Not sure if this is helpful but my son was enticed by a school offering a top spot ensemble and good money. But in the end he said he wanted to be pushed by others to become a great musician rather than being the one at the top. He is nervous about not being as good as the others going into the Fall where is committed, but feels confident knowing he will be pushed to continue to grow and is excited by the challenge. Also a professor at one school told us that he had no weight on merit, fully up to admissions, and that shouldnât be a gauge as to how much someone is wanted. If there were such few spots and he was offered one then that should be an indication that he is more than talented and wanted.
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My son is first chair all state euphonium! What high school do you kids go to? Did he do all state last year? I wonder if they know each other!
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I think it depends on future career goals. If a studentâs goal = professional orchestra and they are truly one of the best players in the country, then for some instruments, there are only a handful of teachers/schools with a track record of success, so you pretty much have to go to one of those schools or else youâre taking a big risk. If the future career goal is unknown or easier to achieve, then whatever school is cheaper and gives the student a positive college experience is best.
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We are down in Chesapeake at Grassfield High School (just moved last summer)! Iâm sure we will see you at all-state!
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Another perspective here from the mom of a current freshman who was accepted into his first choice studioâŠSemester one was GREATâŠweekly lessons with said professorâŠSemester two said professor had to drop a few underclassmen bc he had an overabundance of seniors to prepare for senior recitals but assured my son they would be back up and running in the FallâŠMy son LOVES the new professorâŠso much so he doesnt want to go back to the studio he was accepted into. He was pleasantly surprised and is now in the predicament of how to approach this awkward situation! Point isâŠyou never know!
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I think thatâs an excellent point and one that my son has mentioned multiple times. He wants to join a military band and Michigan seems to have the most people that get into military bands so that is definitely on the Pro list!
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Jason Fettig, the Director of Bands, was the conductor for the Presidentâs Own Marine Band.
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Admissions counselor told us they were going out starting the end of this week and would continue through AprilâŠso Iâm unsure if the info from the oboe friend is correct? But congratulations!! My daughter hasnât heard anything sooooo⊠fingers crossed. A bit disappointed at this point.
As for the big fish in a small pond thing, my son spent a LOT of time thinking about this when he was applying to programs and choosing between schools. He pointed out that you really have to think longterm. If you are a big fish even as a freshman, where will you be when you are a senior? Most likely you will have far outgrown the program, and you wonât have other musicians your level to collaborate with in chamber music or orchestra. Itâs definitely something to consider.
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My best friend lives in your area, but we live in the California Bay Area. I donât think weâve made friends with too many musicians from Virginia yet. 1 female violinist we met at an international music competition, a violist at a camp, and a trombonist and his family during auditions as Jacobs IU.
But those are just the ones we parents know about, since our children often have far more friends than those we are introduced to in person.
My son only knows a few tuba/sousaphone/euphonium players, mostly from Interlochen and Tanglewood.
I know it helps to know some other students, but the colleges are experts at making all students feel welcome and giving them opportunities to make friends in the first few weeks.
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@TooManyViolinists - I was just going to make this point.
You really have to be careful if he focuses too much on the short termâŠwill I be comfortable Freshman year? Kids can forget to project themselves out 4 years.
Freshman year at Michigan probably WILL be tough. Itâs good to acknowledge that. It will be competitive. He may feel uncomfortable. My D definitely felt overwhelmed when she saw the grad students at IU. That created anxiety and questions about her choice. But this is normal. He will be in good company as the Freshmen adjust. Itâs a bonding experience for many.
And, teachers are aware of this. I felt sorry for my Dâs teacher bc I know that she cried quite a few times (Iâm sure this is somewhat common). But her teacher worked to assure her of her talent and to be patience with herself. So if he or you feel like he will be âon his ownâ strugglingâŠjust remember he will see his teacher/mentor weekly and his studioâŠand his Freshman classmates ALL THE TIME. Many of his classes will be a lot of the same people.
