Thanks. And yes, I’ll be looking at requirements for each school since does not seem to be standard at all.
Good to know on the festivals as she plans to keep doing them. She had the best time at BUTI, finally with kids who totally get her and vice versa. Can you point me to the music admissions thread?
She does have very strong academics. 4.0 kid who tests in the 99% percentile consistently. You mentioned scholarships/honors… yes we’ll need to be applying for those. Do ACT/SAT factor into getting those? I always thought for music those were either merit or financial only.
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Yes, she’ll be applying to both. My original question was really just pertaining to conservatories. But thanks for sharing your story.
Yes, I’m aware of the difference. My question was specifically regarding conservatories, hence my wording.
I’m not assuming anything. I just know my kid 
Can’t seem to edit my original question but for anyone who wants to respond: I am well aware that there are music programs at universities (Vanderbilt/Blair, for instance.) My question regarding ACT/SAT was specifically for music conservatories. No need to educate me on the difference. Thank you!
There are similar threads for each year/cohort of applicants.
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@oretangent you are still using the term “conservatory” for freestanding conservatories which is confusing for some of us. The info you want from us is very specific: SAT’s are not important generally at freestanding conservatories and often may be important at other BM programs but check the schools.
As for courses, generally freestanding conservatories, in my experience do not have math or science but maybe 10 liberal arts classes which would probably include music history and even ethnomusicology.
As a parent of 3 now in their mid-30’s, two in the arts, one with a doctorate in music, I just wanted to say that as you apparently know, kids can change course. You are planning very early so that is why I mentioned that. I did not mean to offend and explained that if I myself had it to do over again, I would not assume anything. I knew my kids too.
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Also, is your kid looking at dual programs NEC/Harvard, Juilliard/Columbia, etc.? Test score is useful there.
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I had a high stat kid apply to music programs. He was applying for double degree programs. But for competitive scholarships and schools, yes sure absolutely those stats can matter. Particularly if you are applying to music programs housed in competitive universities. Like Northwestern and Michigan come to mind as options that kid looked at that would also value an academically well prepared student.
Each school typically has coursework required laid out on their website, they can vary a bit.
It looks like your child is still young, but when you get closer to applying, you may get the best advice if you have a budget in mind and targeting a particular instrument (since you mention both piano and violin here). How you shop might vary if you qualify for need based aid, are looking for merit aid, can be full pay, etc. Some programs are generous for many musicians, some it may depend on instrument/program, some have a lot of full pay students, etc.
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SAT or ACT are not at all important for conservatories. What we were told again and again is that as long as you can prove in some capacity that you can read and write English, you are good. The one school that did sort of ask for the SAT was Curtis, because apparently if you score OK on it they put you directly into the degree program (as opposed to just an artist program). Otherwise, you have to complete your first year before being put into the degree program. Having said that, my son submitted his score, which was in the 1500s so definitely adequately high, and still didn’t get officially put into the degree program until near the end of the first year, so apparently it really does not matter either way.
As for loads, it is what you make of it. Kids at most conservatories can just take the regular liberal arts classes, but if they want to make the effort, they can usually take more rigorous ones at local colleges. At Curtis, for example, they can take classes for free at University of Pennsylvania if they want to.
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Oberlin is test optional and has been since 2020. CMU remains test optional for the Fall 2025 applicant season.
I take them at their word that they mean it, particularly for conservatory or school of music students.
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People have pretty much answered this. With standalone conservatories (NEC, Juilliard, Curtis) SAT/ACT mean nothing basically. It can matter with music schools inside colleges (like Bard, where kids have to dual major). Basically with a stand alone conservatory it is the audition, unless you were a total space cadet in school and got F’s, grades and stats don’t mean anything. Obviously if you are talking a program like NEC/Harvard or Juilliard/Columbia , then academics will matter.
My understanding from the schools I know of if it is a music school in a university it is likely that grades and ACT/SAT will matter (again, every school is different). Obviously is someone is doing a dual degree then the academic stats are going to be important.
