Berklee College of music

daniel8250 · 02-03-2008, 07:42 AM

My son wasn't accepted to early action though he did do the audition during the early action period. He got a letter this week telling him he is in the group to be considered for regular admission. What do you think about it? How many are being excepted from the regular pool and does he have a real chance?

violadad · 02-03-2008, 08:03 AM

Not having specific experience with Berklee, please take my following comments as general info, not school specific information.

Admission to programs based primarily on strength of the audition is as I've said before, a crapshoot. Unless the candidate is obviously on top of the audition food chain and knows the ability of the field of competition, there is no way of knowing. At any given school or program, each applicant pool will vary considerably from year to year. Some years will prove to be extremely tough, with many amazing applicants, other years, more balanced.

Some kind of assessment of your son's talent in comparison to the potential field is always helpful going in. One means is if he's previously participated in high level experiences or programs comprised of fellows with different instructional backgrounds. It's a bit easier seeing how his talents compare to a broader field rather than basing his talent/ability/potential against a local, regional, or state talent base. Big fish, small pond analogy so to speak.

I know the waiting is one of the most stressful periods. Remember, as Yogi said, "It ain't over till it's over."

He may still be admitted. The school may well wish to assess ALL candidates before deciding the admissions results.

Good luck to both of you.

PamelaMaeSnap · 02-03-2008, 09:05 AM

I'm not sure if this will help or not, but here goes.

I think if your son has been deferred to regular admission, he is still very much in the picture.

From what I've gleaned, since they made their admissions policy much more stringent over the last two years, if an applicant isn't up to their standards, they are simply rejected (thus the 30-35 percent acceptance rate).

I have no idea how much the current trend of an upswing in applications everywhere affected Berklee, because the school is so unique. I also have no idea how many applicants they got during the EA phase or the percentage of acceptances from that group or obviously what the yield will be.

But what I thought they explained during the Q&A for parents during the audition time (and I may have misunderstood) is that the applicants who meet their standards will be accepted, it just may be for a later semester ... that if an applicant is good enough to get in, they'll get a spot but it could be for January term instead of September.

So if I got this right, my guess would be that if your son WASN'T good enough, he would have been rejected outright. And if so, it probably comes down to the RD pool and the yield from the EA group, simply to determine if he's in for September or January.

I could definitely be wrong about this, but this was the impression I got ... good luck!

By the way, if you don't mind my asking, what is your son's instrument?

daniel8250 · 02-03-2008, 09:23 AM

Thank you for your encouraging reply and he plays guitar.

jazzzmomm · 02-03-2008, 09:29 AM

Bear in mind how many guitars apply to Berklee, too! The top percentage of applicants to Berklee are also applying to MSM and NEC-- and other non-local conservatories for Jazz guitar, so your son was competing with the top players in the country. I also know a very respectable young guitar player who was rejected from Berklee two years ago, Early Action, so, your son is not out of the game, as other posters have said.

gina225 · 02-03-2008, 07:39 PM

You (daniel8250) mention that your son was not accepted during EA. Did he apply for EA or ED or did he apply for regular action?
Jazzzmomm- what school(s) are MSM and NEC? Thanks

violadad · 02-03-2008, 07:50 PM

gina, MSM is Manhattan School of Music, which along with Juilliard and Mannes College of Music constitute the three major NYC conservatories.

NEC is the New England Conservatory in Boston.

screamoforcutie · 03-03-2008, 05:52 PM

My son as well received a letter from Berklee telling him he had been placed in the regular action pool. I have tried since the 19th of February to find out more detail on what exactly this means, but his counselor has been out of the office since then. Has anyone talked with their counselor to get more detail. Going to Berklee is our son's dream, and I feel bad that we cannot give him much of an answer. Meanwhile, his second choice is courting him, but he wants to hold out for Berklee. March 31st is still a long way off to know anything. Has anyone heard more? Thanks! By the way, our son plays the drums and did apply for the early action deadline.

BassDad · 03-03-2008, 06:33 PM

It means that they deferred the decision in his case. He was neither accepted nor rejected under early action, but will be considered again as part of the Regular Decision pool of applicants. Those decisions should go out around March 31. His chances mostly depend on how his audition went relative to the other drummers who applied this year. The good news is that if they thought he did not have a chance at acceptance, he would not have been thrown into the RD pool.

guitardad · 03-31-2008, 08:45 AM

We just received an email last night that our S was waitlisted for the Fall of 2008 w/the option of secured admission for the Spring 2009 semester. He is a guitarist. with the tougher admissions standards and the large amount of applicants, it must be getting pretty tough to get in. Also many guitarists do not apply to Berklee directly out of high school. He is pretty upset this morning (questioning his talent) and will need a double shot of TLC and chocolate.

Guitardad

symphonymom · 03-31-2008, 09:16 AM

Guitardad...Congratulations to your son! Although I am all for TLC and chocolate (usually in large quantities), I think you should be breaking out the champagne! He's in! One never knows what goes into the admissions process (how many freshman spots there are, etc) and if he's in a pool with more experienced players, he's obviously very talented! He should not be upset. He's chosen a very competitive road and he should be very sure of his talent (which is why he got in...who cares if it's Fall or Spring?) Congratulations!

BassDad · 03-31-2008, 10:25 AM

Berklee loses a lot of students throughout the year, many because they found employment in their desired field. The running gag is that they have failed you if you stick around long enough to graduate. They offer spring admission to a goodly number of the students they accept as a way of getting back to something like full capacity at the start of the spring semester. The old running gag was that anyone could get in but almost nobody graduated. That has changed in recent years and I understand that they now accept fewer than a third of their applicants. The long and short of it is that your son should realize that by getting any offer of admission there he is well above average in their applicant pool.

He might think of this as a half gap year in which he could be studying guitar without having to worry about school, and also earning some money to put toward the cost of Berklee. That could actually work out pretty well.

SJTH · 03-31-2008, 10:44 AM

Bassdad, you are such a glass-half-full kind of man, and I always appreciate your honest, though positive perspective!

guitarist's mom · 03-31-2008, 12:02 PM

I agree, Guitardad, that your son should be thrilled he is IN! Berklee was his first choice, wasn't it? But the $$ is an issue, correct? So now he has time for a bit of a break, keep playing, maybe work a little to secure some funds. Spring semester gets here before you know it (and of course as a fall waitlist he may end up in Boston in Sept. anyway).

These kids ought to have some time to enjoy being kids anyway, they will be working for a living soon enough, a few months more in the scheme of things is not consequential.

Congratulations to him, I think given the tough standards on guitarists, this is a huge achievement.

violadad · 03-31-2008, 12:13 PM

guitardad, Congrats to you both. This is nothing at all to be distressed about. He's in. As others have said this is not at all unusual at Berklee, particularly in the areas of heavily represented instruments.

If Berklee is his primary choice, and if it works financially, just make sure the secured admissions offer is in fact "guaranteed" admission. You may also want to ask about financial aid/scholarships (if offered) and how they treat that as a spring admit.

Also think about some of the academic requirements and if they'll accept freshman courses from a nearby community college. Getting one or two classes out of the way during this time would keep him a bit focused academically, and would free up some time when he gets to Berklee.

It could indeed be a great half-gap year.