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Welcome

College Night for Musicians

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Our Family Journey�Will—University of Iowa�Andrea—Eastman School of Music

Ethan (WV ‘15)—Music Major

Baldwin Wallace University
Vocal Performance (Opera)
Desire to continue French Horn
Applied to 6 schools

Emma (WV ‘13)--Science

St. Olaf College
Desire to continue cello and harp
Large ensemble
Chamber music
Applied to 8 schools

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MajoringInMusic.com�Barbra Weidlein�How to start: From the Inside Out.

What are you passionate about now?
What else would you like to learn while you’re in college?
What kind of environment are you most likely to thrive in?
What opportunities are you looking for?

What kinds of support systems will be available to help you figure out how to achieve your goals?
What latitude will you have to take classes in areas that interest you now, as well as subjects you might stumble upon later, that fall outside of your required curriculum?

I was quite impressed by the Majoring In Music. Com website and I would recommend that you spend some time checking this out. The designer, Barbra Weidlein, counselor and parent of college music student suggests beginning from the Inside and working outward. (Read a couple of the questions) Now, reality…our daughter could easily tell us that she wanted to do everything—cello lessons, harp lessons, symphony orchestra, choir and she did—at least for one year—that is another story. Our son—maybe just the difference between a high school boy and girl, could not/did not put into words what he wanted to do until just before the beginning of his senior year…and that significantly changed our timeline. The one thing he was certain about was that he did not want to follow his sister to the same school.

Keypoint: get the conversation started

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The Element�How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything

“I use the term the Element to describe the place where the things we love to do and the things we are good at come together.”

--Sir Ken Robinson

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Match your Mindset

Community College

Small Liberal Arts College

(private, religious)

Large University

(state)

Rural

Suburban

Urban

Comfortable Drive

Flight

Close to Friends/Relatives

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What Type of Music School Is Right?

Conservatories

Music Colleges

Music Schools

Conservatories within Universities

University Music Departments

Liberal Arts Colleges with Music Departments

Contemporary Music Industry Programs…

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

So now that we have put some geographical parameters around our search…the next step is understanding the music school lingo. OPPORTUNITY. Each of these types of music schools presents different kinds of opportunities—few schools do everything extremely well.

A small liberal arts college with a music department may have an outstanding choral program, no marching band, and an orchestra primary made up of local community members…and that is fine. Some conservatories are linked to a university (Eastman and U of Rochester). Not only do you need to gain entrance into the conservatory with an audition, you will also need to meet the academic requirements of the university. Some conservatories/school of music have no real academic requirements.

Back to the tale of our two students: As a non-major, our daughter’s musical opportunities at a school who has a highly selective conservatory philosophy (Oberlin) would have been restricted: private lesson instructors—maybe the third or fourth teacher and a non-major orchestra. For the music performance major: often attending a large university means you are competing against graduate student with 4 or 5 years of collegiate training and experience. Attending a school that has an outstanding singular specialty may be great for the student can clearly articulate a career goal, but for those who are not sure, attending a college that does several things very well provides more opportunities to explore.

Keypoint: by design, music programs offer different opportunities—few programs do it all well

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Music Degrees�Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of (Fine) Arts,

Music Minor

Performance
Music Education
Theory
Composition
History/Musicology
Conducting

Church Music
Music Therapy
Jazz Studies
Arts Administration
Music Industry
Music Theatre
Recording Technology

You are having a conversation with your child. You have narrowed your search geographically. You have an idea of the type and size of college or university you would like to attend. You understand that every music program will have different strengths. And you passionate about a particular aspect of music.

Each year, the Instrumentalist Magazine publishes a list of music schools by state with the degree programs offered. BMusic MArts Certificate

What you need to know is that every music major and minor will have similar requirements related to their instrument. Music Theory, Ear Training, Concert Attendance, Large Ensemble, Lesson, Master Class, and of course, Practice. A Music Major schedule looks very different from other Majors; you will have more classes listed on your schedule for fewer credit hours.

Keypoint: you are getting closer to your Element

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Dual Degrees

Dual Degrees: Lawrence University and Oberlin College pride themselves on being on the forefront of offering double degrees over the course of many years.

At Lawrence’s Conservatory of Music, half the students also enroll in the BA/BM program that “allows you to immerse yourself in music and at least one other field of study at a very high level.” This 5-year program provides a strong background in both music and another area students are passionate about.

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Double Majors

Double Majors: Another option for students who want to pursue more than just music is the double major. At many colleges, students can double major within the music school or between the music school and another department. This is a great opportunity for students to earn a music degree in four years, while studying another interest.

Music education undergraduate students earn their musical performance degrees alongside their K-12 teaching certificates. This unique pairing provides students with top quality musicianship and academic preparation to enable them to excel in the complex role as music educators.

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Music Minors and Non-Music Majors

Music Minors: Minoring in music or playing with an ensemble are great alternatives for students who want to stay involved in music, but choose to major in another field. These students must have an area of performance experience and take the required theory, ear training, music history, and elective courses.

Most schools also allow non-music majors to perform in ensembles or take music lessons. So if you want to study piano with a private teacher or play violin in an orchestra while majoring in engineering or business, make sure that the college you’re interested in has these opportunities.

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The Value of the Visit�In Tune Magazine—February 2015

The best place to start is by visiting several colleges.
Schedule a campus tour when school is in session.
Request a sample lesson through the admission office.
Don’t know what to ask? Listen carefully to the other parents.
Introduce yourself and have lunch with another parent/student.

