88fingers

Thanks to all who responded about my composition major son. We have gotten so many good ideas of what to look for, and even more schools to look at. This could be a full time job, one that my son doesn't have time for. I suggested we start a spread sheet to organize our thoughts, and compare schools. Has anyone done this or have an idea that worked for them?

musmom2

88fingers- Spread sheet, or an old-fashioned hand written facsimile is an absolute necessary! Use it with a separate calendar upon which you write all deadlines, possible audition dates, etc. I also kept a personal notebook in which I kept notes from visits, tours, faculty presentations at audition time, etc. We couldn't have hoped to keep track otherwise!

stradmom

Based on advice I got here, I've purchased a calendar devoted entirely to D's musical activities this year - concerts, allstates, auditions etc. We just put together a chart (in Word, we're not Excel people) with columns for school, application requirements (letters, transcripts etc), deadlines (including prescreens), audition rep requirements, faculty, and audition dates. So far, my technique has been to bold preferred dates and faculty D would like to have sample lessons with. I'm sure it will need refining, but it seems to be a good overview for now. If nothing else, it gives me something to obsess about while D is busy practicing!

ETA: musmom2 beat me to the punch!

Trumpet57

I like the free online calendars like Yahoo/GMail/etc give you with their free email service. It sends out free email reminders when an event is coming up. Easier for me than a physical one where I can not forget to check it. Since I am online everyday checking email anyway. Tells you Concert at School in 2 days, or 3 or 10 whatever you set it for. Good for SAT dates and application dates etc.

Easy to block out days for a camp this summer or even years in advance.

Juggling Mom

We actually resorted to using the Google calendar which allowed Mom, Dad and DS all to see what scheduling challenges we were facing.

I did use a spreadsheet for the schools analysis - my main goal was to understand their offerings, have key information (like websites) compiled, and then key dates. I use spreadsheets a lot, and it was easy for me to add columns and move lines around to prioritize. I shared the spreadsheet with DS, so he could see what the list looked like.

In the end, I am not sure how helpful it was to him, but it did make me feel better that we had identified all the options and were in a position to adjust depending on the results of interviews and visits.

N8Ma

Lee Cioppa recommends spreadsheets:

Juilliard Office of Admissions Blog - Blog Archive - Application Tip #3 Copy and Paste

This blog has lots of tips on it, even if you're not applying to Juilliard.

I could not function without google's apps, especially calendar.

Trumpet57

Yes the online calendars like Google and Yahoo are available anywhere there is internet and can be shared with people in different places.

I find the reminder timers sent to your email a very big advantage. But then my memory is probably worse than most.