So you're thinking about college!

That's great! First off, I'm going to write this a little bit differently--most of the pages on this site are written in third person or first-plural, but this one is more just going to be like me (Mr. Napoli) talking straight to you, because it's easier that way. As you'll probably often hear me say when college comes up, it's really great to start this process on the earlier side: I find that a lot of folks at Chesapeake don't give it much thought until the tail end of their junior year, and if you wait that long, everything can start to sneak up on you, and that's when the college search/application process can get really overwhelming. Especially for those planning on majoring in the performing arts, like music, musical theater, theater/acting, dance, etc. the overwhelmingness of applications, auditions, pre-screenings, and scheduling all of these things, can get real crazy, real fast; so here are a couple of ideas & resources for you to help make things less spooky!

​(And, I'll tell you off the bat, lots of this will be geared towards folks considering a major in music, but a large amount of these things will be helpful to you no matter what you plan to major in.)

College Application Info

IDEAL TIMELINE

For those of you majoring in music, this is (to me) the ideal timeline for your college search/application/audition process. I'll say more about what to consider, and the best tools to use to do these things later on, but for now, this is a nice timeline to try to stick to:

• During the summer before your junior year: Start creating a list of attributes you would look for in a school
• During the first month of junior year: Create a list of schools you'd be interested in looking at, using the criteria/attributes you created above (this list should cast a relatively wide net: think 6-12 schools, though some will have more or less than that). On your list, you should have...
  • at least 1 "safety" school (a school you can feel comfortable you'll get into), 
  • at least 1 "reach" school (a school you'd *love* to go to but you might not get into), 
  • and at least 2 "fit" schools (schools you feel good about getting into but aren't necessarily a lock like your safety school is)
• During Q1 of junior year: Continue to research more into these schools on your list: you should learn enough about the school that you can imagine yourself on the campus, have a sense of the facilities you'd have access to, understand what it might look like to study in the programs you're most interested in, and how much it might cost you. 
  • As you go through this process, keep an ongoing ranking of the schools on your list. You may also find yourself eliminating colleges from the list, and that's totally fine and normal!
  • At this point, try to narrow down your list to somewhere between 4-6 schools, ideally.
• During Q2 of junior year: Start looking at tour dates at the schools still on your list, and schedule at minimum a tour, if not a shadow day (when you shadow a student with the same or similar major to you), during the school year. Music folks will likely find that the fall is easier because winter & spring gets so busy, but schedule it whenever it works during your junior year.
  • Visiting each school physically before you apply should be a priority as much as is possible, because you'll learn a *lot* about the people, the professors, and how the priorities of the school/your program match what they show online. For me, I visited all of the schools in MD, VA, and PA I was interested in, but waited to visit the Ohio & Tennessee schools until the dates I was actually auditioning there.
  • ​​If you're majoring in a performing art (or playing a sport), make sure the admissions office knows that so they can tailor your tour & time on campus
  • As you visit schools, continue to make notes about pros/cons, and update your ongoing ranking of schools
• Summer after junior year: Decide on which schools you plan to apply. Look into which schools use the Common App and which don't. Find out the audition requirements from each school, and look at solo repertoire you might want to use for your auditions.
  • If you don't already have a private teacher for your primary instrument, you should consider working with one at the start of summer to help prepare you for auditions.
  • ​Also take a look at the application requirements for each school and thinking about what you'll need to do to fulfill each of them. Most applications will be due by Nov. 1
• Q1 of senior year: Reach out to the adults you want to write your letters of recommendation. Start planning out audition days at each school with the rest of your schedule for obligations from school, extracurriculars, etc. Begin writing & completing materials for your applications.
• Q2 of senior year: By this point you'll have sent in most of your applications (and pre-screenings if required by any of your schools). You should also by this point have your auditions scheduled, so from now on, you'll be prepping for auditions and then heading out for them when the time comes!

WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN SEARCHING FOR SCHOOLS

The best thing for your college search is to use Naviance's college search tool, CollegeBoard's search tool, or the Dept. of Education college navigate tool.

Otherwise, for a more ~analog~ search, use these questions to help narrow down your college search! Rather than just searching something like "colleges with good choirs", you can use these preferences to narrow down your search. (Also, remember that teachers can be a good resource too to help give suggestions.)

