Bard results released yesterday!
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@Medea1 we never knew whether anyone listened to my kid’s recordings in the supplement. My kid is a composer. Kid asked schools if they should cue a certain part of the recording and the top choice school responded with “your best three minutes.”
Others on here may have posted that faculty or a dept. chair listened but I firmly believe the music resume and music letters of recommendation made that unnecessary (this was an Ivy). So the fact that noone has listened isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Admissions using a supplement is very different from audition-based admissions so I would not make any assumptions!
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anyone have any insight to the Florida State audition day? What to expect? My son has his in a week.
D just got a $10,000 music scholarship from Uni of Puget Sound and an $18,000 alumni scholarship. Total COA is around $80k so while very generous it’s still far out of budget unless they offer a financial aid grant to bring it closer to her other offer from Susquehanna COA $31,000. She still has 2 more schools to audition for in the next few weeks so we definitely won’t have the full picture to compare for a while still.
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As to the in-person versus live, in-person is better but if you live far away(300 miles, for example) some schools will allow for virtual. My kid is partially deciding where to put in transfer applications based upon if live auditions are necessary as it is hard to travel during college semester when one is a performance major with many performances.
Does anyone have any experience with McGill financing as a (bilingua)l American. Are there scholarships for internationals? I don’t know how they do such things in Canada since the prices are so much lower for Canadians. I know at most places there is usually less money for transfers, but they need they would be committing the support for fewer years…
My kid got a small scholarship from McGill (he ended up NOT going there) - around $2K. The school itself was so much cheaper than any US school that there was less need for financial assistance. At the time he applied international student fees were around $22K. (6 years ago)
Hmmm. The way I read the website fees for an American are 36k without housing.
It could have gone up since 2019…wouldn’t surprise me. Maybe scholarships have gone up too??
My DD went to McGill for her undergrad VP degree. You are able to apply for financial aid- it is a recognized institution for the FAFSA.
She had a wonderful experience there. Prices have gone up in the past couple of years due to changes in Montreal and their financing of public schools.
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Also, the $36K is CAD not USD - with today’s exchange rate that is around $25K USD.
Oh, yes! I forgot the exchange rates had shifted.
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Peabody sent audition times this morning. DD was lucky hers is in the afternoon.
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Has anyone heard from SUNY Purchase yet/know when to expect audition invites or regrets? My son still hasn’t heard from them
Haven’t heard yet… they’re in the middle of putting the combos together. The students are meeting on Thursday to put THEMSELVES together in combos. Professor Birnbaum is trying something new this semester. They do this at New School, but there they have so many jazz students that it sometimes becomes a little bit of a thing and the faculty ends up assembling around 30-40 percent of the combos.
As soon as S gets a time/nod, I’ll post it.
congratulations! what instrument?
Academic vs artistic acceptances- love to hear any insights. There was discussion here about U Mich, and the consensus seemed to be that if one passed prescreen and was invited to audition, they could feel that the academic bar had been passed and it was up to the artistic audition at that point.
But at two other schools, BU and NYU, my student doesn’t have a prescreen. So will be flying cross country to attend auditions and I was wondering, does anyone have insight on how that plays out at this point. With no prescreen, is it a decision where each department (music and academic admissions) will then weigh in after audition? Thought I’d see if anyone had insights!! They don’t publish any hard facts about academic acceptance requirements, required scores, etc, but they both have huge applicant pools. So it’s double nerves for mom here, over the academic and artistic competitiveness!
Would love to know if anyone has knowledge on this scenario!
At BU passing the prescreen doesn’t mean academics has given a thumbs up. My spouse listens to prescreens for his instrument and passes through the kids he wants to hear live in February (doesn’t see the kids’ applications /transcripts /etc). Over the years there have been a couple of students he voted for in the live audition that he found out got rejected from the university due to the academic side (and he was very disappointed). We have two kids that will soon be applying to colleges and auditioning as well; and we are dreading the uncertainty of these situations. All the best to your kiddo.
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Viola undergraduate
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After reading some very concerning things about Bard College, we are considering not going to the live audition. Anyone have information regarding these concerns:
(1) The school brushed a sexually misconduct music teacher under the rug for the sake of the school’s reputation
(2) They give very little merit based scholarship
(3) The student body has a reputation for partying and doing drugs regularly. (And yes, I am aware this is a general problem with most schools, but it seems like at Bard it is abnormally high
(4) It can feel very isolating due to it neing a very remote college
(5) I read a few comments that state the overall vibe of the school is pretty depressing
(6) They have over enrolled to make up financial deficits and this is causing a host of issues with classes, housing, etc
Let me know if you have any knowledge of these concerns.
I have to speak up because this misinformation should not stand without a reply.
My son went to Bard (although many years ago now) and it was an extraordinary experience. He could have gone anywhere (truly) - and he made the right choice. It has influenced the trajectory of his life after - both personally and professionally. It was the ideal environment for him - but he was very self-directed and engaged. For students who need a lot of handholding and outside structure, who are not inherently interested in studying and reading - it might not be as good a fit.
(1) The school brushed a sexually misconduct music teacher under the rug for the sake of the school’s reputation - I don’t know the veracity of this claim. But if you’re going to write schools off for music teachers behaving inappropriately in the past - you’re going to have a short list to apply to. Forget Juilliard, Curtis, and CIM, for instance. Schools are constantly struggling to improve in this regard - it is particularly difficult with music because of the one on one relationships between the music student and their professors.
(2) They give very little merit based scholarship. Bard Conservatory gives up to full rides and always has. The conservatory is very generous. Bard College is need based, the Conservatory is merit based.
(3) The student body has a reputation for partying and doing drugs regularly. (And yes, I am aware this is a general problem with most schools, but it seems like at Bard it is abnormally high.
Yes, there have always been drugs at Bard, and alcohol, as well. But not more than most schools - particularly those with an artistic intellectual student body. What there is, is more cigarette smoking from the NYC hipsters! There is no problem at all for students who are not interested in partaking in any of it.
(4) It can feel very isolating due to it neing a very remote college
It is like being at an artist’s retreat, or phenomenal summer program - but with easy, and regular access to New York City. My son loved being able to go into the city for concerts, which he did often, and also loved being able to go back to the beautiful Hudson Valley to study and compose. The isolation also helps nurture a community - since students are on campus for much of the time. (Some music students may go into NYC once a week for lessons - depending on the teacher.)
(5) I read a few comments that state the overall vibe of the school is pretty depressing
The school has its shared of introverted intellectuals. And it has a long winter - winter itself can be depressing. Winter was the one thing my California son did not like about the East Coast in general.
(6) They have over enrolled to make up financial deficits and this is causing a host of issues with classes, housing, etc
No idea about this one. There is always housing - almost all students live on campus at least until their fourth or fifth year. To get into the academic classes, one generally petitions the professors in advance - to make one’s case why you want to be in the class. Which guarantees an engaged student body, for the most part.
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