Peabody Piano Admissions: Acceptance Rate, Auditions & Aid

What the acceptance rate tells you

The official sources linked below do not provide a verified piano-specific acceptance rate. An institution-wide undergraduate rate describes a particular applicant group and year; it cannot be converted into your personal chance of admission or used as a graduate-program rate.

Piano audition requirements

The current undergraduate piano prescreening requires a complete Classical sonata, a Romantic solo selection of about 10 minutes or more, and a virtuosic etude. The page permits specified combinations of shorter Romantic works. Preparing only a Romantic work would leave this checklist incomplete.

The subsequent audition includes a Bach work containing a fugue, a complete Classical sonata, a major 19th-century solo work, a representative 20th- or 21st-century work, and a virtuoso etude. Transfer students need an additional etude. Beethoven Op. 49 sonatas are excluded from the sonata category; a Chopin nocturne or etude cannot replace the major Romantic work. Check the permitted composers and complete current list before finalizing your program.

This is a planning summary, not the complete application checklist. Use the official page for your degree and entry year to confirm every permitted work, exception, recording rule, and deadline.

Tuition and financial aid

Peabody states that it meets full demonstrated financial need with no-loan aid packages for eligible domestic undergraduates. That policy does not automatically apply to international or graduate students. Demonstrated need is assessed by the institution, and families must complete the required aid forms.

Use the school’s current cost-of-attendance page for your entry year and degree. Add tuition, mandatory fees, housing, meals, insurance, travel, and personal expenses, then subtract grants and scholarships. Loans remain repayable, and work-study is income you must earn. Check scholarship renewal conditions before accepting an offer.

Build your audition plan

Make a separate checklist for your degree and instrument: prescreening pieces, final-audition pieces, memorization rules, permitted substitutions, and deadlines. Record complete takes, check the sound for distortion, and follow the school’s framing and file instructions. Ask admissions about any ambiguity before recording.

Choose a teacher and program for their fit with your musical goals. A trial lesson, where available, can help you assess teaching style; it does not guarantee admission or a studio place. Discuss a balanced school list with your current teacher, including affordable options you would be happy to attend.

Official sources

• Peabody: audition repertoire and requirements
• Peabody: undergraduate applications and financial aid