BassDad

I don't know squat about the UC schools, but I can tell you a thing or three about self-promotion as a musician. Even if your objective is to minor in music, I suspect that you would still like to have a decent teacher and play with an ensemble that doesn't embarrass you. As one of many talented flute players seeking not a lot of openings, networking skills will be very important in achieving those goals.

Contact as many teachers, ensemble directors and department chairs as you can. Send them CD's and resumes and don't worry about how many get tossed in the wastebasket. Set up auditions and sample lessons whenever you can. Get your foot in the door and ask a lot of questions about the opportunities that are available. Play well and show some genuine interest and they are very likely to remember your name. That will give you a decided advantage over anyone who has not bothered to do the same. Expect that 95% or more of your contacts will be absolutely useless and be ready to pounce on opportunities provided by the others.

makin it rain

Ahh, so even if I only plan to minor in music, the effect on the music department will also affect my general admissions?

thumper1

Makin it rain...BassDad and I have both given you similar advice regarding "marketing yourself" to the MUSIC programs for possible opportunities as a player once you get to college. We have both said the we know nothing about the UC's. Having said that...my DD marketed herself quite well. HOWEVER, this was for music opportunities only. She had to be admitted to the universities using their admittance criteria because she was NOT a music major. In most places, music departments can "lean" on the admissions folks if they have a very talented musician they see during the auditions who is on the cusp of the admittance criteria. However, I would think they would use this leverage for music majors only. The path I outlined for you (contacts, etc) would show your interest and desire to participate in the music program once enrolled, and that is important as well. My daughter was told...point blank...that they really wanted her as a music minor and player, but the had NO influence with admissions (this happened at three schools, two private and one state u).

BassDad

I can't promise that it will have a positive effect on admissions, but I very much doubt that it will have a negative effect. Who knows? Maybe you will get lucky and the flute teacher will turn out to be the wife of the person making the admission decision and will put in a good word for you over breakfast. Nothing official, mind you, since you are not an intended major, but effective nonetheless. Stranger things have happened. If you don't bother to send out those CD's and resumes, you will not be in a position to have such good luck.

If you apply to a range of schools, you will very likely get in somewhere. That is where the marketing is more likely to do you some good. The music department at whatever school you ultimately decide to attend will know that you are interested in them and that you are willing to put some effort into what you do. That will give you a leg up on the other 17 incoming freshman flutists who are looking for the same opportunities that you are.

neumes

Wondering, though, about colleges that say specifically to send CD to admissions office, not music departments. Would it be considered okay to send an additional CD to a specific music professor? We recently figured how to send a large AIFF or smaller MP3 file to a musician using an FPT server. Is that a legitimate way to send a music prof a sample of an applicant's work?

mamenyu

For Davis, which doesn't have a performance major, you might also consider contacting the orchestra conductor directly. If you live near any of these schools, you might be able to arrange to meet with the conductor.
As to who to send the CD's to at other schools, it is probably a school-by-school thing -- at Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, for example, you send the CD as a supplement. The admissions office forwards it to the music department and gets feedback if the CD is outstanding and they are interested in the student. How much that counts toward admission is another matter -- I think it can be crucial at some schools, assuming you are academically qualified too, and regardless of major. Those schools, at least, want some excellent performers to be part of their student body, but don't offer performance majors and don't particularly care if you major in musicology, which is what they offer.

BassDad

In that case, I suggest contacting the individuals in the music department before sending anything. If someone in the music department tells you to send the recording, don't let the admissions folks or a line on the web site stop you.

The request to send all CD's through admissions could be for a number of reasons. Some of those reasons may be legitimate, but others could be warning signals. Is the admissions office doing this at the request of the music department or for their own reasons? If the latter, do they intend to pass along the CD to whomever they deem to be the correct person or are they tired of having some pesky orchestra director demand more violas? If they are passing along the recordings, do they eventually get to everyone who should hear them or are they pigeonholed in some music office cubby to be tossed out over the next summer? If the music department does not want unsolicited materials from prospective students, will they accept them later from students who are trying to choose among their acceptances?

The answers to these and the logical follow-up questions can tell you a lot about the way things get done and the relative value placed on teachers, students and administrators at that school.

symphonymom

UC admissions is a little different from other systems...there is one application for all of the various schools and one checks the schools he or she is interested in attending. There are no teacher or counselor recs....just the online (or paper) application. It's pretty numbers oriented (cuts are made mainly because of GPA and SAT). UC gets an incredible number of applications and my feeling is that sending in a CD to general admissions would probably not be heard. If anyone knows better, I'd love to know about it, but we could find nothing on the site that describes art supplements. Describing you achievements in your app may give you a higher multiplier, so I would definitely do that! I am not sure that a music department can request a student...particularly a potential minor...but it doesn't hurt to ask. UCLA is completely different....you can audition, send in tapes...the whole nine yards..but it's a music school. Let us know what happens. Good luck!

mamenyu

UCSB also requires a resume, audition tape, recommendations for the music major. Each of the UC's is different in the way it handles the applications (though the application, filed online, is a single application that is then directed to the particular schools the applicant checks off). UCLA and Cal use a "holistic" approach to reviewing applications that is less formulaic than it once was and considers extracurricular activities, etc.; Davis has used a point system in reviewing applications, with points for leadership activities, hardship, etc. Music achievement is one of the factors they consider and give points for. But no, you don't send supplemental materials to the general admissions folks; I do know, anecdotally, that there has in past years been some communication between the music department and admissions at some of the UC's -- whether it ends up making any difference is another question.

makin it rain

"But no, you don't send supplemental materials to the general admissions folks; I do know, anecdotally, that there has in past years been some communication between the music department and admissions at some of the UC's -- whether it ends up making any difference is another question."

Where does it state that? Is it on the UC site for music majors?

mamenyu

Look at the application site and see what it says (last year, when I looked, there was no provision for supplemental submissions -- maybe that has changed). If there is no provision this year for sending in CD's with your general application to UC, then obviously you would have to send a CD or other materials to the specific campus directly, if they accept such items -- which you would find out about from the music department at the individual campus. My experience with this is from last year, which included applications to UCSB, UCLA, and UCD among others -- for the former two, a CD was required for prospective music performance majors and they also accepted recommendations and resumes (that information is on the music department websites for those two schools). These were sent to the music departments directly.

makin it rain

So apparently SB won't be accepting anything unless I apply for music as a major. UC Berkeley is telling me to send extra materials through the regular admissions process, and Irvine is telling me to audition.

Should I email anyone else besides the undergraduate admission advisers from the music department? Perhaps any specific professors (reading the advice from BassDad)?

mamenyu

At UC Berkeley, you could contact David Milnes, the orchestra conductor, who is on the faculty.

symphonymom

Has anyone heard of an alternative admissions system for "special talent"? One of my son's friends says that a UC rep told her about it during an information session....I can't find a thing about it on the web.

makin it rain

Should I contact all the other orchestra conductors? I've only emailed the undergraduate advisers.