<p>Thank you for that post binx. I was waiting to hear from Muziclover to get more of an understanding about the interest in schools with performance major that do not have auditions, but after reading your reply, I have a few comments.</p>
<p>I have noticed that when people post and ask about schools but do not give much information about level of musical training, etc, the responses tend to be dominated by a small number of schools, including those that are known to have the most competitive auditions. I really think it would be better to ask for more information before suggesting particular schools, unless there was a list that included programs that were of varying difficulty for admission. </p>
<p>When I read Muziclover’s post, I could think of several possible reasons for asking that question, and the first one that came to mind was as a safety school. I don’t know what is Muziclover’s performance area, but for some instruments such as piano, violin and some others I assume, there is no such thing as a true safety school if admission is dependent on an audition. </p>
<p>Among other reasons for wanting to identify no-audition performance major schools could be that for whatever reason, parents and/or student prefers that student gets BA liberal arts degree rather than BM degree. Those schools offering BA without auditions are likely to have more core curriculum requirements than a BM music program. Some people may feel more comfortable with that kind of undergraduate college education. There are many people who feel that a liberal arts education has great value in preparing a person for life, independent of ultimate vocation/career choice. </p>
<p>Also, the student may have become serious about music too late and not yet be at the level to be competitive enough for audition to have certainty of getting into an audition based program or did not know until too late what repertoire was required for prepare for auditions and it was too late to learn it all in time. Or the student may have a really broad interest in music including the academic areas such as theory, history, ethnomusicology and/or composition and still want to do performance, but just not as an intense level as a person hoping for a performance career. How many people get undergraduate majors that have nothing to do with their ultimate career choice? (Actually, many people who get BM performance degrees requiring auditions also may end up having a primary career outside of music for whatever reason). </p>
<p>Another possible scenario is a person who wants to double major in two liberal arts majors, such as BA in music and something else. </p>
<p>In Muziclover’s case, none of the reasons I propose may apply, but I just wanted to say that there are many possible reasons for Muziclover’s having asked that question, and is probably better to wait for more information before trying to convince Muziclover that the nonaudition program is a bad idea. </p>
<p>Finally, since one of the reasons a person might ask about nonaudition programs is because of not feeling competitive for a BM performance major that is audition based, I think the suggestion of Oberlin is questionable without knowing more about Muziclover. Since Oberlin’s conservatory is one of the toughest music programs in the country to get into, I am pretty sure if someone entered the College and tried later to audition and transfer into the Conservatory, the bar would be just as high as it would be for those who auditioned at the time of applying to Oberlin Conservatory and got accepted. And there might not even be room in the faculty studios. </p>
<p>And I do not mean to criticize those who mentioned Oberlin here, but I have seen situations here in which the person asking a question has already mentioned looking at schools that are not that competitive, and sure enough, someone mentions Oberlin or some other place that is extremely competitive. </p>
<p>I think the problem is that some of the people who start threads here (especially some high school students) may pose their question in a very general way or not give enough background information and because the “regulars” here want to be helpful, opinions or suggestions are offered that might have been different if the person who asked the question had described musical background and goals in more detail.</p>