The governor of Virginia announced today that state K-12 schools are closed for the rest of the school year. I don’t fault him for making the decision. Our schools were already closed through the end of spring break in mid-April, but anyone who thinks this global coronavirus pandemic will be over by then is, well,Continue reading “And Just Like That, High School Is Over”
Category Archives: College
Update From the Land of Social Distancing
It’s the end of the first week of The End of Life as We Know It, as we all try to adjust to our new, Coronavirus-induced reality. Everything is weird and tense and depressing, but you already know that. Virginia does not yet have a statewide order to close businesses, but many have closed anyway;Continue reading “Update From the Land of Social Distancing”
College Craziness Payoff: The First Acceptance!
After all the campus visits, applications, application fees, financial aid forms, auditions, interviews, essays, and other assorted hoops to jump through, my son has received his first college acceptance! James Madison University has offered him a spot, not just at the university, but also in the music department. We are not surprised; it was hisContinue reading “College Craziness Payoff: The First Acceptance!”
All-State Auditions
Over the weekend we drove back down to the campus of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, for the second time this month. The first time was because my son has applied for admission there for next year and had to audition to get into the music department. He auditioned on piano, and he thinksContinue reading “All-State Auditions”
Another Weekend, Another College Visit
It was the third weekend of the month, so we had the third in our February series of weekly college, university, or conservatory interview/audition/portfolio review visits. This one was to Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. This one is in Baltimore, only an hour and a quarter’s drive from here. So we were able toContinue reading “Another Weekend, Another College Visit”
The College Admissions Process Continues….
Last weekend, for the third week in a row, we visited yet another college campus. This time, it was James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. It’s not the best-known or most prestigious of the schools Jon Morgan has applied to, but it is a strong university overall, and it has an excellent music department, withContinue reading “The College Admissions Process Continues….”
Curtis Is a No-Go
The latest news in the seemingly never-ending saga of my son’s college admissions process: He was not asked to come to Philadelphia to interview at Curtis Institute of Music. Curtis is one of the most prestigious, smallest, and most selective music schools in the country, with only 175 students and a 3 to 4 percentContinue reading “Curtis Is a No-Go”
College Craziness Gets Crazier
We had planned to leave home in the early afternoon last Friday for my son’s audition at Boston Conservatory, Berklee. But at the last minute, he received an email from a different university. The message said we had missed the merit-based financial need deadline for Johns Hopkins University (and its conservatory, Peabody Institute) but thatContinue reading “College Craziness Gets Crazier”
College Craziness, Part…whatever
Just when you think it’s over…it’s not. Did I mention that the college application process never seems to end? My son thought he was finished when he submitted his final application, this one to James Madison University. And then he received an email about having to apply separately to the music department and to setContinue reading “College Craziness, Part…whatever”
College Craziness, Part 3
Another college application has been submitted! This one went to James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. I would like to say that my son is a well-organized and forward-thinking teen who planned ahead and sent this one off days or even weeks before the last possible moment. But no. He hit “submit” with 20 minutesContinue reading “College Craziness, Part 3”
