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

College Majors Music Majors
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What a ride! I think we are done!?!

Son, classical voice, music Ed. major

UMASS Amherst - in state, $1,700 Abigail Adams Tuition Waiver

University of Hartford- 37,00 academic and music merit

Rutgers Mason Gross - 10,000 music merit

Syracuse - 28,000 music merit

DePaul - 25,000 music merit

University of Maryland- 5,000 academic merit & 23,000 music merit (appealed)

Michigan - 17,000 music merit (appealed)

Michigan has always been #1 and with the appeal it looks like Michigan will get the nod. But it ain’t over till it’s over :rofl:

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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) – COMMITTED! :partying_face:

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), appealed merit awarded nothing on appeal

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

momto5kidz

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

abstele12

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, met with prof / informal appeal on no music merit, updated offer to $15k music merit - basically covering tuition in total. COA $15k

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.

TacetConsentit

DD (BM Violin performance)

· IU Jacobs - Accepted ($22K merit)

· U. Michigan - Accepted ($0 merit → $85K COA, more than any other listed school!)

· Eastman - Accepted ($35K merit)

· Oberlin - Accepted ($41K merit)

· NEC - Accepted ($31K merit, appealed → $37K merit), and committed 2026-04-10

· MSM - Accepted ($15K merit)

· Glenn Gould School - Waitlisted

· McGill - Accepted ($0K merit, unsurprising as Québec is hurting right now)

· University of Toronto - Accepted (some merit, forgot amount)

· University of Ottawa - Accepted? (We think. They were so irritating with asking for incremental details on the academic side, that we abandoned the process.)

percussionmom3

BM percussion performance:

IU Jacobs: Accepted (22.5k merit so far, will appeal), COA is the closest to our budget right now

Northwestern Bienen: Waitlisted, set letter of continued interest

Frost U Miami: Accepted with 26k merit (apparently there are two presidential scholarships, 1 and 2- he got 2 but knows kids who got offered both). COA is still over 70k, so appealing

ASU: Accepted but withdrew app, as he loved the professor but school isn’t best fit

Vanderbilt/ Blair- passed prescreen but audition didn’t go as well as he hoped, so got a decline

Peabody: Waitlisted

dovular

Hello all! I am new to this forum but I wanted to share my results and perspective in case it helps anyone!

Here are my stats for some background: I was supposed to graduate high school in 2021, but I dropped out due to some personal circumstances which thankfully are no longer affecting me. My SAT was 1420. I got my GED in January 2022 with an average section score of around 190. Since then, I’ve taken two full years of community college classes and achieved an Associate of Science with a 3.67 GPA. I applied to 5 music schools as a transfer student, and here are my results so far (I am a male vocalist):

Berklee: Auditioned 1/10 (for voice), accepted 1/29 with 20k scholarship

UM Frost: Accidentally applied for classical voice, never completed my application

NYU Steinhardt: Auditioned 4/10 (contemporary voice), awaiting results

Belmont University: Accepted 12/30 (no audition) with 7k scholarship

USC Thornton: Auditioned 1/31 (singer-songwriter), awaiting results

countrysquire

Michigan: net cost 55k

Maryland net cost 23k

Rice net cost 27k

Eastman waitlist

Juilliard, MSM, NEC - not accepted

tryingtokeepupDad

Violin

Oberlin COA 21K

Eastman COA 40k- Withdrew app.

Juilliard COA 50k Submitted appeal

NEC COA 35K appeal

USC Thornton - received Tuition Exchange Scholarship for 80% 2-3 weeks after admission but apparently they are in no rush to consolidate with their prior offer. 39K with TE.

Colburn- Got an audition and made it to the call backs, very proud of DD. But a no.

Musicianmommi

Daughter, Classical Voice/ Opera, Bachelors

Applied to Boston Conservatory, MSM, New School Mannes, Carnegie Mellon, Peabody.

