Music School Admissions Counselling

[Anonymous]

Could anyone recommend a music school admissions counselor?

DMV local would be terrific, but not required. Talked to one in Boston that claims deep relationships at Berklee. Seemed OK, but the $15K ticket struck me as a bit much.

DC is aiming for Berklee for digital music production, or same elsewhere failing that. I know bubkis about getting into music school, or even which schools to target. Def need top tier help.

TIA!

[Anonymous]

What does the private teacher say? He or she is really the only counselor you need. They should have contacts at various schools to ask whether your child has a chance, given his body of work. Unlike regular academic admissions, music is a very murky world with some singularly unethical people. Caution.

Unless you're wealthy, I wouldn't spend 15K on a college admissions adviser.

[Anonymous]

Not an admissions counselor recommendation, but I do have a suggestion. Have your DC look into participating in a summer program. My DC participated in music tech summer programs at Berklee and NYU. Both programs were run by current professors at the schools and they both mentioned their connection to admissions. At NYU the professor even offered to review all of the summer participants' applications before they submitted them. The summer programs are helpful for the student to see if they like the school and also a great way for the programs to get to know your student ahead of admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not an admissions counselor recommendation, but I do have a suggestion. Have your DC look into participating in a summer program. My DC participated in music tech summer programs at Berklee and NYU. Both programs were run by current professors at the schools and they both mentioned their connection to admissions. At NYU the professor even offered to review all of the summer participants' applications before they submitted them. The summer programs are helpful for the student to see if they like the school and also a great way for the programs to get to know your student ahead of admissions.

Appreciate the info. You mean in person programs, correct? We did the jazz summer program at Miami for two summers, and were hoping for Bard/Lincoln Center last summer, but covid put the kibosh on all that.

[Anonymous]

Yes, luckily DC was doing this pre-covid and is a junior now at NYU. He did the SIMPT program at NYU (there's great info on their website about it) and a music production workshop at Berklee. He enjoyed both and found them very helpful for making decisions about college applications. No clue what the in person options will be this summer. Good luck to your DC!

[Anonymous]

Consider Oberlin and University of Rochester

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, luckily DC was doing this pre-covid and is a junior now at NYU. He did the SIMPT program at NYU (there's great info on their website about it) and a music production workshop at Berklee. He enjoyed both and found them very helpful for making decisions about college applications. No clue what the in person options will be this summer. Good luck to your DC!

Appreciate the info. Working on Summer plans now, although I must say I am not excited about the prospect about their being virtual. What if any production programs did you look at other than Berklee and Steinhardt?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, luckily DC was doing this pre-covid and is a junior now at NYU. He did the SIMPT program at NYU (there's great info on their website about it) and a music production workshop at Berklee. He enjoyed both and found them very helpful for making decisions about college applications. No clue what the in person options will be this summer. Good luck to your DC!

Also did you guys take the SAT? The Ex is militating for it, but as far as I can tell it makes no sense for music school and is on the way out everywhere regardless.

[Anonymous]

Appreciate the info. Working on Summer plans now, although I must say I am not excited about the prospect about their being virtual. What if any production programs did you look at other than Berklee and Steinhardt?

Along with Steinhardt and Berklee, he also looked at University of Southern California and Belmont in Nashville. When considering looking for internships/jobs, he wanted to stick with the 3 biggest music cities. For what it's worth, Belmont is known for giving pretty generous merit scholarships and has rolling admissions, so it's a good one to have on the list. Once he had his first summer in NYC experience, there was now convincing him to consider elsewhere, but all of these programs are great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Also did you guys take the SAT? The Ex is militating for it, but as far as I can tell it makes no sense for music school and is on the way out everywhere regardless.

Yes to the SAT and subject tests. Three years ago, there wasn't really an option not to test. I know scores aren't as important for music programs, but if they're good, they can help give your kid's application an extra boost. Good scores are also helpful for scholarships. Obviously, it's a whole new world today with regards to testing, so who knows!