Acceptance Thread for Class of ‘30 Undergrad/’28 Grad Music Majors

Hi there! This thread is to track acceptances to SOMs, as well as any merit scholarships awarded. I know that I always looked forward to reading all the news from friends I’d followed on their journey, and the information was helpful to my family as we were in the planning stages prior to auditions. Let’s celebrate and commiserate together!

If you’d like to be included, message me with updates or feel free to post….make sure you include the school of acceptance or declination and the date on which you heard. You can include any merit awards as you feel comfortable, as well as including instrument or area. Looking forward to seeing where we all land!

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FSUSammy (Son - Jazz Guitar)

12/12: FIU (100% Bright Futures)

12/12: FSU (100% Bright Futures + $1500/yr Talent )

12/18: Berklee – (Full Tuition)

1/30: Frost/ U Miami – ($64,700/yr Talent + $9,860/yr State Grant + 100% Bright Futures)

2/4: Michigan State – ($6k/yr Talent, $20k/yr Academic)

2/8: UNT ($7k/yr Academic, $2k/yr Talent)

3/21: Oberlin ($44k/yr Talent)

3/25: USC

3/25 Northwestern - Waitlisted

3/27: Peabody ($38k/yr Talent)

3/31: MSM ($35k/yr Talent)

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Did Michigan State offer an out of state tuition waiver? I saw that they did this a couple of years ago.

No they didn’t

Son - Jazz Bass

UNT - Meritorious Scholarship (full cost of attendance + $5000 annual stipend)

Berklee - full tuition

Eastman - $33,500 merit

NYU - accepted with no merit

Lawrence Conservatory - $47,000 merit

UMKC - $7500 academic merit and $3,200 music merit

NEC - $28,894 merit

DePaul - $32,000 merit

Oberlin - waitlisted

USC - auditioned but not admitted

Appealed Eastman

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CONSOLIDATED LIST

FSUSammy** (Son - Jazz Guitar)**

12/12: FIU (100% Bright Futures)

12/12: FSU (100% Bright Futures + $1500/yr Talent )

12/18: Berklee – (Full Tuition)

1/30: Frost/ U Miami – ($64,700/yr Talent + $9,860/yr State Grant + 100% Bright Futures)

2/4: Michigan State – ($6k/yr Talent, $20k/yr Academic)

2/8: UNT ($7k/yr Academic, $2k/yr Talent)

3/21: Oberlin ($44k/yr Talent)

3/25: USC

3/25 Northwestern - Waitlisted

3/27: Peabody ($38k/yr Talent), appealed merit went up by an additional $10k total of $48k/year

3/31: MSM ($35k/yr Talent)

KS_BassDad** (Son - Jazz Bass)**

UNT - Meritorious Scholarship (full cost of attendance + $5000 annual stipend)

Berklee - full tuition

Eastman - $33,500 merit

NYU - accepted with no merit

Lawrence Conservatory - $47,000 merit

UMKC - $7500 academic merit and $3,200 music merit

NEC - $28,894 merit

DePaul - $32,000 merit

Oberlin - waitlisted

USC - auditioned but not admitted

Appealed Eastman

Those are great results! Mind me asking about his GPA/Test? Or, is that mostly talent?

Where will he commit? Congrats!

It’s mostly talent, he did get academic from UNT and Michigan State. His weighted GPA is a 4.6 and his ACT score is a 31 so nothing super crazy. The only AP class he ever took was AP Music Theory.

Oops was asking the other parent. I put the question in the wrong spot. Will fix!

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Those are great results! Mind me asking about his GPA/Test? Or, is that mostly talent?

Where will he commit? Congrats!

He is a National Merit Scholarship Finalist. ACT was 33. Unweighted GPA was 3.85 and 4.35 weighted.

Eastman increased the merit by $12k after the appeal, but the COA remains at $50k. UNT and Berklee are the only viable options without going into debt. Our flagship state university is also trying to woo him with a full ride offer, if he is willing to play jazz and classical.

He hasn’t decided yet on where to commit. We are visiting Berklee one more time next week to meet with faculty and attend some classes. He told me he likely won’t decide until 4/30 which makes me anxious but he needs to be the one making the decision, not mom and dad

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We are facing the same issues! It is so hard when the kid gets into amazing programs but financially they are not options. These all include merit and financial aid before any appeals

UNT : COA $20K

Eastman : COA $52K

IU Jacobs: COA :$40K

U of Miami Frost: COA: $29K

Vanderbilt : COA: $15K

UMich : COA : $55K

USC : COA: $56K no mention of merit yet

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Mind if I message you about Berklee? I’ve been trying to get someone to allow my son to attend some classes but have been getting nowhere fast

May I ask how long the turn around time was for the appeal to Eastman? We put in an appeal on Monday, about ten days after acceptance. Just wondering how fast you heard back.

Thanks for sharing this info with the group! I’m taking notes for next year (mom to a Class of ‘27) and trying to avoid applying at too many schools that aren’t financially viable.

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Dont apply to Carnegie Mellon. They do not give merit to undergraduates

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We heard back about the appeal after approximately ten days.

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Son, clarinet performance, but with plan to double major in data science or biostatistics, so focus was on state schools with music programs. SAT 1510, unweighted gpa 4.05, weighted 4.7, with 9-10 APs.

umich: passed prescreen, bombed audition 1/23. not a surprise when got a decline. Great practice though. 8-12 spots available.

CU-boulder: online audition 1/16, with follow-up prospective lesson after. Admission into normal school 1/22, admission into music school 3/4. Academic merit $6.25k/year. No music merit although was told on scholarship list. COA mid-60ks. Not gonna happen without more $$$.

UW-Seattle: in person audition and lesson on 2/6. Was told 2-4 spots available. Admission into normal school and music school on 3/11 (even normal admission is hard so he was happy). Academic merit $4.2k/year. COA low-60ks. This school does not invest in the music programs - it was clear with the facilities and the lack of scholarships.

MSU: prospective lesson in January, in person audition 2/20, admission 3/11 into music school. Only 3 available spots. $30k academic merit, no music merit even though was told he was on a scholarship consideration list. COA $30k

IU (in state): prospective lesson in December, in person audition 2/28, music school admission 3/17, music merit received 3/31. Academic merit $1k/year, merit from music school for both talent and academic $12k, COA $15k.

While he has no connection to any instructor at IU (his prospective lesson was with a guy who announced his retirement), it is currently difficult to pass on IU’s COA.

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IU Jacobs is an excellent program! Wish we were in state! My DD is a junior in the IU BM piano performance. How much is COA for in state? We are in state in Washington and my kids (so for 3 auditioned for music schools) never applied there because you are correct, music is an after thought. They are known for science

The math on IU for us is $12k tuition + $14k room/food + $2500 music program fee = $28500 COA minus $13k in scholarships = $15k give or take COA.

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