Working artists do quite well. In every generation, in every year, there are people needed to fill the roles left behind by others. The “starving artist” is a common fear of parents. Many of our children can realistically be considered for the success pool. Will they drown? Successful careers are like murders: You need means, opportunity, and motivation. The truth is that there are many young people who take a chance on a career above their talent arc. Doors closed to them were ignored. They lack good work ethic, or make excuses for shortcomings. They develop relationships that take precedence over career. Their ability to network with other artists may have been limited. Even a person pursuing their art lives in denial, profitable things happen from being in the path, even when there is failure: It removes the “what if” that haunts many who did not try. No skill learned goes unused. Other career paths and life choices open, and people move on. As we found out over the last half-decade there is no “sure thing” even in the conventional workforce. Artists, on the whole, are more flexible and gifted job-seekers than their traditionally-trained peers because they’re used to seeking gigs.

Colle

ge

MUSICPERFORMANCETRACK

Talent, hard work, and passion fused with excellence and luck yield careers.

The gateway to careers in the arts is wide enough, but limited to those with drive.Dreyfoos is filled with students with the talent and potential to do great things in the profession of music.

On a personal level, how many hours a day do your practice? Do you like it? Do you feel a sense of accomplishment when you develop new skills or an improved sound with your instrument?

When doorways opened, when opportunities happen, do you take advantage of all of them?

How many times have you been to All-State on your instrument?

How many All-District honor bands?

Have you been in other nationally recognized talent competitions?

Does your private teacher think you have what it takes to make top programs? Do they think you are on the right track?

What summer programs do you do? How are you received by the instructors/educators/musicians there?

Do you have the support of your family on a day-to-day now, and for your passion in college and beyond?

Do you have the resources to pursue a music degree with less financial assistance?

These are the questions that the nation’s top conservatories and college music programs will be asking on their application forms, and probing when you complete lessons with the faculty, pre-auditions where required, and auditions where invited.

If you can answer “yes” to most of these questions, you should read on.

If you can’t, then you should consider making music a pathway to a college education, and perhaps a minor.

This brochure is about learning to position yourself, to give yourself the best shot you have to reach that tiny brass ring at the top of the arts pile that you are striving to grasp on to. It is doable. People do. Why shouldn’t it be you? Just be smart, prepared, and put yourself on the best track possible to succeed!

Inside:

Success Checklist 2Summer Programs 3-4Where to Apply? 4Showcases 5The Right School/Travel 6Conservatories by State 7The East/West Bounce 8College Size 9The Essay 10

Places are few. The challenge is great. The reward is a place in the next generation of the preservation and advancement of music.

DSO

A

CollegeStarts in the

9th GradeEverything that you do matters from the day that you start Dreyfoos. Homework counts. Practice. Juries. Drop one or two here and there, and you can find your college picture changes.

Grades 9-10 Grade 11 Grade 12CollegeStarts in the

9th GradeEverything that you do matters from the day that you start Dreyfoos. Homework counts. Practice. Juries. Drop one or two here and there, and you can find your college picture changes.

OutperformGet private lessons set up or continue them. Practice, practice practice Learn from the successful juniors and seniors. Get in all-district or all-state.

OutperformDo showcases, get into All State. Take lessons at conservatories and colleges. Get on the state and national radar.

OutperformYour skill sets are at the best they will be in high school. All-State, showcases, and more private lessons at conservatories and colleges open doors.

CollegeStarts in the

9th GradeEverything that you do matters from the day that you start Dreyfoos. Homework counts. Practice. Juries. Drop one or two here and there, and you can find your college picture changes.

PlanFind great summer programs and showcases (If teachers say GO) and open doors. Set goals for where you want to be in band/concert/jazz. Do you need to double/triple? Set up a plan NOW. Do community service.

StrategizePlan with your year private teachers well. Develop a top six list of schools. Visit as many as you can. Develop pieces for auditions and showcases junior and senior year. Follow leads for opportunities.

ExecuteDo your audition/pre-audition recordings. Get your college apps in EARLY even if you’re not going for early decision/action. Make every public performance your calling card. Network with friends from DSOA and Summer.

CollegeStarts in the

9th GradeEverything that you do matters from the day that you start Dreyfoos. Homework counts. Practice. Juries. Drop one or two here and there, and you can find your college picture changes.

Keep Focus.The transition to high school is full of great opportunities, social life, and distractions. Moderation and balance. Keep your focus.

Shine.This is your time. Make it count. Put yourself out not just at school, but in gigs and on the web. Put your talent out to the public.

Deliver.Peg your college pre-auditions and auditions. If you get into all-state or a showcase, try to get the solo/featured gigs.

Showcases Count.Someone starts the rumor every year that All-District and All-State aren’t important. True if you don’t plan on going into anything music, but incredibly handy to have on your resume if you want to pursue music as a career. Do others too (See p.5 )!

College Starts in the 9th GradeOnce upon a time your parents had the luxury of being kids, screwing around and screwing up. With colleges and conservatories receiving applications, often at six or ten to one to the positions that they hold, you can afford very few bad days of your own making.

Your grades in academics COUNT. Big time for colleges, less so for conservatories, BUT since you don’t know where you will be invited to play, you must keep all of your numbers high.

Two trajectories are acceptable to colleges: People with an upward grade path, who got their act together, and people who perform at a high level throughout. See-saw grades, up one year, down the next, can close a lot of doors for you.

A downward trajectory, where you begin well and end poorly, or have an “off the cliff” run from grade 10 to 12, are certifiable death for applications.

Homework may be a drudge, but it’s worth enough points at DSOA that all of it needs doing, in spite of what your peers may tell you. Practice may also seem like a chore at times, but, particularly in a conservatory/music career track, it’s unacceptable to pull

Bs and Cs. They’re red flags that you don’t have your act together.

The goal that you need to set as a 9th grader is to be the best that you can be. You never worry about how many other people there are out there, or what other people are doing. Stay in your art, look inward, and focus on your music.

You want to be a musician that other musicians honor and respect. You want to develop your sound to be uniquely you, rather than a carbon copy of someone famous.

Achievement springs out of good foundational habits, drive and dedication.

Listen to your teachers. If they find deficiencies in your performance fix them. If they aren’t giving you enough feedback, go talk to them privately and ask what you can do.

