Music School Central - College Counseling Reviews 

Though our daughter attended an arts magnet high school, our familiarity with music programs at the university level was rudimentary. We began the search for college and university music programs on our own, knowing that she wanted to focus primarily on Classical Voice and Opera, and that she did not want a traditional conservatory environment. We did our preliminary research on top music schools for voice on the internet (much of what we found came from Bill's site anyway) and toured 7 target schools in April of her junior year. By the end of summer we'd decided we needed assistance for two main reasons; one, to provide a neutral (non-parent) third party to help keep our daughter on track with the multiple deadlines, essays and required audition materials; and two, to "validate" or give outsider, expert feedback on the schools we were aiming for and how to classify them in terms of competitiveness. Bill did both in an expert, approachable and professional manner. He is an excellent communicator and was able to crystallize what our daughter was seeking and provided a clear roadmap for how to proceed. He involved a university faculty member in our daughter's area of interest to help assess and evaluate her voice and get a clear sense of where she should target her applications. Having an experienced and adept consultant put us at ease since it was our first go-round with college applications and also in such a specific area. The entire process went smoothly and Bill was incredibly encouraging to her throughout. While we believe our daughter would have been happy at any of the schools she applied to, she was admitted early decision to her top choice (Northwestern University/Bienen School of Music), and we all are thrilled with the outcome.

Our son has been a musician his entire life, but he did not follow the traditional track for classical music. As he entered the winter of his Junior year in high school, we felt overwhelmed trying to understand the process of applying to the right school. - even the correct major. We knew he wanted to stay on the East Coast (or at least not the West Coast), but understanding where he would fit in and thrive - as well as the portfolio requirements for each school—seemed daunting. Finding Bill was an immediate relief. Bill's calm demeanor immediately put us at ease with his knowledge and professionalism. He listened, allowing our son to feel more comfortable and confident by truly processing what he was saying before offering opinions. This immediately included setting up meetings with folks who work in some of the Conservatories our son was considering. The advice and feedback consistently boosted his confidence throughout the process, reducing stress and allowing our son to focus on his portfolio.

Our son applied to Oberlin, Bard, Manhattan School of Music, Peabody, Eastman, Vanderbilt, Boston Conservatory and New England Conservatory. He received audition invitations from all but one school. In the end, he released some audition spots because he had offers from his top choices, including significant scholarships from all of them. Bill was integral in bringing out the best in our son, making the tasks seem doable, focusing on priority items, and being available whenever needed throughout the process. There is no doubt we would be in a much different situation if we had not found Bill. In the end, our son chose Bard Conservatory of Music with a major in Music Composition. Hands down this is the best investment we have made prior to college.

Thoroughly recommend! Bill helped every step of the way - building a strong list, navigating auditions and interviews, building a portfolio, essays. He made the process as pain free as possible. Our son was accepted to many schools on his list. Thank you BIll!

We came to Bill looking for assistance with our daughter's application process. As Canadians, the US system was overwhelming to say the least. Our daughter, a songwriter, was looking for assistance in selecting the best schools and help navigating the process, and the portfolio submissions. Working with Bill, we found much more than that.
Bill was intimately familiar with the various programs out there, and how they differed from one another including differences that one might not glean from reviewing online materials and reviews. He helped our daughter prioritize the things important to her and match those with the various schools.
Bill's assistance and expertise however did not end there. He helped finetune her songwriting skills, helped her understand what the adjudicators would be looking for, and helped guide her choices for her portfolio submissions.
Bill also made us aware of a contest that he felt our daughter should enter based on the strength of the material she had provided to Bill. She entered the contest, the largest such contest in the world, and WON!
In the end, our daughter was admitted to the school we felt was undoubtedly the best choice for her. We would not hesitate to recommend Music School Central, and Bill, to guide your family's most important choice of where to spend the next four years.
Bill was always professional, prompt, responsive and personable. His depth of knowledge of the various programs and offerings out there is unmatched. We were thrilled with the process, and are thrilled with the results having worked with him.

Without hesitation, I can say that finding and hiring Bill was the single BEST decision we made as a family before starting the college application process!
If you are parents of a musician student, look NO further and trust that Bill is worth every penny.
He not only knows the process inside and out, but he helps relieve an enormous amount of stress and pressure from the student and from the parents.
He sets proper expectations, and I love that he gives honest and straight-forward feedback. He may not tell you what you want to hear; rather, he tells you what you NEED to hear.
I honestly cannot imagine going through an intense college application process without Bill.
With BOTH our daughter's hard work and Bill's step-by-step guidance over 9 months...Our daughter received a scholarship to her top choice school!

