Student Interviews
One of the best things I started doing several years ago is conducting interviews with all prospective students before accepting them into my studio. When people contact me with an interest in studying piano with me, I always refer them first to my website. I tell them to read over all my policies and if they are still interested in lessons to contact me again, either by e-mail or phone, so that we can set up an interview.
The interview gives me a chance to get to know the student and parents better and helps me assess their musical aptitude and/or current abilities and determine what books might be most appropriate for them. I also have the parents fill out a Parent Questionnaire for each student and this has helped immensely. I have found that the interview process helps me communicate the expectations I have for my students and also gives me a chance to understand the goals parents have for their children in the area of music.
Here are free downloadable files of the questionnaire forms I’ve developed to use in my interviews. (The images are of my own personal forms; the downloadable forms are blank at the top so that you can insert your own studio name and/or logo.)
Interview and Evaluation Forms – Beginning Student
Interview and Evaluation Forms – Transfer Student
This Parent Questionnaire (also blank so that you can customize it for your studio) is included in each of the above files.
Hi Natalie,
Thanks for these forms. They are very useful and extensive. I am wondering if you charge for the interviews and how do the potential students feel about having to pay this. I’ve been experimenting with it. Some when hear that I charge for interview which includes a 30min lesson, they balk, but some willingly pay for it. However, even with a very careful interviewing process, I still get students that don’t stick. Problems are usually the parents – not willing to purchase music, not willing to help students practice, etc. Though we discussed my policy with them beforehand and they all agreed, and even paid for interview, I still have trouble. Alas.
Lydia~
I’m glad you find them useful! As I was thinking about your question, I realized that I usually conduct the interview as the first lesson. Most of the time now I am accepting new students that I already know – either younger siblings of current students or other family friends. So I am conducting the interview more as an assessment with the understanding that I have already accepted them as a student. My philosophy and policies are pretty straightforward and if I get lesson inquiries from people I don’t know I always require them to review the philosophy and policies and then contact me a second time to let me know if they are still interested in pursuing lessons with me. This eliminates some who might otherwise not “stick.”
At the end of each Spring I hold Year-End Evaluations with the parents and we discuss plans for the future. If a student is going to quit, this is usually when it happens. I don’t have much of a problem with people quitting in the middle of the year. You might consider requiring a one year commitment from students up front if you want to prevent them from quitting in the middle of the year and it seems to be a problem. Just a thought!
Hi Natalie,
Thank you for posting these forms and others that you use. Do you mind sending me both types of Interview and Evaluation forms (beginners, transfers) as a Microsoft Word document so that I could modify it to my needs?
Thanks again,
Theresa
Natalie,
This is the first time that I came across your blog, and boy is it ever helpful! I have not been teaching music lessons for too long, and I love to gain knowledge from other teachers. Thank you for these helpful forms. I do a brief interview, but usually count it as the “first” lesson. So far, it has worked out very well that way. Thank you again for your posts! They are very helpful.
Angela
These are great, Natalie! Thanks for posting them. I’m going to use them this Friday!
Thank you so much for sharing Natalie. You saved us a lot of work by posting these forms.
Thanks Natalie! Is it possible to get all of these in Word format so that we can modify them to fit our studio? Thanks for considering this!
Thanks Natalie! These are very helpful…I almost feel like filling out the evaluation forms for my existing students, sharing them with the students and parents, and setting goals for the school year.
Thank you so much for this creative survey! It is a great way to communicate your expectations in a professional way. This exercise also gives the student, parent, and teacher a chance to get to know each other in an informal setting. I hope to use this idea in my future teaching.
Thanks for much for sharing this! I had my own version which I discovered this morning was lost in a hard drive crash! My student was coming in half an hour and I’m SOOOO glad I found this! Thanks again!
[...] When a parent first calls to inquire about lessons I use a student prospect form that I use when placing students on the waitlist so I can recall all of their details when I follow up in the future. During student interviews I normally have the parents fill out a questionnaire while I get to know the child(ren) and go through a few musical activities with them. Copies of the student prospect form and the parent and student questionnaires can be found in the printables under forms. I have adapted the questionnaires from ones provided by Natalie on her Music Matters Blog. [...]
Hi Natalie,
Thanks for sharing. I also use similar technique.