You want to position yourself so, by the time you are a senior, you will be the kind of musician that professors with long careers will want to mentor as one of the next generation in whatever genre you play.

The work began the day you arrived at Dreyfoos in the 9th grade. Where are you now? On track or off? See the bigger picture, and don’t let the day to day rule you.

Success Checklist

From Grade 9 on...

Adult Help.No one successful ever succeeds alone. You will need both financial and logistical support from adults to get you into programs, transport, and mentor you. Parents, teachers, family friends. Do not turn down help.

Private Lessons.Get private lessons from a good instructor. DSOA has some of the best. We can help if money is a problem. As you approach your senior year, get evaluations from college-level people (see Special Lessons) to see where the gateway to music as a career lies for you.

Practice every day.Practice every day as much as your private instructor recommends for your grade/ability level. Birthdays, holidays off. If you aren’t, someone else is. It makes a difference in your mastery of your instrument.

Keep Your Academic Grades Up.Some schools care a lot about grades, some don’t. Since you won’t know which you will actually get into, your grades remain important. Challenge yourself with your academics (honors, AP) as much as you can. Schools like UF, UM, and others won’t talk to you without great grades and challenge.

Listen.You need to be a great listener as well as player. Listen to the greats in the musical forms that move you not to imitate, but to understand, synthesize ideas of their art your own work, and grow.

Perform.Beyond performing at school, as you become a more mature player in the 10th-12th grade years, perform wherever you can work or gig. Real-world experience is invaluable, especially working with a wide range of people.

Summer ProgramsYour summers count! What do you do with them? Check the list of summer music programs in this guide. Money isn’t an issue. Many top programs offer scholarships and even help with transportation.

Master Classes Take them. Much of music education is a mentoring process. Show up on the radar of people who are the top of their game, and they may help you find your way one day.

Showcase.All-State? For the top schools, it certainly helps. Do it as often as they will let you in. All-District - A MUST. There are also a number of showcases for classical, concert, and Jazz students. We list some here. DO THEM. You want to be in the 1% of high school performers that make these events.

Ask for Help, Advice, GuidanceDon’t just presume the answer to an opportunity is NO, or that you won’t make it. TRY. If you don’t get something, you’re no worse off than never trying, or never asking. If you are not advancing in your work at DSOA, ask your teacher what you need to do to get back on track. DO THAT.

Planning for Auditions AdmissionsIn your junior year, have a clear idea where you want to apply. Go online and learn their audition requirements. They may change but at least you’ll know the basic rigor of them. Prepare well in advance (over the summer). Arrange to take lessons with faculty at the top conservatories (More on this inside). Get a solid recording if you need a pre-audition (More on this too).

Make Summer CountYou are part of a national footprint arts school whose name carries weight with national footprint summer programs, which in turn are well known to the top music programs at conservatories and major colleges and universities. Your goal during the summer is to have fun and elevate your visibility and improve your resume for college with programs that might interest you. Many of you have been to local programs and clinics, including some endorsed by faculty and Artists In Residence (AIRs) who may work at them. If you are on the college track, or focused on a single college, like FSU, then some of these may be for you. If you are aiming for the rare atmosphere of a Steinhardt (NYU), Manhattan School of Music, Juilliard, Eastman, New England Conservatory, Peabody, or Berklee, to name a few, you might want to think about participating in programs that give you more standing with them. There are many, but here are a top few. Can you stay local? Sure. These programs are resumé builders and put you on a more equal footing with other students competing for limited chairs at national college music programs and conservatories.

SUMMERS

Top 10 Summer Programs with National Footprint Interlochen Summer Arts Camp

(Interlochen, MI) The oldest and one of the most prestigious camps that brings in students from all over the world and has turned out some of the top musical talents in all fields. Structured well. Three week sessions can

be combined or stand-alone. Jazz program is excellent. Audition: YES. (Student evaluations with a high score bypass future audition for entry) Scholarships: YES. Pros: Great education, respected by all schools. Cons: Cost without scholarship; Transportation to Traverse City can cost more. camp.interlochen.org

Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI)Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) and BU host a camp for aspiring classical high school artists at Tanglewood. Students work with top professionals and participate in the musical life of Tanglewood, one of the best summer classical experiences around. Audition: YES.

Scholarship: YES. http://www.bu.edu/cfa/tanglewood/

Berklee College of Music (Boston, MA) This will be Berklee’s 27th year running a five week high school arts camp. They use school faculty and ofter a much more diverse program for those interested in pop music. Vocal is mostly pop forms. They offer a strings program, but not just classical. Scholarships: Limited. Pros: Experience Berklee, Summer in Boston, musical education

outside of traditional band/classical/Jazz Cons: Cost without scholarship. Five weeks long. http://www.berklee.edu/summer/fiveweeksummer/program-like.php

Adamant Music SchoolAdamant, VTPiano, violin, bassoon, flute and clarinet

Amati Music FestivalHunter, NYViolin, viola, cello, piano, flute and guitar

American Festival for the ArtsHouston, TXAll instrumental disciplines including jazz and composition

Aria International Summer AcademyWilliamstown and South Hadley, MAViolin, cello, flute and clarinet

Baldwin Wallace CollegeAll disciplines including voice and music Theatre. Programs for school age students and adults.

Banff CentreBanff, CanadaYear round programs for all disciplines

Birch Creek Music Performance CenterEgg Harbor, WIOrchestra, jazz, percussion, and steel pans

Blue LakeTwin Lake MIAll instruments, dance, theatre, jazz and composition. Adult and family programs are also offered.

Bowling Green State UniversityBowling Green, OHBrass, musical theatre, double reed making, recording, saxophone, piano, and voice

BrevardBrevard, NCOrchestra, chamber music, opera

Calgary Arts Summer School and FestivalCalgary, Alberta CanadaString programs for ages 5-18

California Summer MusicMonterey, CAStrings, piano and composition

Camp Musical de l'EstrieSherbrooke, QuebecStrings ages 5-15

Cazadero Performing Arts CampBerkeley, CAAll instruments

Cleveland Institute of MusicClevaland, OHAll instruments and composition - offerings change annually

Eastman School of MusicRochester, NYSummer programs in classical, jazz, and rock guitar

Eastern U. S. Music CampColgate University - Hamilton NYAll instruments including jazz and voice.

