musicschoolcentral.com

Serious professional who understands what it takes to get into prestigious music programs

Let me start by answering the first question you might be asking, would you hire Bill Zuckerman dba Music School Central - College Counseling again? The answer is a resounding, “Yes, and here is why!”Content: The main difference here from all of the other vendors was that he was a “Cradle to Grave” service experience. All of the other vendors I researched had a basic fee and then built in extras through an “a la carte” approach. Bill said from the beginning. Our relationship starts whenever you say it starts (contractually-there was no pressure or hard sell by him) and if you want, it doesn’t end until your student makes their final choice. Little did we know how much this would mean. Price: Bill was not the cheapest nor was he the most expensive. His services were not inexpensive but worth every penny and more. One of the reasons was his keen ability to communicate and organizational skills. Bill listens to the clients (applicant and parents) from beginning to end. He asked the right questions and helped develop a realistic list of safe/target/stretch schools. His knowledge of music programs is top notch and up to date. He made what is a complex matrix of requirements easy to understand and broke them down into manageable chunks with meaningful follow-up. For us, the follow-up took many forms.Bill spent time getting to understand your student’s scholastic goals, objectives, and tuition cost considerations. He gets the student to take a critical look at their resume to capture all accomplishments and makes suggestions (if there is time) in order to bridge some gaps if applicable. Once we selected the schools (this ebbed and flowed even past Christmas) he was able to prioritize and suggest consolidation of certain essay prompts and help the students brainstorm based on their personal experiences. My daughter had weekly assignments with get backs including essay prompts, resume, music theory practice, play list by genre, etc. Of course there were plenty of times when she had competing priorities and not everything on the list was completed but Bill was steady, firm, and encouraging. Navigating the different requirements for each of the applications including putting together portfolios? No problem, as long as you have Bill on your team! Bill gave lots of meaningful tips, suggestions, and constructive feedback to help your student’s package stand out and apart from others. Bill set up mock interviews/auditions with current admissions staff with desirable music programs. This was huge!Customer Service: Bill was responsive, professional, timely, and ridiculously organized. He was an absolute pleasure to work with and would highly recommend him for your family if you are serious about seeking admission to highly competitive music programs. I can say with certainty, that because of Bill’s guidance, knowledge, and input, he was able to give meaningful feedback to help better showcase my daughter’s skills and abilities beyond an average scholastic pedigree. She was invited to audition and subsequently admitted to several prestigious programs, some with partial scholarships. Most importantly, she was admitted to her dream school (beyond reach), the University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music.

Date of experience: Mar 22, 2024