Office of Admissions Blog

by Lee Cioppa, Associate Dean for Admissions

Let your heart drop once
Then know it is not an end
Just another path.

By Monia C. Estima, Senior Assistant Director for Music Admissions

As I schedule the 2010 Music Division auditions it occurs to me that:

• Surf rock is really groovy background music for reading over a thousand audition date request e-mails and plopping “X” applicant into “Y” audition slot. In particular, I like the Aqua Velvets, who are a self-described “…fascinating blend of spaghetti western, shimmering psychedelia, pristine surf, latin rhythms, mysterious faraway places, and a tongue-in-cheek dash of lounge.” Their album “Guitar Noir” was in heavy rotation on my WMP this season and I particularly enjoyed “Subterranea,” “Casbah Club,” and the title track. Please note: these guys are a band formed in the 80s dipping into, and merrily messing with, a musical style from the 60s. One of the pioneers of more “proper” surf rock is Dick Dale, “The King of the Surf Guitar.” (You know the main theme from Pulp Fiction? That’s his version of “Misirlou,” which is a Greek folk/pop song. Who knew? *I* didn’t!)
• Not all applicants take advantage of their chance to request their preferred audition dates when the opportunity exists. When I joined Juilliard in 2004 there was no such system in place; they just scheduled applicants and hoped that everything worked out for the best. It often didn’t. I got over 100 applicants asking for audition date changes that were impossible to make because the schedules were full. And we didn’t feel right asking folks who’d already booked their travel/lodging for their auditions with us to change their plans/lose money. So we didn’t ask them to–we’d wait for audition slots to open up from others’ cancelled auditions. Unfortunately, that meant the people who had audition conflicts sometimes waited till just three weeks before audition week to learn if they could audition on different dates. Those were difficult times for all of us, which is why I was more than happy to install this “audition date request” system. It’s a lot of work to get through in the first couple of weeks in January but it’s satisfying for me to do it, because I know I’m making life easier for our applicants. So when, say, 80% of applicants in a given music department put in their requests, I have to wonder what’s up with the other 20% who didn’t (some of whom then e-mail me in a panic because NOW they’ve got audition conflicts). Seriously, what’s up with that, dudes?
• Applicants should really consider creating a simple, professional, e-mail account to use in communications with the schools to which they’ve applied. For example, I would go with something like, “firstname-lastname@whatever.com.” I would probably not include in my professional e-mail address things like “booty” or “(some type of)–licious” or “(insert instrument)–diva” or “(insert instrument)–God.” Just sayin’.
• Some applicants don’t believe us when we tell them that they can’t audition on a date outside of audition week. Every year we get a handful of e-mails from folks who say they can’t audition in the first week of March (which is almost always when we have our music auditions). Just so you all know – that’s Juilliard’s Spring Break, so it’s pretty much the only time that we have space available for auditions (no classes! no performances! no students!), faculty available to listen (since they’re not teaching), and in general the resources to hear 1,400 folks. While it may not be the best time for all applicants (after all, what would be the perfect time for 1,400 people?), we don’t arrange special auditions, to be fair to the vast majority of applicants who moved mountains in order to audition during the originally scheduled dates.

O.K., that’s about all I’ve got time for right now; still have a few hundred e-mail requests to get through. Hope y’all enjoy the surf music and know that we look forward to welcoming you in March. Cowabunga, brah!

By Lee Cioppa, Associate Dean for Admissions

I was trying to come up with some good titles for this blog, and a couple that occurred to me were:

Ask and you shall receive

Or

Be careful what you wish for.

If you are an applicant to Juilliard this year in the Music Division, you have recently been asked to complete a survey for us. This is pretty standard for Juilliard Admissions – we like surveys! We are dedicated supporters of Survey Monkey, and collect lots of good information that help us understand how to improve our processes, from how we recruit to how we run auditions to even how we inform students of their admission status (that’s how we knew that our applicant pool was ready to go paperless – from responses on surveys saying that we should get the audition results up online!).

In this year’s survey, we included an open comment field, and asked everyone to give their thoughts on how we could better inform prospective students about the School, and/or improve the application process.

Well.

Ask and you shall receive.

And hey – be careful what you wish for!

But also – tidings of comfort and joy.

We got such great responses. I would estimate that half said that their experience with us was very good – and many that said that our application was one of the easiest that they had done.

As for the other half – it wasn’t bad news, or bad comments, or in my opinion, bad anything. I’ve gotten such great ideas already for how we can do things next year! We heard a lot about our website (we’re working on it, folks!), and that it would be helpful to have checklists, everything in one place rather than in multiple documents or web pages, clearer instructions – and these are things we can do. But we needed to know that these things were needed – otherwise, we would have gone on thinking that everything was perfectly fine.

