Office of Admissions Blog

by Sarah Adriance, Dance Division Administrative Director

For college dance programs everywhere, it’s audition season!

Every Juilliard dance audition starts with a welcome from Larry Rhodes, our artistic director, followed by a reminder from him that the purpose of the audition is to find a “good fit” for Juilliard, not to assess each dancer individually. This distinction is key!

We want everyone to feel they’ve shown their best so we can see if that “best” aligns with the mission of the school. The faculty is looking for dancers they feel have the best trainable potential, a combination of experience and natural gifts for dance with an open mind that allows the dancer to try new ways of working. All the elements that make a dancer – coordination, musicality, flexibility, alignment, strength – are only part of what it takes to someday become an artist.

We endeavor to make the audition a pleasant experience. Mr. Rhodes encourages the dancers to relax, breathe, and try to enjoy dancing. We hope, even if the outcome is not what you would have wished, that you enjoy the opportunity to dance. Your Juilliard audition will be one of many in the year, and one of many more in the course of your career.

In the next few weeks, you’ll hear from a few Juilliard dancers who’ve been there: the months of preparing their solo; the audition day with its highs and lows; and finally, waiting for the letter or phone call.

Best of luck to each of you! You’ve come this far; enjoy the process.

by Tina Gonzalez, Director of Financial Aid

Greetings, Applicants!

Financial Aid season is fast approaching!  Here are a few tips and reminders to keep you organized (and sane) during the coming hectic months.  But, first, did you know that:

• 90% of Juilliard students apply for financial aid, and almost 80% are receiving Juilliard scholarship assistance.

• You should apply for financial aid even if you don’t think you’ll qualify. There are loan and work-study programs available to most U.S. citizens/residents regardless of income.  In addition, Juilliard scholarship eligibility does not have a strict income cutoff.

• You must apply for financial aid to be considered for any Juilliard scholarships.  All scholarship decisions are based on a combination of both financial need and merit.

• The deadline to apply is March 1, but the best time to start is in early February, after you have your income information for 2012.  You will still have plenty of time, and the information you submit will be more accurate.

So, if you shouldn’t start the process until February, what can you do now?

• Peruse our web pages carefully for application procedures, FAQs, and tuition information. “Like” us on Facebook for tips and reminders. Use our Net Price Calculator to get a preliminary idea of how much funding may be available.  Do the same research at each school to which you are applying.

• Maintain a spreadsheet of all of your schools, including tuition, aid procedures and deadlines (and, later, scholarship offers).  Call them if you have questions!  Track the deadlines on a calendar, including a start date well in advance of the due date.

• Arrange to have your taxes completed as early as possible, if you are planning to file a U.S. tax return for 2012. The sooner you file your tax return, the easier it will be to complete the FAFSA.  HERE’S OUR BEST FAFSA TIP:  Filing your taxes electronically makes it easier to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) when filing your FAFSA. If you won’t have your taxes completed by the end of February, use estimates, but keep in mind that your aid eligibility may change if you underestimate your income.

• Talk to your parents about college financing.  Get all expectations out in the open.  How much are they able to pay?  Do they expect you to borrow for your education? Are they willing to take loans on your behalf?  Will you get a work-study job on campus? And don’t forget that schools will be communicating directly with YOU (the student), so be sure to keep your parents in the loop.

• Research federal student aid programs to better understand your award letters from the schools to which you are accepted.  Be sure to find out if your state has any scholarship programs, and keep searching for private scholarships as well.

And, as always – contact us if you have any questions, concerns, or special circumstances.  We are here to help you!

by Lee Cioppa, Associate Dean for Admissions

It’s a new year, and Admissions is ready to start with a bang!  We are going to really re-activate our blog, and I’m excited to share our plan with you.