Elm City ChamberfestNew Haven CTStrings and Piano ages 8-18

Encore/CodaSweden, MEAll instruments

Global Youth VillageBedford VAAll musicians interested in learning music from other cultures

Goucher CollegeTowson MDPrograms vary annually

Green Lake FestivalRipon College, Green Lake WIStrings and piano, chamber music focus

The Hartt School of Music Summer ProgramsUniversity of Hartford, Hartford CTChamber Music, Ballet and Suzuki Strings

Hartwick College Summer Music FestivalOneonta, NYAll instruments, including jazz and musical theatre

Heifetz International Music InstituteWolfeboro, NHViolin, viola, cello, and piano

Icicle CreekLeavenworth WAChamber Music (strings and piano)

Idyllwild ArtsIdyllwild, CAMusic, dance, theatre, visual art, creative writing

Indiana UniversityBloomington, INAll instruments - programs change annually

Interharmony International Music FestivalBirklehof, Germany www.interharmony.com/hiimfSulzbach-Rosenberg, Germanywww.srimf.comOrchestral instruments, piano and voice

International Music Institute and FestivalEmmitsburg, MDStrings, piano and chamber music

Jazz in JulyAmherst MAJazz instruments and ensembles

Kent State University Summer Piano InstituteKent, OHPiano, grades 7-12

Killington Music FestivalKillington VTViolin, viola, cello, double bass and piano

Laurentian Music CenterSt. Adolphe-d'Howard, Quebec, CanadaStrings, piano, wind ensemble, musical theatre

Lutheran Summer Music Academy and FestivalSt. Peter, MNBand, Chorus and Orchestra

Magic MountainMorris, NYOrchestral instruments

Madeline Island Music CampMadeline Island, MNChamber music - strings and piano

Manchester Music FestivalManchester VTChamber Music (piano, strings and woodwinds)

Midwest Young ArtistsCarthage College, Kenosha WINumerous programs throughout the summer for all instrumental disciplines as well as jazz, chamber music and recording arts

Music at MenloPalo Alto CAChamber Music

Music at Port MilfordMilford Ontario, CanadaChamber Music focus for string players ages 12-18

New York Summer Music FestivalSUNY - Oneonta NYAll instruments

NorfolkNew Haven, CTChamber music

Northern Lights Music FestivalAurora, MNPiano and strings

Oberlin College and ConservatoryOberlin, OHEarly music, flute, trumpet, organ, voice and percussion

Orfeo Music FestivalVipiteno, ItalyStrings, piano and voice

Performing Arts Institute of Wyoming SeminaryKingston, PAAll instruments (classical and jazz) Dance and theatre

Point CounterpointLake Dunmore, VTChamber Music

Putney School Summer Arts ProgramsPutney, VTOrchestra, composition, early music, chamber music

RaviniaHighland Park, ILAll instruments

Rocky Mountain Summer ConservatoryLowell Whiteman School - Steamboat Springs COChamber Music Focus

Round TopRound Top, TXOrchestra

Schlern International Music FestivalSchlern, ItalyOrchestral instruments

Southeastern Piano FestivalColumbia SCPiano

Sphinx AcademyWalnut Hill School - Natick, MAStrings

Stokes ForestUpper Montclair, NJMusic

String CrossingsNashville, TNStrings, grades 8-12 (classical, jazz, rock and bluegrass)

Strings International Music FestivalPhilidelphia, PAStrings

Summit Music FestivalFordham University - Tarrytown, NYChamber Music (piano, all strings and harpsichord)

Toronto Summer Music Academy and FestivalToronto, CAChamber Music, Voice, and Percussion

Traveling NotesLocation changes annuallyStrings and woodwinds

Tuckamore FestivalNewfoundland, CanadaChamber music

Uppingham Summer SchoolRutland, UKPiano festival and courses for all instruments

Yellow BarnPutney, VTChamber music

Walden SchoolDublin, NHMusicianship, theory, improvisation and composition

Top 10 Summer Programs (Cont.’d) Music for All

For concert Jazz and percussion, this camp has one of the highest satisfaction ratings among students and parents alike. Music for All is the same organization that does Concert band of America and Jazz Band of America honor bands..http://musicforall.org/what-we-

do/summer-camp

NYU Steinhardt Summer Music ProgramsNYU has a broad array of music summer programs from strings to Jazz to piano intensive to vocal choir/pop, technical recording, and even film scoring and composing. You work with Steinhardt faculty, which is

a good way of auditioning them for college consideration as well as getting on track in their prestigious program. Audition: YES. Scholarship: ASK. PROS: Great faculty, more reasonably priced, evenings filled with best culture in America’s biggest city. CONS: No scholarships.

Stanford Summer Jazz CampWell thought of and well attended, Stanford University hosts a summer Jazz camp that is one of the best in the country. If you have an interest in improving your chances in a West Coast school pool, this is definitely one camp to put on your

resumé. PROS: Well regarded, good program, top school; CONS: Distance. http://stanfordjazz.org/jazz-camp/jazz-camp-2013/

Camp MSM (Manhattan School of Music)Manhattan draws from its feeder programs. Camp MSM is a good way of getting on their radar if you are interested in MSM. They have a wide range of instrument classes in both classical and jazz.

Audition: YES. Scholarship: YES. PROS: Great experience CONS: Cost without scholarship. http://www.msmnyc.edu/Instruction-Faculty/Programs/Special-Programs/Camp-MSM

Midwest Young ArtistsThis Chicago area camp offers programs for classical jazz, vocal, etc. Chamber Music group has top faculty from Northwestern and

members of major symphonies working it. Lookfor “bounce” to an area where you’re more unique.

Fewer Floridians hit top midwest programs/schools. Audition: Yes Scholarship: YES. Pros: Great faculty, nice summer

location; Cons: Cost without scholarship. http://www.mya.org/summer/

NEC Summer ProgramsThe New England Conservatory (NEC) in Boston hosts an intensive youth orchestra, a Jazz lab, and an opera program each summer. A good way to see if you like NEC if conservatories are your track. Audition: YES. Scholarships: No. PROS: Great programs CONS: No scholarships. http://necmusic.edu/summer

Aspen Music FestivalCovers a wide range of classical instruments, guitar, opera and recording arts. Also good for students considering West Coast programs. PRO: World class faculty CONS: Fees high; transportation to/from Aspen can be more costly. http://new.oberlin.edu/office/summer-programs/

Juilliard Jazz Summer WorkshopsThe program is in hiatus while Wynton Marsalis reassumes the directorship of Julliard Jazz. No 2014 workshops.

