Parsifal

Good luck! You are very far from alone. Most of my friends are in the same boat and they all have master’s degrees. I’ve been there too last year... and 50/50 odds I’ll see you again right here same time same place next year. I don’t know your whole situation but looking at funded master’s programs sounds right.

By the way @freshavocado, another MM to look at is Rice. I’ve heard their masters students tend to be fully funded. It’s also my only outstanding school...

I haven’t yet... was hoping to hear from my last place this week but the wait might just remain...

It shouldn’t be sad if it wasn’t your focus and you don’t have much experience there.

Yes it's someone I know. Not sure about DMA or PhD

Unfortunately I know of at least one interview invite which was sent a while ago. You should probably call/email them about the 'incomplete'.

@freshavocado Got it (I only asked because I was curious about the MAPH referral which seems to be for non-masters having people). But yeah the fact is most everyone at those programs has a masters degree, and some have many years of experience beyond that. What funded masters degrees do you know of actually? I only know of one (Yale)

Hey @freshavocado Out of curiosity do you have a masters already or not?

I'll be back next year. Anyone else?

I just saw that funding for USC's Musicology program is WAY better than for composition. I may be a composer, but something is wrong with this picture right? Maybe it's just a function of the number of students in each program (not that that can't be changed)?

I wonder this as well. It is a bit odd. I know that there are other schools which get at least as many composition applications (Yale for instance gets more than double, and they also post all results on one day). I can't think of any reason why someone who would want to go to Princeton for composition would be particularly likely to post on this site. It'll remain a mystery. In any case I was rejected.

I applied to USC for composition and have an interview next week(end)

And if thou gaze long into the application abyss, the application abyss will also gaze into thee - Nietzsche I'm with ya. Currently wrestling with the fact that all but one place I applied to don't even give half of a living wage (nevermind getting accepted).

There's a lot to be said about this for composers too, who have to weigh aesthetics of the faculty and students against their own. It seems true that most programs these days have a greater diversity of styles than they maybe once did, but there are doubtless general trends for which students are attracted to which programs (and vice versa). Unfortunately this has funding implications, as the schools with the best placements which jive aesthetically most with myself often have dubious funding situations. Food for thought.

Us composers don't think you theorists are doing anything related to music either (I kid)

Yeah this has been confirmed to me by many including their own faculty, so it's annoying but understood.

Congrats! DMA or MM? Wish I could say the same

An overly ambitious list of Michigan, USC, Princeton, Yale, and Juilliard Got a Michigan rejection already and fully expecting to be back here next year. We’ll see.

Any composers lurking? I need someone to commiserate with...

Terrified

I don't see anything for you to do about the situation except to apply and hope for the best. So someone telling you whether or not you are justified to worry just isn't productive. And how could we know how much they'll care, especially without knowing the specific topics/how strong your writing is/other features of your application? So my advice to you: best of luck!

Very quiet around here.... I'll be applying to some places for composition

You will find Yale exceptionally difficult to get into. Maybe look at NYU some too. And Princeton though that's also going to be tough. Not sure where else to suggest right now. But yeah you should apply to a large range of places in any case.