They are, or so they told my son when he was the applicant two years ago. During the negotiation process, the communications with each school were three-way between my son, the studio professor, and the grant/scholarship office. The professors surely were excited.
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I agree! Same experience for my son 2 years ago
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S enjoyed the NYU audition too. But going up against a YoungArts/NYO winner would be a little intimidating for anyone, and he felt a few nerves. He also liked seeing students from other programs that he participated in. Best of luck to all!
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Maybe this has been said before, but can anyone explain the process by which the professors decide who they choose to study in their studio? I know some schools ask the student to list who they want to study with…some don’t. I know some students have trial lessons, but sometimes the professor may not think they will be a good fit afterall and visa-versa.
My D had an interesting lesson during this audition process and the professor mentioned another faculty professor a couple times to see if she had reached out to this professor. She had but did not get a response, so she figured he was not interested. Well the professor she was having a lesson with suggested she try again and that he may respond to her. This lesson and conversation occured on the same day and after her audition where all faculty professors were present. emphasized text
I can’t speak for music professors but I think the logic may be similar.
I teach programming in high school. when I recruit students to the programming club, I mainly look for two kinds - those who have the potential to win or place well at competitions, and those I can help to make great progress (competition or not, they respond to my teaching style quite well). If there’s room, I would include one who works well with everyone, and one who can help me keep track of things.
This year I suggested one student who signed up for my club to join the math club instead, because he would be the best there, and that teacher would be a better mentor for him than I could. I’m also “fighting” the eSports club sponsor teacher over two students. They are the strongest in both clubs; however, there’s more they can learn from me while in eSports club they already peaked. There’s another student who is the best in the cybersecurity club but comes to our practice sometimes to polish his coding skills, and we pick his brain too.
I forgot to add, do the professors discuss about the student right after the audition in the room and possibly decide right then and there if the student gets in and who the student will study with?
I’ve heard mid-March (friend at her son’s audition was told March 15 and at one of the virtual sessions they said mid-March). Website says by April 1st. My son was admitted EA but we’re waiting on merit/scholarships which are supposed to get released with RD.
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Probably depends on school and instrument. My son is applying as a tuba performance major, and a couple of professors told him immediately that he’d be offered admission to their studios (he’d already been accepted academically). At several schools, the auditions were scheduled pretty tightly, so there was no time for the professors to tell him anything. At one school he auditioned in front of the entire brass department and the next auditioner walked in as he walked out. In situations where there were multiple professors in the interview, I’m guessing they took notes and discussed everyone at the end of the day.
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There were 4 professors there. She had a trial lesson with one of the professors there after her audition at the end of the day. That professor asked her if she had tried to reach out to any of the other professors there and she said she had tried to reach out to one but never heard back. The the professor mentioned to her about reaching out said professor again. That subject came up a few times in her lesson. Wondering if said professor is choosing her in the studio…It just seemed strange according to my daughter. Probably too much to read into.
I have heard that at larger well-known schools, professors in some studios are just slammed with sample lesson requests. They can’t possibly reply to them all so some just don’t–until they know that a student is serious about attending and in real contention for admittance. I am guessing your daughter’s audition went well and this professor knows that the other professor would now be likely to respond. Did she feel good about her audition?
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It’s getting to be decision time and it’s even more stressful than the application process. The current conundrum is:
OPTION 1
prestigious school in a nice city with a beautiful campus and vibrant student life to study your second choice major for 80K+ per year (would need to take out loans)
OPTION 2
university in your home town with a crappy campus to study your first choice major for free with a Grammy award winning professor you already have a great relationship with?
I guess the question is, as a musician, is it worth the money just to be able to say you went to a competitive school? Or, is it more about who you studied with and avoiding debt?
We dealt with this. The deal is some schools have only $x for large music scholarships. There are multiple professors who want those scholarships to go to their studio students. So if they think the student will come they will put themselves on a limb to get that money to the student. The profs try to figure out who will matriculate because if the student does not come, no money is paid out that year for that scholarship. This way the profs have incentives to think about the long term program and there is less politics about a given studio always getting money at the expense of others.
It is very helpful if you can narrow to two. We did that and told them both.
