<p>My son will be a junior this fall. He currently attends a well-known HS for the Performing and Visual Arts. Many of their graduates attend top music schools and representatives come to our school every year to attend our student showcases. He plays classical piano, but does not practice consistency. He plays well, however, and could do a good audition. He plays rock guitar. He is well-versed on Reason, Logic Pro, and other audio recording tools. His goal is to play in a rock band, but other than that he is not really sure. He does enjoy composing music for videos, and is interested in sound production and engineering.</p>
<p>His grades are on the high side, though not perfect. His PSAT projected a pretty good SAT score. He is ADHD and manages well with medication, but is quite immature for his age. I’m afraid a large college would overwhelm him. </p>
<p>Here is the first question:</p>
<p>He has his heart set on attending college in California, where his father lives. When will he be able to meet residency requirements? Would taking a year off before college hurt his chances of getting in to a good school?</p>
<p>Second question:</p>
<p>Where in California are some good programs for a person with his interests?</p>
<p>I have some $$ resources to contribute, but not a lot. We will be relying heavily on grants, aid, and loans to finance this venture.</p>
<p>Please advise…he’s my one and only and I don’t really know what to expect from this process.</p>
<p>FYI - we live in the Dallas area and I am a University of North Texas alum. I am trying to get him to stay and take advantage of this bargain in our backyard. Right now, he will hear none of it. But, reality is reality…and $$ tight!</p>
<p>If you’re looking for talent-based admit programs via portfolio or audition, your type of search is atad complex, but I will try to make sense of the process, having been through it.
when you say he’s familiar with logic and reason, has he actually produced multitrack work? does he have written compositions that have been performed? Does he have any ensemble experience and a private teacher? Is his gap trending above 3.5 and will his says be in or above the 2000 range? All of these variables will to some extent be in play.</p>
<p>For ca, one option where residency won’t matter would be USC’s Thornton, which had an excellent but enormously competitive popular music program that will blend the studio technology. Other places top engineering/tech/composing (contemporary) musicians apply include Miami/frost, Indiana/Jacobs recording arts program, Belmont in Nashville, nyu’s tisvh Clive davis recording arts, university of michigans performing arts tech/engineering, etc ( there are more but those are the ones I am most familiar with – eg oberlin had Tia are program, but not sure about contemporary; berkley in Boston has everything he’d want, etc.)</p>
<p>The programs I’ve named are tough admits, from 1 in 10 to 1 in 20 propositions.</p>
<p>In your case, the benefit of USC is that as a private school the meets need, you’d likely end up not spending any more than you would on cal schools in state. So that might be your best starting point for review/visits. The other schools could potentially be more expensive depending on your efc and CSS evaluated assets ( from both parents in the case of profile). eg umich can and does give scholarships but does not meet OOS need and is expensive. Nyu is private and not known to be great with meeting need except via excessive loans. Indiana is a more cost effective OOS rate with good academic entrance scholarships. Belmont is private and not sure how well they meet need because my son was accepted early to another program.</p>
<p>I’m not personally aware of similar programs in Texas, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any, and there are a few very strong music programs ( eg UNT). I will see if my son has any suggestions. Austin is a pretty hip area for indie music, recording, and some game design industries…I am wondering if there would be good but less well-known options there. If you can help define the variables a little more, I might have more useful suggestions. Best wishes!</p>
<p>Yes, he’s produced multitrack music. It has only been performed in the school, school projects, videos, etc. Film scoring is an interest, along with Music Technology and Recording Arts. He is also a great Photographer and loves World History. </p>
<p>He has done piano ensemble work - duo only.</p>
<p>He has a private piano teacher. He learns difficult repertoire, i.e. Chopin. He loves classical music, but I don’t think he is cut out to be a performance major and that is not his interest.</p>
<p>If I am converting his gpa correctly, he looks to be right at or slightly above a 3.5. He does take AP courses. His PSAT scores convert to 1600. He will need to improve those scores.</p>
<p>He’s interested in USC and UCLA - because they are in California and those are the only schools he really knows.</p>
<p>What about some of the smaller Liberal Arts colleges in California?</p>
<p>I’m also trying to get him to take a look at CSU Northridge and Cal Poly Pomona. His dad lives in Orange County, so there is UC at Irvine. San Diego Schools are also a possibility. There’s Loyola Marymount. Just don’t know what I can expect as far as aid is concerned.</p>
<p>For residency in CA, you can find specifics on the different schools websites - but in general he will have to be declared as a dependent on his father’s taxes for 2011 and on. There are other requirements as well (I’ve only really looked into UC Berkeley & Davis for this) but one can apply for an exception to some of them as long as you can prove that his father has been a California resident and that your son is his dependent.</p>
<p>As for schools with his scores and grades - UCLA would be a super long shot. The average GPA is 4.1 and up. I don’t think they have a music technology program either.</p>
