| Okay, I can actually help you with this a lot.
Last summer, I attended Eastman for voice. This summer, I'm going to attend CMU for voice. Last summer was one of the greatest summers of my life. It was a great experience, being around all music students for a 3 week program. The friendships I made are everlasting, and watching most of my friends audition at colleges and some of them even get into Eastman. We had a seminar every week about the college process and things. For me, it was extremely helpful, it got my foot in the door and I was able to make connections and get ideas for schools before most of my friends back home even considered it.
The one thing that a lot of my friends didn't like is that it was a) a group of solely music students, which isn't the case at college, b) that the program was mostly teenagers becoming seniors - people who already had all of the information that they were giving us.
The reason I'm attending CMU this summer over programs like BUTI and Interlochen is because the 6 week experience there is known for being equivilent to a beginning of a semester as a music major at CMU. There are students there from many different majors, making it more like a real college experience. It is also 6 weeks long, as opposed to 3 - another downside to the program - you MUST come prepared with songs because there is no time to learn new material. You also must be willing to endure lots of propaganda about Eastman as a school, even the "15% of people who attend their summer program end up at their school" statistic. I'm sure you would get that at a lot of school's summer programs, but it really is a bit of overkill.
I would say that your decision should depend on how old your child is. If it is the year before senior year, it would be a good idea to go to CMU in my opinion. It really is intense - I have friends there who have loved it because it made them sure they wanted to do this for 4 years, and friends who left after 2 weeks because they never realized how the life of a music major actually is.
Meanwhile, if it is the year before junior or sophomore year, Eastman is the way to go. It is a great program and it can really give you a taste of college, while still letting it be camp. College seminars can let you learn everything you need to know, before college counselors will tell you so. Masterclasses are the best, last year we sang with Renee Fleming's sister Rochelle. You also get to sing in Kilbourne Hall, which is quite beautiful - if you are looking for a conservatory for college, it also gives you a lot of insight.
So that's about it. If you have any further questions, you can definitely PM me.
Hope that helps
Stacey |