@willrogers thanks so much- I’ll check that out. D is very motivated to attend. She has forgone some excellent schools closer to home to be a part of that undergrad opera studio!
Also congrats @SweetStrings - my oldest also stayed local and it was the best choice for her. Sometimes the best opportunities are close to home 
@BlueYogi I’m happy to answer any questions you have. We actually had to follow up with them because we didn’t hear anything on our appeal for almost two weeks. Try calling AND emailing them.
@MomOfSingers @bridgenail @JeJeJe @momhsc2 There is a lot of wisdom in what you all have said, thank you!
@bridgenail How do we find out where the teacher’s former students have gone to for grad school? It feels rude to ask the teacher at this point in the process, and it’s not like we have a lot of options if the answer is that she has no grad students or they have not done well. But it does make me wonder.
D is getting calls and emails from the state school now asking her to commit. Anyone else getting this pressure? I thought all students had till May 1 to decide. It feels a little high pressure for the director of the voice program to be calling a 17-year-old about her decision when there is no scholarship involved. (She already wrote a nice note to them last week and said she may not be able to decide until closer to May 1, so not like she has been incommunicado).
I notice there are a lot of people on the acceptance list who still haven’t made a final decision. Curious to hear from those families about what is delaying their kids’ decisions. For us it is not wanting to commit to the least desired option until we absolutely know it’s our only option. But maybe for some people it is truly being torn between a couple of different choices. Or maybe it’s coronavirus uncertainty?
Does anyone know where I can find UNT College of Music-specific merch? Amazon and other retailers only sell general UNT merch AFAIK and the UNT CoM bookstore is closed at the moment. Now I wish I’d gotten something before when I auditioned. Maybe @GoForth ?
@NightingaleMama -Yes- my D also got calls to her personal cell (and I did also) from the head of voice at a few schools and several emails. It is a ton of pressure and my D felt guilty about letting them down. Only one even bothered to reply and wish her well, too. This was poor form, I thought.
The larger universities all told her to consider them for her MM program and were very gracious about it.
@NightgaleMama - here are a few comments/suggestions. Remember the best answers/communication are comfortable to you and your D…so please adjust anything appropriately.
Pressure to decide: This happened to my D as well. I have always worked in a sales capacity…so in my mind, these requests are a “job”, they are not “personal” (even if someone tries to do make them that way). I would guess that each year they have a calendar in April…and your D’s name keeps popping up so they do the required contact. At which point, your D does the required response…“thank you so much, still considering, it may be the end of the month”. Then hit send and forget about it. There’s really nothing more to it. Communicate clearly, take the time you need and set emotional boundaries…this is a business proposition not an engagement (no ones heart will be broken in the end). I know this is easier said than done…but it is my answer.
Request to the teacher: I understand the concern and this type of question does require some thought. I guess I would work with your D on someway of sharing her sincere interests, goals and concerns/fears honestly. For example:
I’m really interested in working with you (with maybe a special comment about the teacher and maybe the school)
I know that the school needs me to make a decision soon (acknowledging those time lines)
But I have a concern that’s making me hesitate and I’m not sure how to ask this question.
Can you share some successes of the school’s VP students (and your students in particular)? Are there competitions, summer festivals and/or noted graduate schools that students have attended?
My goal is to go to selective graduate school. I just want to feel more assured that I can get there if I attend your school.
If I could get comfortable with this, I think that I could make a decision soon.
That is the “issue” right? If not…oops! But I think at this point your D has to be brutally honest about her concerns and what’s holding her back. Engage the teacher as a problem solver.
Finally I think that students just entering college have trouble showing their vulnerabilities and fears to teachers. Teachers have heard these many times…and will address them. It will NOT be a surprise or a shock.
Recently my D had something on Instagram from her UG school. It was a bingo card where you crossed off COMMON experiences at the school…one of them was “cried in your lesson”…another was “cried in studio class” (my D crossed off both!). Assure your D that it’s OK to share her fears and concerns with the teacher…and see her response. The teacher will not think lesser of her for sharing her concerns.