If you applied to Juilliard for fall 2013, you know that we sent you a survey in December.  We’ve been poring over the responses you sent, and one of the biggest comments was that our applicants would love to hear more from current Juilliard students.  Admissions has found that providing direct contact is a real challenge, as we have over 5,000 applicants and fewer than 800 students (who have crazy busy schedules). So, we thought that while reading a blog is not quite the same as the opportunity to have a direct conversation, it is one way to hear directly from students about their experiences here.

So, starting next week, we plan to be posting on our blog at least once a week (maybe even two or three times a week if our students have a lot to say!).  You’ll hear from actors, dancers and musicians; about life at Juilliard, arts advocacy at Juilliard, and preparation for life beyond Juilliard.

Personally, some of my very favorite blog posts have been by Juilliard students.  I invite you to go back through our archives, and see what our students had to say in previous years.  Here are some of my top picks!

Happy little Juilliard surprises! http://blog.juilliard.edu/?p=221

Freshman Year Findings http://blog.juilliard.edu/?p=225

I thought I knew…but I had no idea. http://blog.juilliard.edu/?p=110

10 more things about Juilliard http://blog.juilliard.edu/?m=200905

Juilliard Rumors: Debunked! http://blog.juilliard.edu/?p=70

by Lee Cioppa, Associate Dean for Admissions

What does it mean to be an artist in the 21st Century? This necessary self-reflection for all members of the Juilliard community, from the administration, to the faculty, to the students, often leads to the response: an artist must also be an entrepreneur.  At the opening of this school year, at Juilliard’s annual Convocation (all-school meeting), the focus of the presentation was on this topic.  Courtney Blackwell, our Director of Career Services, gave such a wonderful speech on this topic that I asked her if I could post it on our blog.

But before you read her speech, you must first visit a brand-new section of our website: Juilliard Entrepreneurship, Shaping the Future.  While there, watch the short film that is featured in the main window on the page (click on the arrow icon in the center of the photo to start the film). The film was the lead-in to Courtney’s speech; so watch first, then read below!

From Courtney Blackwell, Director of Career Services, The Juilliard School

After seeing the great things that these faculty have done and after hearing everything you’ve heard today, you might still be wondering, is entrepreneurship for me?

Good afternoon and welcome back everyone.

The truth of the matter is that these faculty, and many of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs were once in the place that you are today. They exhibited talent, discipline, and were creating a vision for something that mattered to them. Finding what matters to you produces an atmosphere where great ideas are born.

Take the case of a small group of local musicians, with one ringleader, who formed with a mission of advancing instrumental music. (You’ve definitely heard of them). In the first few years, the group took a very hands-on approach, making all decisions – from music to new members – by a group majority vote. They even put together a large scale benefit concert to raise funds for a new building, which was initially unsuccessful. These humble beginnings started by an entrepreneurial collective would later become the New York Philharmonic.

Another example is the professional trumpeter who was so frustrated with ineffective lip balms that he took matters into his own hands. The health of his lips were obviously very important to his playing, so he went into his own kitchen , made his own mixture of herbs and moisturizers and developed a product that he not only uses but is also used by wind players all over the world. That trumpeter is still performing and his product, Chopsaver – a virtual cash cow- is in 1500 retail stores worldwide. I even wear Chopsaver and in case you don’t know I am not a wind player.

Another great example is that of a choreographer who in the early 1980’s felt that there needed to be a space specifically for dance in New York City. He had a business partner with a similar vision and they found an old art film house where the vision could be born. Using everything they had to track down sources for private and public funding, this new home was born and still stands today as The Joyce Theater, which now attracts an annual audience of 140,000 and has welcomed 270 dance companies to its stages. And the choreographer in that case was none other than Eliot Feld.

All of these people began their journey to create something great with by finding what mattered to them.

I remember myself, years ago, as a student at Juilliard. My picture perfect career path involved travelling, going to some of the world’s greatest theaters, and working with some of the best artists I could imagine. But what I thought would get me to that goal was one singular path, my fate held in the hands of one artistic decision maker.

