Jacobs School of Music attracts students from across the globe

Jacobs School of Music attracts top students from around the U.S. and world.

One such student is freshman Daniel Klaeren from South Carolina.

“There’s the great faculty, as well as a good campus feel,” Klaeren said. “It’s a good environment.”

Approximately 1,600 students are in Jacobs School of Music, with undergraduate students comprising about 50 percent of the enrollment. While the number of applicants each year has increased, the overall number of students has not changed for at least five years, said Townsend Plant, director of admissions and financial aid at Jacobs School of Music.

One reason for the consistency in Jacobs enrollment is the number of spaces available.

“There’s a desired instrumental balance within the school,” Plant said. “There’s equal distribution among each area.”

Approximately 80 to 85 percent of Jacobs School of Music students are not from Indiana.  Of that group, another 20 percent are international students, Plant said.

He said Jacobs School of Music has a wide geographical representation of approximately 55 countries and all of the states.  

However, some regions have more applicants than others. For example, South Korea and Canada are two countries with a greater number of applicants than others. A large proportion of domestic applicants come from the Midwest as well as farther east, including freshman Gina Rico from Pennsylvania.

Rico said she had a friend and a teacher who studied at IU.

But not all applicants are meant to be in Jacobs School of Music. 

Freshman Grace Tilka from Minnesota said she knew a friend who was not accepted. Her friend’s calling was elsewhere.

“She did receive acceptance into the violin program at Rice University and could not be happier,” Tilka said.

Jacobs School of Music is able to draw out-of-state and international students because of its faculty and success of graduates such as Joshua Bell and Sylvia McNair.

Plant related alumni success to the value of a Jacobs School of Music education. 
 
He added that the school’s reputation is influenced by students of all fields of study.
Even students taking elective classes in Jacobs have some effect on IU’s standing in relation to its faculty.

“Part of what makes this school great is that there are so many opportunities for students,” Plant said, citing examples of free concerts and the variety of classes for non-majors and non-instrumentalists.

Because of Jacobs School of Music selectivity, many applicants start preparing for auditions early, even before beginning senior year in high school.

“I started practicing the summer before my senior year, sometime in July,” Klaeren said. “I was accepted into the school sometime in early February.”

Even with years of experience and ample rehearsal time, applicants still experience jitters at auditions.

“I was really nervous, but at the same time I was able to pull it together somehow,” Rico said.  “I don’t know how I did it.”