so will some of the other kids. Imagine being over 18 for a year and a half of boarding school! The restrictions and regulations, liberal as they might be, would still feel very age-inappropriate.
Just so everyone is clear - a PG year would have to be at a different BS.
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Don’t a lot of these BSs have Saturday classes? I know some do!
Yes…at a different place.
I don’t think this is the ideal plan…but I thought I would toss it out there.
Yup, and a Saturday precollege program would not go along with those. But more importantly, kids who are at the Juilliard pre level for piano are going to be practicing like 4 hours a day. Some of them homeschool so that they can practice 8 hours a day. I just don’t see how anyone could attend an elite boarding school AND commute to NYC for precollege AND, more importantly, find 4 hours a day to practice. Juilliard pre is not an award to put on one’s college apps. It’s a highly rigorous program that expects and requires many hours of practice a week for piano.
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Just a point of clarification --it is not that uncommon for BS to have repeating students who turn 19 towards the end of their senior year. Because this student skipped a grade, repeating 10th will mean that he will actually be with same age peers when he repeats 10. However, if he re-did 9th grade, he would be among quite a few other 15 year olds in the ninth grade. He’d likely be closer to the average age of the freshman class than BS students who enter ninth at 13.
Basically I don’t think age is a factor for why he should not go back to ninth grade. As long as he is no older than 15 or even 15.5 at the start of ninth grade, the age thing is fine, There are many many other reasons why repeating ninth wouldn’t make sense, but not because he would be significantly older than other kids in his grade. All of that said, he has not expressed any compelling reason to go back two years and I just can’t imagine admissions offices thinking that a kid who is already doing well academically and socially in 10th grade should go back to ninth the following year and thereby repeat 2 years. So the “mistake” if any was skipping a grade not his current age.
Practicing 4 hours for me is the easy part – my current school goes from 9 AM -3:30 PM, so I usually wake up at 6:00 AM to practice 2 hours, and then I’ll practice another 2 hours when I get home. After that, I grind my extracurriculars – I usually finish all my homework at school.
On weekends, I’ll usually just practice 4 hours in the afternoon. I understand boarding school is different, but from what I’ve seen and heard (e.g. Andover’s class schedule), it doesn’t seem to be that different. If anything, I’ll have a lunch period when I go to these schools (my current HS is extremely competitive, my peers and I take nine classes a day and we all skip lunch to ensure we can take as many APs as possible – in fact, my biggest struggle is begging my teachers to let me eat lunch in their class so I don’t come home ravenous), so I’ll have more time to get as much work done in that period.
Regarding your point about the need to hide my intentions – you’re absolutely right. I really wish the reality of the world is different, but it doesn’t seem like that is the case. America may be more meritocratic than other nations, but it certainly isn’t a true meritocracy by any stretch of the imagination. Life is very unfair, so I better get used to it and use it to my advantage.