Admitted to Mannes but...

bridgenail
Mon, 02 Apr 2018 17:15:30 +0000

For @bouyant - Hopefully @“Mezzo’sMama” will see your comment today. I’ll make a few comments as I have some experience in this.

@buffbuff - your D doesn’t have to go this year. That’s the good thing about an MM, it’s not like UG where everyone expects you to go. My D was going to take a gap year or two if she couldn’t get an offer that worked.

My D had a few friends in her UG program receive ONE offer only…at their current school (it had a UG and grad program). They had no rejections for UG and only ONE acceptance for grad. Since she was at a school with a grad program no one was shut out…but I have heard of that in the first time around. Note that for grad school, the field may not be level as schools may make room for their current UG students who could be of equal or even slightly lesser talent…but still good enough for the school. Note my D had several friends receive multiple offers too.

One reason to wait is your voice continues to grow so you will be more competitive (as long as you keep up your voice studies). A 25 year old will be more competitive than a 22 year old…meaning they may get more acceptances and more money. There are a lot of older students in grad programs. In UG, you are competing against 17 and 18 year olds…in grad school you may be competing for a spot against a 24, 26 and 28 year old.

Also some take a gap year to work to save money. Many do basic performance experience (church singing, light concert singing) and then return when they are more assured of principal roles. They want to be sure to get some bang for their buck…and don’t end up in chorus roles only. They want a principal role on their resume…my D was very focused on this. She saw students enter grad programs and never get a principal role.

Despite many good reasons to wait, my D had concerns about returning to college after a year or two off. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be a 25 year old student. Also it’s easy to say you can move somewhere and get a teacher (she did have a teacher in NY that would take her into her studio…but I was wondering how she was going to find a job, pay her rent and pay for that - I would help but…it seems like a lot of work and expense!) My D did not want to stay at her UG school area, work in a T shirt shop and sing with her teacher. So she went for it.

The last reason that students wait is…it can be difficult to prepare and audition in senior year with performances (particularly a good role) and recitals etc. My D became a part-time student and worked with the school to lighten her ensemble requirements that semester. She had a role in the fall show to free her up.

@bouyant, imho, your D seems to be in a great position. She has the access to all the resources to continue her growth. Getting a year older will only benefit her.

@buffbuff - good luck in appealing to Mannes…and if it doesn’t work with that or WL, a gap year is very common.