Q. What kind of tools do I need to bring with me to the school?
A. None! If you have already acquired some tools for your own use, you are welcome to bring them with you. If you do not have any tools, the instructors and fellow students will help you with your tool buying throughout your time at the school. You will need to own some basic tools during the first year, including a block plane, knives, scrapers, chisels and gouges, which can total several hundred dollars or more, depending on your choices.

Q. Is the non-refundable $160 fee a separate fee from tuition?
A. No, the $160 fee will be applied towards your first quarter tuition.

Q. Is financial aid available?
A. The Violin Society of America provides several scholarships each year to qualified students, through the school.  The school is not accredited for FAFSA loans or Pell Grants.

Q. Will I learn to play the violin?
A. Yes, we feel learning basic playing skills is an important part of becoming a violin maker. Many of the students are beginning players, and they come to appreciate and enjoy the ability to play their creations.

Q. Is it possible to work and go to school at the same time?
A. Yes, several of our students work part-time after school. School hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Q. Does the curriculum include learning repairs?
A. Yes, students who have completed their first two instruments may take optional repair courses offered each summer.

Q. What kind of student is appropriate to the school?
A. The purpose of the school is to train graduates to be qualified for an entry-level position in a violin shop. This is the traditional and recommended pathway into the profession.  The school is appropriate for the student who can attend full-time, who is committed to becoming a professional through the years of experience required, and who does not expect to immediately become a professional maker or restorer upon graduating.

Q. What job will I get after graduation?
A. Like entering any new profession, our students will be qualified to take entry-level jobs in violin shops.  During the first years of their careers, graduates will learn more advanced skills in violin repair and restoration from experts in the field, while also making their own instruments to sell.  Eventually our alumni open their own violin shops, or as our most successful graduates have done, work full-time fulfilling orders for their handmade instruments.  Our school is regularly contacted by violin shops around the country who want our graduates for employees.

Q. Why are the instruments made at the school, property of the school?
A. While tuition at the school covers the cost of the teachers, school building, machinery, and other expenses, it does not cover the large cost of wood, varnish supplies, and instrument set-up.  Those supplies are provided by the school to the students for learning purposes.  The school gives each student the opportunity to purchase their instruments at wholesale cost from the school.  The students who choose to do this, may then sell these instruments on their own at retail price to help start their careers after graduating.  Those instruments not purchased by students are sold by the school to other retail violin shops.  The varnished and set-up graduation violin is given to the graduate as a gift from the school.