• What types of academic areas/career paths are you particularly excited about? (Even if you have a clear vision of the major you want to study, try to list at least 3 so you have back-ups!)
• What's your ideal classroom environment? (Larger school with more facilities? Smaller school with a better teacher-to-student ratio?)
• What clubs/activities do you want to be involved with? (Compare to activities you do now & want to continue, think about what new things you might want to try)
• How far from home would you like to be? Or do you care how far you go?
• How important is the quality of food options on/near campus?
• Do you care about what the surrounding town is like? Do you prefer a big city or a smaller town?

This is something that's much more program-specific, but another good thing to look at is what courses are required over the four years in the program that interests you. You may find some variance from school to school, and that will tell you about the priorities & focuses within each school's programs.

HOW SHOULD I KEEP ALL THIS ORGANIZED?

You know what works best for you, but here's an example of a spreadsheet I used during my college search. I found this to be very, very helpful. This will help you keep track of all the info you care about in making your decision, all in one place.

WHAT TO LEARN ABOUT WHEN ON CAMPUS

Here are some examples of things to ask about while you're on campus for a visit, or things to keep an eye out for while you're there. Remember though, you should do your own research about the basics of the school and the program you're interested in. Flying in blind can sometimes make a bad impression.

• Try to meet the professor in charge of the program you're most interested in. Find out what they're like as a person--what are their favorite things about the program? From that conversation, what can you infer about their priorities regarding the program? Will those priorities serve you and your interests?​
• Ask students both in and out of the program what they think of the program and students in it--what's the environment like? Is it supportive? Is it competitive? Are the professors available and approachable during/outside of class?
• How's the food on campus? If you have a chance to try it, do so!
  
• What clubs & activities are most visible/present on campus? How involved are the clubs/activities you're interested in?
  
• What do students tend to do for fun outside of classes? What about specifically students in the program you're interested in?
• If you can sit in on a class, ensemble rehearsal, and/or take a sample lesson with a private teacher on campus, that's huge! See what you like/don't like about the class, the professor, the classroom environment, etc. (this is something to plan out ahead of time, not to ask about on the day of)​
  

MAKING YOUR RESUME

If I could only give you one piece of advice for your resume, it would be use a template!! Don't just make a random list of all the things you've done and then hit print. Unfortunately, admissions staff (and employers) will try to make judgements on you as a person based on the organization & design of your resume, so it's important to make it look good and be very easy to read at first glance. Here's a template of the formatting I use for my job applications that I've lightly modified for college applications, and here's a template for Rupp's resume.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to design: One says that a resume should be one page, single-sided, no matter what (that's what I tend to suggest because it's safest). The other says that length doesn't really matter as long as it gets across the information you need to share with the person reading it. The other consideration with your resume template/design is that you should find ways to make it stand out, when possible. Some possibilities could be tasteful use of color (I'd heavily discourage you from changing the color of words in the body of the page, but you could consider some minimalistic, professional colors on titles or formatting lines, for instance. The other consideration you could make is using unique (but still clean & professional) fonts other than Times/Times New Roman/Arial. My general suggestion is to use sans serifs for titles and serifs for body text, but live your life!

On top of that, there's certain information you should definitely have in it, including...

• Your name
• Your contact info
• Education (GPA, school you went to)
• Any work and/or internship experience (freelance babysitting, busser at Texas Roadhouse, NSA internship, any work/internship experience you may have)
• Leadership/volunteer experience (any significant work you've done for free that makes you look good)
• Skills & Activities (this is really for other stuff you want to show off about that doesn't fit into the other sections: organizations/societies you're a part of, sports you play, etc.)

Keep in mind also that you may be asked to clarify or go further in-depth about certain parts of your resume in an interview.