MORE TOP SUMMER PROGRAMS

Showcases aren’t optional. They’re ESSENTIAL. Particularly in Jazz. With limited seats opening up every year at top schools, students who make national showcases are first-look for those seats. Even if you have multiple All-State appearances, the national competition students have a clear advantage. Click on the names to visit these websites!

JAZZ(Click on the name to visit the website)

Grammy Camp - Jazz SessionStudents audition by video. Those selected play at pre-show events for the GRAMMY Awards in Los Angeles. Acceptance waives pre-audition at MSM. Well attended by top programs. Offers of summer programs/showcases come.

Jazz Band of AmericaAnother of the top national Jazz showcases that is a must. Well received by conservatories and colleges alike.

NAME All- National Jazz EnsembleThe National Association of Music Educators has a national Jazz Ensemble annually. You have to make All-State, and be nominated by your director. Clinicians are often from major conservatory and college programs.

UCF All-Star High School JazztetA newer showcase at the rising star program in the state. If you’re thinking of

UCF or other mid-north schools, this may be a worthwhile showcase.

Next Generation Jazz FestivalThe Monterey Jazz Festival puts on the NGJF in April of each year as part of their education mission. Prestigious and well seen.

Downbeat Student Music AwardsSponsored by Downbeat Magazine, it covers musicians, combos and bands.

SFJAZZ High-School All-StarsAnother really good California showcase for students who benefit from the “bounce” and are interested in Golden State schools.

Vail Jazz WorkshopsVail Colorado has a youth Jazz workshop in its 18th year.

Generation Next Youth Talent CompetitionJacksonville Jazz Festival hosts this youth talent competition each year that seems to cater to Douglas Anderson students. Time for a DSOA student or two to introduce themselves!

YoungArtsYoungArts (http://www.youngarts.org/) has showcases for Jazz, concert, classical and vocal. With showcases in Miami and Los Angeles.

SHOWCASES

Concert/Classical(Click on the name to visit the website)

American High Schools Honors Performance Series at Carnegie HallYou must be recommended by your music director here at DSOA. Auditions are held based on the recommendations. This showcase is heavily attended by top conservatories. Concert, orchestra, and vocal.

Honor Band of AmericaLike Jazz Band of America, Music for All brings a great clinician and a pool of top talent from high schools around the country together for this honor band. The auditions are months in advance, so you want to start thinking about putting this on your radar in the 10th grade to get ready for 11th-12th.

National High School Honors OrchestraThe American String Teachers Association (ASTA) puts this event on in Louisville, Kentucky. String players must be juniors or seniors. All other instruments grades 9-12 may apply.

NAME All-National Honor EnsemblesHeld in Nashville, TN, the National Association of Music Educators All-National Honor ensembles require that you make All-State in your state, get nominated by your band director, and pass their screenings. Needless to say, if you can jump through all of those hoops, it puts you in a showcase platform that is well received by top conservatories and university programs.

Midwest Honor Band and FestivalUniversity of Missouri at Kansas City (UMKC) hosts high school honors a concert band and an orchestra.

YoungArtsYoungArts (http://www.youngarts.org/) has showcases for Jazz, concert, classical and vocal. With showcases in Miami and LA.

THINK AHEAD.

You should be setting showcase goals for yourself in the 9th and 10th grades. If you’re that good, try out earlier. At least you learn the process!

Don’t follow the nameplate of the school. Find the professor.Just as with your private lessons, your continuation in conservatory or university is as much about the mentoring process of you as a young professional musician. In many programs there are a handful or less of faculty members on your instrument. They are your principal mentors. Both you and they are looking for someone who will be a “fit” for a lot of personal work over the next four years. A conservatory environment is a more pure immersion in music. You should have a whole range of professors on other instruments, in theory, and history whose sole goal is to turn out high-caliber professional musicians. A few have good business of music, networking and placement services. Some rely on their name and their stature to carry their students into the work world .A college or university music program includes a broader general education for the first two years. College proponents contend that this makes for a more well-rounded musician, and gives the student a wider range of options as their college years roll out.Nameplates of schools are not the bottom line. Some conservatories are top grade because they do what you need better than anyone else. Others will have few regular professors and not work for you at all. You can still find that best professor for you at UNF, UCF, Rollins, etc. Don’t rule out places like Lynn (Harid). Decide if it’s better to be a big fish in a small pond. That being said, TRY FOR THE SKY. A “no” is no worse than not having tried. Get used to them. You’ll hear a lot as you move on in the music world. A top school, can be one that might leave other people scratching their heads, because they don’t know the department, or the faculty. As you know from being at DSOA, great programs attract great faculty and guest artists. Making the right working relationships is everything. Be great and associate with great people. Just remember that the building or the institution isn’t the bottom line. The professors working with you are.

Professor/MentorWho is teaching you? Names are great. Some turn out to be incredible teachers. Other great teachers may not have been legends. Some have similar musical interests. Some are a mile away from where you are. Find people to work with who are a good fit. This is a process for both you and the professor to see if you want to work together for the next four years.Research the websites. Read. Listen to their recordings, if any. Talk to your private teacher and fiends. Also find out if they are really there. Some professors are on the masthead, but they come infrequently to campus. Some don’t even live in the city of your program. That can be okay, but you have to know how much direction and independent study works best for you.

When you find a short list, begin setting up lessons at the end of your junior year, and the beginning of the senior by emailing the professors directly (More on that later.) Try to get most done by junior year, as senior year applications/auditions get hectic.

Visit the ProgramsEvery school is different. Your reaction to them is different. If you can budget to visit your top two, three or all of your major choices, do it. Even with scholarship money, you are going to be spending four critical years of your life and collectively about $125-250,000.00 of someone’s money on an education. It’s worth a few hundred to see what the future holds. In some cases, meeting with faculty will be critical to your consideration. Eastman even asks on their audition form whom you have taken a lesson with.