In fact, that’s part of the reason that this blog exists – in fall 2007, when I was applying to nursery schools for my daughter, I realized how little information I had about nursery school – and more than that, how little information I was actually getting from the schools themselves! We (the Admissions staff) have a wealth of information about Juilliard and our admissions processes that is in our heads – we think that we are explaining things in our print materials, website and application, but perhaps we only think that because we are so intimate with it. And perhaps, to someone who hasn’t done this before, the whole thing seems completely mysterious and vague and unclear and confusing. I think that our blog helps (oh, and we got some comments on the survey that said it does!), but we can do more.

So, while I am comforted that many are having a good experience applying to Juilliard, I also find joy in the many comments that will help us do things better.

Thank you to all who responded – I hope you in turn will find comfort and joy in knowing that you will make the Juilliard application experience better in the future.

by Tina Gonzalez, Director of Financial Aid

Now that you’ve completed your admissions application, it’s time to start thinking about financial planning as well. Very few students can attend college without some form of financial aid, and our students are no different. Over 90% of our students are receiving some kind of aid through Juilliard, and over 70% are receiving scholarship. Here are some steps you can take now to help finance your college education.

1. Get organized! Make a spreadsheet of each school to which you are applying, and make a note of their costs of attendance, required financial aid materials and deadlines. Later on you can enter the scholarship offers you’ve received and compare them (federal financial aid should be similar at every school, since this money comes directly from the government).

2. Plan ahead! If you’re reading this, you’re already on the right track. Have a candid discussion with your parent or guardian and find out how much financial help you can expect from them. This includes whether they’d be willing to take out loans on your behalf, or cosign a student loan with you.

3. Educate yourself! Do you know the difference between a grant and a loan? In addition to learning about your schools, you’ll need to know about federal student aid as well. This includes grants, loans and work-study funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The best sites to visit are www.studentaid.gov and www.finaid.org. The information there is so helpful, we even refer to them ourselves when we have questions. In addition, you can go on the FAFSA website (www.fafsa.ed.gov) at any time to get a preview of your federal aid eligibility.

4. Do some research! In addition to saving for college, you should also research outside funding sources. There are plenty of free scholarship searches online such as www.fastweb.com. You can also write letters to local philanthropic organizations, especially ones with whom you have a religious, ethnic or professional affiliation. Or you can even throw yourself a benefit performance to raise money!

So, to get you started, here’s what you’ll need to apply for financial aid and scholarship assistance at Juilliard:

Juilliard’s scholarship decisions are based on financial need AND merit. The merit component is based on the strength of your entrance audition. The need portion is largely determined by the information on the following required items:

• The Juilliard Financial Aid application, which will be available online in January.
• The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), if you’re a US Citizen or resident. This is available at starting January 1, 2010.
• A complete, signed copy of your and your parents’ 2009 federal tax form, or (for international students) official documentation of your parents’ salaries.

Detailed instructions will be available in the Financial Aid application. Our deadline is March 1, 2010. It’s extremely important to apply on time, as we are unable to award aid until all forms have been received.

I hope you find this information useful. We understand that everyone’s situation is unique, and encourage you to stay in contact with us throughout the process. If you have any questions or concerns along the way – even if you just want to make sure we’ve received your information – we’re here to help you. Good luck!

By Mónia C. Estima, Senior Assistant Director for Music Admissions

Hi again, Juilliard prospective applicants! Before you kick back with your family, load up on carbs, and sink into a tryptophan-enhanced food-coma this Thursday, let’s consider what the looming December 1 deadline means for YOU!

On December 1 the online application closes right after 11:59 PM (Eastern) on Tuesday, December 1, 2009. If you try submitting it after that time, you won’t be able to because it will shut off! If you’re online at 12:02 AM on December 2 and try to submit, you’ll get an error message telling you the deadline has passed. Do yourself a big favor—don’t wait until December 1, but try to finish up and submit it by November 30, because if you go to submit it and there’s some kind of technical glitch, you still have the following business day to rectify matters. Once you’ve submitted the application, you’ll receive an automated e-mail confirmation that it was submitted. After we officially “acknowledge receipt” of your application, you’ll receive another automated e-mail letting you know. If you believe you clicked “Submit” but you didn’t receive any automated e-mails, guess what? You didn’t “Submit” your application. If you realize this AFTER December 1—you’ve missed the deadline! Your application is LATE!

What else can make you “late?”

• If you chose to pay your application fee by check, and you mail the check out but it’s postmarked after December 1, that makes your application late.
• If your major is pre-screened and your pre-screening materials are postmarked after December 1, that will also make you late.