*Boston Conservatory: Accepted 24K– appealed but not enough awarded. Withdrew

*MSM: Accepted 44K Withdrew

*New School Mannes: Accepted 46K Withdrew

*CMU: Accepted 45K Withdrew (was excited but decided that she wanted a conservatory)

*Peabody: Accepted 74K - COMMITTED :partying_face:

waaslander

Daughter, BM Violin Performance:

Temple - $20K academic merit (OOS) + $10K music merit

CCM - $13K academic merit (OOS); withdrew before notified of any music merit

McGill - Accepted; no scholarship (US student)

Frost - Stamps String Quartet music merit (full tuition, fees, room, board, & summer stipend)

Eastman - $37K music merit; appealed, but committed elsewhere before their response

NEC - Not accepted

Juilliard - Not accepted

Peabody - $25K music merit + $25K need-based grant + additional $20K grant after appeal = $70K total aid: COMMITTED :sparkling_heart:

cjrosie

Loyola New Orleans - 29k
U of Denver - 27k
VCU (oos) - 20k
Temple (oos) - 10,500k
New School - 20k
Depaul - 25k committing!

pc150

Jazz Performance Tenor Saxophone - Son

Merit (per year):

NEC - $34,894 (2 appeals) - Accepted!

Berklee College of Music (1 appeal) - $26,000

William Paterson University - $26,778 (full tuition)

MSM - in-person audition but not accepted

Juilliard - pre-screen but didn’t advance

shirlgurl

Son, classical voice, music Ed. major

UMASS Amherst - in state, $1,700 Abigail Adams Tuition Waiver

University of Hartford- 37,00 academic and music merit

Rutgers Mason Gross - 10,000 music merit

Syracuse - 28,000 music merit

DePaul - 25,000 music merit

University of Maryland- 5,000 academic merit & 23,000 music merit (appealed)

Michigan - 17,000 music merit (appealed)

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Piano performance – Son, pursuing schools that offer dual degrees under one university umbrella with a couple of conservatories tossed in.

The info provided by parents this year and in years past has been so helpful as we’ve navigated this crazy, crazy process. I haven’t seen a lot of piano performance families in past years’ lists (although I know there’s one other this year), so I hope that this perspective helps future readers. Best of luck to all of you making your final decisions in the next couple of days (this includes us!), and most importantly, wishing all these amazing young people the very best as they head off to start their next adventures in the fall!

Acceptances and annual merit

Carnegie Mellon - $0

Curtis – auditioned, not admitted

Eastman - $40.5k (no appeal)

Indiana - $24k (no appeal)

Iowa - $17k + in-state tuition reciprocity

Michigan - $0, appealed, update TBD

NEC - $15k (no appeal)

Northwestern - $0, appealed, no change

Vanderbilt - $45k (no appeal)

USC - $0 (this one especially made our eyes roll) (no appeal)

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I realized when I first posted on this thread, I included offered loans of 5500 most places, which we will try to avoid. Net cost without-

NEC- 38K (Committed)

Juilliard-44K (after appeal)

Eastman-46K

Oberlin-21K

USC-39K

Colburn- No

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Jazz Piano. public school. 4.0 weighted. 34 ACT superscore, 31 ACT reg. (took 2 times) 5 APs some & “advanced” classes, full schedule Senior year. Heavy school involvement in theater, choir, improv club, band and outside jazz band opportunities. Not a ton of community outreach except through jazz perf.

ACCEPTED to all 6 schools applied and jazz departments. Did not visit all or have lessons with all. Did visit a couple school and then decided to not apply.

University of Kansas- 20k total merit academic. Visited/had lesson/in person audition. was contacted April 26 about more music department merit and interest. Declined due to other acceptance interests

Loyola New Orleans-$34K Rising Talent Scholarship, 3k housing scholarship, LRAP Award. In person audition, visited, lesson after acceptance. Loved this school

The New School/ School of Jazz and Contemporary Music-$15k talent merit. visited (did not meet faculty), in person audition.

NYU/Steinhardt: $0 merit. Did not visit. Selected for In Person Audition after prescreen. regular decision.

