Such a hard space to navigate for non musicians. Thank you.
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We have a lesson set up with the teacher at Rice the day after the audition. We weren’t able to travel any sooner to see it due to distance and cost, but my son was in email contact with him before prescreens to ask about the possibility of a “during the audition days” lesson.
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OK, UCLA and MSM are gos for auditions! Only waiting on NYU and we’ll be good to go! Time to figure out west coast travel.
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What instrument?
What instrument did you see that for? No updates for mm voice 
Nothing for BME Voice
Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply that if a student hasn’t met a professor or goes to a pre-college program, that they can’t get past pre-screenings, just that a lot goes into the professor’s decision, much of it is out of anyone’s control, yet not reflecting on a students ability or worth, so kids shouldn’t get discouraged if they don’t get an audition invite. That said, I have read that if possible, it is beneficial to meet with professors ahead of time, so they get to know the student and a rapport can be developed. But on the other hand, some of my son’s teachers have frowned upon my son meeting with professors when he was younger because he wasn’t “good enough” yet. I chose to follow the other advice, which was to develop relationships early. But either may be correct, it likely depends on each individual situation. So don’t feel bad if your kid didn’t meet anyone ahead of time. At this point, if they’ve applied and are waiting on pre-screening results, I believe that it would be too late to meet them before results are decided, as most professors are not available over the holidays. But many have suggested that if invited to auditions, to try to arrange a meeting or private lesson before the audition (for many reasons). A big thing that they would look for is that the student can follow direction, so if pointers are made on the audition pieces, make sure to follow them regardless of what they’ve been taught. You kiddo can send an email to professor asking for a lesson and I would suggest adding a few lines about themselves to create a personality vs just a name on a list of students auditioning. If you live near the school, the best thing would be to meet with the professor as soon as possible, as opposed to the day before the audition, but for distant schools, that’s not really possible. And even if you can’t arrange a lesson, remember that the most important thing is the audition and how skilled your child is, so you can lean into that. And as far as the other variables go, the ones that we can’t or didn’t control, just think of them as leading your child to their perfect future…not as a label of how ‘good’ or ‘not good’ they are, because often it isn’t JUST about skill.
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oh my goodness, AND I wasn’t trying to say that if your kid didn’t come from pre-college program, they aren’t good enough, I was saying sometimes just seeing that on an application may Help gain an audition (but not pass an audition where more skill is Required vrs “well, I guess this kid might be worth seeing even though their videos are not the best”) So the whole point was that when kids don’t pass pre screens or auditions, let them know that SO many factors may be affecting that outcome (I could brainstorm 100 more), so that they don’t immediately think “I’m just not a good enough musician” or worse yet “I’m not good enough.” So sorry if I my comment came off wrong.
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It didn’t! I just wasn’t sure what the protocol is with music schools. Mine thought it made no sense to contact a teacher until he knew he passed prescreen. And he was wondering if it looks like he is trying to gain advantage if he reaches out for lesson prior to audition. It’s just understanding protocol.
I’d say overall the protocol is based on the kid’s level, instrument, and “match” for the school. It seems like a bad idea to request a trial lesson if you really don’t know your level or how you compare to others applying for that same professor. I can’t imagine how many requests for lessons some of the top professors get - no way they could actually do all of those.
However, in less popular instruments with smaller numbers of applicants overall, most of the high achievers know or at least “know of” each other, and almost all of those top people have at least some type of relationship with the professor before the prescreen whether through masterclass, festival participation, networking, or reaching out directly for a lesson. But again, this is the minority of applicants, and they’ve been playing the resume building and networking game for years.
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Just my two cents based on my son’s path 4 years ago.
Agree with your son that scheduling a lesson in the fall of application season before passing the prescreen is not generally done. Caveat is if the applicant already has some relationship with the teacher. Or sometimes if the applicant’s current teacher has a relationship with the prospective teacher. But then you are assuming you are passing the prescreen.