At lunch, pick up and read the student paper, look at the bulletin board flyers, get a feeling for student life
Debrief and take good notes (top three list)
Campus Observations: New Science Buildings, Outstanding Food Choices, Work Out Facilities, Wireless, Collaborative Work Areas…
A second visit is especially valuable
Keep an open mind

Your college search hasn’t really started until you visit a college campus or two. Schedule a campus tour when school is in session. You want to see students on campus—this is a reality check for both you and your student. As a parent I looked around and thought—one of these boys could be a future son in law. (Not really, but I think you know what I mean). There is also a difference in visiting school in say Minnesota in the summer and winter. The same can be said for schools in south—the school year is very attractive compared to a midwest winter and can be absolutely oppressive in the summer.

Whenever you schedule a college tour, you should request to meet with someone in the music department—ask for a sample lesson and permission to observe a rehearsal. This is the ideal opportunity to learn first hand about the ensembles, audition procedure, scholarship availability for majors or non-majors, and work with a college level instructor. If you sing and play an instrument—let them know that you do both!

A scheduled campus tour will typically begin in the admission office. You will see awkward combinations of parents and their offspring trying to look like they have it all under control. There will be time for questions—if you don’t know what to ask—listen to other parents. I personally enjoyed introducing myself to another parent/student and asking where they are headed next. If we were having lunch on campus or even downtown at a deli and recognized someone from the campus tour, I would invite them to join us. Talking with other parents and students is insightful and reassuring. I also like to pick up the school newspaper and look at flyers posted throughout the campus—this was something to read and talk about at the hotel, airport, or on the ride home.

Campus Observations: New Science buidings (LEED certified), a wind turbine, outstanding food choices, work out facilities, collaborative work areas—after awhile they all start to look very similar.

If given the opportunity for an impromptu interview with a college admission officer—go for it. The more experience you have, the more comfortable you will be the next time.

After every campus tour, I always asked Emma or Ethan, what are the three things you are going to remember about this school. When we got home, we also had something to share and compare.

If possible, a second visit is important.

Keep an open mind.

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Understanding The Audition Process

Website Information

Specific literature requirements
Audition dates
Audition format
Accompanist

Stress

Student
Parent

Timeline

Admission to Conservatory
Admission to College
Decisions

Auditions

Understand the Process: Majors:

Junior Year: You are selecting and working with a private lesson on your audition rep. Participate in public recital. Summer: build your resume, do something musical.

Senior Year: Understand specific audition/application process for each school. Your senior year will be a busy time with lots of important deadlines—lots of focus will be on getting your common application submitted, so make sure that you check for pre-audition tapes and other deadlines. Plan on working with an accompanist more than you would for our district solo & ensemble festival. Communicate literature selection, rehearsal schedule, and recording times months in advance.

You will most likely perform a live audition between 10 and 30 minutes, with multiple and diverse pieces, in person, in front of one or more instructors. You may be given an exercise to do spontaneously following your performance, or given a mini-lesson to complete with an instructor. Additionally, you will participate in an in-person admissions interview on the same day you audition. Some schools may require a pre-audition recording. A staff accompanist is usually provided for auditions; working professionally with this person should be considered part of the audition.

Non-Majors: Participate in Solo & Ensemble You will most likely be asked to play scales, sight read, and play some solo literature to give a member of the music department your overall ability level. Waubonsie Valley students typically do very well!

Ensemble Auditions are typically at the beginning of the year. Marching Band (U of I) had over XXX students audition for XXX of spots.

Stress: If you are auditioning at multiple schools, you most likely be together for many hours or days. This can be stressful—as the adult you will need to be many things in this process Keep things light and upbeat, listen to their music, a book on tape, a favorite podcast, plan a summer vacation—you get the idea. Avoid fussing over grades, ACT results, obsessing over the small things,

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Finding the Money

Learn the Institutional Process
Seek out scholarship information to better understand a realistic (generous) amount
Create a spreadsheet for comparison
Be prepared to negotiate
Expect a 2-3% yearly tuition increase

FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
CSS Financial Aid PROFILE (College Scholarship Service)
College Savings?--You may consider upgrading to a better instrument before heading off to college…

We have this secret tree behind our house, not really. Every family has a different financial philosophy—from kids are on their own, to we got you covered. We are certainly somewhere in there; our desire is that they share some of the financial responsibility without being buried with a tremendous amount of debt.

Learn as much as you can about the Institutional process of your top colleges. Understand how schools balance merit scholarships and need scholarships. Become informed about music scholarships; do they offer scholarships to major and non-majors? do they offer participation scholarships? A conservatory may dedicate the majority of its funds towards the music majors. A conservatory operates by filling ensembles and studios with a certain number of students.

Both students have great academic merit scholarships—and we are very thankful for the education they received here in District 204. Neither went to the school that gave them the most money. The non-major did not audition or receive a music scholarship because our understanding was that she had maxed out with the top academic scholarship. For the music major, we had to make a comparison spreadsheet to keep track of the scholarship offers for the music major and actually got a the same or slightly better academic scholarship. And once alof the numbers were in, I was able to negotiate. Every little bit helps; you can expect tuition will go up 2-3% every year—the scholarships stay the same.

Keypoint: the best offer may not be the best fit

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Questions?

Thank you for coming this evening!