After a career ending injury while dancing in a company, the course of my path changed. I was living in Munich, Germany (where the company was based) and enlisted my entrepreneurial skill set and dance training to create new job opportunities. I quickly learned basic German, became certified in Pilates, and founded my own portable fitness service started by a need that I saw around me. In addition, I began writing for the local English newspaper and sought out business opportunities that helped pave a path towards arts administration, my current career. During this transition I realized that entrepreneurship provides you with the benefit of having many paths to your goal and even enhancing your original goal.

Being an entrepreneur is not just for Silicon Valley start-ups, this concept applies directly to you, performing artists who already create on a daily basis. Entrepreneurship gives you the chance to create your own job, be your own boss and determine how your art and your voice will influence this world instead of letting that just be determined for you.

Entrepreneurship lets you decide what will be most important in your career as an artist, whether that be social good, artistic fulfillment, financial reward, or a balance of these factors.

Like the illustrations you’ve heard about today, entrepreneurship allows you to create incredible opportunities for yourself instead of waiting for the one opportunity that might present itself.

So as you ask, is entrepreneurship for me, remember that if your goal is to innovate and move the industry forward, entrepreneurial thinking is not an option, its essential.

Entrepreneurship at Juilliard is the vehicle that will help you to connect what matters to you with your education as an artist. From entrepreneurial coursework and to programs like – the Center for Innovation in the Arts, Professional Mentoring, Career Services, and the drama division’s student-initiated projects, Juilliard has resources to help you define and explore what entrepreneurship means to you.

Juilliard even provides financial support to build your skill set or to execute your idea through fellowships from the Educational Outreach and grant awards from the Juilliard Summer Grants Program. Juilliard’s programs have even helped students build fully functioning and in some cases money making endeavors before they even graduate.

All of these resources help you develop that idea of something that matters to you which could be the next Chopsaver, NY Phil, Signature Theater, or Facebook.

To kick-off Juilliard’s emphasis on this type of thought and action, we have created a new webpage called Entrepreneurship at Juilliard. It is your go-to source for all things entrepreneurial including the programs and resources mentioned today.

Also kicking off Juilliard’s emphasis on entrepreneurship is a new grant, the Jonathan Madrigano Entrepreneurship Grant which provides financial support to student projects that display innovative ideas, resourceful thinking, and impact to a specific audience. Mr. Madrigano, of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, is a passionate supporter for seeing these projects flourish and is here with us today.

You can read about the five winning grantees on the Entrepreneurship at Juilliard website, but I will give you a quick snapshot of each:

We have granted awards to:

• Jessica Garand: A violist determined to see that every child have the opportunity to experience music

• Toni Marie Marchioni: An oboist who personal obsession with Facebook produced a new media firm geared towards arts organizations

• John Brancy, Tobias Greenhalgh, and Armand Ranjbaran: Two baritones and a composer turned classical music superheroes, taking the future of classical music into their own hands

• Kristin Olson: an oboist whose modern and baroque reed making workshops are built to make everyone sound as good as possible through having the best crafted reed as possible.

Our final grantee is a second year actor. His vision for helping he, his classmates, and other Juilliard students obtain future employment comes in the form of a three tier project, the first of which is called 18 actors: acting. Here to tell you more about his very creative and very entrepreneurial project is second year drama student Max Woertendyke.

(To hear more about Max’s film, visit www.18actors.com.)

by DJ Pimm, Admissions Assistant

Do you know what fall means in the Office of Admissions at Juilliard? It means a brand-new school year, a brand-new application, and the excitement of guiding a brand-new group of applicants through our application and audition process. We understand that the fall can be a daunting time for those preparing to apply to college. So, as you embark on your voyage through the Juilliard admission process, it is our pleasure to keep you informed, organized, and hopefully stress-free (at least in terms of your meeting the correct requirements), with some key information about the process.

First off, you can find highly specific outlines of our application requirements, audition repertoire, and audition processes for all programs at each degree level by visiting the Application and Audition Requirements Web page. If at any point you have a question about your application, please feel free to contact the Office of Admissions – you’ll probably speak with me, and I’m more than happy to assist you!

