[Applying for Fall 2013]

Maybe u will receive admission letter later, I got rej just now.

 

I am sooooo sorry that you got a rejection from NYU!!! How did you find out? Email or letter?

 

 

Someone feels my pain! Example: wrote a movement of a larger piece last week for SATB choir. No meter changes, no rhythms outside of half and quarter notes, and a grand total of three accidentals. Even I think "yikes this is simplistic" when I look at it. If you never listen to it, you wouldn't realize that there are two different meters going on at the same time in places, and that a tonal center is very hard to pin down even though there is barely any chromaticism.

I could totally see something like that being dismissed on sight. I don't say any of this because I think I'm some sort of unique flower who needs special handling. My music is just deceptive in a way that I don't think is especially common.

 

Same, maybe our music will click more in 10 years or so?  I used to be more show-offey before undergrad, but was scolded for it.  I went to the extreme of creating simplistic-looking music that sounds different from what it looks like on the page.  It requires a lot of careful planning and thought to stay between the lines of tonal and atonal music.

[Applying for Fall 2013]

I think I am having the same problem with my portfolio too! My music notation is simple and accessible, but the rhythms can be quirky and tongue in cheek. Everything sounds good and may sound different from what one expects from looking at the page. However, it's not what is in style at the moment. It's not abstract conceptualism, electronic, or micro-tonal. I'm forging old styles together to make something fresh and palate-cleansing.

Thanks! This is my first year applying for doctoral programs. I'm finishing a masters in music composition right now, but that application round consisted of exactly one application to the school where I had just completed my bachelor's degree.

I think I successfully avoided one or two of the mistakes you mention, but I certainly fell into some others. I think I applied to a good mix of different schools: five private, four public -- some with large schools of music, some with smaller departments. Going into the process I thought three schools were long shots, a fourth would be hard but not impossible, and I thought I had a relatively decent chance at the other five. One of those five receives 10-15 composition DMA applications a year and accepts 5-6. That rejection hit hard. It wasn't a top choice, but I had thought that if I get only one acceptance, that would be the one.

Not every school was a great fit, and I see that now. That's something I think I have in common with your applications from last year. One in particular was a terrible fit; I applied solely for geographic reasons. Won't do that again. Looking back, I think some of my application materials were a little too general. I found out early in the process that one of the composers I would have liked to study with was on sabbatical. That kind of scared me off of mentioning anybody by name in any of the applications.

I think the main problem might be my portfolio. I don't mean that there is something wrong with it or that it is of subpar quality, I just don't think admissions committees see music like mine very often. I had suspected this for a while, and a very trusted professor of mine told me as much recently.

I'm rambling at this point, and I could go on for paragraphs and paragraphs, but I think it boils down to fit. It wasn't for a lack of trying, but I only found one true fit.

Edit: I want to clarify that when I mean that committees don't see music like mine very often, I mean that literally. The actual music that appears on the page sometimes looks like someone doing a bad Arvo Pärt impression. It sounds very different, but the notations are extremely simple, and I think that works against me.

[Applying for Fall 2013]

I'm still waiting to hear from three schools.

-Carnegie Mellon University

-University of Southern California

-New York University

So far, I have 0/8. I just need 1 acceptance...

[Why waiting is torture!]

Got an email from Eastman, and I felt a jolt of anxious excitement:

 

"We enjoyed meeting you at your recent Eastman School of Music audition day.  Please let us know about your experience by completing the following short survey:"

 

@#$%@#%#@%#$%@#$%!

 

Oh God... those ARE the worst! I hated getting them for CMU and USC.  Unless the first line says "congratulations," I am assuming a rejection.

[Applying for Fall 2013]

Just got rejected by NYU -- no surprise, they take ONE doctoral candidate every couple of years (who is fully funded).  catenairs -- I'm going to the CUNY day, but don't have any details besides what the general email provided.  Still waiting to hear from Columbia, UNT, UT and UC Davis.  It's exciting that in a few weeks, we'll all know what's going on!  Finally.

 

How did NYU notify you? Is there a link to check your status, or is it only an email?  I, too, am waiting to hear from them, but for the MM in Composition.

 

At this point, I am trying to figure out my statuses for schools I am still waiting on.  Going a little stir crazy! 

 

USC sent an email to prospectives two weeks ago requesting supplemental financial aid documents, so I am trying to see if my status changes on FA site.  It says under review for financial aid.

[Applying for Fall 2013]

Congratulations!!! That's a really good program.

[Applying for Fall 2013]

No, only NYU.  Btw, do you know anyone apply the same program as me or u? For Chinese I asked a lot, not many. I am so nervous as u now.

 

Good luck to u!!!

Some of my composer friends from festivals may have, but I do not know for sure (and Idk if they applied to my or your program).

 

Thanks! and good luck to you too!

[Applying for Fall 2013]

I just know, NYU is early March, cause last year I know someone got her acceptance on Mar,6th.  Are u applying for NYU's film scoring?

No, I'm just applying to the regular composition program.  So basically, in 2-3 weeks we'll be finding out then? *fingers-crossed* that I will get in somewhere AND be able to afford it. I hate waiting...

 

Are you applying to other places other than NYU?

[Applying for Fall 2013]

Hi, I'm new here! Does anyone know when MM in Composition results will be coming out for:

-University of Southern California (was there supposed to be an interview?)

-NYU

-Boston University

-Carnegie Mellon (had interview/portfolio review here)

I have been rejected from Yale, UCLA, Michigan, and McGill so far. I really need to be accepted somewhere...

[Keep A Word Drop A Word]

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