Cleveland Institute of Music

Home > College Division > Admission > Admission/Financial Aid Checklist

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

If you choose to apply, you will fill out and submit your application online at www.unifiedapps.org. You must submit an application before you can receive an audition appointment. Auditions are arranged by the Admission Office and not by individual faculty members.

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

This nonrefundable fee must be paid by credit card. You may provide credit card information with your online application and it will be submitted securely. There are no fee waivers.

Prescreening is conducted in Violin, Concertmaster Academy, and Composition only, and applications must be received before prescreening occurs. The deadline for receipt of applications and prescreening materials in the CIM Admission Office is December 1 (fall admission) or October 15 (spring admission), although earlier submission is highly recommended. Be sure to forward all items to the following address and not to individual faculty members:

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

Violin - submit a DVD with two selections (and only two selections) from the following:

One movement of a major concerto (exposition plus cadenza) OR a concert piece (such as Saint-Saëns Rondo Capriccioso, Ravel Tzigane, or Sarasate Carmen Fantasy.)
One movement of solo Bach.

The recording must be labeled, both on the recording and on the outside case. Include your name, your intended major (violin), the degree program for which you are applying, and the order of the recorded repertoire. Please note: Your DVD, which may be unaccompanied, may also be produced with home-quality recording equipment; a studio-quality recording is not necessary. Also, memorization is not essential for prescreening purposes, though it will be required for the final audition.

Concertmaster Academy - submit a DVD to include two contrasting selections (and only two selections) chosen by you. The recording must be labeled, both on the recording and on the outside case. Include your name, your intended major (Concertmaster Academy), and the order of the recorded repertoire. Please note: Your DVD, which may be unaccompanied, may also be produced with home-quality recording equipment; a studio-quality recording is not necessary.

Composition - submit copies of 2-3 original scores with CD recordings, if available (do not send midi realizations), as well as a chronological list of completed compositions, including date of composition, instrumentation, duration, and any performances. Recordings should be labeled with the composer's name and title(s) of the work(s) included. Applicants for graduate programs (MM, PS, DMA) should include at least one work for large ensemble (chamber orchestra, full orchestra, or band). Also required is a DVD demonstrating your technical and musical accomplishment on an instrument; this recording, which may be unaccompanied, may also be produced with home-quality recording equipment; a studio-quality recording is not necessary.

There are strict guidelines for submitting your supporting materials. You will make your application process much easier by reading this document thoroughly and by following directions. You can receive no offer of admission, scholarship, or financial aid so long as your application is incomplete.

Materials must be received by CIM no later than the following deadlines (Date of postmark has no applicability):

Fall admission

Prescreening items (violin, composition, and Concertmaster Academy applicants only) are due no later than December 1. All other supporting materials are due by January 2.

Spring admission

All materials, including prescreening items (violin, composition, and Concertmaster Academy applicants only) are due no later than October 15.

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, ship them in a large envelope to:

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

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

Your score must come to CIM directly from the testing center or be recorded officially on your high school transcript. If you have not yet registered for one of these examinations, you should do so now!

If you are an international applicant for whom English is a second language, you must complete the TOEFL examination (No other form of testing or evaluation is acceptable). Plan early to take the TOEFL test during the fall months so that your test score arrives at CIM in good time. You cannot be admitted without meeting this requirement! Test results must come directly to CIM from the testing center.

Applicants for the Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts degree programs must attain the following minimum standard: 79 (iBT test), 213 (computer test), 550 (paper test).

The minimum requirement for non-degree programs (Artist Certificate, Artist Diploma, and Professional Studies) is: 61 (iBT test), 173 (computer test), 500 (paper test).

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

(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; the letter must NOT have your return address on the envelope!

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

Return the sealed envelope to you, the applicant.

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

(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.

(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

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

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 8:30 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 official 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/Discover. 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.

CIM’s 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; some departments require live auditions.

If you submit a recorded audition, the members of our faculty will want to see you, too; therefore, DVDs are required. 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

Additionally, all applicants for the Artist Certificate, Artist Diploma, or Doctor of Musical Arts programs must audition live.

The following departments accept recorded auditions (DVDs only):

Cello
Collaborative Piano
Double Bass
Guitar
Harp
Harpsichord
Piano
Violin
Voice

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

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.

Certified English translations of all non-English documents must be submitted along with originals. Documents submitted without translations will not be accepted.

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.)

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.

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

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)

Before your audition date will be scheduled, you must submit for prescreening scores of original works (and CDs or DVDs, if available). You are strongly urged to submit prescreening materials before the deadline of December 1 in order to secure one of your preferred audition dates; by December 1, many dates are already full and closed. You must also submit a recorded audition demonstrating technical and musical accomplishment on an instrument or in 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 performance 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.

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).

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

Site Map | Search | Contact