There is definitely an opportunity there! We traveled with my son’s guitar and amp. I even got a special Pelican case for his amp so that it could be safe being under the plane. Definitely a hassle.
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I thought I would share a resource that might help for musicians on this thread traveling to professional auditions, either grads who would benefit now or HS kids who may benefit later.
The Sphinx Organization is an audition based program that provides financial assistance to promote artistic development for under represented musicians. This includes funding for professional auditions, also many other opportunities such as admission and funding for various festivals and competitions.
I do not know the requirement which needs to be met for “under represented” status. And the applicant needs to submit a recorded audition for consideration.
I am sure there are other organizations out there to assist young professionals. Because indeed the professional audition tour is expensive as well. Any support is so appreciated!
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Just got word from Michigan State that he’s in for music!!! That was a super quick turnaround.
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I love that they shared the admission rate from auditions. A wondering I have had is if admission rates are calculated from all who applied, or from all who auditioned after prescreen. For example, is my daughter counted in the admission rate for the prescreen she didn’t pass? Looking at previous years threads, it feels like most students got accepted to a majority of their schools they auditioned for, and most rejections are at the prescreen round. Does anyone know what’s true?
You must be ridiculously proud! Makes that wild travel weekend worth it!
That is definitely something I haven’t even thought about. But now you have me wondering. I know some schools have a separate admission rate for the university and a different one for the school of music. Obviously this would be different for a conservatory.
It definitely is reassuring knowing we made the travel and it ended with something positive: noe to wait on hopefully scholarship money
Admission rate is calculated based on the overall number who applied.
Programs seem to vary widely as to how many they invite to prescreens and how many are accepted from the passed prescreen pool.
Just as an example, the Curtis Vocal Performance program in some years will have upwards of 100 in person auditions for less than 10 spots.
But definitely other schools have far better odds once you have passed the prescreen.
And while it seems daunting, it seems most kids are accepted to a program that is a good fit and is (hopefully) in budget.
That’s the million-dollar question…. for me anyway. My child (VP-Classical) applied to five programs- IU/Jacobs, Mich/SMTD, NW/Bienen, NYU/Steinhardt, Juilliard. She passed all five pre-screens and we are in the throes of auditions. That is encouraging.
What’s terrifying is what if she doesn’t get into any of them? What is the rate on THAT? Aim high- fall hard.
This entire process has been educational, and overwhelming, and the time spent with my child on this has been the time of my life….but I’m going to be so happy that we will have run the gauntlet on April 1. For a novice like me, this site has been equal parts therapeutic and resourceful. I thank all of you for your insight, even if it hasn’t been specific to me.
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Sorry I haven’t been on here. That is a good sign, it means the professor is interested in her and wants to see how she meshes with his teaching style. Music teaching is very much an aprentice/master kind of thing, and match is important. Does this mean she is accepted? It is a positive sign of course, because being accepted by a teacher is the second part of the two eyed monster (the first that the audition panel said okay). That said agree with what @anotheroboemom wrote, try not to put too much weight on it. In this case, the panel could decide she isn’t qualified, the teacher after the sample lesson feels like she isn’t a fit, or if he has several students he is interested in, he liked your daughter but there was someone else he liked better. Or what sometimes happens, he thinks he has an open slot and the school tells him that his studio is full.
Again this is definitely a positive,just saying to you (and anyone) that music can be a fickle thing for a lot of reasons and try not to get too excited until the result is known. My son’s group was in a competition, they knew they played well, were one of the final three, the people running it were really enthusiastic, and ended up not winning. They found out from a member of the jury later (who was still seething) that they had won on points, but the jury rules were that the winner had to be unanimous, and they couldn’t get it because several of the judges would only take a european group as winner (and several judges as a result refused to vote for a european group), ended up with no winner and a shared 2nd prize.
That never ends as a parent. My son and his group are doing really well, but there are always disappointments and you still feel it:)
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That depends on the school. Admissions rates are based on total applications and then the number offered admission. With NEC it used to be about 35% based on this formula and it roughly matches what you just said.
It is one of the reasons Juilliard has such a low acceptance rate, because of its name it gets a lot of kids applying who likely don’t have a chance to get past the pre screen (it is like the Ivy league schools in present days with the common app,lot of kids apply who have very little chance of getting admitted), such is Juilliards name. I suspect that with Juilliard for example that it won’t be 70% getting in that passed the pre screen. I suspect that the pre screen reject rate is likely a lot more than 50%, and that of those who audition the acceptance rate won’t be anywhere near 70% past pre screen, but it of course depends on the instrument and how many are auditioning and how many slots. If you have 1 flute opening and 10 kids auditioning, the rate isn’t going to be that high obviously, might be a lot more on another instrument.
