You are not likely to hear about your acceptance until after your audition. At some point after the audition (typically in March unless you apply early action or early decision), you’ll also hear about any merit and/or financial aid offers.

Sometimes the university will accept a student who the music department or school will not accept. However, the reverse is not true (students won’t be accepted to the music school without acceptance into the overall university).

It requires patience – and applying to more than one school!

Every school is different so we encourage you to contact the admissions dept. at any school you plan to apply early decision.

A student’s chances of getting accepted are not affected by their strong interest in music plus a non-music area. But the student should apply and audition in music and then pick up the second major once they’re already in school. At some schools, students apply for a dual or double degree in their senior year of high school; at other schools, they don’t apply for the second degree until they’re already in college. A double or dual degree typically takes five years to complete.

Most admission staff will say that unless a student has an equally strong interest in music AND a non-music area, they will be better off applying for just the area they’re really most passionate about and finding other ways to explore the other area.

If a student auditioned really well or impressed the faculty during trial lesson, does it help with acceptance into the school that’s highly selective, such as Northwestern?

1. If you get into an overall university but not into the music department or school, you will be able to pursue a different major. But if you’re passionate about music, talk with the school about which classes to take in case you can re-audition for spring semester or want to re-audition for the following fall.

2. As for audition requirements – follow EXACTLY what each school asks for. Do not send a generic audition because schools will look for how well you follow directions. If you’re uncertain about the audition requirements for any school, contact their admission office first and ask them. They may send you on to someone else. If you don’t hear back, give them about 3-4 days and try again. Again, make NO assumptions about what they want.

Preparing to audition for jazz performance programs would be the first step since you want to be a professional jazz musician. There are a number of scoring programs on the master’s level to follow up with. There are even a few of these on the bachelor’s level but they would not train you in depth in jazz performance. Be sure to check out How to Make Virtual College Fairs Work for You.

Every school is different. And yours is a great question to ask the admissions office at every school you’re seriously interested in applying to.

But here’s a general rule of thumb regarding auditions at many schools: the “bar” is set differently for different areas of music, with Performance set at the highest. In other words, Performance applicants will be expected to perform their audition at a higher level. Note that universities and liberal arts colleges require strong academics (GPA, SAT/ACT scores if required) in addition to the audition. In fact, at universities, students will apply to the university AND to the music program.

The number of schools varies from student to student. It is certainly a good idea to have a few schools that are considered reach as well as a few that you’re likely to be accepted to – and perhaps a few in between. Get a sense of what each school requires re: GPA and test scores as well as auditions by going to their websites. Don’t waste your time applying to schools that you might get in to but really don’t want to attend. Be sure to track all the application and audition requirements – as well as pre-screen requirements if any of the schools you’re interested in require those. It’s very easy to confuse all the details and end up sending the wrong information. Schools do not look kindly upon students who don’t follow their directions and that’s reason enough to turn students down.

Many schools have indicated to us that students should request a sample lesson in their junior or senior year of high school but not before then. It’s a good way for them to assess your proficiency and for you to learn more about the faculty, the school in general, and what you need to work on to be ready for pre-screens and auditions. Note that at some schools, you will pay for these lessons; at others you will not. Every school is different. Start by contacting the admissions office to see if they can help you set up a sample lesson.

Because every school is so different, we don’t like to make generalizations or assumptions about what they do and don’t want to see. So we suggest you first read very carefully their audition requirements on their website. Then, if you still have any questions or any uncertainties, contact the music admission office and be very specific about your questions.

Find out if the audition for the BA in Music is weighted differently than the BM. If you don’t pass the audition, ask for feedback as to what you can do and when you can re-audition. If you have to wait a full year, see if you can take lessons, music theory, and any other classes that will keep you from falling behind if you do get accepted into the music program later on. Is there a music minor or the option to take music classes even if you don’t major in music?