Comments on College Guides
Music schools are fortunate in that relatively few qualified music applicants are hunting through college guides in an effort to identify which schools would suit their needs. Still, there have been some frustrating circumstances over the past few years with publishers misrepresenting us—either by publishing outdated material, or by publishing "opinions" that are contrary to what we believe. Clearly this is an issue of freedom of the press, and we are all for that. Still, consumers should be aware of a few wrinkles in the "college guide" business:
- The publication of college guides and other books, DVDs, web sites and promotional material claiming to give good advice has grown over the years to the point that few schools can keep up with them all.
- Publishers of college guides are not held accountable for the accuracy of the information they present. In other words, anyone can publish a college guide with outdated or incorrect information.
- Publishers of college guides or other media claiming to offer good advice to music students can list a school, or express opinions about a college without prior approval.
The reason this sort of thing is proliferating has to do with (surprise!) money. Certainly there are conscientious publishers out there, but there are also quite a few marketing companies who "sell" public relations products for special purposes.
Here is how it works:
You may notice that some publications (even free ones) "feature" certain schools. The standard practice is to offer an extended listing in the publication to any school willing to pay a fee—which can be considerable. This is equally true for electronic media. There is even a little selling pressure applied. Much like the people who come to your door to sell you something, they may either offer a discount to be among the first to sign up, or they may show a list of people (who probably got a discount) that already have feature listings. Thus, when someone hands you a free DVD, or invites you to browse their free web site, there is a good possibility that the colleges—most likely the featured ones—are footing the bill.
The pressure to be featured in this kind of marketing material can be high—especially if other schools of similar type and scope are already there. Judging by the number of marketing calls we get, the number of companies trying to get into the business is considerable. The dilemma for a given school is that the cost of being "featured" in all of these publications can easily run into tens of thousands of dollars—money we think would be better spent for the direct benefit of our students. Thus, Peabody generally turns down requests to be featured in college guides or other promotional materials.
To try and gather around a single source for comparitive information about colleges, Peabody and some of the other more selective music schools contacted Peterson's Guides in hopes that they would publish a college guide focused toward performing arts schools. We selected Peterson's because they used to drive us crazy with phone calls and survey forms confirming that their data was correct. Thus, if you are looking for a good source of general material on performing arts schools, you can find it by clicking on:
Professional Degree Programs in the Visual and Performing Arts
Please note that the 2010 version of the guide will be the last one printed. The web site that will replace the printed version starts here:
Peterson's Performing Arts School Web site
Click on the "Maryland" or "P" in the appropriate spot to find us.
Any other guide or web site that includes information about Peabody should be viewed in the same editorial light as an "unauthorized" biography. It may or may not contain accurate information.
