Juilliard Application: Fill & Download for Free

I got into Stanford early, class of 2016. 35 ACT, ~4.8 weighted gpa, ~3.9 unweighted GPA. Also took college math classes at UCI my junior year. I was also ranked the best in North America, and second in the world at something when I applied. I was also a top level pianist, (I was preparing my app to Juilliard when I got my acceptance letter to Stanford and decided not to finish the Juilliard application, but I definitely had a good shot at getting in. I knew a bunch of the professors there.) My essays were honestly nothing special, but my extra curriculars and academics carried me through.

First I should challenge the assumption that Juilliard is the most prestigious music school in the US, particularly to musicians. I agree with Naoya Kanai (金井 尚哉) that Juilliard is clearly "in the mix" for the top in any major, but it's hard for me to think of any major for which you'd say Juilliard was clearly #1.Increasingly, cost is becoming a major factor by which the top music students decide where to go. All serious music schools, including, of course, Juilliard, offer merit scholarships. That said, Juilliard famously offers less scholarship than many of its competitors, including those in New York, many of whom have literally the same people on faculty. When faced with the choice of attending Manhattan School of Music or Mannes College of Music, and studying with the exact same people, but paying half as much to go there, it's hard to find any music professional who'd tell you to go to the more expensive school. Increasingly, the very top students have conservatories fighting over them, and money is a huge factor. Starting a career $200,000 in debt as opposed to $50,000 in debt can be a deal-breaker for whether you get a major career off the ground, no matter how talented you are.This is why more and more of the top programs in the country have been going tuition-free. There are enough of them at this point that a top music student can apply only to these schools, and still be applying to a wide range of programs. This was certainly the advice I was given when I applied for more school a year ago, and it's becoming pretty standard procedure among top applicants.That said, obviously there's an X factor to Juilliard, in the same way that, say, Harvard has that famous name, even moreso than Yale or Princeton or Stanford, etc. Parents' friends have all heard of it, for one thing, which is pretty cool, and there's a pop culture "wow" factor to Juilliard that exists less at other places.I think, much like Ivy League schools vs. top non-Ivies, this has a lot to do with age, and a bit to do with other elements. Let me give a bit of history and context to all of this:(tl;dr: the most famous school would naturally be the oldest, richest school in the most populated area. See this chart for details on how that shakes down).The first American conservatories were started in the 1860s-80s, at Oberlin, Peabody, New England Conservatory, Boston Conservatory, and the National Conservatory of Music (in New York). With the exception of the last of these, which is now defunct, the rest are still important conservatories, though none are free.The National Conservatory was set up in New York, and was an important part of New York culture for about 20 years. That said, it was seen as a temporary project, and many of the donors intended it to eventually move to Washington D.C., which they thought was a more appropriate seat for a national conservatory. As a result of the funding diffusion, it became difficult to maintain the school at a high level, and, owing to the obvious need for another school in New York, the Institute of Musical Art was founded in 1904. This became Juilliard 20 years later. Juilliard is thus the oldest still-functioning conservatory in New York, which is a big thing to be.Conservatories in the US were founded in two major blocks. There was the first one, mentioned above, but there was a second set of schools founded in the 1920s. These schools, notably Juilliard, Curtis, and Eastman, had two major advantages: they were founded at a time when the idea of a conservatory was an established thing, so they could be taken seriously, and they were founded at a time when there was money to be had, but were able to do significant building in the 30s, when building was cheap.As you can see on the above chart, this gave Juilliard in particular a huge leg up in public notability, which continues today. Some elements of this are changing, I think, as different schools get famous for different things, but there's a lot stickiness when it comes to schools being famous, particularly in fields like music, where not many people know what makes one school better than any other. Regardless, Juilliard is a top school by any standard and will probably be rightfully very famous forever.

It actually really depends, you will be surprised how students and their lives differ at Juilliard, or any other major music conservatory. I never studied at the Juilliard personally, but I have many close friends who did, including my husband. First off, it is extremely difficult to get in, especially these days. There are thousands of applications coming from all over the world, being qualified to come to New York and play in an audition is already an achievement. However, once you get in, unlike regular universities like Harvard, what it's like really depends on many factors, such as your background before Juilliard, where did you attended school before (it's easier for people like me that have been in a conservatory since a very young age), where are you at already in your career as a pianist (many students are already very accomplished musicians before they entered Juilliard), who's studio you are in (meaning who's your major teacher), what is your personal goal, etc. Does everyone have unparalleled love for music and their instrument? Not necessarily. Most students go to Juilliard because of their love for music, but you will see ones that going their because they were good/lucky enough to get in. You will see some pianists practicing 8-10 hours a day, then there are ones that can get away with only a few hours of practicing. You will see students already at concert pianist level, but then many are at a more standard college level.I am not sure if I answered your questions well. I felt that I was losing my thoughts here being distracted by memories spent at the Juilliard school with my friends. One thing for sure though, it is a wonderful thing to be able to study at a school like Juilliard in New York City. I know for a fact that not everyone is happy, but I suspect that most pianists feel honored and accomplished to be a student there.