Prospective students can apply for admission to Mannes online. The application instructions below can also be downloaded from the application page. All applicants must forward the materials described below to the Office of Admission by the application deadline.
Official High School and/or College Transcripts
Mannes requires applicants for undergraduate programs to provide official transcripts of their secondary school education and requires all applicants to provide official transcripts from every college or university attended, whether or not the applicant graduated. You must contact your school(s) to arrange for your transcripts to be sent directly to the Office of Admission. Transcripts must be received at Mannes in a sealed and signed envelope. Applicants with foreign credentials please review additional requirements in the International Applicants section of these instructions.
Personal Statement
In a short essay of (200-500 words), answer ONE of the following questions. Please do not use this space for a resume or curriculum vitae.
- Choice 1: Describe the biggest risk you've ever taken.
- Choice 2: Why did you decide to pursue music as a career?
- Choice 3: If you had to pick the perfect admission essay question, what would it be, and how would you answer it?
- Choice 4: Describe in detail your interest in music improvisation, new music technologies, music entrepreneurship, and/or public engagement. How can a music education help you pursue your goals in these areas.
Recommendation Letters
Each applicant must submit two letters of reference. The first letter should be written by a recent music teacher or professional musician and should focus on the applicant's talent and performance ability. The second letter should be written by a teacher or guidance counselor who is familiar with the applicant's academic aptitude. There are two ways to submit recommendations:
- Online Application (preferred): Our server will forward your request to the reference and the reference will email it directly to the Office of Admission.
- Paper Application: If, for any reason, your reference does not receive or send email, you can download a paper recommendation form. Then follow the written instructions on the form to request the reference.
Prescreening
In order to be considered for a live audition, applicants for piano, violin, cello, flute, and voice concentrations must submit a recorded performance for prescreening. Applicants for the composition concentration must submit sample scores for review. See the Auditions page for details. With the exception of students applying to the Composition program, all prescreening recordings must be submitted electronically.
Prescreening recordings must be submitted with the online application. The deadlines are December 1, the priority admission application deadline or, else, April 1, the late audition application deadline.
Live Audition
A live audition at Mannes is required of all applicants for undergraduate degrees and diplomas, for all Master of Music applicants, and for most professional studies diploma (PDPL) applicants. Exceptions: International applicants for the PDPL are permitted to audition by DVD for all majors except piano, voice, violin, flute, composition, theory, collaborative piano, and conducting.
Once all application materials have been received and reviewed, the Office of Admission will assign a date for an in-person audition, musicianship examination, and interviews. Applicants invited to audition are notified by email and mail at least one month before the audition and examination date with detailed instructions about their visit to Mannes.
Official TOEFL Score or IELTS score is required for all international students, with the following exception:
1. TOEFL or IELTS is not required if you are a a citizen of any of the following countries and your native language is English: England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada or South Africa.
2. TOEFL or IELTS is not required if you have earned a four year degree from a U.S. College/University.
Applicants whose native language is not English must take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System). Mannes defines a native English speaker as a person whose first language is English. If the main language that you grew up with at home was English, then you are a native speaker.
- Official TOEFL Scores must be sent to Mannes by the Educational Testing Service
- The deadline for submission is available online.
- Mannes will not be able to determine the results of applications submitted without all required materials.
- TOEFL or IELTS scores must be no more than two years old unless the applicant has been studying in a college or university in the United States (or other English speaking country) since the test was taken, and the applicant sends a letter of request to the Mannes Admissions Office requesting an exemption.
- To locate a TOEFL testing Center, visit www.toefl.org or call (in the United States) 1-800-GO- TOEFL (1-800-468-6335). Please allow 10-12 weeks for the official test scores to arrive at Mannes. Schedule your test accordingly. For IELTS testing, visit http://www.ielts.org
- The New School/Mannes code is 2398
- All students whose native language is not English must also take the Mannes English Placement Test (see below).
Musicianship Exam and Interviews
Every applicant to the Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science, undergraduate diploma, and Master of Music programs is required to take a musicianship placement examination and sit for a personal interview during the audition period. Professional studies diploma applicants to the composition, conducting, theory, and collaborative piano concentrations also must take a placement exam. These examinations consist of several sections. The Office of Admission provides detailed descriptions and instructions for placement exams and interviews as part of the invitation to audition.
English Placement Exam
All applicants whose native language is not English are required to take the Mannes English Placement Test, which assesses reading comprehension, writing ability, and listening and speaking skills.
What are the Mannes English Placement Tests and how are they used in conjunction with TOEFL or IELTS?
The Mannes English Placement tests are taken at Mannes during audition week. They consist of a grammar test, an essay on a topic chosen by Mannes, and an oral (face to face) interview. Mannes has found these tests to be better at estimating a student's English level and ability to succeed in their classes than standardized tests. All of these tests plus the TOEFL or IELTS are considered when deciding whether a student's English level qualifies him or her to attend Mannes.