Don’t Assume. Ask Smart, Tough Questions

• How many students does the school accept? Too many and you start fighting for resources. New School for Jazz has two big bands and nearly 300 jazz students fighting for spaces in them.

• How many work with a professor? Is your professor on your instrument there daily, weekly?

• How does scholarship money affect your pathway at the school? Berklee full scholarship students have a lot of doors opened to them. Others may have to fight for the same opportunities in a larger student pool.

• Find out about your instrument within the program. If they overweight a lot of saxophones, say, the pathway to advance may become extremely competitive.

• Take tours, but talk to other students around campus afterwards. Representatives put the best foot forward. Random students often tell it like it is.

• What is the placement of students looking for paid music jobs while at the school? What is their placement plan for graduate schools and professional gigs after you get out? Some schools give you a great education, but you’re on your own. Others work hard to make sure that you get your feet down on the ground and running in the music business. This is only a stop for your career train. Make sure there is more rail down the line from their stop. Develop A Requirements List

Due to the demands of auditions and travel, you need to be realistic about applications and to how many schools you can audition. You will pick six to eight schools tops. This should be done by the beginning of your senior year at the latest! • Copy all of their pre-audition (if any) and

audition requirements for each school, and figure out how much total work in learning pieces is needed.

• Talk to your private teacher about setting up a practice schedule, preferably in junior year and then over the summer, to develop the extra work (Several summer programs offer audition

Finding a Conservatory or University Right for You

You will be turned down by schools. Possibly half or more. Remember that it isn’t personal. Even though you are perhaps one of the top 50 high school musicians in the United States at your instrument, the other 49 are also making application to the same places, as are transfers and grads.Some schools only fill empty seats in their orchestra or band. As they all like the $70-$150 they collect from you in application fees, no one is about to tell you that they don’t have a place for you. 40-50 of you may be looking at one chair. Never look at the 49. Look at you and put your best effort out. It could be you as easily as the others. Don’t say yes to a school lower down on your list because they like you, until you’ve heard from them all. You don’t have to commit for months.

Be Tough.

Travel and Recordings

The process is hard, costly, time consuming, tiring, and worthwhile.

Budget.You may visit three to six schools out of state. That’s air fare for at least two people with a bit more for the instrument, hotel, transportation and meals for two days. Is your equipment insured? If not, you might get some for camp and college travel. It’s cheaper than buying another instrument. Budget for all of this even as a sophomore and you’re points ahead. If you can’t afford it, and a school wants you to come up, speak to Mr. R. SOAFI occasionally has interested people who might sponsor the necessary travel if you plan in advance.

Gear Up.Heavy bulky cases are not friendly for airplanes, camps, clinics or taking lessons. A good air case can save your instrument and your ability to play wherever you’re going. Prepare for cold weather winter auditions. Protect reeds and other delicates

Fear of Flying.People do bad things to instruments on aircraft. JetBlue has a More Room seat that lets you board first. Southwest has priority boarding. Get your case on early. NEVER CHECK YOUR INSTRUMENT. Baggage handlers will kill it.

LogisticsIf you have to travel during a school week, sometimes inevitable for junior/senior “lessons” with faculty, try to arrange meetings so you don’t lose much school time. Days off and LTMs are good days to do it. Usually you can’t turn around in a day, so plan to overnight before your lesson or tour to be fresh the next day. You can leave at the crack of

= Featured School

CaliforniaCalifornia Institute of the Arts - A&M School

California State University, Long BeachBob Cole Conservatory of MusicCalifornia State University, NorthridgeColburn School

University of California Los Angeles Herb Alpert School of Music

University of Southern California Thornton School of Music

University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music

San Francisco Conservatory of Music

ConnecticutHartt School of Music

Yale University

District of ColumbiaCatholic University's Benjamin T. Rome School of Music

FloridaFlorida A&M (FAMU)Florida Atlantic UniversityFlorida State University College of MusicLynn University (Harid)Palm Beach Atlantic UniversityPalm Beach State CollegeRollins College

University of Miami Frost School of MusicUniversity of FloridaUniversity of Central FloridaUniversity of North Florida

University of South FloridaUniversity of Tampa

IdahoUniversity of Idaho

IllinoisChicago College of Performing Arts of Roosevelt UniversityDePaul University

Northwestern University Bienen School of Music

University of Illinois School of Music (Urbana, IL)

Wheaton College Conservatory of Music

Northeastern Illinois UniversityUniversity of Chicago

University of Illinois at ChicagoNorthern Illinois University

IndianaButler UniversityDePauw University

Indiana University Jacobs School of Music

KentuckyUniversity of Louisville

LouisianaLSUTulaneUNL

MarylandPeabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins

University

University of Maryland School of Music

MassachusettsBerklee College of MusicBoston ConservatoryBoston University

Longy School of MusicNew England Conservatory of Music

MichiganUniversity of Michigan School of Music, Theatre

& Dance

MinnesotaConcordia CollegeMcNally Smith College of MusicSt. Olaf CollegeUniversity of Minnesota School of Music

MississippiUniversity of Southern MississippiUniversity of Mississippi

MissouriUniversity of Missouri-Kansas City

New JerseyMason Gross School of the Arts of Rutgers UniversityMontclair State UniversityNew Jersey City UniversityRowan UniversityWestminster Choir College of Rider UniversityWilliam Paterson University

New YorkBard College Conservatory of MusicBrooklyn College Conservatory of Music

Crane School of MusicEastman School of Music

Five Towns CollegeIthaca College School of Music

Juilliard SchoolManhattan School of MusicMannes College of MusicNew York University, Steinhardt SchoolSyracuse University Setnor School of MusicThe New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music

City College of New YorkSUNY-Purchase Conservatory of Music

North CarolinaAppalachian State University, Mariam Cannon

Hayes School of Music

University of North Carolina at GreensboroUniversity of North Carolina School of the Arts

North DakotaNorth Dakota State University

OhioBaldwin-Wallace Conservatory of MusicBowling Green State UniversityCleveland Institute of MusicKent State University

Oberlin Conservatory

The Ohio State UniversityUniversity of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of

Music

Youngstown State University

OklahomaOklahoma City UniversityUniversity of OklahomaUniversity of Central Oklahoma

OregonUniversity of Oregon

PennsylvaniaCarnegie Mellon School of Music

Curtis Institute of MusicDuquesne University Mary Pappert School of MusicPennsylvania Academy of MusicSunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College

Temple University

The Pennsylvania State UniversityLebanon Valley CollegeUniversity of the ArtsMercyhurst College

Puerto RicoConservatory of Music of Puerto Rico

CONTINUED NEXT PAGE....

