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If you apply for a PhD program in composition, they are going to expect you to have already had decent/good performances of your music—I'm not saying that you should've had performances by ensemble modern or the Arditti Quartet; I only mean high quality performances. So I personally would never send MIDI recordings. For example, Columbia doesn't accept MIDI recordings, and I think that Stanford doesn't either. MIDI is just not serious, and in the case your music gives more importance to textural development rather than functional harmony, standard MIDI doesn't do a good job at all. Further, you mention that you have a diverse body of works in terms of instrumentation (large orchestra, chamber, small ensemble, etc). This is not as important as it seems. I applied to great schools with 3 small ensemble pieces (solo, duo and trio) and I was accepted by some of them. What's important is that your music needs to be relatively original. I know many people who applied to schools with their "Symphony No. 1" and they all failed: their music lacked originality, it was cheaply done, poor orchestration, an aesthetic that shows completely detachment of the composer from the real world of contemporary music, etc. I'm not saying that there are aesthetics better than others (not at all), but many people who apply for composition programs focus more on the application rather than writing music that is interesting and rich. Hope this helps!

Yes and no. Usually, when you share a similar aesthetic with your teacher, it probably means that he has already been in places where you aim to be—which can be very helpful to your own musical path. On the other hand, it's also important to listen to teachers who write completely different music than yours—it's a great way to open your mind. But still, I would recommend you to apply at places where you would find yourself comfortable in.

Hi beccakephart, I think that what's important here is to decide what programs are of your interest and what others aren't. For example, if you are a conservative composer, don't apply to UCSD or Stanford because there is no way you are going to get in. On the other hand, and in that case, you could apply to NEC or Yale and you would definitely have more chances. You need to know what music the faculty composers in a specific program make. And then, you should apply where you feel that your aesthetics fit. Of course, this is only my opinion.

Hi Dharma Bum, I applied to DMA programs in composition last year and I assure you that they don't care about GRE's. I talked to several faculty members of the universities which I applied to (Northwestern, Stanford, Columbia, UCSD) and they all said that GRE's are not important. In fact, I got a similar score to yours and I got into where I wanted to go. That said, it is extremely important that you focus on your music. Music, music, music. Send them great scores with great recordings, and write an statement of purpose that talks about your music. Don't write some autobiography because they are boring. Write about your music, your thoughts, your musical interests, etc. This is what they care about. They want to know about your artistry and not your diplomas, GRE's, etc. So, here's my advice: focus on the music and write an essay that speaks about your music in depth (so don't say: I like this, I don't like this). You need to explain why you do what you do in depth.

Thanks DrFaustus666. Yes, I'm graduating from NEC, but I didn't say it's one of the best schools in the world -- I said "country" !

To be honest, the thing is that I find the GRE absolutely useless if you want to go into music. I don't want to sound pedantic at all, but I speak five languages fluently, and having a decent verbal score doesn't mean anything at all: it only means that you spent a month memorizing random and uncommon words. Moreover, my analytical part went great --I do not know the score yet but I'm positive that I'll be fine. So anyway, I've decided that I'm definitely not going to take it again. I have a GPA of 3.89 in one of the best music schools in the country, great letters of recommendation, my portfolio is really strong, and my résumé shows what I believe is enough international experience for my age. Furthermore, I find the GRE a robbery. It's really expensive and I don't want to give these guys more of my money --I work part-time because I am not rich at all. So, if the universities where I am applying to prefer rejecting me because of a low verbal GRE rather than accepting me because of a strong application, that's their problem, not mine! (just kidding, but in a way it's true). Thanks for your comments by the way!

Thanks a lot! I'll ask there, see what they think!

strangefox, how do you know that you need 550V at least?

Hi everybody! I plan to apply to several Master's degrees in music composition in the US. Today I just did the GRE and I got 650Q and 400V. I'm an international student, but I studied my undergrad in composition in the US and I have a 3.89 GPA. I feel the verbal part is terrible, so would you repeat it? Thank you!

yeah, it doesn't seem such a big deal. anyway, we'll try to do our best! Are you applying for musicology or comp? by the way, thanks for your response.

Hi there, I'm applying for fall 2011, I'm considering Columbia, Stanford, UCSD, and Northwestern. However, I'm a little bit worried about the GRE and all of that (I'm an international student, so the verbal part is really hard for me). Do you think it's really important? Thanks!