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The shiny little object is not always the best option. Sounds like you have a really good fit (Music-wise) with Option 2. I would recommend staying out of debt.
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I don’t know what the answer is, but there is something to changing teachers. I think mine has gotten out all he could from his current teacher. It’s time for a change. Am I reading correctly that the home option will be with the same teacher your child has been already studying with?
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Yes, but only since November. My S sought him out for help with audition prep and they hit it off. He has another teacher that he has definitely grown out of.
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@AOBuffalo is there a possible Option 3?! I don’t feel I have enough information to comment, but from what I can see from your post: wouldn’t it be better to study the first choice major ? Is the major (first choice and second) an instrument, composition, production, contemporary music, jazz?
And as a veteran music parent whose kid got a doctorate and is working in the field, I would recommend against loans. I have seen the consequences (not us).
Maybe one option would be to start with option #2 and transfer-? I have the same question: is this the same teacher your kid has been studying with? What type of Grammy by the way?
What does your son want to do?
Just my opinion, but for a Music Performance student, I would say priorities are the best teacher (for your student) in a stable environment with opportunities on campus and off and avoidance of debt.
In our geographical area, some of the absolute best programs for jazz with amazing success for their students are community colleges/state universities.
But kids and parents have different priorities which are all valid and important. Is your son excited about one more than the other?
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It’s hard to give advice without knowing all the details of your son’s situation (not suggesting you disclose that on a public forum!), but from the perspective of making a career as a jazz musician, I think the two highest priorities are (1) going to a school where you can continue to develop as a musician and retain your love of the music and (2) graduating with as little debt as possible. Prestige of school may have some advantages, but would be further down the list in my mind, as would beauty of campus. So from what you’ve told us, I would view option 2 as the clear choice. Particularly if option 2 is Purchase, which has a fantastic jazz faculty, access to the NYC jazz scene, and more than enough prestige in the jazz world.
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Thank you everyone. This is really helpful and reaffirms my gut instinct. He is a jazz pianist/electronic musician. Option 1 would be more electronic focused (BFA) and Option 2 more jazz focused (BM). (It’s not Purchase.) I guess it just feels anticlimactic after such a grueling application process, but I do think he would thrive musically with that teacher. Maybe he can do summer and study abroad programs to make up for not being able to go away- especially since we won’t be broke.
Best of luck to you all as the decisions start to roll in!
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I’m a little late to the game. And, you have already thought of a good solution (summer programs). I’ll just give you a few thoughts from further down the road (my D is 32 and a working performer).
1.) If you are still considering debt, be sure to sit with your kid and show them the monthly cost for servicing that debt. You can also show them them a typical monthly living cost. When I showed my D the cost of debt along side the monthly living costs, she decided on no debt, if possible.
2.) While a college experience does seem REALLY important (and is), it is really the end of the education line. It is NOT the beginning of a professional career. If you think it is stressful now, just wait for 4 years later! My D used to thank me a few times a year right after college for discouraging debt. I was definitely unpopular during her junior and senior year. But when she could build her career with NO debt in her 20s, it really was a competitive advantage. What may be anti-climatic now, may be a gift later. I don’t think that you could talk with any musician or parent of a musician who would say otherwise. It is NOT an easy career path. No (or low) debt will give your kid a fighting chance (more so then the name of the school).
3.) Consider spending money on summer programs. This will give your kid a chance to rub shoulders with kids from a variety of schools and make sure that they are making progress. It can give them a lot of confidence in their skills.
4.) Right after school, my D’s UG school mattered a little…but not a lot. The alumni network was nice. Still it didn’t make a difference in her success. Now it no longer matters as she has built her professional network.
5.) My D went to a less competitive graduate program to get near full tuition. It was a risk…and there were some other reasons for the decision besides money. And yes, it felt anti-climatic…except to the extent that we did not need to worry about money! She was determined to take advantage of everything at the school…and in the city. It worked out for her. Having no debt gave her a lot of flexibility in gigging and not worrying about money (too much).
Good luck. Having an affordable music school available to your kid is a GIFT. I hope that you and your kid can get excited for the opportunity and make the most of it. Sometimes that attitude in itself will be helpful in the future.
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