Berklee: ACCEPTED offer. $23K Global Artist Award, Regular Decision. did not visit or meet faculty. Audition in person at remote state audition opportunity closer to home. Visited after acceptance. Appealed aid still awaiting response.

University of Miami/Frost School of Music: $22K Presidential Scholarship 1, Regular decision. Didn’t visit or have lessons. In person audition in early Feb. after prescreen pass

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BM percussion performance:

IU Jacobs: Accepted (26.5k merit), COA 37k, COMMITTED on 5/1!!

Northwestern Bienen: Waitlisted, set letter of continued interest, crickets

Frost U Miami: Accepted with 26k merit (apparently there are two presidential scholarships, 1 and 2- he got 2 but knows kids who got offered both). COA is still over 70k, and they gave him nothing more aside from assurance that they chose him because of his talent!! He knew it was not worth almost 300k.

ASU: Accepted but withdrew app, as he loved the professor but school isn’t best fit

Vanderbilt/ Blair- passed prescreen but audition didn’t go as well as he hoped, so got a decline

Peabody: Waitlisted, in off waitlist one week before 5/1 deadline and offered 65k/year merit/ COA 32k/year. Incredible faculty but the small conservatory environment wasn’t a fit.

Best advice- appeal, appeal, appeal. My son did so 3x and offers increased. The worst they can say is final offer, the best is more $ in your pocket.

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Tbh, my daughter is at Peabody and she struggles greatly with the small conservatory feel of the school. One either thrives in that environment or not, and they know pretty early on if it is a good fit. But it was difficult for us to turn down the huge scholarship offering ending up with a COA of 14K

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That is why my daughter ended up at McGill - can meet other people and get out of the bubble - your coa hard to turn down - at least she has Johns Hopkins which I think you can take other classes meet other people

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Yes! She is trying to minor in writing at Johns Hopkins, but it has been quite challenging with her schedule. She has also enjoyed taking part in the musical theater program there! She is slowly starting to acclimate.

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my daughter has a premed roomate - as much as she loves the music good to meet other people and talk about other things

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Late to this game, but when we were doing our research, we really mined a lot of good information from threads just like this, so I’ll pile on as much context and data as I can for future student musicians. If it strains relevance, then I guess just ignore it. Maybe being late affords me the ability to address a lot of strings of thought from above.

Daughter- Vocal Performance/Classical Voice/Opera

Public School. Private Lessons, but through someone associated with the school. I’m pretty confident he is not well known along the northeastern corridor. Or known at all for that matter. All of this is to say my daughter does not have an esteemed HS pedigree.

She attended Interlochen Vocal Intensive and Michigan SMTD Vocal Intensive (Solo Track) over the summer before her Senior Year. Padding the stats.

She wanted the “Conservatory in a Larger University” setting. As someone mentioned above, she wanted/needs the opportunity to interact with the “General Population” of the school. She also prioritized the “Limestone and Ivy” pastoral campus experience. To each their own…that is Her’s. She wants a dual degree.

Weighted 4.1 GPA. 1320 SAT. 2 AP’s (Music Theory and Psychology)

I don’t have the spreadsheet in front of me, but the numbers and my memory are all pretty accurate.

IU/ Jacobs- Live consult, passed prescreen, live audition. Accepted. In-State. I can’t remember the exact figure, but I think the COA is around $10k.

University of Michigan SMTD- Live consult, passed prescreen, live audition. Accepted. No merit (I can remember “zero”). Zero on appeal.

NYU Steinhardt- Zoom consult, in-person visit in the Fall, passed prescreen, live audition. Accepted. No merit. No appeal. She knew walking off campus it was not going to be a good fit for her.

Northwestern- Live consult, additional campus visit, passed prescreen, live audition. Not accepted. We discussed this is where “The balloon of her talent” may meet “the tether of her academic record”. That may have been the case. She may have just not passed the audition. I’d give my left thumb to see her file though so I could know!

