the college audition checklist ROB KNOPPER

a rising senior’s timeline and to-do list for the college audition journey percussion: met orchestra

if you’re a rising senior, your college decision process is the #1 thing on your mind. rightfully so - it’s the
most important decision you’ll ever make for your musical education. there are a bunch of projects that you
have to do simultaneously, and so it’s hard to figure out how to stay on track and make sure everything gets
done. so i put together a checklist of what you should be doing during each part of the year, from the
summer before your senior year through the may 1st deadline to make your final college decision. i
followed some guiding principles when i was choosing my own college, which are the following:
1. learn as much as you can about each school.
2. choose audition repertoire that showcases your strengths and strikes a balance between ‘easy to play well’
and ‘impressively difficult.’
3. practice to win by being thorough and methodical (and a little bit obsessive).
4. be selfish: this decision affects you the most, not the prospective teacher, your parents, the school, or
anyone else.

1. june through august: research and planning

you’ll begin by making a huge list of all the possible schools that you’d consider going to, and learning as
much as you can about them. remember: you’re choosing schools that can help you achieve your goals, not
vice versa, so this is also the time to start looking inwards and considering your own requirements for
school.

make a list: make a comprehensive list (around 30-35) of all the possible schools that you would consider going to, and
include all the various information you can find about each. (i.e. size of music school, how many teachers for your
instrument, how many orchestras, etc.)

who’s the teacher? write down the teacher(s) and everything you know about him/her/them.

begin your research: list former, current, and prospective students that you know.

analyze schools: start a list of pros and cons for each school.

soul search: formulate your requirements and goals for college. (i. e. what do you want to achieve in school? how would
these goals lead to your life goals? what do you want to “leave open” and not decide for now?)

sort the schools: sort these schools into the three categories: “reaching” schools, “solid” schools, and “backup” schools.

filter: begin to narrow this list from comprehensive to a concise 10-12.

2. september through november: college visits and practice

college visits are an essential part of making an informed decisions about schools. don’t skimp on these
visits - they will cost much less than a semester of tuition and your decision is far too important to make
without learning all the facts. also, choose your audition repertoire at the beginning of the school year
(~september 1st) and start practicing immediately.

plan college visits: visit each of your 10-12 remaining colleges for 2 days, if possible.

make contact with teachers: tell them about yourself and your goals, tell them that you’re interested in their school, ask
them if you can take a lesson, and ask what it would be like to go to school there.

• create your audition program: work with your private teacher to come up with a kickass audition program. it should:
• show the best aspects of your playing
• include a variety of techniques, styles, and musicality
• represent your best playing, not the hardest repertoire choice
• be advanced enough to impress the teacher, but not too difficult to push your limitations to uncomfortable levels.
remember, you’re a high school senior. you don’t have to be playing the hardest pieces known to mankind.
• follow guidelines on each college’s audition requirement page
• play the same repertoire for each school so that you won’t have to prepare different lists.

visit each school: play your audition repertoire for the teacher, take a current student out to lunch, and take a tour of the
college.

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 practice your audition repertoire, phase 1: learn the notes. ingrain the music deeply into your muscle memory using the
most effective muscle-memorization methods you’ve learned.

continue analysis: continue your list of pros and cons for each school based on the new information

make your final list: filter your list of 10-12 schools down to a final 6-8.

do college applications: prepare these and turn in by the due date, which is usually december 1st

3. december through february: practice and prepare for auditions

you’ve set yourself up with auditions at the finest schools that would be most perfect for you. give yourself a
fighting chance to earn a spot at those schools by throwing yourself into practicing. be proactive and do
more practicing than you’ve ever done before. try new techniques like recording yourself, mock auditions,
and playing for as many people as possible.

practice your audition repertoire, phase 2: self-record your repertoire, going from micro- to macro-sections. start by
recording each measure, and solving as many problems as you can. then expand to each section, then each full piece.

incorporate the advice from the lessons you took: integrate the advice from your prospective teachers, so at the audition
you can show your those teachers that you value and respect their advice. you’ll make them feel like they’re already your
teacher through the drastic improvements since the last time they listened to you.

practice your audition repertoire, phase 3: play daily mock auditions. practice performing your audition for anyone you
can: classmates, teachers, local professionals, etc. start getting used to the experience of walking into an audition room,
interacting with someone new, performing your rep, and leaving.

make audition booklets: be professional and make audition booklets with your music inside and a cover page with a
table of contents that you can hand out to each judge at every school. make sure the music inside each booklet is the
exact repertoire you’re going to offer to play for the panel at the audition. this gives an extra layer of elegance to your
audition presentation, showing the panel that you’re serious about winning and will be organized and responsible as a
student at their school.

4. february through may: wait for results and make your decision
now’s the hard part: waiting. after you start receiving decisions from schools, keep referring to your pros and
cons list. you also may experience the phenomenon of having pressure from teachers to make a decision
early. the teachers are trying to attract the best students. if you say no, they have to go to their number 2. if
you wait a long time to say no, their number 2 will have already committed, so they’ll have to go to number
3. keep your perspective on this: that’s their problem, not yours. this is the most important decision that
you’ll ever have to make in your musical education, so don’t be pressured by admissions departments. they
are constantly trying new tactics, like offering special perks to students who sign up early, so be wary and
insist (respectfully) to have as much time as you need to make this decision.

wait for results: this is the excruciating part that you have no control over

notification by april 1st: most colleges will notify you of their decision by april 1st.

decision day is may 1st: resist the temptation to choose before may 1st, especially if there are teachers or admissions
departments pressuring you to make your decision quickly. you have the right to consider your college choices until may
1st, and you should take all the time you need.

thanks for reading! if you’d like to learn more about audition preparation, please
download my audition cheat sheet, showing the 5 steps to constructing your audition
preparation to maximize results.
auditionhacker.com

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