AUDITIONS

[More coming soon]

INTERVIEWS

Throughout the application process, you'll likely have an interview with an admissions person from the school. In Music Land™, those applying as Music Education majors probably do an additional interview with professors from the Music Education program. Here are some tips to keep in mind for your interview(s):

• Arrive early
• Look presentable (in music situations, think business professional attire)
• Be prepared
  • Think about what sort of questions you may be asked. Look at lists of college interview questions (like Indeed or Signup Genius) and have a direction you'd go with an answer for them. Beware of the sample answers given on these lists though--your answers should be genuine and in your own voice. There isn't one right answer to an interview question: interviews genuinely are about getting to know you as a person, so if your answers are generic, safe, "right" answers, the interviewer will likely leave thinking "well I learned nothing about this person..."
  • You will almost certainly be asked "what brought you to this college/university?" or "why choose this school?" Do some research about the school and learn about what they're emphasizing in their advertising, what the philosophy & strengths of the program you want to go into are, etc. and use that information. They want to know that you're going in with a base of knowledge about the place you're applying rather than just applying to "any college".
• Be friendly, confident, and professional
  • A good way to approach interviews is with the goal that at the end, the interviewer wants to talk more with you because they enjoyed being with you. Do your best to show your genuine self in a professional way, and don't be afraid to have a good time!
• Take a moment to gather your thoughts before you answer
  • ​Avoid word-vomit when you can, although you might find yourself doing it anyway. That's okay in limited moments, but you want to make sure it has a direction and you're not just word-wandering aimlessly through an answer.
• Remember that shorter answers are okay.
  • ​It's good practice to answer some questions with a story about an experience (i.e. "Yes I did a handful of extracurriculars including [a few examples], but I think ______ was my favorite of those because I really enjoyed the people it connected me with, and I learned so many valuable skills that I think will help me later on in ______."), but you also don't want to dominate the conversation entirely
  • Be mindful of what percentage of the conversation is you talking versus them talking--in an interview situation, it should be more you than them, but if it's overwhelmingly you, then you might want to make your answers more efficient
• Have 2-3 questions prepared for the interviewer about the school or about what you can expect as a prospective student at that school
  • The interviewer will absolutely ask if you have any questions for them, and you should have at least one! ​It's likely 1-2 will be answered either while you're on a tour or during the interview itself, so have multiple questions you might want to ask, so that if some are answered, you still have 1-2 you can ask the interviewer. (When I looked at schools all the way back in 2015, I kept a list of questions on my phone I wanted to ask. It might be a better idea to have a notebook of some kind so you're not pulling your phone out in the middle of an interview. If you do write them down on something, you might mention first, "Oh yes, I wrote a couple of questions I have down in my notebook, do you mind if I grab that?"
• Thank the interviewer at the end! They interview hundreds and hundreds of students and it takes a lot of time and social energy
• This is more common in job interviews than in college interviews, but sending a followup email is never a bad practice after an interview, either that evening or during the next day. Do make sure you're sending it to the admissions person who interviewed you and not just in general to the admissions office, though!
  • ​In that email, you should thank the interviewer again for their time, tell them it was great to meet them, and that you look forward to continue to learn more about the school.

Thinking About a Career in Music?

Jobs in music aren't limited to just music teacher and rock star: there's so much more, and while there's plenty of part-time and gig-related work, there are also plenty of opportunities for salaried positions, as well. Here are just a few examples of jobs in music that you can do more research about on your own:

• Music Teacher (salaried)
• Professional Musician
  • ​Freelance musician (often opportunities as a regular freelancer in recurring ensembles & companies)
  • Professional orchestras
• Military Musician (salaried--these are some of the most financially stable performing opportunities, especially for singers!)
  • ​Band
  • Choir (wide variety of genres)
  • Jazz Band
  • Orchestra
  • Traditional ensembles (like Fife & Drum)
• Composer/arranger/orchestrator/editor
• Sound Engineer
• Sound Designer
• Music Therapist (masters often required)
• Music Historian/Musicologist/Ethnomusicologist (most jobs are in academia as a professor/researcher & require masters/doctorate)
• Music Theorist (most jobs are in academia as a professor/researcher & require masters/doctorate)
• Instrument manufacturing
• Music Librarian
• ​Salesperson for a music company (selling instruments, music technology, sheet music, etc.)

Remember also that having a day-job is not a career-failure! One of the most meaningful things I've ever been told is "Success is not the point." What they meant wasn't that we shouldn't aim for our goals, but that the capitalistic idea of "success" is not always the actual goal: If you have a day-job that funds your quality of life, and you can spend your free time with your passion of writing music, teaching lessons, or working as a sound engineer, then it sounds like you've reached success! You're never a failure just because your primary income is coming from something other than your passion.