The Juilliard School Admission
The Juilliard School Undergraduate Program
The Juilliard School Application

The Facts

The Juilliard School is perhaps one of the most selective schools in the country; located in New York City, it is home to just about 490 undergraduate students and approximately 340 graduate and part-time students. The school relies primarily on intense live auditions to admit students, and those admitted are some of the best young performing artists in the world. Distinguished alumni such as Itzhak Perlman, Robin Williams, and Leontyne Price are a testament to Juilliard's prestigious reputation. The school consists of three small divisions; music, drama, and dance. The student in all divisions study their craft intensely for four years, and also are required to take liberal arts courses; they are also permitted to cross register at Columbia University and Barnard College. The most popular majors at Juilliard include piano, violin, and voice.

Admission to the Juilliard School is notoriously competitive, and only about 7% of those who apply and audition are actually admitted. Last year, over 2,000 students applied for admission to the school, and only about 124 of those were admitted; of those, 98 matriculated. Grades aren't really a factor when it comes to admitting students, and the admissions panel thoroughly reviews all of the students that were called back after their primary audition. The audition process is usually a day-long ordeal, and begins with a group meeting, followed by individual auditions. At the end of the individual auditions, callbacks are posted, and the number of students called back is usually very small. The called-back students then perform again for the panel, who will asses them and later discuss whether they should be admitted or not.

The student to faculty ratio is an extraordinarily low 4:1, and most students receive some sort of private lessons with a distinguished faculty member. The faculty gets mixed marks on their kindness and accessibility; some teachers are patient and caring, while other are harsh and very strict. It's all in the luck of the draw.

The Social Scene

New York City obviously offers Juilliard students a huge variety of things to do in addition to a multitude of performances to take in; however, students rarely have the time to enjoy city life. The musicians are usually holed up in practice rooms all day and night, and dancers and actors are constantly in rehearsals. Juilliard is notoriously competitive, and there are slews of horror stories about the pressure-cooker environment.

There are no fraternities or sororities, of course, and students at Juilliard are far too busy, professional, and focused to party very much. They consider their bodies to be their instruments in most cases, and the administration strongly discourages any foul play.

The dating scene is not really great at the school itself because of the intense environment; however, the city of New York offers plenty of opportunities to meet a significant other.

What’s Good

“The training here is the best in the world in my opinion, and it prepares you fully for the rigors of the professional world.”

“You get a massive amount of one-on-one attention from your teachers who often mentor you for all four years.”

“The student housing is amazing; quite large and very comfortable, and way cheaper than anything else in the city.”

What’s Bad

“The environment here is not for everyone; people tend to be really cruel and ruthless to step on people who may be better than them.”

“The school kind of has a chip on its shoulder, and a lot of the faculty and administration is really snobby.”

“There's never any time to have fun, and its rare that I just hang out with friends.”

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