Our family is so grateful to have found Bill! The outcome was that our son was accepted to his dream school, the University of Michigan, to study Audio Engineering. This simply would not have happened for us without Bill.

Our son is a strong student and a multi-instrumentalist musician. However, he found his interest in production and audio tech late, in spring of his junior year of high school. Though he’s in a great private school, their in house college counseling simply did not have the expertise to help with admissions in such a specialized area. And we were getting a late start. After considering several private music admissions consultants, we selected Bill. And I am so happy we did!

Bill worked closely with us and our son to create a list of target schools, he guided our son in creating his required music admissions portfolio and gave expert feedback on the portfolio, essays and more. Bill provided a mock interview and mock auction for our son with actual professors at U Michigan and the Berkelee School of Music. As a result, our son’s application was as strong as it could be, and he felt confident going into the auditions/interviews. Not only was our son accepted to his top choice college, U Michigan, but he was also accepted to his second and third choice schools, U Miami and Georgia Tech. None of this would have been possible without Bill. I cannot recommend him highly enough.

We are so lucky to have found Bill.

Our son found his passion for classical piano late and had little formal training, but Bill never saw that as a limitation. He patiently connected us with the right instructors, set up practice auditions, and even personally trained our son in music theory so he could stand shoulder to shoulder against more experienced peers.

What stood out most was how thoughtfully Bill tailored everything to our son’s unique needs—for example, our son wanted strong music programs AND the freedom to study biology or engineering alongside it. Bill pivoted with us, crafting a thoughtful school list that matched perfectly.

The result? Our son is not just better prepared for applications, he is a stronger and more confident musician because of Bill. His dedication, insight, and personal investment in every student set him apart - a mile higher than the others.

It was August, and we were running against time. College applications were due November 1, and we were overconfident parents of a son who dreamed of becoming a professional singer/songwriter. He had the talent, motivation, and drive, but what he needed was a steady hand to guide him step by step, someone who could push him to work hard while still giving him the freedom to make his own choices. He wanted a mentor who was professional, methodical, and driven, someone who could get things done on time. That person was Bill.

Our family had never ventured into the world of music education before, as he is the first in our family to study music, so we had a steep learning curve ahead of us. Bill not only knew the process inside and out but also genuinely cared. Early on, he created a shared document that served as a detailed roadmap of all the schools we were targeting, complete with important deadlines, requirements, and next steps. Each week, he would assign “homework” so that we could chip away at the process in a structured, step-by-step manner. This kept us on track, made the overwhelming process manageable, and gave our son a clear sense of progress.

Bill was responsive, willing to spend extra time answering questions, and patient in clearing up the inevitable doubts that arise (and trust me, you will have lots). We loved his outlook, organization, follow-ups, and sense of ownership. He provided the right balance of encouragement and accountability, making sure deadlines were met without ever losing sight of our son’s artistic vision.

Thanks to Bill’s guidance, he was accepted into his dream school, Berklee College of Music, with a generous scholarship. We could not have asked for a better partner in this journey. Bill is the best person you can entrust your child with for music college consultation, and we wholeheartedly recommend him to anyone seeking the very best guidance in this field.

Bill is amazing! My son will be attending his dream school, UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music!!! When our son told us he wanted to go to school for music, we had no idea how to help him - our backgrounds are law and engineering, and the music school application (and other things he needed to do like prescreen videos and auditions) are very different from what we knew. We looked at all that is required from music school applicants, and realized we needed help with this process. Hiring Bill was the best decision ever. Bill is smart, helpful, friendly and he really connected with my son. Bill was with us every step of the way - he promptly answered all of the questions we had as parents and kept on top of everything, and most importantly, he took my son through the application process step by step - we did not have to worry about whether our son was on track, Bill took care of that. He broke the process down into stages so my son did not miss anything and the process was not so overwhelming, and kept my son on track with assignments so that each step was completed on time and well. He kept my son organized, and enabled him to get his applications done well and on time. He had a college flute professor listen to our son play and help my son understand which schools he should consider. Bill was so helpful with the essays - he helped my son brainstorm ideas, and then gave feedback on what he wrote. Bill was really there during the whole process - finding a topic for each question can be stressful, and Bill was so helpful during the critical brainstorming process. Bill took the time to get to know my son, he gives personal attention and was patient with our questions. Bill explained everything, had helpful information and truly cares about our son. I remember when we were just starting this process, and how overwhelmed we were. I'm so happy we hired Bill, he is truly amazing and our son is going to his dream school! He has our highest recommendation!!!