Conservatories and

College Music

Programs by State.

College EnvironmentOn top of getting an education, you’re also picking a lot of lifestyle choices for the first time. Do you want to go to an urban campus like a Boston University or NYU, or a rural campus like Hampshire College or Smith?

Do you want warm weather or cold climate? A place where you can hike, bicycle, fish and hunt, or with a lot of good cultural programs like concerts, plays, and shows?

If you can, VISIT THE CAMPUS of your top choices in your Junior Year or even your 10th grade year. Don’t go when it’s perfect, if you can. Go when it’s probably at its worst (There is a reason they call it “dead of winter.”) Everyone photographs campuses at their best. See what day to day life is like when the weather is less optimum.

Visit the town. Is it a place where you can find what you need, from a pharmacy to a place to go to the movies, etc.

Go when students are IN SESSION and on campus Summers are convenient, but you can get two entirely different reads of the same place. Summer students are often not full-time or are there for special events. See what it’s like when you would be there. Talk to students. Find out what they like and dislike.

You are going to spend four years of your life somewhere. Make it someplace you can call home.

South CarolinaUniversity of South Carolina

TennesseeAustin Peay State University

Belmont University

Middle Tennessee State UniversityTennessee Technological UniversityUniversity of MemphisUniversity of Tennessee, KnoxvilleUniversity of Tennessee, Martin

Blair School of Music, Vanderbilt University

TexasMoores School of Music, University of Houston

Shepherd School of Music, Rice University

Texas Tech University School of Music

University of North Texas College of Music

University of Texas Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music

Baylor University The School of Music

UtahBrigham Young University School of Music

VirginiaGeorge Mason UniversityJames Madison UniversityVirginia Commonwealth University

WashingtonCornish College of the ArtsUniversity of Washington

West VirginiaWest Virginia University

WisconsinLawrence Conservatory of Music, Lawrence UniversityUniversity of Wisconsin–MadisonUniversity of Wisconsin–Milwaukee

The East-West BounceColleges are big cities. They like populating them with a diverse group of students from different races, walks of life, gender/orientation and geography.

Geography can help you when you look at schools. Most students go either to school within a few hundred miles of their home, or they jump to the top schools of the Northeast corridor (New York and Boston).

If you live in Florida, you are a more attractive candidate for geographic diversity in California, Oregan, Washington, and throughout the midwest. Less so in Texas and Georgia and other Southern States, and you get no real bounce at the Ivies or in most large Northeast corridor schools, although there is some pick up at small and mid-sized colleges. You might be a big fish in Indiana, where you’re just one of several thousand Floridians applying to U.Penn.

The upside of the bounce can be huge depending upon program. Certainly in music, schools like USC and the conservatories in California and Washington see fewer apps, so you become more attractive.

There are things to consider about the bounce. You build a lot of relationships in college, and many people go to grad schools in range of where they studied in undergrad, because their professors have associations with other professors often on a more regional basis. So like the area that you’re going to pick, because you may end up living and working there.

The other downside of the bounce is travel. You are flying farther to come home. The cost of distance travel these days is not much worse than flying to New York or other Northeastern cities if you book in advance. For those though that are not able to afford much travel, scholarships that have some travel component usually only cover major semester-based travel and the Christmas break. Some also make allowance for Thanksgiving. You may find yourself staying where you are rather than going home for other breaks, or seeing family visit you at your college.

Other than national summer programs, if you decide that you’re going to include the bounce in your strategy, consider major performing arts summer programs in the area.

!

BIG. Medium. Small.

What Size School is Right?

When you go out to eat or the movies, which is better, getting served right away or waiting in line?

Big is not better, but sometimes you can find small in big that is better.

UCF has a huge population, over 51,000 undergrads. Sounds too big? The music department only has a few hundred. If you’re majoring in business, though, that may be a very, very crowded place.

Larger schools sell big sports programs, marching bands, and big social life. Some, like University of Michigan or Notre Dame, are in small towns but big enough to be their own city.

The downside of big schools is that more people compete for limited resources and the attention of professors. You have large lecture classes with hundreds of people for the first couple of years. It is very difficult to build relationships with professors or to get the full value of their knowledge when they have to interact with hundreds or thousands of kids in a semester.

With thousands of people on a campus, you may not just “run in” to people. Sometimes you may have a class with one person, then never see them again in any of your other classes.

NYU has terrific “schools” for specialties, but Washington Square Union College, fondly dubbed WESUCK by Bobcats, has had some really uninspired, disinterested faculty teaching entry level courses. General ed takes up about two years of your educational experience.

All universities and many colleges have graduate students. Which means that certain opportunities may go to those students first. It also means that professors writing books quite often will rely on teaching assistants to do the heavy lifting of teaching undergrads. At UCLA famed economist Milton Freidman would come out and tell his students that he was writing a book, didn’t have time to see them, and that they should consult with their grad section leader.

If the department of your choice is really good at the big college, you may want to suffer through the crowding in your general ed.

At some schools, you can apply to “honor” colleges or one of the lesser-known colleges of Boston University, the College of General Studies. In places like these, you get a small college within the university, where you only

work with professors and classes and lecture halls stay at small college size. A win-win for the big school fan.

There are mid-sized colleges that offer smaller class sizes and a bit more personal attention. Of the Ivy class Brown and Dartmouth are more mid-sized. Miami is surprisingly mid-sized for a school with a big sports footprint. Under 12,000 to about

4,000 would be in the category.

Small colleges are the best bang for your buck in undergrad education.

There are “mini ivies” like Bowdoin (ME), Reed College (OR), Bates (ME), Bryn Mawr, New College of Florida (FL) and others, which may have as few as 1600 students, and no graduate students.

There are small colleges like Rollins in Florida or Lewis & Clark in Oregon which have taken students with fairly mediocre high school GPAs and turned them into Fullbright Scholars.

Small colleges give students a lot of face time with professors rather than graduate students. Opportunities to participate in more programs,

internships, and other special events are easier because you have fewer bodies competing for the same resources, and often, no graduate students.

