Hey Timothy,
I think that'd actually be great if we are the only people on the planet applying for this degree...there aren't too many spots or jobs available afterwards! I digress...
I got my undergrad at NYU and am finishing up a master's this semester at Cal State Northridge.
I wouldn't say GSAS and Steinhardt are the same. They are completely separate colleges with a different set of faculty and I assume the degrees have different requirements though I'm not familiar with the Steinhardt program. In general , Steinhardt is more of a professionally-oriented school with programs that lead to careers like performer, freelance jazz musician, music educator (primary/secondary), audio engineer, etc. It used to be called "The School of Education" when I was at NYU, but I suppose that title didn't quite fit anymore since they have diversified. By contrast, GSAS is the graduate school of the College of Arts and Sciences which houses standard "academic subjects", i.e. Anthropology, Psych, Biology, Math, Art History etc. I'm guessing the GSAS program in composition might have a slightly more academic feel because there are more scholarly resources and scholars within that college, but I don't really know much about the Steinhardt version. It seems like kind of an absurd situation and most people probably don't know the difference between the two degrees outside of those departments at NYU. You are right about the money being guaranteed in GSAS via the McCracken. That is a sweet fellowship. How many applicants does Steinhardt accept? Probably more than GSAS. I think in GSAS it is generally 2 in comp, 3 at most.
I looked into CUNY because of you- sounds great, I just wonder where instruction actually takes place and if you have to travel around to different CUNY campuses depending on what classes you take and which professors are your advisers. That's not necessarily a bad thing though (and I'm just speculating).
I don't know a ton about Harvard, but I know that Chaya Czernowin's music is amazing and I have heard good things about her teaching. I also know that they have a visiting professorship and in the past few years they have brought some amazing composers for yearlong stays (at least it seems they are in residence for the academic year, but I haven't actually visited or asked about this). Recent visiting profs have been Lachenmann, Ferneyhough and Rand Steiger. Very impressive and would have been great for someone with my inclinations. I also know they have money because they are harvard, and job prospects (i.e. professorships) afterwards must be decent...because they are harvard. They are also in Boston and there is a lot of new music there, and I personally would try to mine the talent field of NEC for performers with whom to collaborate- if I was lucky enough to get in, of course, which is probably a longshot.
I visited Princeton and loved it. I would love to go there for a variety of reasons including the awesome faculty, the huge amount of money they have, the job prospects afterwards, the incredible resources for composers etc.. I also visited Columbia and that is neck and neck with Princeton for being a first choice of mine, though honestly, my "first choice" changes by the day, sometimes by the hour. All schools on my list have at one time or another felt like a "first choice". I also visited UCSD, Stanford and Northwestern, each of which are above all the others in some categories, slightly deficient in others- its always a give and take. For me, I'm looking for great faculty who are active as artists and really pushing the envelope musically, great funding, and the best possible job prospects afterwards (relatively speaking because in general its getting harder and harder to find tenure track jobs as you probably know).
Yes, I do know several others applying like us.
In answer to your last question, my GRE score was good. 6.0 writing, 1420 verbal+math. I'm so curious as to how this actually affects or doesn't affect any decision. I think it is more a potential issue of possibly disqualifying oneself with a low score, rather than helping much once the applicant is above a certain threshold. Seems to carry more weight in other disciplines. At NYU (GSAS) I was told that they know there is little to no correlation between GRE score and a composer's artistry, but the Dean of the college doesn't want to bring down their overall average with low music scores... Everything I've heard is portfolio is by far #1 in importance, followed by statement of purpose. I think the other huge factor is where you are coming from, who you know. In that category, I'm trying to make up a lot of ground as all my letters of rec are from my master's profs, who are great people, but don't really have connections at my schools of choice.
Would love to hear more about your journey, thoughts on all this, specific schools, experiences etc.
***also, to anyone in music reading this who has not posted, we'd love to hear from you and plus it feels great to participate! the registration for this site is fast and simple. get in the conversation! we're lonely...