Our son is the first person in our family to study music, so we've had to learn about finding and getting into music school. Bill has been an effective partner for our family on that journey.

We appreciate that our son could work directly with Bill without too much input from us. Bill understands the ecosystem and helped us separate signal from noise so we could work efficiently. Bill served as a project manager so our son could focus on specific deliverables.

Our son got into his top school. He didn't seem overly stressed out along the way. We had a good experience and feel comfortable recommending Bill to others.

We quickly realized that a successful college application process into music schools required expertise we simply don't have. Two days after a brief introductory call, Bill produced not only a list of schools, but a complete application strategy, 30 days before the first Early Decision application was due. Our son got into his first choice school on an ED application to a prestigious school and starting overseas! We thought this school would be out of reach and might not have encouraged him to apply at all, but Bill understood exactly what they are looking for and that our son could be a fit. Without this knowledge we definitely would not have been successful, nor so well prepared. Bill knew how to motivate our teen throughout the process, provide positive feedback on essays and portfolio work, so much so that this has been one of the few school-related experience that the kid LOOKED FORWARD to, and I believe I saw him mature and increase in confidence working with Bill. Scheduling meetings was easy and paced very well to meet milestones and deadlines. I was more involved at the beginning to ensure nothing major slipped (we had 30 days for that first application), but then was able to leave the conversations to them with great confidence. It's a wonderful experience for a kid to know they did this (with THE BEST help) and on their own. It is fun to see our son SO proud when he received that acceptance... words cannot describe the joy. Thank you, Bill. We could not have done it without your help.

We had ZERO experience with music school applications and we had no idea how to advise our son. I am from a medical background and my husband is an architect. His first attempt at admission to a music composition program at the end of high school did not end in success. Mr. Zuckerman was critical to not only advising our son on applications to music conservatories, but he helped him grow as a composer. Music schools are very specialized in the type of skills they want to see in prospective students. Only someone with experience can guide an applicant to best showcase those skills. Mr. Zuckerman spent a lot of time listening to our son's composition portfolio and challenging him on how to make the pieces more compelling. After 2 years of community college and expert advisement by Mr. Zuckerman, he will be attending one of the top music schools in Europe with a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music (and declining acceptances to multiple prestigious schools in the United States). I would say he is a better composer from the experience of working with Mr. Zuckerman. The investment we made with expert counseling paid off with our son’s musical growth and a great path forward for his education.

Our daughter has worked with Bill since 10th grade. He worked with my daughter weekly to follow up the structured schedule to prepare for the whole college application preparation. It includes how to prepare for trail lessons, audition and interview, how to write essays and how to communicate with professors. He also helps a lot in hand-on-hand proofreading and editing of my daughter's application documents. He knows almost every music school and helps us to decide what are the different levels of universities we should put on our application list. When my daughter has challenges in her stressful time, he always tries to provide good advice and sincere care about her study career and long-term well-being.
We appreciate Bill's professional guidance in the application process and believe all his suggestions are very helpful. We strongly thought his consultation service is very worthy of the money and all my family are satisfied with his work. Even after my daughter was admitted, he still followed up with us and provided additional help. Finally, our daughter had a big success in admission (Eastman, Peabody, Carnegie Mellon, Vanderbilt, Miami, Indiana Univ) and got into her dream school with a substantial scholarship.

Bill helped our kid compile a list of schools for music production that also took into account several other requirements and interests which was not easy to do. Along with regular zoom meetings, Bill provided portfolio and application guidance and recommended an excellent music production teacher to study with during their senior year of high school.

They ended up at their first choice school - the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design at Drexel and were also admitted to Drexel's Pennoni Honors College plus they received a substantial amount of merit aid.

They had a fantastic freshman year and are super happy at Drexel - everything has exceeded expectations.

