<p>moonstaff, welcome. Bear with me while I give you a bit of advice. From your post, you state “applying as a freshman”, so I’m assuming you’re a high school freshman. Please correct me if I err.</p>
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<p>If you intend to pursue music at a high level, wrap your mind around some very simple concepts now.</p>
<ol>
<li> Any audition based program is a crap shoot.</li>
<li> There is no such animal as a musical safety.<br></li>
<li> What makes you think that the quality of the student at Mannes is any less or more<br>
than those attending the programs at Juilliard (please note the spelling) and<br>
Manhattan? What specific aspect of the Mannes program may not serve your purpose
as well as the programs at MSM or Juilliard? They are three high quality programs, each
with its own strengths, drawbacks and nuances.</li>
<li> Who are “these people”? Have they been through the three programs? Any of them?<br>
Are they current or former faculty? Or students? Or parents of students? Do they<br>
have the credentials and experiences to evaluate the programs, an instructor, or a<br>
specific area?<br></li>
<li> Those students whose teachers or parents with experience and familiar with the
process may well be applying to all three. And most will be perfectly content and gain
tremendously from the experience at any one.</li>
<li> I doubt anyone here would assess “your chances” without evaluating your current
technique and talent level.</li>
</ol>
<p>If you do intend to pursue music at a high level, either for personal pleasure or a potential career, realize the music world is smaller than you might think. The toes you may step on today may be the ones holding a potential door open for you tomorrow, or next year. If you have any inkling of potentially pursuing music as an undergrad, take the time to read through this <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/258796-so-you-want-music-major-one-familys-experience.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/258796-so-you-want-music-major-one-familys-experience.html</a> Many of the same tenets apply to the selection and audition process of a precollege experience as well.</p>
<p>My intent is not to lecture you, but to make you aware of some fairly basic concepts, as well as the nuances of the competitive audition based process. </p>
<p>To answer some of your specific questions, repertoire should be prepared in consultation with your private instructor within the specific audition requirements of each. They know your strengths, weaknesses, your current skill level and potential. To ask such a question here has no real merit, as no one has heard you play. An assessment of whether that rep is right for you does not do you a service and may well lead you down the wrong road.</p>
<p>Some past threads dealing with auditions, experiences within the programs from those that have been through them. A good number of those posters are now in some of the top conservatory level programs in the country. I’d trust their comments to accurately reflect their experiences.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/348047-juilliard-pre-college.html?highlight=pre+college[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/348047-juilliard-pre-college.html?highlight=pre+college</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/493857-value-pre-college-music-programs.html?highlight=pre+college[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/493857-value-pre-college-music-programs.html?highlight=pre+college</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/503499-mannes-preparatory-division.html?highlight=mannes[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/503499-mannes-preparatory-division.html?highlight=mannes</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/715127-manhattan-school-music-precollege-audition.html?highlight=manhattan[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/715127-manhattan-school-music-precollege-audition.html?highlight=manhattan</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/663338-manhattan-school-music-precollege.html?highlight=manhattan[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/663338-manhattan-school-music-precollege.html?highlight=manhattan</a></p>
<p>As for recording, the current thread here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/756355-macbook-prescreening-recordings.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/756355-macbook-prescreening-recordings.html</a> has some links within to prior discussions detailing various aspects and recording techniques in producing submission quality cd’s. I don’t have the expertise to address your specific questions. Perhaps some of the more tech knowledgeable posters will reply.</p>
<p>Again, my intent was not to lecture, but to arm you with some insight and knowlege that may prove helpful. Good luck to you.</p>