Dharma Bum

I am applying for Duke's Musicology program for 2012 and the application lays out quite clearly what points they want to have addressed in the SOP: "Write a statement (1-2 pages, single-spaced, in a 12-point font) indicating your purposes and objectives in undertaking graduate study, your special interests and plans, and your strengths and weaknesses in your chosen field. Briefly describe any research projects or any independent research in which you have actively participated and indicate how this has influenced your career choice and desire to pursue graduate studies." Since so many specifics are given, would it be wise to just strictly stick to the points that they outlined here? I've written a draft already that closely addressed all the above points and I will have it proofread by some professors once classes start. EDIT: Wow, the title of this post lost the last few words... haha

Actually your mentioning recordings got me thinking about my own portfolio submissions... I think I have an excellent body of work with both large-scale orchestra pieces as well as chamber and small ensemble works. My problem stems from the fact that there aren't a great many opportunities at my school for students to get their works performed (our wind ensembles and choruses are excellent, but the string department has definitely lagged behind... very apparent during opera productions every semester). My question is whether I should be worried about having to send Garritan or DP recordings. I've used EWQL samples for orchestral work through DP and the Garritan samples through Finale are actually quite bearable as opposed to simply having a MIDI message recording. I was just wondering about your thoughts on this.

I've always felt that there is just as much to learn from a composer that doesn't share your aesthetic outlook as one that does.

For Musicology, I believe they care a little bit more about your AW and V score, but your writing samples submitted again seem to hold the most importance. I am reasonably confident that no music program is going to care about your Q score unless perhaps you are looking for a sound engineering or acoustics and technology degree or something similar.

My list is still being revised somewhat but these are the places I'm considering for sure right now for composition: UC Berkeley, University of Chicago, Princeton (I realize it is are Ivy League, but I would still suggest looking into their department) Others that I'm considering and I think you might want to research as well: UC Santa Barbara, and either Florida State University or University of Miami. I'm also applying for Musicology at Duke, UCLA, and the University of Southern California so hopefully I have a few options come March of 2012.

Honestly, on the Revised GRE, they are taking away everything on the Verbal that I'm great at (analogies and vocabulary) and beefing up the difficulty of the Quantitative (calculator now included, implying more than just simple calculations). I feel like my writing samples will speak for themselves and the general feel that I got from multiple people is that the AW section is often overlooked the most, particularly when it is something right at the 4-4.5 "average" score.

I recently took the GRE in mid-July and scored what seems to me to be "hysterically average" overall. I made a 610 V and a 490 Q while I was quite surprised to receive only a 4 on the AW... I guess my question is, as an applicant with a 3.99 GPA (made one B freshman year), what should be excellent recommendations from my professors, as well as strong writing samples/scores and a statement of purpose, should my GRE scores really be something that I should worry about? Where I'm applying: Composition: UC Berkeley, University of Chicago, Princeton, and Florida State Musicology: Duke, UCLA, and University of Southern California