| As far as the original question, I'm not so sure I'd change anything about the actual college search/application process. During D's sophomore year, it became very clear that she wanted to major in performance, hoping to get a job in a major orchestra, so we were able to start thinking about the process fairly early. We also seemed to stumble blindly into the right programs, often after D was rejected from some program we felt she would surely get into. These early rejections also seemed to suggest to us that "the right connections" (some would say "politics", perhaps?) can sometimes play a role in the whole process. Sometimes I wish I had been more vocal or pushy, but that would have driven D crazy! Those early rejections led to something better for her anyway.
One thing I wish we had done earlier was figure out how to make quality recordings. Husband and I (as well as D's teachers) are technologically backward, so this has been a struggle. Every music student will eventually need to know how to do this to apply to some of the top summer programs, etc. We gave D a minidisc recorder about a year ago and she has finally figured it out I think. Otherwise she has used recording studios, which has been rather costly and inconvenient to use. (Another thing I wasn't prepared for was the COST of everything - not just tuition, but the instruments, the summer programs, the extra lessons, etc.!!)
As far as changing teachers, we had been advised fairly early on that if D hoped to make this a career, it is very important to get the best possible teacher. D's first teacher (for about 2 1/2 years) was very young and very enthusiastic. She still totally believes in D and we were (and still are) very fond of her. She had never taught anyone like my D, who progressed rapidly, and made several remarks like "In a few years, she'll be better than me!" and "I hope I don't hold her back!" Also, D left several lessons feeling "I didn't get anything out of that lesson." D also left summer camp, having been told that she had enormous potential and needed to be studying with a principal player in a major orchestra. It was very difficult to decide to look for a new teacher, but when her teacher became pregnant and D needed a temporary replacement, we felt it was the opportune time to start looking. The last two high school years were spent with a teacher whose students go on to become performance majors and who is considered a very good teacher (his top students generally get accepted at the top schools). |