Absolutely ok for him to contact the teacher to request a lesson once he passed prescreen. This is not at all uncommon and not considered trying to gain an advantage. A sample lesson could be in person or remote. It can be well ahead of the audition or at the time of audition. There are some teachers who cannot accommodate lessons during the audition weekend, some won’t accommodate any lessons. Some are difficult to impossible to reach. This is not a reflection of your child or the program. They are very busy! But it is not improper for your son to ask.
Communication should always be between the student and prospective teacher. No parent zone. 
And it may help to remember that many of the applicants/families on this journey are as lost as you might feel. The schools/teachers know that everyone is navigating as best they can. They are generally understanding.
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Much great information!
I just want to add what I have observed.
Currently, my son goes to an arts/music boarding school and is surrounded by many other very serious musicians. Many of them were trying to get private lessons at every school they were applying to (and without previous introduction or private instructor introduction). Some even had lessons with three professors at some schools or numerous lessons with one professor. I had a hard time keeping up with this because we don’t have the funds to afford multiple trips to NYC or even just the $150 zoom lessons every other week. But, I’m just saying, it is not uncommon among that crowd.
And although I feel like it’s weird to get a lesson during an audition trip, it is very common. It’s not trying to “gain an advantage” . It’s more thought of as just seeing if you and the professor are a good fit. If your kiddo gets accepted to several places, it will be easier to make a decision if they’ve spent some time with the professors. Unlike academic degrees, the studio professor is going to be super involved with your child’s life/classes/college experience for the next four years, so it’s really important to not dislike them.
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Many of the programs asked for teacher preference on the application. I don’t know how you would do that if you haven’t had a trial lesson.
My daughter has visited all but one of the schools she applied to, and she has had one or more trial lessons at every school except the one she hasn’t visited (CMU). After she sent in her prescreens, one of the professors at CMU reached out to her, and they are trying to set up a trial lesson after Christmas, but she did not have a preferred teacher to put on that application.
I don’t think there is any disadvantage to doing trial lessons early. We have only paid for two lessons (one at Juilliard and one at Oberlin) out of the probably 10-12 that she has had, but they have all been absolutely invaluable at figuring out who will be the best fit. She has also had some really great lessons and taken away some technique tweaks that have helped her in her vocal development. And she’s had a couple of duds, which are also helpful. It’s kind of like dating - you don’t always know what you DON’T want in a teacher until you have a lesson that just doesn’t work for whatever reason. And finding a teacher that you really click with can be an advantage when it comes to auditions because they will sometimes go to bat to get more $$ or even an admission when one might not otherwise be offered.
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I’m curious, too, about which instrument this is for. No Juilliard update for BM voice. But it’s good to know that some are starting to see updates.
Yes, my DD at IU absolutely loves it there!! Jacobs is world renown and many international students study there becauae it has a great reputation.
My DD just heard from San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She got the go ahead for in person audition! So far she will audition at Jacobs, BU, and San Francisco Conservatory. She still needs to hear from Peabody (no pre-screening), CIM, and Eastman. Anyone know anything about these remaining 3 schools, as in when do they send out notification?
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Just another persepctive. My son went to an Arts magnet during high school. He did many summer college intensives and met potential professors on his instrument. Funny enough the professor that was MOST interested in him after auditions was one of the few he never met, from a school he never visited or did a summer intensive at…so there is that too. This professor reached out multiple times to discuss my son’s “thoughts” and potential financials. It’s a hard process for us sometimes even more than the kids. Hope to ease your nerves!
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We haven’t heard from CIM yet either and no change in their portal info.
In case others are booking flights with large or large-ish instruments, you may want to avoid smaller aircraft to be able to bring, say, a tenor saxophone as a carryon item. Some good specifics here: https://bandworld.org/magazine/index.php/the-working-saxophonist-how-to-travel-with-a-saxophone/
Many flights into and out of Detroit are on those planes (examples in that blog post: Canadair Regional Jet 200 (CRJ), 700 (CR7), 900 (CR9), Embraer 145 (ERJ), 170 (E70), and 175 (E75))
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Good morning! My son’s friend got rejected yesterday from Northwestern (classical bass). Has anyone else heard from there? Also Oberlin?