- Students who place "too low" on the Mannes English Placement Test will not be admitted.
- Students who place "low" on the Mannes English Placement Test must be prepared to spend ten weeks of the summer living in New York and attending intensive English training at the New School English Language Studies program at their own expense which is NOT included in the Mannes tuition. You can learn more about this program from the English as a Second Language Department.
- Students who place "medium" on the Mannes English Placement Test must be prepared to spend five weeks of the summer living in New York and attend intensive English training at the New School English Language Studies program at. This is not included in the Mannes tuition and something students must do at their own expense. You can get more information about this program at the English as a Second Language Department webpage.
- Students who are required to take summer English Language classes will also have to take at least one academic year of both ESL Conversation and ESL Writing which is not covered in the cost of tuition.
- Students who place "high" on the Mannes English PLacement Tests will have to take at least one academic year of both ESL Conversation and ESL Writing which is not covered in the cost of tuition.
Further Information
Scholarships and Financial Aid
All students admitted to Mannes are automatically considered for merit-based scholarships. Mannes awards scholarships in recognition of outstanding musical talent and academic achievement. Aptitude in the declared major field of study is the primary criterion for awards, but the scholarship committee also considers a student's overall academic standing when deciding on the distribution of scholarship funds. Students who receive a scholarship can expect it to be continued through their course of study as long as they maintain good academic standing.
The New School participates in all federal and state financial assistance
programs (Federal Pell Grants, Supplemental Education Opportunity
Grants, Work-Study Programs, Federal Perkins Loans, etc.). All applicants who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents should file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.ed.gov even if they do not plan to seek need-based financial aid. The New School FAFSA code is 002780. It is not necessary to have an admission decision to file the FAFSA.
Email Notifications
Email is the primary method of communication from the Mannes Office of Admission to applicants. Mannes contacts applicants at the email address used to submit the online application. After you submit the application, please watch your email and reset your spam filter to ensure that email from both MannesAdmissions@newschool.edu and MannesAuditions@newschool.edu reaches you.
Admission Decision Notifications
The admission committee will make a final decision about an applicant only after receiving all required application materials and hearing the applicant audition and after the applicant has completed the music entrance examinations and interviews (when applicable). Scholarship and financial aid awards information accompanies letters of acceptance. Transfer applicants are also given a projected graduation date in their acceptance letters.
International Applicants Who Need a Visa to Audition
The New School is authorized by the U.S. government to admit international students to the full-time degree and diploma programs of Mannes College The New School for Music. Upon request, the Office of Admission will provide a letter to be presented at a U.S. consulate or embassy when applying for a tourist visa to attend the in-person audition. Although consular practices vary from country to country, applicants should ask for a "Prospective Student" annotation on their B-1/B-2 Visas. See also information for International Students.
Current Mannes Students
All Mannes students currently enrolled in the college division who apply for a new program are required to perform a live audition for that program. A letter of recommendation is not required.
Current Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science, and undergraduate diploma students are not required to take musicianship exams or be interviewed when applying for admission to the Master of Music degree program. However, Mannes professional studies diploma students must take the musicianship examination and be interviewed if applying to any degree program or any major that normally requires the examination and interviews.
Current Mannes students enrolled in the Extension Division diploma program, the professional
studies diploma program, or the undergraduate diploma program whose first language is not English and who apply for admission to the Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science, or Master of Music degree program are required to submit a TOEFL score and take the Mannes English
Placement Exam. Students currently enrolled in a New School/Mannes degree program who apply for another Mannes program are not required to submit a new TOEFL score or retake the Mannes English Placement Exam.
Mannes College and Mannes Preparatory Honors students who apply for another Mannes program are exempt from the pre-audition screening requirement. A Mannes Extension Division student applying for a program that requires prescreening may get the requirement waived by obtaining a letter from the director of the Extension Division requesting that the student be exempted.
Current Mannes students in any division applying for a new or different program for the next school year will have the application fee waived if they contact the Office of Admission before the December 1 application deadline.
Additional Information
All materials submitted in association with The New School application become the property of The New School and will not be returned to the sender or transmitted to any third party.
- Students wishing to apply to more than one academic program must contact the office of admission for instructions on how to complete a second application. Speak to an admission counselor at 212.229.5150 or toll free at 800.292.3040.
- Students who do apply to multiple academic programs must separately submit complete applications (including application fees) for each program.
- When notified of acceptance, applicants will receive complete instructions for additional procedures regarding financial aid, housing, tuition and fees, I-20 visas (for nonresidents of the United States), and other matters. The decision to admit n applicant is always contingent upon successful completion of any current studies and the receipt of a final transcript by the Admission Committee. All accepted students must have their official final transcripts on file before they begin classes.
- International applicants: please do not submit bank statements with your application for admission. This is part of the visa process.
- All Mannes students currently enrolled in the college division who apply for a new program are required to perform a live audition for that program. A letter of recommendation is not required.