We contacted Bill to help our son navigate the arduous and complicated process of applying to colleges for music production and technology. From our first meeting I knew he was the right choice. My husband and I, as well as my son were a bit clueless as to where to begin even compiling a list of schools that would meet his needs. Bill was so thorough in the types of questions he asked us. He really took the time to listen to each of us share what we wanted for our son.
He was able to keep my son on schedule with all of the details involved in applying to music programs by sending him regular to do lists. In addition he recommended summer programs and courses which he felt would boost his application and auditions.
Our son was accepted into his first choice school, NYU!
I HIGHLY recommend working with Bill to help both child and parents prepare for applying to music schools and programs within colleges and universities. His background in music as well as his up to date knowledge of the school’s admissions requirements were invaluable resources for my son in finding the ideal university to fit his needs.

My name is Ruth Gerson. I am vocal coach and have worked with Bill Zuckerman for several years preparing students and supporting families through their college audition, application and portfolio processes. Bill is a joy to work with. He is a great person and great at his job.

Bill makes sure students are organized, informed, prepared and on time. Each school is a little different. Bill knows and understand all the varying ins and outs of program application and audition requirements. He helps you make sure nothing is missing and there are no surprises.

Bill is also extremely knowledgeable about music programs in the US and abroad and can help you find the right place to develop your talent and feel at home.

Working with Bill relieves a great amount of worry for both students and their families and when you have worry removed - when you know everything is in place and you know what you are doing - then you are in the very best spot to do your very best. Bill makes sure you are fully prepared for your auditions so you can feel confident and nail it.

This is why students who work with Bill make it into their top choices, including USC Thornton, Berklee, Frost, Belmont, NYU, UCLA and overseas programs such as LIPA.

I often speak to parents outside of audition coaching. One and all have remarked that Bill is truly with you every step of the way and having him on their team has made all the difference.

At the end of his junior year, our son told us he wanted to major in music composition. We knew he was interested in music, but did not know what direction he wanted to take until that moment. My husband and I thought we could help him navigate the music school admission process, but soon realized that music school applications were very overwhelming-—they is so much more to do and so much more complicated than the regular application process. Luckily, we found Bill just in time.

Bill evaluated our son's musical ability in both composition and his main instrument, since being a composition major requires proficiency in an instrument. He helped us decide which schools would best suit our son's talents.

Bill provided invaluable input on our son’s music resume, prescreen recordings, and how to create a repertoire list. He even gave us insight on how and where to find talent to play our son's compositions. He set up mock interviews, found a professional viola player to evaluate his playing, and understood what type of school environment our son would thrive in.

Bill is wonderful at helping families navigate the challenging process of applying to music schools. We are so grateful for his expertise and support.

Bill Zuckerman is a gifted counselor who intimately knows the world of music college admissions and who has the care and the consideration to go the extra mile to help his clients. He made a big impression when he brought a Berklee professor to do a mock interview with our daughter early in the process, but he made an even bigger impression in the final weeks when we were negotiating financial aid packages with different universities. His advice on how to work with university administration to get the best possible financial package ended up being the final piece that allowed our daughter to go to an amazing university with a world-class music program. In between, he was an absolute boss, working with our daughter closely to make the audition the best process it could be and providing useful tips on her essays. His rates are pricey - we made a decision as a family to sacrifice for expert guidance - but the decision paid off both in the remarkable school she's attending and in the financial aid that allowed her to do so. We're very grateful.

Music School Central is a wonderful resource to obtain information about the music school application process from the range of schools, preparation leading up to the application stage, and the actual audition process. While the ultimate hard work must be put in by the student, Music School Central played an invaluable role in assisting the student to be aware of available options, to learn how best to pursue those options and to confidently go through the music school application process. We recommend starting the process early as music school applications can be a build-up of many years of investment. In our case, we obtained advice over a 3 year period and found it to be very effective to plan each phase of the build-up.

Bill worked with our son who graduated in 2019. Our son was so shy we were worried he was going to struggle with interviews and auditions. Bill was so helpful preparing him that when the time came, our son was confident and did extremely well in all his interviews and auditions. He was accepted in his first choice school to major in Performance as a bassist and was awarded an excellent scholarship.

Last year, our daughter, began to express interest in a degree in music, specifically audio engineering and music production. While we felt pretty confident that we could guide her through the application process, we quickly found that the portfolio requirements for that field are extensive. Furthermore, we were not sure about which schools had the right programs.

Working with Bill gave our daughter the peace of mind that no part of the application process was falling through the cracks. Once again, Bill’s guidance provided an excellent outcome. Every applications was ready on time and resulted in either an acceptance or an interview/audition. We can’t emphasize enough how happy we are that we hired Bill a second time. We have only the highest recommendations for anybody who has a student interested in entering the field of music.