Musical word of the interval: Tempo - Italian word meaning "speed" that refers to the pace of the musical pulse. Common markings describing the speed of a piece include grave (extremely slow), largo (very slow), lento (slow), adagio (slow), andante (at a walking pace), moderato (moderately), allegro (fast), vivace (lively), presto (very fast), and prestissimo (extremely fast)
Now that you have worked your way down to a short list of schools, the next step comes in
Installment #7, The Paperwork
There are many pieces of paper that must find their way to the school admissions office at various times. These may include (but may not be limited to) the application, an audition request form, an interview request form, recommendations from teachers, guidance counselors and professional musicians, transcripts from high schools and any other colleges attended, test scores, a repertoire list, a performance history, programs from concerts in which a student has performed, a resume, a financial aid application, a CSS/Profile report, a FAFSA report, reports concerning small businesses or farms owned by parents, a teacher selection form and an acceptance form. Multiply all of that by the number of schools in question, and you have a small mountain of paperwork to get through. Much of this is the same for both music majors and non-music majors, so I will touch lightly on all but the items of specific interest to the former.
Applications: The application process is a bit different at each school. At stand-alone music schools it is usually simple. In cases where admissions decisions must be coordinated between a University-wide admissions office and the music department, it is a little more complex. In some cases, the applicant must be approved by admissions before the music department can even consider them. In others, things are run in parallel with the admissions office waiting to hear from the music department before sending out their decision. In any event, it is well worth doing some research so that you fully understand what is required and when it is due. Once it is sent, call to confirm that it was received. Remember the rule, "Never give anyone your only copy of anything."
Several Conservatories (Boston Conservatory, CIM, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College of Music, NEC, Oberlin and San Francisco Conservatory) allow students to use an online Unified Application process. Most of the application is common to all seven schools, but there are also some school-specific parts for each. Check out
http://www.unifiedapps.org/ to get started.
Audition Request Form: Again, different schools have different procedures. Sometimes this is included with the application, sometimes it is done online and sometimes it is handled by a phone call after the application is received. Schedule auditions as soon as you can because there are bound to be conflicts that need to be resolved.
Interview Request: Not many schools require an interview because they expect to see you at an audition somewhere along the line. Interviews are optional at some, and are generally scheduled through the admissions office.
Recommendations: Schools often require recommendations from guidance counsellors, teachers of various subjects and even professional musicians who are not family members. It is important to find out exactly what recommendations are required, from whom, when they are due and whether there is a specific form to be filled out or a free-form letter to be written. Teachers often get innundated with requests for recommendations along about October, so start early. When you request the recommendation, provide an addressed, stamped envelope, any forms that need to be filled out, and information that will remind the person writing the recommendation of what they want to say about you. This could be a resume, a "brag sheet" as our guidance office calls them (short essay answers to a variety of questions about yourself), a paper or project for that teacher that got a good grade, a program from your solo debut at Carnegie Hall with favorable NY Times review attached, anything of that sort... Note that, in most cases, the recommendation goes directly from the writer to the school without the student ever seeing it. After the recommendation has been sent out, it is a nice touch to send the writer a handwritten thank-you note and perhaps a small present (nothing of material value to suggest a payment for services rendered, though.) Most perople who write recommendations also appreciate hearing where you were accepted and where you plan to go.
Repertoire List: Some schools ask for this as part of the application. It is simply a compilation of pieces on which you have worked, listed by composer, with those that have been memorized and/or performed in public so identified.
Performance History: A variation on the Repertoire List that asks you to report what pieces you have performed, with whom, when and where. In this case, the listing is usually chronological in order.
Programs from concerts: A very few schools request that you include sample programs from one or two concerts in which you have performed. (You see, there IS a reason that your mother saved all of them. And if she didn't, start saving them now.) Obviously, you want to use the most impressive ones you have.
Resume: Not many schools actually ask for a resume, but a lot of students provide one anyway. Some schools will bother to look at them and some will not. In any event, it is useful to put together a resume as part of the package that you give to the people you ask for recommendations. The main purpose of a resume at this level is to provide corroboration from informed sources that you have talent and potential. Simply relisting activities from your list of EC's is not the best approach. That information is available to the decision makers elsewhere in your application package and rehashing it in a resume is a waste of their time. Instead, you want to list any well-known teachers with whom you have studied, any competitions, awards or scholarships that you have won, leadership positions that you have held, selective ensembles and summer programs in which you have participated, and anything else that distinguishes you in a positive way from the rest of the field. The choice of how to organize a resume is a personal one, but the idea is to make your most important accomplishments jump off the page. Burying them in a sea of chronologically-organized ensemble participation is not a good idea. If you do not have many accomplishments of the type listed above, then it is better not to provide a resume at all (unless the school requests one) than to pad one out with every last school concert in which you have participated. Unless you really have had that Carnegie Hall debut and others of similar importance, it is probably best to keep the resume to a single page and highlight your top accomplishments.
Teacher Selection: Where there is more than one teacher for your voice or instrument, some schools have you apply for a specific studio from the start. Others want you to wait until they know who will be attending before making studio assignments. Again, it is important to find out the specific policy for each school and fill out any forms that might be needed. In my opinion, it is not reasonable to ask a student to choose a school without knowing which teacher's studio they will be in. If the school asks you to send in a deposit before telling you who will be your teacher, you should first speak with the teacher whose studio you would like to join. If they are willing to accept you in their studio, they may be able to get the school to make an early assignment. If they are willing to teach you but say the matter is not in their hands, then call the admissions department with a polite but firm request that you be assigned to that teacher. If neither the teacher nor admissions is willing to help, you will at least not be operating under any false assumptions when you make your decision.
I think the other items are either self-explanatory or are pretty much the same as they would be for a non-music major. If anyone here has had any other types of paperwork to fill out, any different approaches that you have found successful, or anything else they would like to add, please share that information with the group.