Cleveland Institute of Music Application Instructions

Please read very carefully all the following information as it will help you complete your application as smoothly as possible.

Application Web Site

If you choose to apply, you will fill out and submit your application online at the Unified Application for Conservatory Admission (www.unifiedapps.org). In order to receive an audition appointment, you must first submit an application. All auditions are arranged by the Admission Office and not by individual faculty members.

Application deadline and fee

Fall Application Deadline - December 1
Apply early! Some audition dates will be filled even before December 1; so, early submission is highly recommended.

Spring Application Deadline - October 1
A few openings may become available at the beginning of the second semester, which begins in January. Since there is no published schedule of audition dates for the Spring admission cycle, auditions are scheduled individually through the Admission Office.

Application Fee (nonrefundable)

$100 -- on or before December 1
$150 -- December 2-31
$200 – after December 31

Required application documents (Read with care)

There are strict requirements for submission of your supporting materials. You will make the application process much easier for yourself by reading this document thoughtfully and by following directions.

All of your supporting documents must be received by CIM no later than the following deadlines (date of postmark has no applicability):

January 2 (Fall admission)
October 15 (Spring admission)

You can receive no offer of admission, scholarship, or financial aid so long as your application is incomplete.

Shipment of documents (important)

You, the applicant, must collect all your required letters of recommendation and transcripts according to the specific instructions detailed below. After you have done so, put them into a large envelope and ship to:

Cleveland Institute of Music
Admission Office
11021 East Boulevard
Cleveland, OH 44106

Standardized test scores

SAT or ACT

You must submit SAT or ACT scores if you are applying for undergraduate study and are one of the following:

1. US citizen
2. US Permanent Resident
3. International student enrolled at a US high school

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)

If you are an international applicant for whom English is a second language, you must complete the TOEFL examination and attain one of the following minimum scores: 550 (paper test), 213 (computer test), 80 (iBT test). You cannot be admitted without meeting this requirement! Therefore, if you have not yet registered for the TOEFL, you should do so now! Your test results must come directly to CIM from the testing center.

Graduate Record Examination

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is not required for graduate applicants.

Letters of recommendation

(Faxes and emails are not accepted and will be shredded.)

Your application must include two confidential letters of recommendation from persons unrelated to you who are qualified to attest to your musical ability. The Letter of Recommendation Form (www.cim.edu/download/colAdmisLetterRec.pdf) may be used for this purpose; referees may also submit letters on their own stationery. If CIM receives a letter of recommendation that does not meet the following standard of confidentiality, it will not be added to your application.

Be sure to instruct each referee to do the following:

Enclose the letter of recommendation in a sealed envelope that bears the referee’s return address.

Write his or her signature across the flap of the envelope.

Return the sealed envelope to you, the applicant.

Transfer applicants

You are a transfer applicant if you are currently or were previously enrolled at a college or university and will not be graduating before beginning study at CIM. (As long as you graduate from that college or university before enrolling at CIM, you are not a transfer applicant.) Undergraduate transfer applicants must submit both secondary school and college/university transcripts (see below).

Secondary school transcripts for first-year and undergraduate transfer applicants

(Faxes and/or copies sent to students are not accepted and will be shredded.)

If you are applying for undergraduate study, whether as a first-year or transfer student, you must submit transcripts from the secondary schools you have attended in sealed, official school envelopes. Any transcript that fails to meet this confidentiality requirement will not be added to your application. Home-schooled students must also submit transcripts that indicate subjects studied and grades earned.

Be sure to ask your schools to enclose your transcripts in sealed, official school envelopes and return to you.

College/University transcripts for transfer and graduate applicants

(Faxes and/or copies sent to students are not accepted and will be shredded.)

You must submit transcripts from the schools you have attended in sealed, official school envelopes. Any transcript that fails to meet this confidentiality requirement will not be added to your application.

You will be required to submit transcripts from the following:

Your current college or university

Any previous school from which you have earned a degree or diploma

Any other previous school from which you would like to receive transfer credit

Audition information

Please check our published audition schedule. (www.cim.edu/colAdmisAudition.php). All live auditions are held in Cleveland. There are no regional sites.

