American Band College

(1st Year ABC Candidate) How do I get admitted to Central Washington University?

The admission process for first year candidates is as follows:

  1. SEND ALL undergrad as well as any graduate transcripts and complete the online Application for Admission at Central Washington University by April 1 with all materials in place by May 1.(Click here for more info)
  2. SEND three (3) letters of recommendation to CWU during the admission process.
  3. Be on the Ashland HS campus to take the Band-related Entrance Exam at 10 a.m. on June 19.
  4. Be on the Ashland HS campus to take ABC's Theory Entrance Exam component (in Ultimate Pursuit) at 2:00 p.m. on June 19.
  5. PASS this exam, then you will be admitted providing that your GPA is 3.0 or higher and your file at the CWU is complete and accepted.
  6. If you do not pass the Theory Entrance Exam, then you must arrange to do the retake exam using a test proctor between December 1 and December 10.
  7. The retake fee is $125, payable online. (Search RETAKE at www.bandworld.org and following the specifications for retake as specified.)
  8. If your overall percentage in the Band-related Entrance Exam is below 60%, a year will be added to your program. This status will only be reevaluated at the end of a candidate's 2nd summer to determine if progress warrants removing the extra summer.

Ultimate Pursuit: All ABC registrants have access to Ultimate Pursuit as soon as the down payment has been received. It is then possible to use UP's Quick Test Generator to help get ready for the entrance exams on June 19. (Ultimate Pursuit Info)

Provisional Admittance: If #6 applies to you after taking the theory entrance, you can still be provisionally admitted to the Graduate School but you will not be able to progress beyond the end of the first year until that component has been successfully passed.

Practicality: The exciting part about this new admission plan is that theory exam preparation incorporates practical aspects that apply to teaching band. This includes real-world analysis of band scores (chord progressions, form and analysis, etc.) and useful aural training.

An extensive theory database is in place as part of Ultimate Pursuit. You can use UP's Quick Test Generator to get ready for the both the band-related entrance exam (10 a.m. June 19) and the music theory entrance exam (2:00 p.m. June 19).

New ABC candidates DO NOT submit GRE or other exams such as Praxis I or NTE for admission to the CWU's Master degree program. The ABC theory component is REQUIRED for all new first year ABC candidates and serves that purpose.



QUESTIONS: Visit the ABC 3-YEAR CHECKLIST (with printable pdf's and screen images)
TRACK PROGRESS: Once you have paid your $750 down payment to ABC, you can track your PERSONAL 3-YEAR CHECKLIST.