Friendly tip: Be sure to clarify your concerns long before the application deadline. Excepting Playwriting and Artist Diploma in Opera Studies applicants, we must receive a completed application, pre-screening materials (if required for your major), and an application fee by December 1.

Next, you should be aware of some new procedures at Juilliard – especially if you’ve applied in the past.

1)      Over the summer we made a significant change to our pre-screening submission process. All pre-screening materials must be submitted online in a digital format. In past years we’ve asked for applicants to send us CDs or DVDs in the mail. In an effort to keep the application experience as efficient and painless as possible, pre-screened applicants must now upload each audio or visual file directly to an online account right from the comfort of their own computers. You should note that this procedure is true for all pre-screened applicants in all divisions. To check whether or not your major requires pre-screening materials, visit our Application and Audition Requirements page.

2)      In addition to the pre-screening requirement for BFA/MFA in Acting candidates who reside outside of the United States and Canada, we will now offer a pre-screening option for all Alaska, Hawaii and Canada residents. Actors who pass the pre-screening round must also attend a live first-round audition. You can read more about the Acting audition process on the Drama Division Actor Training Program Application and Audition Requirements page.

3)      International applicants to the BFA in Dance are now required to submit pre-screening recordings. The pre-screening round is optional for applicants who reside in Canada. As is true in Drama, all dancers who pass pre-screening must also attend a live audition at one of our Dance audition sites. You can read more about the Dance audition process on the Dance Division Application and Audition Requirements page.

4)      We’ve made significant changes to the English Language Proficiency requirement for applicants who do not speak English as their native language. If this applies to you, please be sure to carefully review the English Language Proficiency requirement for your intended degree program. It’s highly important that we receive the required proof of your English Language Proficiency by the appropriate deadline for your program.

Finally, enjoy the process. Indulge in a tour of Juilliard, check out the Visiting Juilliard Web page for a list of On Campus Events, or take a look at Juilliard’s Calendar of Events and consider attending a student performance. If you don’t foresee a trip to New York City this fall, we still have you covered – Juilliard offers a virtual tour!

As we bid farewell to yet another beautiful summer in New York City, the Juilliard Admissions staff welcomes fall with open arms as the application for admission to the 2013-14 school year is now open. Best of luck – we look forward to hearing from you!

by Lee Cioppa, Associate Dean for Admissions

Talent.  Boy, that’s a tough word to explain.  Potential is another one.  How do we assess talent and potential?  What exactly are we looking for?  How do we tell in a short 15 minute audition whether there is the talent and potential to succeed at Juilliard and, eventually, as a professional?

“I know it when I see/hear it….”  A very common response, but doesn’t that seem vague and unsatisfying?  

A few years ago, I read the book “Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell.  Here’s how he describes what it’s about: 

It’s a book about rapid cognition, about the kind of thinking that happens in a blink of an eye. When you meet someone for the first time, or walk into a house you are thinking of buying, or read the first few sentences of a book, your mind takes about two seconds to jump to a series of conclusions. Well, “Blink” is a book about those two seconds, because I think those instant conclusions that we reach are really powerful and really important and, occasionally, really good.

You could also say that it’s a book about intuition, except that I don’t like that word. In fact it never appears in “Blink.” Intuition strikes me as a concept we use to describe emotional reactions, gut feelings–thoughts and impressions that don’t seem entirely rational. But I think that what goes on in that first two seconds is perfectly rational. It’s thinking–it’s just thinking that moves a little faster and operates a little more mysteriously than the kind of deliberate, conscious decision-making that we usually associate with “thinking.” In “Blink” I’m trying to understand those two seconds. What is going on inside our heads when we engage in rapid cognition?

In the book, Mr. Gladwell has a chapter on “thin-slicing”:  “There’s a wonderful phrase in psychology—‘the power of thin slicing’–which says that as human beings we are capable of making sense of situations based on the thinnest slice of experience.”

