I don’t think it’s jazz specifically. I think kids that have stuck and practiced music long enough to get to an advanced level stand out. I know advanced music students who’ve gotten into highly competitive schools with slightly lower stats. My teens go to a very large music school in a major metro. Plenty of strong jazz kids have a classical background as well.
In my honest opinion, I think there’s something to do with confirmation bias. Also, outliers do not define the norm.
Just because you know one person who has gotten in purely for Jazz, does not mean that this is a common theme among all Jazz musicians applying to college.
Not trying to sound overly dramatic about anything but I think this is just a funny thread and I don’t think the topic should be taken THAT seriously. @Sminitrious I hope you aren’t too upset about it HAHA!
@Suzuya yes, I am sure confirmation bias plays a role. In fact, I forgot about one kid from my school who was a solid jazz guitarist and an amazing gymnast and dancer. He had a 4.6W/4.0UW GPA, a 34 ACT, and his dad is a famous actor who went to Harvard. He is also gay and Pakistani which probably should’ve helped. Yet he got denied from Harvard, MIT, Stanford, and all of the good UCs. He ended up paying full tuition at NYU. So either he wrote really sh*tty essays or got terrible luck (which proves your point).
@Suzuya but at the same time, I have many more examples of jazz musicians getting good luck rather than bad luck if they have the grades and talent.
Well, got into my first ivy today via likely letter so maybe it’s working lol
My 2 kids have been in a number of the admitted student groups (FB and groupme) the past few classes but there have been a few schools with an unusually high number of kids who expressed interest in jazz or played jazz. By far the jazziest though was Columbia and least jazzy UChicago.
How do you all know other student’s stats and grades so well?
How is Yale’s jazz program? I play the sax, so on another note what are some awards and/or good bands to audition for to showcase your talent? I live in Albany, NY. Did you talk to jazz professors ahead of your admission at all? What are your scores like?
@piper787 How exactly did you showcase your talent? What awards/competitions or competitive bands where you in? Did you talk to the Jazz professors about your admission ahead of time?
@ccccguideg: “By far the jazziest though was Columbia and least jazzy UChicago” Can you elaborate a little?
@ccccguideg: “By far the jazziest though was Columbia and least jazzy UChicago” Can you elaborate a little?
@ccccguideg: “By far the jazziest though was Columbia and least jazzy UChicago” Can you elaborate a little?
I know this is really old; College Confidential doesn’t seem to let me PM people. Could I talk to you about the Harvard Berklee program, and how you applied and all that? I’m in the process now and I’d love some input, as not much info about it exists on the web.
@cloxaau I applied to the Harvard Berklee program and was ultimately rejected (from Harvard with a 4.0 uw GPA, 35 ACT, and national awards for jazz piano). As you probably know, it’s exteremly tough to get into and I still don’t know the exact reason why I was rejected. But you basically have to get into both schools independently and if you do, you’ll likely be accepted into the program.
To be honest, the program has somewhat of a bad rep because of the distance between Berklee and Harvard which is a long bus ride. But if you’re interested in a dual degree, I would recommend looking at Northwestern. It’s easier to get into and has a better structured program than Harvard/Berklee. I ultimately couldn’t go as I couldn’t afford the 75k a year price tag (I’m currently at USC where the dual degree is super tough to pull off).
Let me know if you have any questions. I know a good deal about the program.
Nvm
The bus ride from Harvard to Berklee is not that long, and the bus certainly hasn’t affected the reputation of the program. In fact, NEC is a little further than Berklee and that double degree program has a great reputation.
The Harvard=Berklee program is relatively new, of course. Berklee has recently merged with Boston Conservatory. It certainly is a school on the move.
Harvard has made some changes to its music curriculum to be more inclusive so if you get in, you may not even need a double degree program.