FluteMomLiz

A friend told me they were thinking of applying to school that has auditions in the spring of the junior year. Anyone ever heard of that?

BassDad

I don't know the numbers on how many go Early Review vs. the regular schedule at Oberlin.

Here are the official dates from the Oberlin website regarding what is due when:

Conservatory

- Early Review candidates must have all required documents (Unified Conservatory Application, teacher reports, transcripts, secondary school report and test scores) in by November 1 - not mid-november as I said earlier. Auditions are only at Oberlin and are held the first weekend in December. Decisions come out December 15 (in practice they are usually a few days behind that.)

- Regular review candidates must have all paperwork in by December 1. There are several possibilities for auditions listed on the web site. Decisions are sent by April 1.


College

-Early Decision I - all paperwork must be in by November 15 and decisions come out at the same time as the Conservatory Early Review decisions. Much of the paperwork (test scores, secondary school report, transcripts and some teacher recommendations) are exact duplicates of stuff needed for the Conservatory. I think the only additions are a separate application form, an essay and an additional teacher recommendation.

Early Decision 2 - Paperwork is Due January 2 and announcements come out February 1.

Regular Decision - Preliminary application and fee are due January 2 with the rest of the paperwork due January 15. Decisions come out by the standard April 1.

Note that ED1 and ED2 are binding, which negates the freedom offered by the Conservatory Early Review program for double degree hopefuls. I think it is far better to go Early Review for the Con and Regular Decision for the College. In fact, you do not have to apply to the college at all. You can transfer into the double degree program from the Con side fairly easily after you have been there a year and as long as you are careful about what you take for electives that first year, you will still be able to finish both degrees in five years.

mamenyu

Yes, that is what the Oberlin site says, but then the "checklist" for the Conservatory application says:
"?DOUBLE-DEGREE APPLICANTS ONLY: Submit College of Arts and Sciences application and all supporting materials. Submit a
$35 application fee to the College of Arts and Sciences admissions office; this fee is in addition to the Conservatory’s $100 fee.
Deadline: December 1. "
So it looks like if you apply to the Conservatory (early or regular), and want to apply for the double degree program as an entering Freshman, the due date for the College is Dec. 1.

FluteMomLiz

This brings up the financial aspects of such a decision.

When the question came up at Oberlin, yes they said if you did alright in your first year of school, switching to double major is nearly automatic. However, they were less sure that financial aid for that 5th year would be available. If you go in as a double major the FA is for 5 years. But if you go in as a Conservatory student and switch, you maybe on your own for that 5th year. They gave us no definitive answer.

BassDad

I would recommend checking directly with both the college and conservatory admissions offices on that one. (And don't be too surprised if the answers differ.)

I may be wrong or they may have changed procedures, but I seem to recall someone in one of the admissions offices telling me that it was possible to apply regular decision to the college even after receiving your con acceptance through Early Review. Of course, my daughter did not express interest in the double degree program there until about April or May of her senior year in high school, so it did not apply in her case.

Regardless of that requirement, it is possible and easy to transfer into the double degree program from the con side in your second year. All you need to do is fill out a form and get short letters of recommendation from two different teachers in the college whose classes you have taken. Con students get an average of one college elective per semester and with a little planning they need not fall behind by not being officially in the double degree program their first year.

One word of caution. Some teachers and some departments, both in the con and in the college, are more supportive of the double degree program than others. Some voice teachers in particular are reported to be very much against the students in their studios doing double degrees. Lab sciences can also be difficult to coordinate because required ensemble rehearsals and most required lab sections are all scheduled in mid-afternoon time slots.

Note that it is much harder to get into the double degree program from the college side because you still have to audition to be accepted into the conservatory and they do not hold separate auditions for this purpose.

BassDad

The acceptance letter that we got made it clear that daughter would be eligible for a fifth year of merit aid if she were to transfer into the double degree program. It made no such claim about need-based aid. Once again, the policy may have changed in the last couple of years.

FluteMomLiz

Good to read that BassDad. They seemed unsure when the question was asked. They gave the impression it was on a case by case basis.

I have also heard of several kids that got into programs hoping they could switch from college into conservatory or from education into performance and it was not easy.

Thanks for the heads up on certain majors or profs not being as supportive of double majors as others. I have heard professors say you have no time to do anyhing but take music and practice if you are serious about becoming a performer.

pointegirl

I don't recall exactly when. It might be late in D's sophomore year or early in her junior year. She received mailing from USC and CMU on information about early admission, which meant for high achieving high school juniors. D said that she would have applied had she got her audition music ready. Actually she didn't even think about majoring in muisc until last summer. She is a high school senior now.

FluteMomLiz

So they were auditioning HS juniors? You are talking about high achieving academically?

That would truly be early admission. Wonder if they would hold a spot open until the following May. Hard to imagine.

pointegirl

Yes, for high achieving academically. If a high school junior gets admission, he/she will skip senior year and goes directly to college. USC also guarantees at least 25% scholarship.

-Allmusic-

This was purely an academic solicitation? I have only heard of one kid who got a scholarship offer for music in his junior year (for Berklee), but never blind solicitations for music auditions that early. Does anyone else know about this?

BassDad

Curtis has no minimum age for applicants and they occasionally accept kids who have not even started high school. They are required to have a parent or adult guardian living with them until they are at least 16 and preferably 18. They attend both Curtis and a local school until they have their high school diploma. Obviously, we are talking about a very small number of kids here.

FluteMomLiz

Julliard has taken kids at very young age, I believe I have heard about 9 year olds

but I was asking earlier was a normally graduating HS student seeking admission after their senior year but getting an audition in the fall of their Jr year.

-Allmusic-

Ditto, Flutemom. That was my question too.

pointegirl

For a music school in a university setting that requires academic admission, I would assume that you have to get admitted to the uni as well as pass the music audition. I don't think you will be able to get an audition without applying for academic admission. As far as deferring the enrollment, I think that each school has different policy. I don't know about the conservatory. But if you get admitted to a conservatory, why waste another year in high school? Can always get a GED.
To my best knowledge, Juilliard admits younger students into their pre-college program not their college division. Curtis is different, it does not have pre-college division. There is no minimum age restriction for enrolling in Curtis.