Application

The Office of Admission works closely with prospective students on an individual basis throughout the admission process. Our on-line application can be found at www.unifiedapps.org. Call 1 (800) 899-SFCM, or email admit@sfcm.edu if you have questions about the application.

Application Procedure
Required Materials for Admission
Academic Requirements for Admission
Admission Decisions
Testing for New Students
International Students
Financial Aid

Application Deadlines:

• Fall semester, December 1
• Spring semester, October 1, if space available. Please check here for availability.

Admission to the Conservatory is determined on the basis of

1. your audition
2. openings in the specific department
3. your academic record
4. other application materials submitted

Applicants may not apply more than two times for the same program without permission from the Office of Admission

Application
The Conservatory uses the Unified Application for Conservatory Admission found at http://www.unifiedapps.org. Printed applications are not available.

The application deadline for spring enrollment is October 1; please contact the Office of Admission to inquire about openings in specific departments for the spring semester. The application deadline for fall enrollment is December 1. We may accept applications after the December 1 date if any audition space remains. The application fee for late applications is $150. Admission decisions will be sent on March 15 for graduate and postgraduate applicants and on April 1 for undergraduate applicants.



Application Fee
There is a non-refundable application fee required with the application. Applicants must pay this fee by major credit card before electronically submitting the application to the Office of Admission. If you do not have a major credit card, please contact the Office of Admission directly to discuss other payment options. Applications received without the required fee will not be processed.

Application fees are as follows:
Fee for all applications submitted on or before the application deadline:	$100
Fee for all late applications:	$150
Fee for all graduates and/or current students of SFCM	$50

Recommendations
All applicants are required to submit two letters of recommendation, due by the application deadline. One must be from the private music teacher of the instrument on which they will audition and should speak specifically to the applicant's preparedness to study music within a Conservatory environment. The second should be from a teacher or faculty member who can address the applicant's readiness to study in a collegiate environment in general. SFCM does not provide a separate form on which to write recommendations. Recommenders should include the applicant's full name and instrument in the letter. Applicants should request that these confidential letters be sent directly to the Office of Admission at the Conservatory or may submit them with the paper application in sealed, signed envelopes. Photocopies of original recommendations are never acceptable.

Transcripts
Applicants to the undergraduate program, including transfer applicants, are required to submit official transcripts from all high schools and colleges attended. Home-schooled applicants must submit either an official transcript issued by an accredited institution or the diploma from the GED or CHSPE. Applicants to the graduate programs are required to submit official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended. Transcripts must be sent to SFCM directly from the schools(s). Photocopied transcripts of diplomas are never acceptable.

International students must also provide notarized translations of their transcripts if the originals are not issued in English. The Office of Admission may require that international transcripts be evaluated by an organization specializing in foreign credential evaluation, such as World Education Services http://www.wes.org or Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc. http://www.ece.org.

ACT/SAT Scores
SAT or ACT scores are not required, although we highly recommend that all undergraduate applicants, including transfer students, submit them. Home-schooled applicants are required to submit official SAT or ACT scores. The Conservatory's school code for the ACT is 0403; the code for the SAT is 4744. We will accept scores as official if they are listed on the student's official school transcript. Photocopies of ACT or SAT scores are never acceptable.

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
Students whose first language is not English must submit a TOEFL score sent directly to the Conservatory from the testing service. TOEFL scores received from tests taken more than two years prior to the application deadline are not valid. We require a minimum score of 61 on the new interactive-based test (iBT), 173 on the computer-based test or 500 on the paper-based test. The Conservatory's school code is 4744. Photocopied score reports will not be accepted. We recommend that applicants take the TOEFL no later than January preceding the fall they hope to enroll. International students who have completed at least two years of full-time academic study at an English-speaking college or university at the time of application may request to be exempted from this requirement.

International applicants to the Professional Studies Diploma who wish to take academic courses while at SFCM must receive a minimum score of 45 on the new interactive-based test (iBT), 133 on the computer-based test or 450 on the paper-based test. Those Professional Studies Diploma candidates who do not wish to register for academic coursework need not submit a TOEFL score.

SFCM has an agreement with English Language Services (ELS), an English school with campuses located throughout the United States (including San Francisco), through which any student of English enrolled at any of ELS' campuses and who passes ELS' "Level 109" exam will be exempt from the TOEFL requirement at SFCM. Please contact the Office of Admission BEFORE you decide to enroll in ELS' programs

Audition
All applicants must perform an audition for admission to the Conservatory. Please see Audition Information for specific requirements.

Freshmen - Graduation from an accredited high school is required for freshmen applying to the Conservatory. This requirement may be waived if other qualifications are extraordinary. The high school transcript should include at least three years of English and preferably three years of a foreign language.