There are two concepts here that fascinate me related to auditions:

1. That faculty actually only need the time frame of an audition to “thin-slice”, or evaluate the talent and potential of an applicant; and
2. That there is a tremendous amount of information about an applicant that is gathered during an audition, but a lot of it is processed by the unconscious and evaluated through rapid cognition.

So back to “I know it when I see/hear it…” An artist with years of experience certainly does. But what are those pieces of information that a faculty member is unconsciously assessing?  Or another way to look at it: other than technique (for example, for a musician: is the applicant playing the right notes in the right rhythms and in the appropriate tempo? Is he in tune? Is her physical set-up on the instrument correct?) what the heck makes a difference?

Well, just as it takes an artist to recognize an artist, it can take an artist in words to articulate clearly the specific characteristics that define a talented individual.  Diane Ackerman is an extraordinary writer, and in her most recent book One Hundred Names for Love she writes about her husband, another writer (Paul West) after he has a stroke.  Paul’s stroke affected the left hemisphere of his brain, and he could no longer process language in any form, a condition called Global Aphasia.  Over a period of many years, he recovered even to the point of being able to write again.  However, Ms. Ackerman writes, “Since Paul was naturally creative, a wild and wooly thinker, it wasn’t really surprising that he balked at conventional speech therapy…Before his stroke, his brain hadn’t worked that way; that’s not where his strengths lay.”

She then proceeds to define creativity. And in reading her words, I came to a psychic full stop – here it was, what I had been searching for!  A laundry list of what it takes, of the characteristics of an artist.

And this is what she wrote:

…risk-taking, perseverance, problem-solving, openness to experience, the need to share one’s inner universe, empathy, detailed mastery of a craft, resourcefulness, disciplined spontaneity, a mind of large general knowledge and strength that can momentarily be drawn to a particular, ample joy when surprised, intense focus, the useful application of obsession, the innocent wonder of a child available to a learned adult, passion, a tenuous (or at least flexible) grasp on reality, mysticism (though not necessarily theology), a reaction against the status quo (and preference for unique creations), and usually the support of at least one person….

(My favorite is “useful application of obsession” – what else would you call the ability to practice your craft for hours and hours every day of your life?)

Can these things really be evaluated in an audition?  Certainly, you won’t see them listed as criteria on any audition form.  But here is where the “blink” comes in…I think that the answer is yes.  It’s not quite the first impression, two seconds that Mr. Gladwell refers to.  But over the few minutes of an audition – that “thin-slice” of all of the time, preparation, passion and determination that brought an applicant to that moment – so much more is learned than just what is seen and heard. It’s not unknown, it’s not mysterious – it’s years and years and years of experience that the unconscious mind is using to process and evaluate these characteristics that Ms. Ackerman has so brilliantly described.

I certainly knew it when I read it!

by Alex Jones, 1^st Year Dancer 

To my dearest prospective fellow students……..I never imagined I’d be writing something like this. Not so long ago, it was I sitting at that computer, dreaming, researching frantically, looking up YouTube videos of Juilliard dancers, reading blogs instead of doing homework, quickly changing the window back to Microsoft Word as my mom walked in so as to make her believe that I was actually doing something productive with my life. But now I’m here – exactly where I imagined myself being.

My name is Alex Jones and I’m now wrapping up my first semester as a dance major here. Here………..yeah. I’ve been asked to share my audition experience with you all. Hopefully it will shed some light on the situation you’re about to throw yourself into.

I came pretty close to not even auditioning for Juilliard. Why should I even try? Why waste a 50 dollar application fee on a school I’m not going to get into? Why build my hopes up just to be let down? Why do that to myself? I was pretty set on that idea, especially given that I had another program lined up for me already at home. But, well, you know how moms can be sometimes. And with some convincing from her and a mentor and teacher of mine, I finally gave in and sent my application.  

