Julliard can you help me!?!?

Question

Okay well when i get out of high school in four years i plan on going to julliard and pursuing my career in music. do you know what will help me get excepted. i really want to know because i will work really hard at what ever i have to do. i was thinking that getting involved in as much musical programs as possible would help me get a better chance at getting in, so i have been to MSBOA competitions and solo compactions and different compations and have did fairly well placing in the 1 division. am i on the right track and i have been to different music programs like camps and stuff to is this what i need to do or do i need to do different stuff.

Answer 1

You need to contact Julliard and requst a freshman info packet.  They will send you a booklet with everything you need to know.  (you can also try on the website, most schools have admissions info online and a place you can email them questions.) Every school has slightly different admissions requirments.  

You're better off asking THEM not yahoo - they're the ones letting you in or not :)  

Answer 2

Well now, aren't you ambitious?  First of all, what career in music are you considering?  Tuba?  Singing?  Piano?  Composition?  What it takes to get in varies greatly depending on your focus.  I would say it is better to focus on one area and become a master of it rather than several different things.  

Julliard, like all the best conservatories, is extremely competitive.  Tell us about your background.  I studied in the conservatory system and during weekends while walking around the halls, you would hear the most amazing piano etudes blasting from the rooms and discover behind the grand piano was a 5 or 6 year old prodigy!  They were really good playing very difficult music and I could not believe my eyes that such music was coming from such young hands.  I am not saying this to discourage you but so you know what you are up against.  

I can't tell from the information you posted, but it sounds like you don't have a private teacher.  If not, you must get one quickly and hopefully someone who is highly reputed.  For example, someone who is themself a teacher at a college/conservatory or advanced level.  You will audition for them and tell them your goal and they'll assess if you have a chance at that level.  Next, spend the next four years working very hard training with them - hours of practice a day is not unusual.  I have friends who before big auditions will practice 8 hours a day!  This is the dedication and obsession you'll need to have a shot at it.  Your goal is to steadily get better and better and this only happens with years of work - you are pretty much training to be an athlete.  It cannot be done in one year.  It takes persistent work over time.  Just like athletes cannot win the marathon by practicing extremely intensely the week of the race, you'll need to pace yourself over years of trying to get incrementally better but consistently so.  

You should also talk your parents into taking you to Julliard for a visit.  This will serve two purposes.  You introduce yourself to the admissions staff and/or faculty telling them your lifelong dream is to attend Julliard so how can you maximize your chances.  Potential - many times it isn't the student with the best technical skills who will get in, but those who show the most promise, intense desire, etc.  Second, it will light a fire underneath you that you'll need to propel you for the next few years of intense training.  You'll dream about being one of those students and this dream will push you when you aren't in the mood to practice that extra time even though you should.  

Try to find this video in your school library or on the web:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0979447/

It is mostly a retrospective of the 100 year history of Julliard but it includes many faculty and student interviews and much of it is focused on the admissions process and why some students were selected.  This is a must see for you.

Good luck to you!

Answer 3

Gee  - your screen name is picky about spelling - but YO=U sure aren't!  JUILLIARD.  There are more spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors in your question that I have time to address - even though I have been a teacher since 1971.  

Go to Juilliard's website - and see the application requirements.  Realize that they accept less tha 6 percent of all the applicants in the WORLD that apply - and most of them already have EXTREMELY impressive credentials.  They are also REALLY snotty about the whole procedure.  "Camps and stuff"  will just cause them to laugh at you.  The level of performance ability required - with grades to match - and HONORS already achieved in music at an extremely high level will dissuade all but the very very very best - and of THEM, they choose less than 6 percent.

There is a college for everyone - but realize that Juilliard may not be YOURS.  A former student of mine graduated there this past year with a degree in performance, and will begin her graduate studies there this fall - on FULL scholarship!  It CAN be done - but by very very very few.  Thinkthis over, and have a plan B, C, D, etc.

In the meantime, you need to achieve at a VERY high level in your main area.  This means extensive and INTENSIVE lessons with the fiest teacher you can find.  Without this, there is No hope at all for you - and very LITTEL hope for other music colleges, either.  Sorry - but this is the reality.  There are FOUR of us in this family with undergrad and graduate degrees in music - it is very tough, and DEVOTION is hardly enough.  You need exceptional skill.  Ido not even use the word talent - it is meaningless, unless you have a product to SHOW what you can do, at an exceptional level.



I wish you luck - but I would be remiss if I did not share with you the reality of the situation.