@Racingfan53 Voertmans Bookstore in Denton has at least one college of music t-shirt. They are open for orders online but the store is currently closed. I would suggest calling them, or emailing to ask if they have anything right now. I did a quick look at their website and couldn’t easily find the college of music shirt I purchased there.
Otherwise, you will get shirts and college of music stuff when you get there in the fall.
Voertmans is great for textbooks when the time comes as well. Often better than Amazon or the usual textbook sources.
@SweetStrings and @BlueYogi I am just shy of 15 posts, so still can’t PM you. But would love to connect if you can PM me. S got a offer from Miami Frost yesterday but no mention of info on Canelink re scholarship. Thanks
@Jazzmom3 I’m sorry, I can’t PM yet either.
@Jazzmom3 I will PM you
Hi everyone! I hope you’re all staying safe. I have some exciting news…yesterday I committed to Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music for Opera! Go Hoosiers! Best of luck to y’all on your decisions!
@Elegie17 Congratulations!!! Very excited for you!
So excited for you @Elegie17 !
I’m bored. I’m not a “list” person and while I think some name recognition makes a difference, it’s all about FIT in the final analysis. Anyhoo, my sister, whose daughter is going through the audition process next year, sent me this “list” of 262 Music Schools Ranked. For the most part, the top 25 or so were no surprise, but there were some much lower on the list which WERE, and a few in the top 25 I had never heard about. On my son’s list of schools auditioned for, only one is ranked higher than the one he ended up with… and that happens to be our State Flagship School which he was adamant about not going to. No regrets. Anyhoo, I thought that was interesting. So, to kill some time or get away from some COVID related reading … here you go. I had fun with it. https://audioassemble.com/music-schools/ Looks like our kids pretty much have got them ALL covered in our acceptance lists… most in the top 25 . Woot Woot.
And just like that… my kid is about to work on college “stuff” already. ?
He received a letter from his clarinet professor today…Helping solidify, in my mind, anyway, that he made a good choice. Now I just hope he will get the opportunity to get there in the Fall. This online music learning is for the birds !!
Dear XXXX,
I am so happy to get this news from you. Welcome to Duquesne!
I will very much look forward to welcoming into my clarinet studio. We have some wonderful new and returning students who will be terrific classmates for you. I will look more closely into the curricula of both our music performance and technology programs, and we can be in touch this summer when it comes time for you to register. If you begin as a performance major, I will be your academic advisor, one of three hats I wear at Duquesne. (I am also Woodwind Area Coordinator.)
Regarding a summer plan of practicing, I am happy to know that you will continue lessons. I like very much the Rose 32 Etudes and the Stamitz Concerto No. 3. I would like to see you add two books to the mix: one is the Baermann Complete Method for Clarinet, Division 3. The other is the Galper Tone, Technique and Staccato. After you get these books, I would be happy to meet with you via FaceTIme or Zoom to more easily and specifically show you how I want you to work from each of these. Lastly, regarding fall ensemble audition repertoire, I will be in touch this summer and send you PDFs of what you will need to prepare.
Again, I am thrilled to know you will be coming to Duquesne in the fall. Until then, my best wishes for good health during this difficult time in our world. Please stay in touch.
All the best,
Mr. Samuels
Ron Samuels
Clarinetist Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Adjunct Professor/Area Coordinator for Woodwinds Duquesne University
Faculty ARIA International Summer Academy
Yamaha Artist
Vandoren Artist
https://www.ronsamuelsclarinet.net
ronisam@verizon.net
samuelsr@duq.edu
@NightingaleMama --we found it painful to make a choice, so we sat on this for awhile. My son was getting a lot of texts, calls, increase in merit, facetime, emails, personal cards, etc. He had prior relationships (through summer programs) with a few of the conservatories’ teachers–those were definitely the most difficult. I think the kids who are wanted, are often wanted by several programs, so… I get it. But you’re right, it makes one feel terrible when choosing one school over another.