I had a relatively heavy dance schedule at the time. I was dancing at my arts high school, my ballet school, and rehearsing for two “Nutcrackers,” which rounded up to a solid forty hours a week of dancing. I used a solo that I had been familiar with for a year, so I felt quite ready on that front.  Due to my heavy schedule and partially due to my own stupidity, I also had a very injury-prone year. I, luckily, was at a brief moment of healthiness at the time of the Juilliard audition – between multiple severe muscular injuries in my left leg and a compression fracture in my upper spine. Call it fate, I guess.

The time leading up to my audition, however, was not nearly as mentally stressful as it was physically. I still had a rather pessimistic attitude going into my audition and was thus, not very nervous at all. I was going for the experience. I expected to get cut the first round, no matter how much preparation I’d done……and I had done a LOT of preparation. Even during the time when I couldn’t rehearse my solo full out, I spent a lot of time with my music – figuring out musicality, intention, and focus. So despite my injuries, I still felt prepared.

 I remember my audition day quite vividly, but I’ll keep it brief… 

San Francisco, my hometown. San Francisco Conservatory of Dance.  I’d never been there before. My mom giving me quick advice before I got out of the car. Me not listening. A lot of people (57), stretching and showing off how flexible they are in a nice big studio. Me in a corner, eating snacks and giving myself a pep-talk. Numbers: 17. A very small studio with no mirrors. Ballet class….simple and not too stressful except for Larry Rhodes , Risa Steinberg and Alphonse Poulin staring at you the whole time. Me falling out of a pique arabesque and swearing right in front of the camera that stands in an obscure corner of the studio. Modern.  Again, very simple. Me messing up a very simple rhythm and being out of order in line. First round of cuts – remember how I said I wasn’t nervous? Well I was now.  34  gone. When I heard Katie call “17” I felt like someone had just taken a two ton truck off my back. Solos. They make you stand in front of a camera and say some stuff. I mess that up too. They also flip the studio so you’re now facing the long direction, not the wide way. How am I supposed to travel? My ballet slipper flies off during my solo. Oops. Next cut. Nobody gets cut. Next round: coaching. A simple phrase taught by the lovely Risa Steinberg. That goes pretty well.  She gives some corrections and you repeat the phrase a few times. Last Cut. “How am I still here?” There are ten of us left for interviews. Of course, I now have to face the director of the program, Larry Rhodes. First question: How do you think you did?

Oh no……..

“Not too good. …..My shoe fell off.”

“Yes,” he says, looking up poignantly from his notes, “We took note of that.”

But aside from that one moment, I felt that the interview went pretty well.  It was, perhaps, the best part of the audition for me. I called my mom and told her the news. My acceptance call came about a month later, but that’s a whole other story.

Yet the truth is that not all of you who are reading this will get in. In fact, most of you probably won’t. That’s no big secret, it’s just the truth. You can’t control the outcome of your audition.  In my experience, you can’t really even control how well you do either. A lot of it is luck, or fate maybe. All you can do is try your best. Bring the best of you to the table and show it honestly, truthfully, sincerely.  Don’t try to change yourself for the sake of the program. They’re not looking for that.

And as far as advice goes…….I guess I’ll just say this. Keep an open mind. Don’t try to do stupid tricks after ballet class. Stay healthy. Listen to your parents and your teachers because they tend to be right, even when you don’t want them to be. Trust yourself, trust your training, trust your artistry. Don’t hope too hard, but also don’t be afraid to dream big – because if you don’t dream big, then there’s no use in dreaming at all….

But most of all, listen to the ads. Imagine yourself here. Because I’ve found that sometimes when you imagine something hard enough, it becomes real. 

Merde!

(good luck)

by Tina Gonzalez, Director of Financial Aid

Now that your application has been submitted, it’s time to start thinking about financial aid.  Most students are unable to afford the cost of college without some form of financing, and Juilliard students are no different.  In fact, about 90% of our students receive some form of financial aid, and almost 80% are receiving scholarship assistance. 

