operasinger, mitra- as to the actual admit rates of the overall program, I can only repeat what son told me back in '02 as a freshman. From what I recall, he said his freshman class of about 250 (neither he or I can recall the exact number) across all Hartt disciplines was drawn from an applicant pool of about 1250. There is a poster "Hartt Admissions" who appears both here and more recently on the Music Major forum. A search of that poster name and a search of their posts will reveal past postings, and a contact phone number. I can't recall specific info on admit percentages on the Hartt webpages, but I'm sure a call to the admissions office will get you the info.
Hartt's "News from the Dean's Office" newsletter and back issues are available online here:
THE HARTT SCHOOL: MUSIC-DANCE-THEATRE In the accolades section, you can see recent awards, recogntion of current students, alums and faculty. Two of note
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/ny...in&oref=slogin UNotes Daily | News
I can't speak to the vocal or MT, jazz the or piano program specifically. My son was a violist. He did participate for his last two and a half years in the Performance 20/20 chamber program. The peer level was exceptional, across all instruments. The overall atmosphere was one of collaboration and cooperation. As a point of reference and comparison, my son has played with students and grads from Juilliard, Eastman, NEC, Peabody, San Francisco Conservatory, Yale SOM, Indiana and others in festival programs, orchestras and chamber ensembles, and won a regional chair on his fourth auditon. He was completely happy with his experience at Hartt.
Regards gms5287's comments, the campus is in a suburban residential area of West Hartford, not Hartford proper. It is roughly equidistant to some high end magnificent homes (including the govenor's residence) as it is from a less than desireable area of Hartford proper. There are areas of any city that most people will steer clear of, Hartford included, but Hartt is not in an undesireable location by any means. Hartford's unemployment rate is high, and the public school system is "troubled." Comparative crime statistics are available online.
There have been a number of the typical campus crimes including robberies, dorm break-ins, car thefts. There was also one incident (academic year '06-'07 I believe) of an accidental firearm discharge in a dorm. The "perp" was the sibling of a student. We found the university quick and forthcoming in advising of potential issues and in reporting/notifying students very promptly of incidents that had occurred.