Does a gap year between undergrad and grad studies affect admissions?

CherrySakura002
Fri, 17 Apr 2020 04:13:03 +0000

With the pandemic, my thread feels trivial as so many undergrads, such as myself, are concerned and confused as to what the next 10 years will hold. Nevertheless, I’m going to have faith and keep pursuing my degree despite the prospects of a career in the arts not being so bright right now. Also, now that we are all quarantined, I am forced to be with my thoughts more often so perhaps posting and receiving advice from experienced students and parents will bring some comfort.
In the fall, I am going to be a senior majoring in violin performance which means that grad school auditions are coming up. Unfortunately, I did not have the best undergrad experience for a music major. My violin teacher highly discouraged attending summer festivals so I never went to any despite successfully auditioning for a few, my orchestra never had the same conductor for more than a year because they did not manage to hire anyone until this month, the only chamber music experience I had was performing with a piano trio one semester, and my violin studio rarely held studio class. Additionally, I have been told by professors that I need to continue graduate studies because at a “towering” four foot eight, I was going to struggle teaching high school and middle school orchestras because conductors aren’t that short. (If there’s any short music teachers out there, please let me know! It will make me feel better!!) However, because I could not afford transferring and had my undergrad paid for by the university, I stayed put. My teacher somehow believes that I can make it to a top-tier music school such as Rice and does not recommend a gap year. However, looking back on the repertoire I covered during these past three years and my resume, I feel that I need to take a year off to build up my repertoire and perhaps attend a festival or two in the summer of next year because in the end I would love to teach violin (or music history because I have become a complete dork haha) at a university/college. Would a gap year look bad to admissions even if I take the year to improve and keep playing with my local symphony? I hope everyone is staying safe out there.