Next steps, he wants to do a senior recital / benefit concert in August before leaving for UMich, so he’ll be busy with organizing that with piano accompaniment, selecting pieces, arranging the online donations through a secure portal, advertising, reception, coordination with the venue, and all the other details that goes along with it.
While attending a couple summer music camps after returning from the orchestra tour in late June.
I check back with College Confidential sometimes to keep my sanity and refresh my memory of the sometimes frantic deadlines over the last 9 months.
Next thing for him, which dorm will UMich assign to him and his roommate? He’s also browsing all the potential clubs at the school he might be interested in joining, so he doesn’t join one because of an aggressive recruiting effort on his first day and then find out later there were other clubs that he missed out on until it was too late.
This is amazing! My son and his quartet (formed back when they were in 8th grade) had a senior recital that they created to honor all the music teachers who have had a part of their musical journeys. It was such a beautiful way to honor them.
Hi, my son is considering applying to the BS in Sound Engineering at SMTD. Does anyone mind sharing any info and tips for application process or their student’s stats? My son has ACT score 33 (35 math) and unweighted gpa 3.75. Worried it’s out of his reach? Thanks
I have a kid that applied to Michigan with higher stats (ACT and GPA) for music. Was waitlisted and offered a spot he didn’t take.
I think for the auditioned programs, this just isn’t super predictable. I know higher stat students that were straight up rejected and students with lower stats that were accepted. When there is an audition involved, it adds another level of complexity. When my kid applied a few years ago, we were told you were pre-screened through the admissions office prior to an invite to audition. So I’d worry less if you get through the prescreen process. You still may not get an offer but that won’t hold you back.
If you are in state, you may have better odds. If you need merit money to make it work it can be harder. I get the feeling Michigan isn’t broadly generous with merit for undergrad music students though I am sure it depends on needs in a particular year. Unique programs like this tend to be popular.
GPA is usually taken in school context. Your school counselor will send more info about what the rest of the school and class looks like. So if you are at a school that does less grade inflation than others, I wouldn’t worry about that too much.
I’d consider it highly competitive and apply broadly.
Welcome. My son didn’t apply to that PAT track, but it seems like your son exceeds the minimum academic stats required for that major (3.5 GPA, 28 math ACT). I would put the effort into making sure the portfolio/resume are as strong as possible since that is what will get him past the pre-screening after they have confirmed the academic minimum has been met. And they do have very specific expectations for the resume as well - it is definitely a school you will need to customize/prepare new material for and can’t necessarily re-use items from other applications. Make sure to review all of instructions on the website carefully. If it helps, my son applied test optional and didn’t have any issues. Your son has solid stats (and a very impressive math sub-score!) so now just have him focus on the music requirements. Also, I believe the pre-screening is reviewed on a rolling basis, so there may be some advantage to submitting earlier, (but don’t worry if you don’t - my son submitted 2 days before the deadline).