Several of these schools require a 30 to 50 page thesis project to graduate. Sound intimidating? Maybe, but it can be worth a year of your life and $50,000 or

more. Smart students work on something that they want to do in graduate school, and apply at places to continue working on their thesis for the masters. Some graduate schools offer them a “1/1” which is a masters/Ph.d. in two years rather than three.

There are smaller college programs like Bowdoin and Bates that are SAT/ACT optional, or just

don’t require them, because they don’t believe in their predictive accuracy, which is the leading

edge of a growing trend in college admissions thinking.

Some people find the downside to small colleges that they meet fewer new people because they know everyone.

Travel can be a bit more costly if the airport is a smaller field, and if mass transit or close walking distance to a market

aren’t a part of the community in which the college sits, you may need a car.

While you will find small colleges in cities big and small, some are in very small towns, or areas of a suburb. Oberlin is 30 minutes from Cleveland, and, outside of campus, there is not a lot going on in the town or the immediate area.

Another advantage of smaller schools is that often housing is more affordable. Big schools in urban markets often have sky-high dorm prices and local housing is often scarce and pricey.

Some large schools don’t offer dorm space all four years. Most small and medium colleges can usually guarantee space if you want it.

One non-traditional thought on how big you should go really has to do with how far you plan on taking your education. If you think you are going to get a BA or BS degree and go off into something where education is not going to carry you, then big can be as beautiful as small.

If you plan on getting higher degrees, or you aren’t sure what you want to do, then small schools with individualized attention set you up to succeed.

Nameplate SchoolsHarvard. Yale.

Princeton. Stanford. MIT. They sound very

prestigious. If you’re wicked smart, get perfect grades, and look to double-down on nameplates in graduate and Ph.D. programs, go for it. If these are more of a reach, or finances are an issue, as they are for most people, consider saving the money for grad school, killing in undergrad at a “mini Ivy” and putting the nameplate on your grad degree. Multiple nameplate degrees are best for government and public health pedigrees.

The essay is one of the biggest pieces of your admissions puzzle, which is probably why it scares so many people.

The essay(s) aren’t about you so much as they are representative of you, of who you are.

They also give the admissions committee a good idea of your ability to write and express yourself.

You get a LOT of help with essay writing here at DSOA. That we know.

As one who has read them both for high school and college admissions for a couple of years, here are some good tips.

Know Your AudienceThe essay is one of the few human interactions that you have in what is becoming a more computerized process. Even after they use grades and SAT scores to weed out applicants, admissions people are still reading thousands of these things. Don’t be a bore. Write something interesting that wakes them up a bit. It’s the essays that intrigue admissions officers. If you find yourself on the “maybe” pile you want someone in the room advocating for you. The essay, in conjunction with your recommendations can be the tipping point in your favor.

Be Creative.In the face of the blank page, a lot of people write what they think the admissions officers want to read. They list creative influences in their art. They tend to try to look at themselves from the big picture, like a bug under a magnifying glass.

Don’t. Often times, something seemingly trivial, something small, can be something big.

In one essay, a young man begins writing about counting to 50 in Turkish while he flips a ball up and down. He did this one summer when he went to a Boston summer program. He didn’t talk about the program, but about meeting new people from all over the world for the first time, and how he found out, when he asked a girl out in Spanish, after having a roommate help him, that he liked speaking different languages, and that he could pick them up easily. He wrote of seeing the world, and being a part of it.

From the specific to the broad, it was a simple essay filled with a kind of warm honesty that resonated well.

Be Impressive. Don’t ImpressWith so much on the line, you often might feel the need to impress your readers with

a command of what you know about the subject that is your life’s passion: Art, music, dance.

There are a thousand essays on their desks full of that. It drones into a sameness after a while.

Don’t tell them what you know. This is where you tell them WHO YOU ARE. You have to convey your passions and interests by talking about things specific to who you are.

One particularly good essay that went to Tisch School of the Arts was by a girl who told the story of her grandmother who worked during WWII when the men were away, but who had to return to domesticity when her father and brothers returned. The candidate never mentioned herself in the telling, or her hopes and aspirations, but you knew from how she wrote about it, the passion, the feeling of loss for her grandmother, and her mother’s scolding tone about the grandmother’s “high spiritedness” that this young lady was setting out to do what her grandmother was never allowed to do: Go

out in the world and succeed as a woman on her own terms.

That particular essay was so well liked that it was not only read, but it became a yardstick by which many of the other essays were measured by those reading

that year.

Write. Redraft. Repeat.Give the process time.

Don’t wait until the last possible minute. Write a draft of your essay, then set it aside for a day or two. Revisit it and revise. Let it rest. Do it again. It will get better.

Brevity is the Soul of WitShakespeare was right. The best college essays generally are the strong silent types. Like great music, you don’t need an avalanche of notes or words to convey an idea.

Try to think Hemingway. Keep sentences short and sweet. We tend to write

as we speak, which often leads to a lot of run-on sentences. If you have a one sentence paragraph full of “and”s then pop a period in where a few of them are and break it down.

ClarityOften times, since we know what we’re writing, what we’re saying seems very self-evident.

Unfortunately, there are other people who may read an essay full of vague personal pronouns and become quite lost.

If your readers at the admissions office have to keep back-tracking to figure out who or what you are talking about, your essay will not be well received.

Get friends or parents to read for you. Ask them if what they’re reading is clear, and easily understood. If they have trouble following what you’ve written, think how a tired admissions person plowing through a few dozen essays will feel!

The Essay

SAT Prep

High EndRevolution Prep offers group SAT classes at Suncoast and many Southeeast Florida private schools. They also offer

one-on-one tutoring that can range between 1,100-2,000 depending upon the tutor’s level. The group classes are just as effective and still pricey at 500-900. FAU and Pine Crest Fort Lauderdale offer summer SAT courses as well.

OnlineSeveral companies, including the venerable Princeton Reviews, offer online courses. If you’re self-disciplined and better working on your own at your own pace, this can be better than the book without the hassle of having to go somewhere to take a course.

Books/Flash CardsThere are several brands of books that you can find at Amazon or a bookseller that offer prep. Princeton has a well organized one. Practice tests are a good idea because a lot of the success people have on the test is learning how to manage the time well.