Juilliard- This violated all the criteria she laid out for a school, but she wanted to give it a shot. She’s been to the Met and the Beaumont and the magic of Lincoln Center just never wore off. Shoot your shot kid! Zoom consult, additional campus visit, passed prescreen, live audition. Not accepted. I gotta tell you though, it was a really cool day. Even for the old Dad.

So that was our list. I guess it was short in comparison to a lot of others that I see.

In the end it came down to IU, Michigan, and NYU.

I told her I would lead the appeal process. I know opinions vary on that. We do not qualify for need-based aid though at any of the institutions.

Again, she said to not put my energies into NYU. I complied.

Michigan kept pounding the idea of “Merit Based- Need Informed”. They were incredibly(!) great to work with. First-name exchanges. Very candid. I’ll paraphrase the summary of our exchange to “it’s a bad time to be asking for money in higher education’s current environment when you don’t qualify for it to begin with.” Which was a fair point. Maybe her “merit” element didn’t rise to the request either, although they didn’t indicate that. Maybe her dad’s ego is blind to the possibility.

We did not appeal IU. It was generous and our in-state status made it very appealing before we even received the offer.

Ultimately, we all sat down and did a plus/minus on both programs. I told her we could make both work, whichever way she decided. We slept well on the confidence that whichever she chose, she earned a position where there would not be a bad decision. And here is where I go off-topic.

On the evening she decided, she was driving home and told us that about a mile away decided “Michigan”. But in that final mile, post-decision, all she could think about was what she would be walking away from at IU. Overwhelmingly-primarily- her studio professor. And she changed her mind to “Indiana” before she got into the garage and never looked back. And that is the biggest piece of advice I’d give anyone who finds this post of mine. For all the brick-and-mortar campus analysis, and program research, and the endless number crunching, and online opinion lists…your success is all going to come down to you and that one other person and the time you will spend in a room together over four years. Put THAT right at the top of every list you make through this thing, statistics and advice and rankings be damned.

So there you go. We were very late to the process, and this website was invaluable. Go back over previous classes. Reach out to the parents who post. They have always been so kind and eager to help me when I’ve needed it. I was a blind man in a dark closet looking for a black cat through this whole thing, and these threads got me through it.

Now you know ONE experience, and the background of the kid who had it. I hope the information helps someone else as much as piecing together others’ did for me. Incredibly long-winded. Consider it a time capsule!

This officially marks the end of my college audition experience. See you all at the Met in 10 years or so.

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Late on this one, but wanted to comment. This is a very valuable post, looking back now with the lens of backward vision. There is no magic formula with music, that I have learned, but there are elements that are common to ‘making it’, whether it is getting into a music program, or grad school/ADs, whatever. The student to be has to love music, because it takes a lot to get through the hard times, the craziness of figuring out where to go, who to study with and because there is no one path , within a discipline or across them (a vocal student is a very different thing than an instrumentalist, for a number of reasons, violin is very different than a wind player).

Another factor is support, in the many forms that takes. Financially, helping find resources, holding them up when the kid struggles with things, believing in them and tamping down the ‘geez, music is impossible, the kid is crazy’ feelings that can come up (that doesn’t mean as a parent you shouldn’t be realistic, that has to be part of the equation, there are times you will have to say no, times when you may have to get them to realize their dream may not be achievable .

And welcome to the club, even when you are around people who have experienced music, who know that world, it is stilll in many ways flying in the dark because things change, and so much is subjective. One analogy I used was being on one of those amusement park rides they used to have where you are in the dark and the ride throws you this way and that….

Even the teacher is a mystery. That teacher who had been a great performer? Might be a dud as a teacher, at least for your kid. Teaching in this crazy world is very much a personal fit, master/apprentice or as one person put it, therapist and client. It is one of those things you may have to search around, try different people, before it clicks. It is harder in some places (the reason the northeast or the west coast might seem to do better is simply because there is a larger pool of teachers to choose from then another area might have).

Anyway, congrats, Jacobs is a great music school and your D should like that it is truly at a college in a prototypical college town:)

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