I have already mentioned how wonderful it was to audition here at Eastman, but I’d like to take a bit of a different approach to this entry. Assuming you’ve prepared for your audition — you know your rep; you know what to expect; you’ve taken good care of yourself; you are mentally going through what you need to accomplish; you’ve practiced being nervous; you have kept in mind that although you’re going through all of these things everyone wants you to do your best; and you remember that you are auditioning schools as well as auditioning for them (Ugh, what a lot to keep track of!) — it’s time to focus on the interview.
I am not just a music major, although I’ll admit it is one of the great passions of my life. But being a financial economics major at the River Campus in addition to my music studies at Eastman, I have had my share of very tough, grueling interviews. Interviewing can be jarring and very scary, like doing a five-mile run when you’ve never run before in your life. It’s like playing a high C on the trumpet, when in reality you can comfortably hit a G. Interviewing is simply an underused muscle that needs to be honed; a skill that, with the proper time and effort, can be well utilized in any situation.
This was something I didn’t realize till recently. On the admission blog, there are some helpful tips for a basic good interview experience.
1. Be yourself
2. Plan at least one or two questions that you would like to ask your interviewer
3. Keep your ears open; you never know what you might learn or who you might meet.
All of these tips are so helpful in the interview process. Based on my own experience, I’d like to add a few more:
1. Plan out answers to a few of the most common questions.Almost everyone knows basic questions that will be coming, so don’t be stumped!
2. Research Eastman and the University of Rochester. The more you know about the school going in, the better you will be.
3. Be gracious to your fellow interviewers if you’re in an interview with others.
Good luck to all auditioning this year!
— Andrew Psarris ’15