Here are a few key points to keep in mind during the next few months: 

Scholarship awards at Juilliard are based on a combination of financial need and merit.  This means that if you want to be considered for scholarship, you must complete the full application. Due to the School’s high level of selectivity, we do not offer merit scholarship.  We encourage you to apply even if you think you won’t qualify for need-based aid.  Although assisting students with need is our top priority, other factors also plays a role in our decision-making.

Financial Aid applications will be available in January 2012.  The Financial Aid application may be submitted online through a separate link on the Admissions Application homepage. We strongly encourage students to use this application method. A PDF will also be available on our website. 

U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents will also need to complete the FAFSA, using their most recent tax information.  NEW THIS YEAR: Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool when filing your FAFSA to save time and reduce errors.

Finally, we require copies of the student and parent 2011 tax returns (or 2010 if 2011 is not available). International students must send official documentation of their parent’s salaries, such as a tax form or letter from their employer(s). 

The deadline to apply is March 1, 2012.  It is extremely important to apply on time to be considered for all available funding!   

Use the Net Price Calculator to estimate your potential financing options.  Beginning fall 2011, all colleges are required to include this tool on their websites. While this does not represent a guarantee of a scholarship offer, it may assist you in your college planning. 

Visit our website for additional information.  We especially recommend our frequently asked questions (FAQ) page and Facebook page.  If you still have questions or wish to discuss your specific situation in detail, we encourage you to contact our office and speak with a counselor.  We’re here to help!

by Lee Cioppa, Associate Dean for Admissions

Here we are again, just before Thanksgiving weekend – which means, of course, that this is the last weekend before Juilliard’s application deadline.  It’s always a curious time in college admissions – those few days before a deadline when application numbers start creeping up – and then astonishingly explode!  Although our offices are closed and all uf us really need these vacation days before the deadline, I always find myself logging on to our online application from home over Thanksgiving – just to have the fun of hitting “refresh” and watching the application numbers go up.

There are a number of things that we are watching carefully this year regarding our applicants – certainly, what our application numbers will be for our new M.F.A. in Acting is a big unknown.  It’s also our first year with a “received-by” deadline – which we discovered (painfully) with our first deadline of November 1 for our Opera Studies program seems to be a surprise to a lot of folks – despite it being all over our web site and application materials!  It is a big change, and in fact we are sorting out lots of administrative issues on our side as well.  We have to go through mail in a very different way – not sorting by a postmark, but by when it actually arrived at the School.  Rather than anticipating dozens of bins of mail a few days after December 1, it’s (hopefully) going to hit early next week. And then, of course, our applicants are very eager to confirm the arrival of their materials by the deadline – which will be tough for us to do because of the sheer volume of mail and time it will take to simply open envelopes.

All of that being said, these changes are very exciting – new programs and new processes, new applicants and eventually new students!  I hope that all of you reading this who are applying this year are going to get a lot done this weekend on your applications – it’s the perfect few days to wrap everything up and beat the deadline without any last minute stress.  I’ll be doing a lot of napping and yoga, in anticipation of all of your applications – and, of course, hitting “refresh” on the online application every once in a while!

by Luci Rosa, Assistant Director

Hello Prospective Students for Fall 2012!

What should you be doing this month?  

RESEARCH! RESEARCH! RESEARCH!

What to be looking for:

• Faculty Bios @ www.juilliard.edu/about/faculty/index.php
• Application Deadlines
• Pre-Screening Procedures
• Required Repertoire
• Standardized Tests @ www.juilliard.edu/apply/program-information/index.php
• Check out our FAQ’s @ www.juilliard.edu/apply/faq.php

You should be:

1. Passionate about applying
2. Disciplined in organizing your research
3. Motivated to provide your best work
4. Confident that you have completed all the necessary requirements.

And finally…IMAGINE  YOURSELF  AT  JUILLIARD!

Good luck on your application process,

Luci