Improving PerfectionSeveral companies offer programs for students who are already high achievers. Pass on them. The basic courses work just fine for smart kids. It’s only a part of the whole picture. No one can guarantee a perfect score, and the added pressure is probably not beneficial to producing a

Both the SAT and the ACT suck. You stand a greater likelihood of picking the correct numbers in the POWERBALL lottery than you do of telling much about the college aptitude of a student.

The SAT is not, in spite of its name, an aptitude test. It’s a cleverness and speed test. It tends to favor people who are quick test takers, good probability guessers on multiple choice, and those fast with their math.

The ACT is not much better. It still favors the clever and the swift, but being a bit more writing intensive, those who take it who are good writers seem to find it a bit more bearable.

None of it is not about the depth of your knowledge, but how good you can be at grinding out answers under pressure.Which not everyone is, no matter how good of a student you may be. That is why there are so many test prep books and courses that amp up test scores, and why the test can be improved upon.

Technically, if it really worked, your score should be the same every time, because your “aptitude” really hasn’t changed.

Yes, it’s a dumb system, and yes, many admissions offices keep talking about getting rid of it. Most don’t, though, because the number of applications to college keeps rising, and it’s a convenient way of creating artificial cut-offs that allow a lot of weeding and pruning of their applicant pools, even if the tests are flawed.

Many schools “super” score, which means that they take the best math score from all of your tests, the best English, and the best writing.

A few, like Bates and Bowdoin colleges in Maine have done away with SATs and ACTs. They don’t consider them as a barrier to admission. Unfortunately, though, they are a hoop that you still have to jump through for most colleges, and the better the score, the easier your process will be.

These tests serve both to weed out candidates, and to determine top candidates. If you have a perfect or near perfect SAT and great grades, a

lot of doors open up. Even a high SAT and more modest grades will still give you some lift in a college world where the test is still king.

If you’re looking for scholarship money, great grades are good. High test scores are better.

You can get over the SAT hurdle. The best way to beat the test is not to let it beat you.

You need to be honest about the kind of student that you are.

If you’re fast and clever, the test may be a breeze. If you’re more methodical, slow, you may want to look into books or classes to help you learn the tricks to staying on time and on-track.

Have great grades and low standardized test scores? Consider a test-optional school.

There are also schools like Rollins College and Lewis and Clark and Sarah Lawrence which will consider the tests, but also rely as or more heavily on teacher recommendations. If they think you have a lot of potential, some of these schools may look past the standardized tests.

The cost of a test-prep program shouldn’t equal your score on the test. For some people, a prep book is enough. If you need more one-on-one, find a mentor/tutor you “get.” If someone is talking over your head, it’s not that you’re dumb. It’s that they’re not clear and the right choice for you.

REMEMBER that when you sign up for the SAT it will ask you where you want to send the tests in advance. DO NOT DO THAT. You may take the test a few times. You should be in the driver’s seat. You can always report later. Some schools let you pick your own super score. Wait until you have taken the test as many times as you feel that you need to do, and then decide who/where to send the scores.

The best thing you can do to beat the standardized tests is to be relaxed, and realize that, once you know the system, standardized tests aren’t a problem.

Ferhoncus de plub

Omare foremne

Lemacord Promwn

Trenz PrucaAliquam de Mantis

Leo PraesenMauris Vitaequam

Diam NobisSenmaris Calla Ipsum

Eget ToqueAliquam de Manti

Fringilla ViverrSeargente de Fermentum

Urna SemperChauncey de Billuptus

Orci AliquamVivamus Nunc

Nobis EgetSed accumsan Libero

Fermen PedeVestibulum Bibendum

Uam ScelerisqueMaecenas Interdum

Cras MaecenasCurabitur Leo

Tortor RasellusQuisque Porta

Urna SodalesAliquam Mattis Felis

Veli LigulaMorbi congue Magna

Odio PedeEget Purus

Cleverness Tests

Whether you’re going to college fair booths, or meeting a music professor, or having an admissions interview with an admissions officer or an alumni representative, you want to get their attention in a positive way.

Colleges track everything that you do with them.

Did you go to an open house? Ask for information from them? Did you follow-up? Come to a college fair later to see them? Did you go to a regional open house? Tour the school?

You want them to see your interest, so try to make sure that you hit a few events that they do and sign in.

That’s not enough, though. You want to make sure that you get on their radar.

Some schools like DSOA. That alone can open the door to conversation.

If you’re not shy, like Adesh, this should not be a problem. If you’re a quiet person, though, you may have to force yourself to get out there with a smile, and engage the admissions people, or their representatives, in a discussion about something.

Admissions officers are usually good ice breakers. When they talk to you, they are trying to get as much of an understanding of you as they are when they read an essay.

My exceedingly quiet, shy twin daughters went to a college fair and the Bates Reps who engaged them in a discussion about life and school that got them talking. They liked what the people there said enough to go see the school.

So we went to Maine. Not in the spring, but in February, with about 4 feet of snow everywhere.

The tour went well, and the reps talked to them quite a bit more about Bates.

The next fall, when Bates returned, they remarked “It’s the twins who came up to see us in February!

They were admitted ED2 over that winter.

Some schools offer interviews when you go visit them. Take them up on them whenever you can. The interview is another large piece of

the admissions puzzle that is great to have in your admissions jacket if they will still do one.

The best ones are done at the school, or on regional representative visits to the area.

Don’t be shy. Ask them politely, if the rep is down here in Florida, to see if they will meet with you. If they say “no” you are no worse off.

Some schools, particularly the Ivy league flavor, use alumni to conduct interviews.

Many of these can go equally well. Some, though, are done by alums who don’t always do things by the book.

A Dartmouth interview that I went to had three of them seated around the room strategically at different places so the student would have to turn their back on one of them to speak to the other two.

The game being played was to have the courage to ask one of them to move so you could speak with all of them. It took about three or four students doing the interviews and talking about them to figure it out.

Not all of them are that odd. Sometimes you can get an alumni interviewer so up for you that they will push hard to get you into the school. Some have more pull that way than others.

Make good eye contact. Dress neatly at least for any college fair or a college tour/interview. If you have an alumni interview set up on an evening/afternoon, dress to impress. Shake their hand. Positive human contact is the best thing for your file!

(Making the Right Impression)

Making the right impression.