You’d asked about delaying a choice until May 1, the deadline for most schools (though some, like Lawrence College and Conservatory, are allowing kids to take until June to make a choice). We actually were going to wait until May 1. When we were on the audition circuit, many of the current students at the schools had mentioned they had waited until May 1 to make their choice because they were struggling to choose. (We always asked current students how the audition process was and what made them choose the school they chose.) So do I think most people wait.
We were struggling between three schools. On any given day, any of these three schools would be my kid’s first choice. We started to hop onto accepted student zoom chats, all of which had current students. That’s what really helped my son to whittle things down. One school, which had my kid’s favorite teacher, had a few current students who were mispronouncing musical terms and didn’t seem as serious about music as my kid is. That school plummeted to third choice. Another school, which was at one point the third choice (because my kid didn’t like the neighborhood the school was in), skyrocketed to number one after one of these zoom calls, when my kid realized that the school’s current students were very similar in goals and training and skill level to him.
What ultimately hurried us up is when we learned that the desired teacher at his new #1 choice had a waiting list and we would not be guaranteed a spot in his studio until we committed. No regrets at all. But it was not how I expected the choice would have been made!
@MomOfSingers Zoom calls with accepted students would actually be great. How did you find out about them? (And other people whose kids are in at other schools – is this a thing at your schools too?)
My D has received many email invites to chat with other accepted students and make connections. Tufts and NEC both have been very diligent in their efforts to make incoming kids feel comfortable and have a place to get their questions answered. Maybe email admissions?
Yup. The University itself has hosted several “Accepted Students Days” per department so at those, he’s “met” the other music majors but not much interaction there since most of it came from the faculty and current students. The information for those came in an email to all accepted students as well as posted on the universities website. He attended three different ones. Also, the kid’s been “Zooming” with other accepted students. This is something that’s “officially” being hosted by the University he decided on which specifically hired their student ambassadors spearhead that effort. So on the Accepted Students FB page, there have been different sessions set up by these student ambassadors as well as various postings about student life etc where you can kinda get the vibe. Then within that FB group, the Music majors have also gotten together on there own for a zoom meet and greet kinda thing. So, LOTS of different ways.
@NightingaleMama–Every place my kid was accepted has had department (my kid is vocal) zoom calls with the dean of the vocal dept, three or four current students (most seem to be juniors), one or two of the ensemble directors (in our case, choir directors), the dean of admission, and lots of accepted students. The vocal department head starts the meeting off, talks about offerings, asks current students questions, the other faculty speak, then the call is open to Q&A from accepted students. I think this is pretty standard in the Covid-Conservatory admissions world. All of these have been email invites sent directly to my kid, or in some cases, to him and to me. I bet if you check all of your email folders, you may find a few of these. Eastman even invites accepted students to attend an array of online classes with current students (German, Music THeory VIII, Creative Writing, Alexander Technique, etc.) Oberlin had a six-week (I think) undergrad for credit class that they invited accepted students (as well as current Oberlin students) to enroll in for credit toward their diploma (all online).
Then there are a lot of what @BenniesMom1 has mentioned–opportunities for the kids to directly reach out to other accepted kids, mostly on social media. My kid was just “added” to an Eastman 2024 group, for instance. I have heard of kids even finding roommates this way (@BenniesMom1–I think you were the one who said your kid found his future roommate this way?)
If you haven’t received any of these opportunities at any of the schools your child is considering, do check her email folders AND call the department head and/or admissions office. I would be very surprised if “her” schools don’t have some of these offerings. They are so helpful. In so many ways, including getting a feel for what kind of musicians the school attracts.
@NightingaleMama - My daughter’s school has had a bunch of these virtual opportunities as well. I hope you’re able to find them for your daughter! We have found them to be so hopeful - both as she was making her decision and now as we continue to learn about the school. I think she’s sitting in on a couple of classes next week, in fact, and she’s joined the online groups (FB and Instagram) to meet people and find a roommate.
@BenniesMom1 - Thank you for the list! I am a list person - I find them to be interesting reading. But, like you, I always take them with a grain of salt. It’s just another way to find more information to add to the pile.
Anyone have exciting plans for the summer? We’re trying to figure out what we’re going to do if we end up still sheltering in place.