Audition repertoire requirements are available at www.cim.edu/download/AuditionRequirements.pdf

Your appointment will include an audition and admission examinations that require you to be available from 8:45 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. You are advised to request only dates when you will be available for the full day and to make no travel arrangements until you receive written confirmation of your appointment. Confirmations will include detailed travel and visitor information. Please choose your dates carefully! Pending availability, auditions are re-scheduled only upon receipt of a $30 re-scheduling fee, payable by Visa/MasterCard/American Express. If all available audition time has been taken on your first choice of date, CIM will attempt, on a space available basis, to schedule one of your alternate choices.

Recorded auditions

The acceptance rate is higher for applicants who perform live auditions, and so it is an advantage for you to audition in Cleveland. If you are unable to do so and wish to send a recorded audition, please check below to see if your recording will be accepted.

If you submit a recorded audition, the members of our faculty will want to see you, too; therefore, DVDs and videotapes are highly preferred (international applicants should be sure to submit videos in NTSC format). No video CDs or .wav files will be accepted.

Your recording must be labeled, both on the recording and on the outside case. Include your name, your intended major and degree program, and the order of the repertoire included.

Recordings should be forwarded to the Admission Office and not to individual faculty members. Please keep original recordings and forward high quality duplicates only. Recordings become the property of the Cleveland Institute of Music and are not returned.

The following departments require live auditions:

Audio Recording
Bassoon
Bass Trombone
Clarinet
Composition
Eurhythmics
Flute
Horn
Oboe
Orchestral Conducting
Organ
Timpani and Percussion
Trombone
Trumpet
Tuba
Viola

The following departments accept recorded auditions:

Cello (DVDs or videotapes required)
Collaborative Piano (DVDs or videotapes required)
Double Bass (DVDs or videotapes required)
Guitar (DVDs or videotapes preferred, CDs accepted)
Harp (DVDs or videotapes preferred, CDs accepted)
Harpsichord (DVDs or videotapes preferred, CDs accepted)
Piano (DVDs or videotapes preferred, CDs accepted)
Violin (DVDs or videotapes preferred, CDs accepted)
Voice (DVDs or videotapes preferred, CDs accepted)

Accompanists

CIM auditions are unaccompanied, with the exception of vocal auditions. If you are a voice applicant and plan to audition live in Cleveland, you must (at least two weeks before the scheduled audition) submit titles and composers of selected audition repertoire to mary.schiller@case.edu.

International applicants

If you are already in the U.S., you must be prepared to provide authoritative information concerning your stay in the U.S. (passport, visa, etc.)

Audio Recording applicants

You must submit a recorded audition demonstrating technical and musical accomplishment on an instrument or voice. The following link contains the audition repertoire for all majors offered at CIM. Please review the requirements for your instrument and approximate those as closely as possible on your recording –

www.cim.edu/download/AuditionRequirements.pdf

Your recording must be labeled, both on the recording and on the outside case. Include your name, intended major and degree program, and the order of the repertoire included.

Recordings should be forwarded to the Admission Office and not to individual faculty members. Please keep original recordings and forward high quality duplicates only. Recordings become the property of the Cleveland Institute of Music and are not returned.

If you are planning to double major in performance, you may substitute your live performance audition for this recording.

Collaborative Piano applicants

Audition requirements are available online.

Audition Requirements for Collaborative Piano (www.cim.edu/download/collabPianoAuditionReqs.pdf)
Vocal Repertoire for Collaborative Auditions (www.cim.edu/download/collabPianoVocalRep.pdf)

Composition applicants

Before your audition date will be scheduled, you must submit for prescreening scores of original works (and CDs or DVDs, if available). These materials must arrive at CIM by the application deadline in order for you application to be considered. In addition, you must submit a recorded audition demonstrating technical and musical accomplishment on an instrument or voice. The following links contain the audition repertoire for all majors offered at CIM. Please review the requirements for your instrument and approximate those as closely as possible on your recording:

http://www.cim.edu/download/AuditionRequirements.pdf

Your recordings must be labeled, both on the recording and on the outside case. Include your name, intended major and degree program, and the order of the repertoire included.

Recordings and scores should be forwarded to the Admission Office and not to individual faculty members. Please keep originals and forward high quality duplicates only. These items become the property of the Cleveland Institute of Music and are not returned.

Financial Aid/Scholarship applicants

The online application for admission contains all the information needed to begin the financial aid process. Upon receipt of your application, you will be notified of any additional forms that will be necessary. For further information regarding the financial aid process, please refer to the financial aid web page (www.cim.edu/col/colFinAid.php).

Contact Information

Admission Office - Phone 216-795-3107
Financial Aid Office - Phone 216-791-5000 ext. 262