Freshman applicants are strongly recommended to submit scores for either the SAT or the ACT, although this is not required. This recommendation also applies to those who have been away from secondary school one or more years and have not previously undertaken collegiate study. Home-schooled applicants are required to submit SAT or ACT scores, as well as complete syllabi of their high school curriculum.

Transfer Students – Students wishing to transfer to the Conservatory must show evidence of a satisfactory academic record at all institutions of higher education and secondary schools attended and are required to submit official transcripts from all of them. Transfer students who are attending a member school of the National Association of Schools of Music must submit a form signed by the primary music executive of the school from which they are transferring, indicating their knowledge and approval of this transfer. Transfer applicants cannot be considered for any Conservatory scholarship assistance without this form, available here.

Transfer students admitted to the Conservatory will receive transfer credit for courses in the general education area and music electives completed at other accredited institutions, provided the student received a grade of C or better and the course is ruled an appropriate substitute for a Conservatory course. The Conservatory does not grant transfer credit for Musicianship, Music History, Harmony, Basic Phonetics, or Lyric Diction courses, or major instrument studies completed elsewhere. Students may receive credit by examination for these required Conservatory courses, however, depending upon the results of placement examinations administered at the time of registration.

Graduate Students – Applicants for the Master of Music degree and Artist Certificate programs are expected to hold a bachelor's degree in music from an accredited college, university or conservatory. In exceptional cases, a student who has a degree in an area other than music and who has had excellent audition results may be considered. The Conservatory will not accept any transfer credit at the graduate level.

International Students – Students whose first language is not English must submit satisfactory TOEFL scores sent directly to the Conservatory by the testing service. International students are not required to submit scores from the SAT or ACT. TOEFL scores received from tests taken more than two years prior to the application deadline are not valid. The minimum acceptable scores are 61 on the new, interactive-based test (iBT), 173 on the computer-based test or 500 on the paper-based test. The Conservatory's school code is 4744. Students who have completed at least two years of full-time study at an English-speaking college or university at the time of application may ask to be exempted from this requirement.

International applicants to the Professional Studies Diploma in instrumental performance who wish to take academic courses while at the Conservatory must receive a minimum TOEFL score of 45 on the new, interactive-based test (iBT), 133 on the computer-based test or 450 on the paper-based test. Those Professional Studies Diploma candidates who do not wish to register for academic coursework need not submit a TOEFL score.

For information about the TOEFL, please visit http://www.toefl.org.

SFCM has an agreement with English Language Services (ELS), an English school with campuses located throughout the United States (including San Francisco), through which any student of English enrolled at any of ELS' campuses and who passes ELS' "Level 109" exam will be exempt from the TOEFL requirement at SFCM. Please contact the Office of Admission BEFORE you decide to enroll in ELS' programs."

Undergraduate applicants will be notified by April 1 of the admission decision if the application was completed by the stated deadline. Admitted undergraduate students must submit a non-refundable enrollment deposit of $500 within four weeks of receiving the offer of admission or by May 1, whichever date is later, in order to hold a place in the class.

Graduate and Postgraduate applicants will be notified of the admission decision by March 15.

After committing to study at SFCM by the deadlines stated above, students may not accept any other offer of admission or merit-based financial aid from another member school of the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) without the consent of SFCM's Office of Admission.

Applicants who are not offered admission may only reapply after one academic year.

In some exceptional cases, students may defer their enrollment up to one year by making a written request to the Office of Admission, including details of why the student wishes to defer enrollment. The $500 enrollment deposit is still required to hold the place in the class and will not be refunded if the student later decides not to enroll. Most students who are granted deferrals of admission will not be granted deferrals of monetary awards and may be required to reapply for Financial Aid and Scholarship.

New undergraduate and graduate students are required to attend the New Student Orientation Day and to take placement examinations and ensemble auditions, which take place prior to registration. Placement tests will be given to all freshmen and transfer students in music fundamentals, musicianship, and keyboard proficiency. Undergraduates will also be tested for placement into the Academic Basics and Introduction to Western Civilization courses.

Transfer students are required to take any additional examinations needed to establish levels of proficiency in harmony and music history.

Graduate students are required to take placement examinations in musicianship, music history and music theory. Click here for a study guide for the graduate music history placement exam. Entering graduate voice majors must take a placement exam in basic phonetics and have the option of taking a placement exam to fulfill the intermediate language requirement in German, French and Italian. Entering composition majors will be tested in certain keyboard skills (score reading, figured bass, harmonization of a melody), and will be given a take-home test in orchestration and counterpoint. Please consult the Conservatory Catalog for further information. On the basis of these examinations, students may be required to take certain courses at the Conservatory to correct deficiencies. All international students are required to attend a special International Student Orientation session and will be given an English exam, regardless of the TOEFL score they submitted as part of their application for admission. Based on this English exam additional courses in English and/or Academic Basics may be required.

Schedules of placement exams and ensemble audition requirements will be mailed to new students prior to the Orientation.

