| Curtis gives full tuition scholarship to those admitted, but there are no dormitories, and students rent apartments in the immediate vicinity. Keyboard and conducting students are given a piano to use for practice in their apartment. Other instrumentalists can be provided with instruments if theirs are inadequate. Competition for these slots is against students from all over the world and many are prodigies in their early teens. Pre-college students must make their own arrangements for academic work at local (private) schools (or possibly be homeschooled?) It is quite a unique situation.
It is not possible to rank the various conservatories, because they vary according to the instrument and the faculty. One may have the best tuba teacher, another the best oboe teacher, another the best conglomerate piano faculty. The main issue for the serious musician is the teacher, and smart students (i.e. those who will survive and progress) make their choices accordingly. At the same time, the musical standards are very high in all the elite conservatories, and the training is excellent.
The statistical likelihood of admittance varies greatly from instrument to instrument. |