And, the uncertainty will go away. It will get better each semester. Most upper classmen are very comfortable and have found their place. And thereâs still a lot of growth throughout the 4 years.
As stated above, the issue of going where you are comfort and a top dog right awayâŠis growth. So he may trade comfort Freshman year for disappointment with growth later on.
Remember if he is accepted, they know that he can do it. And the faculty does NOT want students to drop outâŠso there is a lot of incentive for the faculty to help shepard students through the ups and downs.
Of course, if anxiety canât be diminished over time, that may be his inner voice saying no to Michigan and thatâs OK too. Maybe he would like a more low key school so he can have more fun without all the competition. Thatâs a fine choice too.
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Oboe friend received her scholarships. A trombone player friend received an unofficial scholarship notice from professor, saxophone friend has heard nothing.
It seems stuff is rolling out slowly but surely, as is everything lol
My son is feeling better about committing to Michigan. I planned it all out while he was at school. I was prepared to give him some options for the trip. As we talked, he said he realized that he was having a hard time accepting that some of the things he likes about UGA he just wonât have at Michigan but that itâs ok and Michigan is still the better choice. He said wanted to go back bc there is a lot of stuff he wanted to go to (if we had gone on Wednesday) but it wasnât really necessary. He doesnât really see himself choosing UGA over Michigan.
Itâs not official until we receive his scholarship appeal but it feels like the decision is basically made. I am relieved!
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With all of the extra investment (both effort and emotion) that music applicants put into their college process, it is no wonder that the decision process can be challenging. These are not just schools they saw on a website, but ones where they performed, met faculty and students and got a good feel for the environment.
Good for you to not push his decision. Down the road on a rough day, you donât want to hear your kid say âYouâre the one who wanted me to go here!â 
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Thatâs exactly it! I didnât want my son to feel like we pushed him into a decision when he wasnât ready to make it himself. I didnât want him to regret not getting to go back to campus. I pushed back really hard when he said, he was OK to make sure that he really was OK not going back next week. I appreciate your post because I felt all of that.
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We are still stuck in the waiting financial aid packages from both Penn State and UDel. My son is so torn between them both. He has friends going to both, but his best friend wants to go PSU for music education also. They play different instruments so I know they would definitely make new friends. But there is part of me that thinks he would want to go to PSU to be still closer with her.
On the other hand UDel, has been actively recruiting him, past few weeks he has been getting emails from the percussion head, keeping my son in the loop of the FA headaches and seeing what my son is thinking, so he can be ready to negotiate for more money for my son. The classic phrase of go to the school that wants you sticks out for us as parents. Oh well hopefully mid April comes soon.
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We are in the same boat - waiting on merit aid from UDel for music education. My daughter is down to 2 schools and likes them both very much for different reasons and would be happy at either but she just wants to know what the bottom line is so she can make a decision as it may come down to money. Sheâs being actively recruited by both of her top schools so I agree itâs a good feeling. But she just wants to be done.
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Same here as some of you. IU vs. UMich. Gut is saying UMich. But we will not commit until we have the complete financial picture. We just feel we have to do our due diligence and make the decision with both eyes open. D canât go wrong! But waiting a week or two more to commit is torture. Both schools were generous in their offers, but âgenerousâ makes a bigger dent at IU than UMich. We had to at least ask if UMich could match IUâs CoE.
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Those are the two weâre between now too!
Although my gut is saying IU (even though I LOVE Anne Arbor!!)
Sonâs program is slightly more appealing to his interests at IU and theyâve given us more money than UMichâŠ
In the middle of appeals, but my gut is feeling JacobsâŠ
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Given the choice between IU and UMich for percussion as an undergraduate, my daughterâs teacher (who teaches at Eastman), recommended IU. My daughter is going to commit to IU. So many good things about both schools, but remember, Gramley left UMich to run the IU program. He is amazing (as are Tafoya and Bobo).
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