It may seem a bit nit-picky, to view an applicant as being late just because the application fee or pre-screening materials were postmarked the day after the deadline, but think about the hundreds of applicants who raced to their local Post Offices (or walked 15 miles in the snow, shoeless) just to postmark their stuff on time. Out of fairness to them, Juilliard must stand firm on the December 1 postmark issue. Also, for your own peace of mind, be sure to send your check or pre-screening materials by some traceable method (and keep your receipts!). If the postmark on your package is illegible and we question its timeliness, you’ll then be able to provide proof that it was postmarked by the deadline. (BTW, we’re getting lots of phone calls asking where y’all should mail your stuff–the mailing instructions are bar #1 on the home page of your online application.)

What happens if you’re late?

Ah, dude…We can’t just say it’s O.K., no matter what happened to make you late. It’s not that we wouldn’t sympathize, it’s that pesky “fairness” issue, as Admissions is charged with maintaining the integrity of the application process, for ALL applicants.

Generally, in the case of late application fees (for those who opted to pay by check), we can approve your late application ONLY IF there are audition slots available after we’ve scheduled all on-time applicants. The situation is the same for late pre-screening materials; those applicants’ pre-screening may be considered ONLY IF there are audition slots available after all on-time applicants have been pre-screened. Keep in mind, however, some departments’ audition slots will fill up rather quickly and, in that event, regardless of why your check or pre-screening was late, we will not be able to approve your late materials.

I know, I’m being *such* a Debbie-Downer! It’s only ‘cause I want YOU to be the applicant who ISN’T sweating bullets on December 1, wondering if you’ll be able to get everything that needs doing DONE by 11:59 PM. Take advantage of the holiday weekend, keep a slice of pumpkin or apple or pecan pie by your side (‘cause pie helps, trust me on this one), and wrap everything up by November 30. You’ll be happy you did.

*The drumstick and smoked sausage stuffing of this blog comes from a pre-Turkey-Day blog I wrote last year. The blog’s title comes from The White Stripes’ “Fell In Love With A Girl.”

by Lee Cioppa, Associate Dean for Admissions

After an extremely hectic September and October, with tons of on-campus events and lots of travel, it’s hard to believe that the December 1 application deadline is fast approaching!  In fact, we’ve already had one application deadline – for the Artist Diploma in Opera Studies – and we’ll be reviewing pre-screening recordings for that shortly, since the Opera Studies applicants audition in December.  Despite how crazy it is to have that earlier process for one program,  it’s actually a good warm-up for the big deadline and hundreds and hundreds of recordings we get for the classical and jazz degree programs.

Anyway, the hot topic on almost all music applicants minds right now is pre-screening.  Since I’m a big believe in “reduce, re-use and recycle”, I though I’d send everyone reading this blog to one I wrote two years ago on pre-screening.  It’s quite detailed, and only one thing has changed since then – we don’t send out pre-screening results by mail any longer – only by email (if you’ve been reading our blogs,  you know that we went completely paperless last year).

So, here is Pre-Screening – putting your best musical foot forward!

See your application before December !

by Toni Rosenbaum, Admissions Receptionist

In the spirit of Halloween, I’ve decided to take up fortune telling.

I will now attempt to read your minds….You’re thinking: “How will I know when my transcripts arrive?” “Were my recommenders able to submit their letters?” “Did you receive my TOEFL?” “Is my pre-screening CD safely in your office?”

I have the answers!

Perform the steps below and you can view everything that we have received:

Log back into your application
Click on the “Track Status” Tab
All of the materials you have turned in are magically recorded there

(Ok, it’s not magic – I record them as I receive them)

There’s only one catch: NOTHING is recorded until you actually submit your application.

And now… I will predict the future…

In about two weeks, we will get so much mail that it will be absolutely impossible for me to record everything as I receive it. Work-study students will tirelessly help me record and file everything away into your files. You will have to wait 1-3 weeks to see your materials appear in the “track status” section of your application file…

Alright – maybe I am just giving you information from my past experience… BUT it is good to remember as you log into your online application to check all of the parts of your application.

My fortune telling career is officially over – back to tracking your application parts!

Happy Halloween!!

by Lee Cioppa, Associate Dean for Admissions

It’s been a fun run, but we’ve actually posted all of the haikus written this September! So here’s one last one…

Gift, spirit and work.
Words for talent, potential -
You. Your art is you.

by Monia C. Estima, Senior Assistant Director for Music Admissions

Wind up pegs too tight
warming up with minor scales
Dang! I break a string.

by Monia C. Estima, Senior Assistant Director for Music Admissions

Why can’t I get past
application inspector?
Curses! Foiled again.