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First of all, congratulations on your GPA. Keep up the good work !!

The community service is very nice - but it really will not help you get into a top level music conservatory.

I've provided (below) a listing of the best music schools in the nation. I strongly recommend that you visit their websites and learn more about them.



Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music (Berea, OH)
Bard College Conservatory of Music (Annandale-on-Hudson, NY)
Berklee College of Music (Boston, MA)
Blair School of Music of Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN)
Boston Conservatory (Boston, MA)
Boston University [47] (Boston, MA)
Bob Cole Conservatory of Music of California State University Long Beach (Long Beach, CA)
Carnegie Mellon School of Music (Pittsburgh, PA)
Cleveland Institute of Music (Cleveland, OH)
The Colburn School (Los Angeles, CA)
Cornish College of the Arts (Seattle, WA)
Crane School of Music (Potsdam, NY)
Curtis Institute of Music (Philadelphia, PA)
Eastman School of Music (Rochester, NY)
Florida State University College of Music (Tallahassee)
Hartt School of Music (West Hartford, CT)
Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (Bloomington, IN)
Ithaca College (Ithaca, NY)
John J. Cali School of Music of Montclair State University (Montclair, NJ)
Juilliard School (New York)
Longy School of Music (Cambridge, MA)
Los Angeles Music Academy College of Music (Los Angeles, CA)
Lynn Conservatory of Music of Lynn University (Boca Raton, FL)
McNally Smith College of Music (St.Paul, MN)
Manhattan School of Music (New York City)
Mannes College The New School for Music (New York City)
New England Conservatory (Boston)
Bienen School of Music of Northwestern University (Evanston, IL)
Oberlin Conservatory (Oberlin,OH)
Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore)
Pennsylvania Academy of Music (Lancaster, PA)
Rowan University(Glassboro, NJ)
Rutgers University Mason Gross School (New Brunswick, NJ)
Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music of The University of Texas at Austin (Austin, TX)
Setnor School of Music in the College of Visual and Performing Arts of Syracuse University (Syracuse, NY)
Shepherd School of Music of Rice University (Houston, TX)
Shenandoah University Shenandoah Conservatory (Winchester, VA)
University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, (Cincinnati)
University of Connecticut School of Music (Storrs, CT)
University of Illinois, School of Music (Urbana, IL)
University of Maryland School of Music (College Park, MD)
University of Massachusetts School of Music (Amherst, MA)
University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance (Ann Arbor, MI)
University of Missouri School of Music (Columbia, MO)
University of North Texas College of Music (Denton)
University of Southern California Thornton School of Music (Los Angeles)
University of Southern Maine USM School of Music (Gorham, ME)
University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music (Stockton, CA)
University of Washington School of Music (Seattle, WA)
Western Illinois University School of Music (Macomb, IL)
Westminster Choir College of Rider University (Princeton, NJ)
Conservatory of Music at Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL)
Yale University Yale School of Music (New Haven, CT)

Of course, you can always try to apply, but I don't think that doing so is realistic in your case. Remember, too, that applications cost money, so applying to schools where it's highly unlikely for you to be accepted is going to be, apart from the experience of applying, a waste of money that might be spent in more realistic pursuits.

While past academic success is important in any application, you have to realize - as some of us have said already - that an important focus of your application to schools such as Juilliard or Peabody will be your repertoire and your experience. You will be competing against piano students who have been studying since they were very young, who have competed - sometimes with great success - in major local and even national competitions, and who have a large - if not vast - repertoire polished to a professional level. Many of them also have considerable performance experience. From what you have said, I do not believe that you are such a student.

As I also wrote before, I am not trying to discourage your interest in pursuing piano, but on the basis of the information you have provided, it is unlikely - highly unlikely - that your application will even be considered.

Set your sights on a college with a music/piano program where you might have a chance of being accepted. That means carefully reading requirements before you apply to such programs and making sure that you can fulfill those requirements.

Regards,

Probably not; at conservatories, it's pretty much all about the audition and your performance experience. Those things could help at a college or university, though.

And to Carey's list, add the University of Kansas, University of Nebraska, University of Iowa, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

They're every bit as good (if not better) than some of the schools on Carey's list. (I have friends on the keyboard departments of those schools and they all have wonderful piano departments.) If I were 18, I'd have no hesitations about auditioning at any of them.