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I realized I didn’t talk about course load. Every school is different, but at the standalone conservatories, not surprisingly, most of the load is music related. Besides of course lessons, music ensembles, you have theory , solfege/ear training, sometimes music history/musicology. The non music stuff is pretty limited, it isnt like the core program at a standard school. I will tell you from experience with my son is that the load is pretty heavy because of the practicing involved (obviously, every instrument is different, voice I can’t really talk about). I have heard people tell me that music students don’t know what load is, they are obviously people who have never been in a music school and experienced it:)
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My S21 who goes to a conservatory for acting was told the first week of school that the work load is comparable to being on a division 1 sports team. That was absolutely correct.
Yes, whenever I hear people say this, I just have to smile. And I realize that most non musicians have no idea how much practice time and effort is involved with playing at a professional level. Really great musicians make their playing sound so effortless. So I suppose it is a compliment, but I’ve had many people seem surprised that musicians don’t just walk out on stage and the music just flows out.
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My Blair/Vanderbilt performance major has had zero required classes outside of the music school. This is because he came in with a fair amount of AP/DE credit, but not an unusual amount for a Vanderbilt student. Unlike the rest of Vanderbilt, Blair doesn’t cap AP or DE credits, so that helped, too. He’s taken 3 art history classes, because he’s doing an art history minor; absolutely everything else has been music.
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Did he transfer in DE from a CC or from a 4 yr U? I was wondering how Vanderbilt treated DE cr. I’m trying to think through dd’s 10th-12th grade yrs. We are planning on her starting DE in 10th since she is so accelerated academically. She is hoping to complete her gen eds through DE in order to open up more options in college. (She is thinking maybe more pedagogy classes.)
His were from a 4 year university, but I think they take CC classes as well; it’s evaluated on a case by case basis (save the syllabi! They want you to submit those to get courses approved). Here’s their page about it: Transfer Credit | Enrollment Bulletin | Vanderbilt University
…basically they want to see classes offered at the college, taught by college faculty, and taken primarily by full-time college students…i.e. they won’t accept dual credit classes offered at a high school.
He had more AP than DE, but it turned out to be lucky that I made him take stats DE his senior year. He took Calc AB in 11th grade, but “only” got a 4 on the exam, and they would only take a 5 for credit. That DE stats class saved him from having to take any math in college!
Well, as you see in the real world, there is the myth of the overnight success, the myth of the inately talented musician. That isn’t true in any kind of music (well, okay, I am going to leave out pop music, most of which is as synthetic as AI, it is mostly about technology and songwriters and engineers and producers, not the performers in many cases). People don’t see the hours of rehearsal, they don’t see the years of playing bars and whatnot to hone their craft. While the 10,000 hour rule may be problematic, the idea behind it isn’t:).
With music schools they look and say “huh, they don’t take X classes a semester, so must be easy”. They don’t see the practicing, they don’t see the time spent in lab orchestra or where they get together in ensembles to play, they don’t see so much. They don’t see the summer festivals that can be so important to a career, they don’t see all that. Or that music kids to navigate the future have to do a ton of research just trying to figure out out to get from A to B. They don’t see kids getting together and playing, that could turn into something bigger. And one thing I have figured out with music, is that the difference between the kids isn’t all that great, it is like in swimming where you win by a couple of hundredths of a second, the difference between the kids is that small. And the only way to bridge even that tiny gap is a lot of work (it is like ballet or sports).
It definitely doesn’t end when you leave school, that is for sure:)
In terms of what music performance programs housed within universities require…you need to check each college. My music performance major had to fulfill the core at Boston University. He did have AP credits to place out of all but the freshman required writing course as far as English was concerned. But he had to take the rest of the core requirements. This actually came out to one course per term, but he had one course for 6 terms because of his AP credits.
He did say…those were fabulous courses. For example, he took personal finance, and said it was a GREAT course and especially for freelance musicians. He also chose his core courses from a large variety of courses offered. IIRC, he took some music history course, for example, to fulfill that requirement.
Music students take a ton of one and two credit courses that actually require hours of their time a week…ensembles, lessons, chamber groups, etc. Add to that practice time, and they really have to be good time managers too.