<p>CSU Northridge should be high on his list. There is a website where you can enter the programs/majors you’re looking for and it will tell you which state schools offer it. [Exploring</a> Majors](<a href=“Welcome to ASSIST”>Welcome to ASSIST) There are a number of different schools which would be an easier admit than UCLA or USC. I never think of Cal Poly for music, but there are other schools out in that area that may have a program of interest - like CSU Fullerton.</p>
<p>You might also look into some of the community colleges - in the LA area they offer some very industry specific courses for film scoring, music production, etc. For a smaller private school with strong music and film offerings - look into Chapman.</p>
<p>You could look at California Institute of the Arts, (“Cal Arts”), but it is a private school and I have no idea how generous they are with aid. Located in Valencia, California (Southern Ca.)</p>
<p>Of course you have looked at this, but just posting anyway…[Division</a> of Composition Studies](<a href=“Home | Composition”>Home | Composition)</p>
<p>I have heard some great things about the University of North Texas (know a composer who went there for grad studies) and reading about it just now, was very impressed. Your son is not interested?</p>
<p>Spirit Manager knows a lot about CA music programs and is a great resource, as are many others. So you are in the right place!</p>
<p>Great news - we did our first college tour yesterday at the University of North Texas and my son was impressed - enough to consider staying in Texas.</p>
<p>I didn’t realize just how much the tour was going to make things gel for him. He is now more motivated than ever to make his junior and senior years count and has some clear direction on what repertoire to work on for his audition. </p>
<p>And best of all…these insights did not come from his mom…</p>
<p>^Woohoo! A fiscally viable in-state option – you’ve just made your life a hundred times easier ;)</p>
<p>Your son still has a lot of time to “kick it up a notch” in terms of GPA and prep for SATs, btw. While they are tough admits, his portfolio/audition can really make a difference. And FYI, once my son found a program he loved before his junior year started, he rather suddenly started pulling off straight As for the next two years from a former “middling” approach to B+ range ;)</p>
<p>Please do keep us posted on the journey ahead, and thanks for letting us know about your ‘early victory’ of sorts ;)</p>
<p>Something for your son to consider next summer is attending Grammy Camp (which at least historically has been held at USC and run by the Dean of the Popular Music Performance program at USC) or one of the Berklee summer camps, to get exposure to a a top popular music schools and people in a condensed manner. My son is at USC and the interests your son is expressing are right up USC’s alley including a first tier film school for collaboration opportunities and great exposure to the industry and music technology that your son seems interested in. Also a first rate art school to pursue some of his photography if he chose to.</p>
<p>I understand the desire to keep him close to home and financial considerations. We are 2000 miles from USC and tuition bills are something we budget carefully for. On the other hand it is great to fully understand all of his options before making this key decision. Son misses his girlfriend dearly, his parents some we hope and isn’t really that keen on LA. But he can’t imagine being anywhere else for his program and is very happy with his development.</p>
<p>Having said all that I have heard that Norah Jones didn’t get into USC’s jazz piano program (audition panelist kicking himself a bit) and went to UNT (which she may have chosen anyway). She seems to have done pretty well. Best wishes.</p>
<p>Don’t rule out private colleges in Calif or in any state. Occidental offered enough financial package to a middle class family friend that it equaled the cost of UCLA. The UC California system is costly yet residents fail to realize that. But UCLA is outstanding if you like their large school. They have the BEST food. (Opposite of Long Beach State).</p>
<p>U of Redlands does not offer scholarships covering room and board.</p>
<p>Chapman U is in Orange county and offers a lot, check them out.</p>
<p>There are so many colleges in Southern California, good luck. Might be best to check by zip code as so many communities close together. IE: Orange - Irvine, Fullerton are close.</p>
<p>While the average weighted GPA of UCLA admits is around 4.1, for portfolio and audition-based programs (arts and music) it works COMPLETELY differently: </p>
<p>IF a student is selected by their department on the basis of audition/portfolio, then they only need to meet the MINIMUM requirements for admission academically (in state, roughly a 3.0). When you go on the arts/music tour, or call the program, they will confirm this. But note: UCLA does not offer a BM; only a BA.</p>
<p>USC’s music performance audition-based majors are also slightly different than solely-academic admits. A stellar audition can make up for slightly lesser stats, but only to a point (not quite as forgiving as UCLA - I don’t think a 3.0 would be likely to get in, even with a great audition, but an UW 3.5 with a great audition has a good shot.)</p>
<p>My son (now at Thornton, popular music, guitar) also tried to find good CA options for performance majors, and it is hard. It seemed the Cal State system has more than the UC system, particularly for jazz and guitar. </p>
<p>I second Cal Arts (private, not a Cal state school) as another great option to look at.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, you will not find rock guitar or even jazz guitar at many of the schools mentioned in this thread. But double check, in case things changed last year.</p>