Financing grad school for MM in performance

bridgenail
Tue, 22 Oct 2019 14:47:29 +0000

Yes, the post above was my point too. This was common point of discussion amongst my D’s peers and with her teacher.

I was not saying accepted students are not talented. In fact, my D only accepted at a less selective school bc she DID get acceptances at top schools. So she knew that she was competitive in that pool.

But then the decision becomes more nuanced than simply talented or not talented, selective or non-selective, scholarship or not. It becomes about money and what you want to accomplish in grad school and where. And any answer here is simply up to the student and their family.

My comment was to point out that when you are in a talented pool, there still may be winners and losers (unfortunately). This is particularly true in opera where the supply of talent is much higher than the demand. Not all talented young people at conservatories go on to be successful in the opera world (so avoid debt if possible). When you leave a grad program for opera, you want to have at very least one principal role under your belt. If you go to a selective program WITHOUT any assistance you may not be given a principal role. I have seen and experienced this with my D at a less selective program where promises were made about roles/opportunities/money. If you get none of that, it may still work out. However if you are going to pay $70,000 at a conservatory with no guarantees (even soft ones like a small scholarship or enthusiastic teacher)…and the full tuition person will definitely get roles…that can be a real problem. Sure the conservatory name and experience will mean something…but without roles on your resume, it can be a tough transition to the professional world (and then add debt to that - how do you compete against the person who got a full ride and 3 principal roles!). Of course some students make it regardless…so it really is up to the student and what they believe will work best for them. Still…this is a common discussion in the VP grad school world.