<p>Jazzmom gave you some good advice- get in to talk with your high school guidance counselor ASAP! There are schools still taking applications,and although it might not be your first choice, you have several options to weigh- you could wait a semester or even a year and go through the admissions process again while taking more lessons, you could apply to one of the schools that still have openings and take a BA in Music, either remaining at that school for 4 years or attemping to transfer to another place after a year. There are many,many, non-audition based music programs out there.
The college admissions process is arduous and time consuming and for those planning on majoring in one of the performance areas, the audition is added on top of all of that. You state that you were late in the whole process…due to “important conflicts”. Please, I certainly don’t intend to be mean, but you have to realize that every other person going through this has events and committments that they must honor also, but they have prioritized and accomplished what was needed. If you didn’t/couldn’t do that, perhaps you really do need to step back and reconsider where you are heading. A career in music isn’t a 9-5 job and will involve a lifetime of such prioritizing and scheduling, so you will have to learn the necessary skills to keep your life in order. It’s also a lifetime of “competing” against others and against a standard of excellence that constantly varies according to the needs of the employer, so to speak. Taking a year off to perfect your skills, those within music and otherwise, and perhaps to seek out and enter various competitions to become more comfortable might be a really viable option for you. Once again, I’m going to climb on my soapbox as a former teacher and pick up on your statement about your grades being “not too hot”- there are those that might say that it doesn’t matter as you want to perform and that you might not be writing research papers, and, too a certain extent, that is true. But, you still have to complete the applications, and write the essays to accompany them, so you need to be able to present yourself in the best possible light there too.I believe that the program at CUA is not a conservatory-based model, so you will have to take academic courses as well. There’s where the grades factor in…
All of the kids on these boards have been told that “they are the best- super talented- will make it to Carnegie Hall, The Met, The Newport Jazz Festival,etc”, but its a big world out there and you are not just dealing with those in your high school any more but against the best of the best.
Take a few hours to breathe deeply and ponder your choices; regroup, talk to your guidance counselor and choose the path that works best for you. Good Luck!</p>