Acceptance to University vs Music Program

Mom2aphysicsgeek
Tue, 27 Jan 2026 13:38:58 +0000

Temple and UDel are the 2 on your list that I quickly looked at that looked like matches. I didn’t make it past there in the list. (But I like to have a true safety…..one where they are above avg in the admissions pool, iow 75th+%.)

I’m sorry if my posts come across as negative. They certainly are not written in that tone. I am very much a realist with my kids. I have 3 dyslexics as well as a ds who is high functioning autistic with a long laundry list of comorbidities. So, my posts are truly coming from the pov of trying to be helpful. I am my kids’ harshest critic when it comes to evaluating where they fit in the applicant pool (it has worked for them bc I have been able to match them well in terms of scholarships which are a need when you have as many kids as we do. And matched well in terms of long- term success. All of them have graduated from college and graduated with honors.)

Since university admission decisions don’t necessarily come out before auditions, it could make for a lot stressful scenarios (traveling, timing/juggling dates) to only result in not being admitted. Curating a realistic list with my kids would be a priority. If they didn’t fit decently in the 50% admitted profile, I would remove it from the list, not even just in terms of admissions but in terms of not being overwhelmed on campus. I also would want them to be at their best for auditions where they are more likely to fit in.

But, like I said, I’m brutally honest. I have some super focused kids who can work hard and push themselves to master content way beyond their base knowledge (and are energized by challenges) but I also have kids who mentally shutdown when they are overwhelmed. For them, functioning at level, not pushing their limits, is a much better approach when looking at 4 yrs of a demanding schedule. My adhd kid spirals or hyper fixates when overwhelmed….balance and juggling are not his strength.

I’ll bow out of the conversation now. Best wishes to your ds. I hope you find a good fit for him, not just in admissions but where he can thrive.