Hi I am chiming in here specifically because your question addressed some specific schools. My d is attending Michigan and was waitlisted at Carnegie as well as gaining acceptance or being waitlisted at all programs she applied to. I feel braggy saying that…but I I am trying to be honest and also we have tried to figure out why she did so well. She is a musician - she has played piano since the age of 7 and took AP Music her junior year. At Michigan they did not ask her to play but they did have her sing and match pitch. Carnegie also did not ask her to play but asked her about her playing ability. (They actually spent a long time with her on accents…). The one school she did play and accompany herself for was RCS. I think that her ability to do this was really important and strengthened her candidacy. The other thing I would say is that she can sing both classically and has a mean broadway belt and she made her sure her vocal cuts showed this off. I have read on here that some people say that kids who get into these schools are already ready for broadway and don’t really need to go to school. While it is true that several people in her class have already been on broadway and have agents etc. my girl really should go to school and get more training ( at least that is what I think…). They actually are all amazing in some way but they are all also just kids - I can’t wait to see what they all do down the road!