The Conservatory welcomes international students. Over 20 percent of our students come from a country other than the United States. The application procedure for international students is described above. No offer of admission will be made until all required information is received. It is very important that international students understand the financial expectations of attending the Conservatory before they begin the admission process. Even if you receive a Conservatory scholarship, you still must have sufficient funds to pay for any tuition not covered by scholarship assistance and to pay for all of your living and travel expenses. You must submit financial certification that shows adequate funds to support your education and living expenses before the Conservatory can issue the I-20 form required to secure a student visa.

All scholarship and financial aid information can be found in the Financial Aid section of our website.

PLEASE NOTE: The Conservatory does not offer provisional admission, nor does it have an English preparatory program for students who do not meet our minimum TOEFL requirement. We will not offer admission until the TOEFL requirements are met. There are no exceptions. For more information on the TOEFL, please consult their website at www.toefl.org.

Countries Represented by Current Conservatory Students
Australia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, El Salvador, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Iran, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, People's Republic of China (PRC), Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan (ROC), Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom and Uzbekistan.

Conservatory scholarships are awarded based on musical ability as demonstrated at the audition, financial need, and the musical needs of the Conservatory. Complete scholarship and financial aid information can be found in the Financial Aid section of our website.

Need-Based Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards: Applicants who wish to be considered for any form of need-based scholarship or financial aid, whether institutional or federal, MUST submit the Conservatory's Scholarship and Financial Aid Application found in the on-line and paper versions of the Application for Admission, PLUS the additional forms described below for US citizens/permanent residents and international students. Priority will be given to those students who complete the scholarship/financial aid application process by February 15. Questions should be directed to the Financial Aid Officer at 415.503.6214 or finaid@sfcm.edu

Merit-Based Scholarship Awards: Those applicants who are US Citizens or permanent residents who wish only to be considered for merit-based conservatory scholarships need not submit the FAFSA, but MUST submit the SFCM Scholarship and Financial Aid Application found in the on-line and paper versions of the Application for Admission. International applicants must submit ALL forms as described below in order to be eligible for merit-based and/or need-based scholarship.

Required materials for US citizens and permanent residents applying for need-based aid

1. The San Francisco Conservatory of Music Scholarship and Financial Aid Application found in our application at www.unifiedapps.org.
2. The 2006-2007 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), available at most high schools, colleges, and on the Internet at www.fafsa.ed.gov. The Conservatory's school code for filing the FAFSA is 001278. This code must be listed on the FAFSA for the Conservatory to receive the applicant's financial information. Applicants may complete either the paper version or the on-line version, and should do so as early as possible after January 1, in order to have the results arrive at SFCM prior to the February 15 priority deadline.
3. California residents only: Undergraduate applicants, both freshman and transfer, MUST apply for a Cal Grant. Applicants are to complete the California Student Aid Commission's GPA Verification Form, have it signed by the appropriate school official, and submit it by the February 15 SFCM deadline. Students are encouraged to obtain a Certificate of Mailing in case they need to prove they applied by the deadline.

Required materials for all international students

1. The San Francisco Conservatory of Music Scholarship and Financial Aid Application found in our application at www.unifiedapps.org.
2. The Foreign Student Financial Aid Application
3. The SFCM Institutional Certification of Finances for International Students

International students cannot be considered for any US federal or state grants or loans, but can be considered for Conservatory scholarships.

Additional required materials for transfer students
In addition to the materials listed above, transfer students who are attending a member school of the National Association of Schools of Music must submit a form signed by the primary music executive of the school from which they are transferring, indicating their knowledge and approval of this transfer. Transfer applicants cannot be considered for any Conservatory scholarship assistance without this form. It is included in our application at www.unifiedapps.org and may also be downloaded here.

Graduate applicants only
Graduate students wishing to be considered for an assistantship must check the appropriate box in Item 8 in the Scholarship and Financial Aid Application found in the on-line and paper versions of the Application for Admission. Candidates for the Master of Music degree are eligible to apply for graduate assistantships, provided they are full-time students. They are awarded on the basis of musical proficiency and specific skills related to the assistantships available. The assistantships generally require six to 20 hours of service per week, for which students are paid $1,000 to $3,000 per year. Although the specific assistantships will vary from year to year, they generally include: Baroque Assistant, Brass Chamber Music Assistant, Chamber Music Assistant, General Education Assistant, Music History Assistant, Musical Theater Assistant, Musicianship/Music Theory Assistant, New Music Ensemble Librarian and Personnel Assistant, New Music Ensemble Manager, Opera Theatre Assistant, Orchestra Librarian, Percussion Department Assistant, Voice Department Assistant, Woodwind Chamber Music Assistant. Please check with the Financial Aid Office for a complete list.



PLEASE CONTACT US at admit@sfcm.edu if you have any questions about applying to the Conservatory or need us to mail you a paper copy of the application. We look forward to receiving your application.