6 Expert Tips You Need to Remember When Applying to Music School

If you want to apply to a music college, consider these six tips to make the process as easy and enjoyable as possible.

Many parents don’t know how to handle hearing their child say, “I want to major in Music!” When this happens, the most common questions I get from parents are: Where do I start finding out about music colleges? Will my child be able to make a living? Do they need a backup plan and a double major?

Here are some tips for any student or parent no matter where they are in the college search and admission process.

1. Music majors open many doors

Majoring in Music can lead to many careers. My absolute favorite thing to tell students and parents is to use the word “music” as an adjective in front of different career paths. There are suddenly hundreds of options: music education, music performance, music business, music law, music medicine, music therapy, and on and on. Majoring in Music is the best way to enter any of these fields.

Related: What Can I Do With a Music Degree?

2. Summer music festivals and camps are important

One of the best ways to confirm that music is the path for you is to participate in a summer festival or camp. Music festivals and camps take place all over the world. They’re intensive programs that may last anywhere from a few days to 10 weeks. Students play in ensembles, take lessons, and are surrounded by young people with the same passion. GRAMMY Camp is a great program for students interested in the fields of audio engineering, electronic music production, songwriting, music journalism, music business, etc. And there are tons of music festivals every summer for everything from jazz to classical music.

3. Meet the instrument professors

I think of the instrument professor at a school like a four-year coach. A Division I football player would never sign with a school without first meeting the coach and touring the facilities. Musicians should do the same. When looking at schools, meeting the instrument professor and taking a lesson is one of the most important things you can do. Start learning about the successful teachers in your field by reading their bios on each school’s website. Then make it a priority to have a lesson with a professor on each campus you visit.

4. You don’t need a second degree as a backup plan

If you want to major in Music, choose Music. I don’t recommend anyone add a second degree just to have a “backup plan.” As someone who was enrolled in a dual-degree program (Music and Math), I can tell you it’s extremely time consuming and challenging. Think of practicing music like a Medical degree: if you don’t put in the thousands of hours in the lab studying (or in our case, the practice room), you won’t equip yourself for the professional world. In the end, students will sacrifice something because their time is split. Only enroll in two degrees or two majors if you truly want to use both.

Related: Music Students: Is a Double Degree Right for You?

5. Don’t avoid a school because of the cost

I learned this lesson from Dr. Kathleen Tesar, Associate Dean of Enrollment Management at The Juilliard School, who coauthored College Prep for Musicians with me: no matter what price is listed on a website, you won’t know the true cost of a school until you’ve applied and received your financial aid package. With your aid and scholarships factored in, one college with a sticker price of $50,000 a year could be ultimately cheaper to attend than one that costs $10,000 per year. I’ve witnessed many students attend schools they never thought they could afford. As Dr. Tesar says, “You will never know until you apply.”

Related: The Best Way to Pay for College as a Music Major: Become a Private Teacher

6. Treat your audition like an interview

The audition at a music school is often around 10 minutes long and is usually in front of either one professor or a panel of professors. Think of the audition as a professional interview. Make sure to dress up (nice pants or a long skirt and a nice shirt are appropriate). Normally the panel will hear you play then ask you a few questions. It’s appropriate and encouraged for you to have a few questions for the panel as well.

Start looking for your music college on CollegeXpress today.

Like what you’re reading?

Join the CollegeXpress community! Create a free account and we’ll notify you about new articles, scholarship deadlines, and more.

Join Now

Tags:

About Annie Bosler

Dr. Annie Bosler is a horn player and teacher in Los Angeles. She coauthored the book College Prep for Musicians. She specializes in teaching private horn lessons to high schoolers and has a 100% success rate in helping students get into music schools. Annie has former French horn students in almost every major conservatory across the United States. For more info, visit collegeprepformusicians.com and anniebosler.com.

 

Join our community of
over 5 million students!

CollegeXpress has everything you need to simplify your college search, get connected to schools, and find your perfect fit.

Join CollegeXpress
Michael

Michael

High School Class of 2021

CollegeXpress showed me that Western New England University was a great match for me both with curriculum and location. CollegeXpress is an excellent resource both future and current college students.

Chris Bell

Chris Bell

Bell College Consulting

The college lists on CollegeXpress are indispensable for sussing out creative additions to a student’s list, and the college-specific pages provide terrific commentary and suggestions for related schools. CollegeXpress is among the most trusted sources I use for information for my students.

Monica

Monica

High School Class of 2023

Being a sophomore in high school, I never really worried about college. I thought it wasn't important to worry about until senior year. Through this program opportunity I came across, I realized how important it is to start looking at colleges early and start planning ahead. CollegeXpress has opened my eyes to what colleges require, what colleges are near me, and what they offer. The daily emails I get from CollegeXpress really help me look at the different options I have and what colleges I fit into. Without this website, I would not be taking the time out of my day to worry about what my future will be nor what opportunities I have. I could not be more grateful for such an amazing and useful website. It's thanks to CollegeXpress that not only me but my family now know how much potential I have in to getting into these colleges/universities that we thought were out of my reach.

Lydia Huth

Lydia Huth

Student, Campbell University; CollegeXpress Student Writer

I discovered CollegeXpress while embarking on my college search journey as an excited—but scared and way confused—high schooler without a counselor or college-bound sibling to give me advice. Let me tell you, I’m so glad that I stumbled on this community! CollegeXpress helped me find potential colleges and keep application deadlines straight. It gave me a great list of scholarships, and the blogs and emails made me feel like I wasn’t going it alone. Almost three years later and with freshman year of college down, I still love the CollegeXpress vibe so much that I’m writing for them. I’d recommend this site to anyone!

Carlie Cadet

Carlie Cadet

High School Class of 2019

CollegeXpress has helped me learn about an abundance of scholarships available to me and my situation. I was able to do research for colleges in my best interest with your website. I've had multiple colleges email me and offer me multiple scholarships and things of that nature because of this website! Thank you so much for uploading scholarships I didn’t even know existed, even if my life took a huge turn and I wasn’t able to go to college straight out of high school. CollegeXpress helped me a lot in high school to be even more motivated to get into my dream college (which I did, by the way). I'm looking forward to using the materials CollegeXpress has kindly provided me for free to look for scholarships to help pay for college.

College Matches
X

Colleges You May Be Interested In

Miami University

Oxford, OH

Emerson College

Boston, MA