Auditioning in the States: from TOEFL to audition day

In my very first blogpost, I mentioned my plans on auditioning in the States. 7 months have passed since then and I actually went auditioning in 3 of the 5 schools I applied to. I won’t have news until the end of the month, but in the meantime – for all of you who are planning to undertake such a huge step – I thought it might be useful to share my experience so far. That way, you have a blueprint to base your own planning on while learning from my mistakes.

AUGUST: PREPARING AND TAKING THE TOEFL-TEST

The very first thing I did once I decided to actually take my chances was scheduling the TOEFL-test. TOEFL stands for Test Of English as a Foreign Language. If your native language is not English, you are required  to take this test in order to determine how well your understanding of the language is.The test consists of four parts: reading, writing, listening and speaking, good for a total score of 120. Test scores are valid for 2 years.
Most US schools are very clear on the minimum test scores you are required to have in order to be considered for application. However, the exact amount varies per school and degree, so be sure to check it out. Also, if you’ve taken this test, you don’t have to do the IELTS or any other test option. One score is usually enough.
TOEFL might also be a requirement for scholarships (it was in my case), so it’s good go know exactly how high your score should be in order to be eligible to all schools and scholarships with one test score.

You can schedule your test on this site: https://www.ets.org/toefl. Fill in your country and find the closest test center to your town. Depending on your country, the test fee varies.
Be careful: while scheduling your test, be sure to include 4 schools and/or scholarships you need your test results send to. These 4 are included in your scheduling fee. Any other schools or scholarships remaining, will be an extra fee.
E.g. my experience: I applied to 5 schools and 2 scholarships, but only had to pay extra for 2 sendings because one of the scholarships did not require an official result from the test center.
I did run into some trouble scheduling the test, because I had disabled cookies in my browser…don’t do that. You won’t be able to pay the fee and therefore won’t be able to save a seat on the desired test date.
Once you get this over with, you can start preparing for the test, hurraaaay 🙂 ! #sarcasm

On ets.org you are encouraged to purchase a learning kit for your TOEFL preparation. It’s totally up to you whether you want this or not, but you should be aware of the fact that there are free sites out there that allow you to prepare just as thoroughly. I took the latter option* and totally aced the test.

In total, I prepped for about two weeks, taking different tests every day. My minimum score needed to be 100 and I scored well above that with my efforts.
If you’re about to take the test: good luck and relax! You’ll do just fine 🙂

*the site I used to prepare my TOEFL was https://toefl.kmf.com/mock Just translate to English so you know which type (reading, writing, speaking, listening) you will be training and you’re good to go.

AUGUST – NOVEMBER: APPLYING TO SCHOOLS AND SCHOLARSHIPS

For this section I will give you a general idea of how I approached the applications. My way is definitely not the only option and probably also not the most conventional way to handle things, but hey, it got me this far!

I chose the schools based on the following criteria:

1. Classical and jazz faculty
2. Pre-screening and audition repertoire requirements
3. General reputation

Let me tell you this: there are so many options, you’ll probably be a bit overwhelmed. If you know a teacher or people who have studied in a school you’d like to know more about, start there, it’ll give you a jumpstart.
E.g. I did not know any teachers personally, but I knew (and got to know) a few people during the process. Their opinion about the schools and general advice was a great help in making the actual decision.
Once you’ve narrowed down which school(s) you are applying to, you can start preparing admissions.

Obviously, the most important thing is your pre-screening material and your actual audition. Nevertheless, a lot of schools and scholarships require letters of recommendation, one or more essays, financial aid applications, official documents of your current or most recent attended school and high school, whether you want to be considered as an associate instructor* and a general application form.
Get ready to pour a lot of time and effort in these requirements!
On the bright side, a good deal of the documents can be used as templates: they will only need minor adjustments.

Between August 27 and November 30, I recorded 3 new pieces for the pre-screening materials, wrote 18 essays, translated my CV, got 3 letters of recommendation and filed everything for the schools during the last 4 days before the deadline of December 1.
I can assure you, it was hard labor and it is not a pleasant time, but it’s for the good cause. So if you’re in this stage: YOU CAN DO IT! It sucks, but it’ll teach you about determination, working with less sleep, dealing with stress and you’ll probably also discover your personal edges. I know I hit my limits on full speed…but I survived 🙂

*Associate instructor – or similar label – is for Graduate degrees and higher. Not every school offers this, but if they do, this is an opportunity to teach during your time of study.

DECEMBER – JANUARY: VERDICTS

Once everything is filed you will probably need some time to catch your breath. By all means, you’ve earned it! Unfortunately, most auditions/interviews for the scholarships are set in this area.
E.g. I auditioned for BAEF in the end of December. I did not need to attend an interview for Fulbright, but that’s usually set in the course of January.
The good news is: it’s holiday season, so every celebration you can attend feels utterly wonderful!