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Thank you! Yes, the increased applicants reducing acceptance rates has always made sense. I just wasn’t sure where it starts in audition programs. (Stomps feet) I just wanna know what the chances are in these super small jazz programs, for a vocalist, but (composes self) I know will just find out next month.
This was in the newsletter last spring for Peabody, explaining their drastic drop in admit rate:
With the major investment in financial aid two years ago, and this year making the DMA tuition-free through its two-year residency, the Conservatory experienced an 18% increase in applications and has admitted our most selective class of students ever for fall 2025.
These increased resources are making a Peabody education more accessible for more students than ever before, and at the same time dramatically impacting selectivity, an important measure of perceived quality. In just two years, we have gone from accepting one in two students from a highly qualified pool, to accepting one in four, moving from an admit rate of 48% to 37% for the current academic year, and now 27% for the fall 2025 undergraduate class. At the Doctoral level we moved from accepting 27% of applicants last year, to this year 7%, or less than one in ten applicants.
A significantly rising yield rate and overall higher audition scores reflect Peabody’s increased standing in a competitive landscape and our success in attracting and admitting the most talented student artists.
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Daughter had a lesson last week with prospective teacher who was encouraging but let her know there were only 2 spots in their studio for the Fall. She already knows another teacher at another school is in the same position. A bit daunting.
And there is all the second guessing- should she have had a lesson with another studio? How do you know or find out numner of openings? From my limited knowledge, it’s bad form to take lessons from more than one faculty? It seems like some schools, pick a class, then divvy up the students among studios (Juilliard?) while some are very much a studios particular interest and space? All in the hands of my daughter and very capable teachers, but it is a tough system. Ack.
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Is she able to select a backup teacher? I know some schools gave my son multiple options granted given he’s Jazz Guitar usually there is only one teacher to even pick so there really was no choice.
Who is traveling this weekend and to where???
We are off to Denton, Texas for UNT 
Best of luck to everyone!!!
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NYC and Chicago (Evanston). There go all my points!!!
The travelogues are some of the best parts of this site!
Good luck everyone! It’s a rough game. Here’s to hoping everyone ends up exactly where they want to be.
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Best of luck! Great list. Just passing prescreens at all those schools is a HUGE step. If you have campus/program/audition questions about Jacobs feel free to reach out. I have one daughter (soprano) who did both her undergrad and grad there and another daughter (mezzo) who is a sophomore there now.
This was me 5 years ago so I feel your angst. I don’t know if this advice will help but this is what my son told me at the time. “Mom, stop thinking about the numbers and odds. All I can control is how I audition and the choices I make with my teacher. The odds don’t matter and the right spot will be there.”
Now I am sure this mantra was guided by his teacher, but my 17 year old took it to heart. And he and his teacher were absolutely right.
Regarding lessons with more than 1 teacher at the same school, there is no hard and fast rule. Sometimes your musician’s private teacher will know if this is advisable or not. There are certainly some big faculty personalities and at times drama. But personally I don’t think an applicant will be sentenced to violin purgatory if they don’t know this. Again, let her teachers guide.
Also know that in some studios, the number of openings is “soft” meaning that teachers can accept more than the number leaving if they choose to have a bigger studio. At least for my son’s instrument back when he auditioned this was true for Juilliard. So if they see an applicant they truly want to squeeze in, they have the option to do so. But again, this is not known ahead of time so is one more variable we don’t know. But at least it is a positive one.
Here is another positive thing to remember. The top candidates on each instrument will likely be accepted to several top tier programs. They can only pick one. So if a teacher says she only has 2 openings in her studio, it is quite possible that more than 2 will have the opportunity for those spots.
It is so hard to deal with the unknowns of this process. It made me feel like I had no control and therefore was always missing something we could have done better. Looking back, my kid and his teacher knew exactly what they were doing.
I’m sure that is true for all of you as well. You sound like awesome parents with talented kids!
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I don’t know about violinists but the viola professors definitely don’t mind co-teaching the same students. My son took lessons (private, studio, master class, etc.) with at least 5 viola professors before applying. They all knew each other and even suggested to him something like “for thing one go ask A or B but for thing two C can help more”. My son eventually applied to four studios and they all accepted him, fully aware of each other’s decision, and continued to teach/coach him while he is studying under only one of them. Really great teachers.
(that was three cycles ago. )
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