How to narrow down the initial list

ImThinking
Sun, 27 Feb 2011 22:25:17 +0000

I’m a sophomore who is pretty much positive that I will pursue vocal performance during college. My family feels it is time to start thinking about what schools I’ll be visiting, auditioning for and applying to. I want to have my list under 20 or 30 by the beginning of next year. Right now, I have an extremely broad list of nearly 70 schools. Mind you, I certainly have my top five, but they are all pretty competitive, and I plan on auditioning for at least 10 schools, being a soprano and all. My list has come from numerous sources, mostly these forums, and also the Classical Singer college guide, and some other sources. I plan on going to local performing arts college fairs, and I’ll be attending the Classical Singer convention in LA during may as well, where I’ll find out more information. I know once I begin visiting schools and having sample lessons, my list will narrow, which is why I want to have a list of maybe 20 to start with before visits. I know the teacher is the most important, but how am I supposed to figure out where the best teachers are with such a big list?

I want a BM, but I’m not sure if I should keep a couple BA or non-audition programs as safeties. I know that I want to go to a conservatory or a conservatory strength program within a LAC or university. I visited some schools in CA last year, and found that I preferred smaller private schools (not as big as UC schools, iffy on USC, liked the size of Pepperdine) but I’m still intrigued by the programs at schools like UMich, and I also know that even though some universities might be big, their music programs often stay at a reasonable size, and I would spend most of my time with music students anyways. I like the city, but I would go more rural for a great program (I love Oberlin). This is the kind of thinking that lead me to such a huge list. I know that through more thorough research, I will be able to eliminate quite a few places, but I’m not really sure where to start as to narrowing down the list from here. Any suggestions or words of wisdom? I’ve been trying to search other threads, but I’ve been having difficulty finding the right ones. Links to any helpful threads would be appreciated. I’ve read most of the important ones at the top.