By now, between December 16 and the end of January, you should be receiving e-mails from the admission office(s). If you passed the pre-screening: congratulations! Time to prepare the actual auditions! Be sure to double-check any financial aid requirements, since these are mostly due by February 15.

JANUARY – FEBRUARY: PREPARING AUDITIONS

How accomplished you feel when you read the good news, but boy, how frustrated you get when you see how much there is still to be done! Not to panic though, there’s always enough time. (That phrase literally kept me going so far, ha ha!)
E.g. In my case, I was invited to audition at 4 of the 5 schools and I decided to participate in as many as I could, which turned out to be 3.

First things first: visas. Getting into the US ain’t that easy, so be sure to have all the required documents to pass through customs.
E.g. I needed a new international passport and an ESTA.
Be aware that in order to file the ESTA application, you need your passport number and the address of (one of) your stay(s). A new passport usually takes about 1,5 weeks, weekend included, from demanding to receiving, but this can time span can vary per country. ESTA is due at least 72 hours before departure. It is possible that your country is not eligible for an ESTA, so you will need a B-1 visa. Visas always take a few weeks, so I would definitely recommend getting your international passport well in advance!

Once you figure out what you need, get your passport and find places to stay! As always, having friends in the States is a major help, but even though I knew quite a few people, none of them could offer me a place to sleep for the required period. So I decided to step a little further out of my comfort zone – I mean, what the heck, right – and try Airbnb. I promise I will get deeper into this in one of my next posts, but either way, I enjoyed my stays very much!

Now, this part I probably loathed the most: figuring out which flights were affordable, how I would arrange the trip from one city to the other, taking the necessary steps for my finances, packing…ugh. I left on February 14 and was literally done with everything the day before. So here as well, if you have the opportunity: take a little more time to plan this. If not, no worries! I managed too 🙂

Most important things to keep in mind: the address of your stay is required for your ESTA/visa, but also for your intercontinental flight. For the latter, you must submit the information at least 48 hours before departure. The same rule applies for your returning intercontinental flight.

Also, although you will find ATM machines almost everywhere, they are no use unless you’ve informed your bank of your stay in the States: most banks block intercontinental use because of possible fraud. This applies to all the credit/debit cards you intend to use during your stay. Fun fact: you have to go to the bank in person to make your request, so for your own peace of mind, do not forget this!

FEBRUARY – MARCH: AUDITIONING

Whoop! Now the fun bit starts! First of all: go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back for making it this far and still being alive.

I made sure I always had at least one day to get to know the building, see where I needed to go and meet the professors who had agreed to see me.
E.g. I had written e-mails to teachers between December and February. Some teachers I even contacted two days before my audition and I still got to meet them. Main lesson is: don’t be shy! You’ve got nothing to lose. And yes, of course you can mail them sooner and I guess the ideal situation is when you meet them beforehand, on a masterclass or because you went exclusively for a meeting, but I simply didn’t have enough time (or money) to do that.

Now, my first audition was February 16 and I arrived February 14. This was my least succeeded audition for a couple of reasons: jetlag being a major one, being alone across the Atlantic and having to deal with all the new impulses by myself as a close second and not finding a decent place to practice as a third.
E.g. I somehow chatted myself into a Steinway hall, but you can’t really study properly in a place like that unless they have a separate room. Which they didn’t.
Regardless, I played fairly well, learned a few things for the next audition and most importantly: moved on. Maybe a valuable tip: auditioning in the States mostly means playing the first few minutes of a piece and then moving on to the next. This might seem very logical to you, but on my first and only audition in Belgium, I always had to play the pieces in their entirety. So don’t be surprised if the jury cuts you off.

For my second audition, I had plenty of time to find a space tot practice, prepare and adjust to the city. I was able to find a piano store that allowed practicing on a silent piano for $5 per hour, which is the cheapest I could find. Although the main reason of my presence was to audition, I made sure to get as inspired as I could, so I attended concerts, a drama show, jazz clubs, participated in a vocal masterclass, met musicians – often quite by accident – and tried to meet some of the teachers. On audition day, I was a great deal less nervous because I now somehow knew what to expect and I had made sure I was ready, in shape and warmed-up.

My third and last audition was definitely the best out of three. I suppose I got the hang of it, but the school itself also provided lots of practice rooms and the repertoire was a great deal less: only 3 major works instead of an hour of repertoire. Somehow, knowing this was the last big event on my journey, I was much more relaxed and well…you’ve probably experienced yourself how easy it is to perform well when you are relaxed and allow yourself to enjoy. (Easier said than done!)

So there you have it. My experience so far with auditioning in the States. If you are planning on undertaking the same, I hope this post can offer you some ideas on the do’s and dont’s.

Do leave your questions below, I will answer them to the best of my abilities.
And then there’s nothing left to say, but GOOD LUCK! Believe in yourself and regardless of the outcome: be proud! It takes guts to do this and it will teach you a lot about yourself, how to audition in the future and how to handle things on your own. Knock ’em off their feet! My fingers are crossed 🙂

Xx

Nathalie