Violin Prescreenings

December 15, 2022, 9:40 PM · Hi Leena,

I think my son knows you from IG. He is applying to just five schools but has not heard from any of them yet. Kind of risky, but he is particular. It is the five you would expect, in alphabetical order, CIM, Colburn, Curtis, Juilliard, and NEC.

It’s definitely a super stressful process, that’s for sure! Where did you apply?

Edited: December 15, 2022, 9:52 PM · Hi Leena, best of luck! It is almost 10 years old but I highly recommend reading through A Parents' Guide to Conservatory Auditions. It's not really just a parent's guide and i don't think all that much has changed in 10 years.

Oberlin, UMich, Northwestern, NEC, and Eastman here for a double degree (cello performance) with chemistry.

December 16, 2022, 8:16 AM · Good luck Leena!

December 30, 2022, 8:29 AM · Passed all the pre-screenings, starting to make arrangements. Most are still doing virtual auditions in addition to in-person, so we're leaning virtual in a couple of cases where travel is particularly difficult. NEC has you pick two dates, hoping they get back with us to confirm a date sooner rather than later.

My daughter hears from friends that Juilliard, Curtis, and Colburn have still not announced in a lot of cases, best of luck to everyone. She was having some regrets this week not applying to Juilliard (a lot of her summer program friends are or will be there) but the dual degree program didn't appeal to her.

December 30, 2022, 9:14 AM · Stan, we've only heard from 3/5. Got an update that Juilliard will let him know in January and Curtis is always later. My son passed NEC, Colburn, and CIM.

December 30, 2022, 9:55 AM · Dear Susan, I seem to remember you let us know some time ago your son already received a full offer from Yale, or am I confusing things?

December 30, 2022, 11:55 AM · Almost right, Jean. He won a full scholarship to Oberlin as part of the Cooper Competition, but ultimately he decided against going there. He really loves the teacher there, but he does best when he has a lot of older mentors to learn from, and without grad students, he didn't think it was the best fit.

December 30, 2022, 12:46 PM · Congrats to Sam, Susan! It sounds like he's got a lot of great options ahead of him, and that he's being really thoughtful about his path. I didn't have a tenth of the foresight at that age.