Kreisler -

Very good suggestions. I should have added those to the list above (which actually was a list I simply copied off of another website). I too was was a tad surprised that those four schools weren't listed - along with University of Missouri at Kansas City.

dlee -

Bruce D. is giving you very candid and sound advice.

As for your career goals - it might be wiser at this point for you to simply say that you would like to to eventually "perform and teach." Then start working diligently toward that goal - and see how far you get.

A quick word about goals:

The original poster mentioned that it was a goal of theirs to be a piano professor at a major conservatory. It got me thinking about the nature of goals - what's realistic and what's not. Looking at my own life, and looking at the careers of people I know who are university professors, independent teachers and performers, I think that certain goals are helpful, while others are not.

An example of an unhelpful goal is "to be a professor at Juilliard." I say this because it's a goal that someone else has to give you. You have very little control over the decisions of others, and trying to be what others want is a sure way to shut the door on personal and artistic growth.

A far more useful goal is "to develop a interpretive approach that helps connect the music of Beethoven with modern audiences." Another might be "to become an effective teacher who can successfully recruit and train excellent performers." These are examples of goals that you DO have control over. Furthermore, when you achieve these kinds of goals, the people who make hiring decisions at Juilliard will be more likely to notice you.

I once taught an interdisciplinary arts class for undergraduates. I asked all 70 of them "Where do you see yourself after graduation?"

The majority answered using the word "be." "I want to be a financial planner." "I want to be a father/mother." "I want to be an engineer."

Far fewer answered using active verbs. "I want to help people with their finances." "I want to raise children." "I want to design aircraft."

I know this is mostly a semantic argument, but I think it's important. I don't think Picasso wanted to be an artist. I think he wanted to paint. Rubinstein didn't want to be a concert pianist, he wanted to play the piano for people.

I have a friend who's an excellent physician. He doesn't like "being a doctor." He likes "thinking about diagnostic problems."

So to our original poster (and the many out there who have similar questions), I'd strongly encourage you to set goals that are under your control and can be stated using interesting verbs. Stop trying to "be a Juilliard student" and go play the piano.

Well put Kreisler!

I think you put it well.
Hoping that this won't be seen as unkind, I have to say that it seems he's aiming a bit high at this moment and doesn't have a fully realistic view of the picture.

Is it unkind to say things that might be discouraging? Not necessarily -- if we're pretty sure that we're right, and I think I'm pretty sure. Giving a dose of reality can help someone target himself better, and avoid disappointment and failure.

It's possible that over the course of time -- maybe a few years -- he could elevate himself to the point that his current ambitions would be reasonable. But at the moment, it seems like he's trying to skip a few steps without knowing it.

For at least a couple of those places, I think higher academic credentials would probably be needed, almost regardless of the audition.

Yes - at some large public universities (and maybe all, I can't say for sure), you're actually admitted in two places: to the music department and to the university at-large. Music departments will also have access to the complete application and can, at their discretion, give weight to the applicant's academic credentials as they see fit.

It's also important to realize that university music departments have enrollment goals. Faculty members are expected to maintain a full studio of 12-20 students. If someone has 18 students, only 2 of whom are graduating, and 10 applicants, then they can afford to be very picky. If someone has 14 students, 4 of whom are graduating, and only 3 applicants, then they're going to be looking for reasons to accept people. (In other words, strong academic and social skills could become more important.)

Every school is a little bit different, and it's usually best to apply to a few, play well on your audition, be a good person, and don't worry about the math and politics going on behind the scenes.

That would apply to several schools on the original list. I figured that once the OP really started researching these institutions he/she might begin to understand the challenges inherent in getting accepted.

Obviously we've all been trying to be "kind" in our responses to this young person - without discouraging him/her from pursuing a dream.

It would be desirable for the OP to find a good teacher ASAP who can provide counsel and steer him/her in the right direction - whatever that might be.

PS - The "list" is in no way intended to be comprehensive. Its simply a starting point.

That's probably the best single thing that's been said.

It seems like the OP is operating in a bit of a vacuum and therefore doesn't have the perspective to know what's possible or realistic. We've been filling the vacuum a bit, but it will continue to be basically a vacuum unless he/she does what you said.