Conservatory Placement Activities provide applicants with an opportunity to demonstrate their art form. All OCSA conservatories require participation in a Placement Activity. Upon completion of the Conservatory Placement Activity, applicants will receive a scored rubric with helpful feedback and a proficiency level from our conservatory staff.
Applicants may only enter the lottery for a conservatory in which they have completed a Conservatory Placement Activity and met the minimum proficiency level. The exception is the Arts & Enterprise Conservatory, which has no minimum proficiency requirement. As long as applicants complete the required Placement Activity, they may enter the lottery for this conservatory. To apply, Arts & Enterprise applicants must list the conservatory as either their first or second choice on the application.
Applicants should carefully examine the specific Placement Activity Guidelines for each conservatory, as ALL aspects of the guidelines are required for an application to be considered complete. If submissions do not match the Placement Activity Guideline requirements, the final rubric score will be affected. When guidelines specify that materials are to be submitted digitally, those materials should be included when the application is submitted on or before January 15, 2026. Conservatory material such as art portfolios and writing samples must be saved as a single PDF in order to be successfully uploaded into the application. For assistance converting a file into a PDF, please contact our Admissions Office as soon as possible. Please do not wait for the application submission deadline to request help.
For in-person Placement Activities, applicants will be scheduled into the first available Placement Activity appointment by the Admissions Office. Applicants will receive an email confirming the Placement Activity date and time. This Placement Activity confirmation email will be sent to the primary email address used to create the Applicant Portal. All in-person Placement Activities for the upcoming school year will be conducted in January and February 2026.
Additional support is available for students, parents, or guardians who require translation in order to best understand our admissions processes, as well as for those who need technology assistance. Applicants who have received or are currently receiving special services are encouraged to request any necessary accommodations to support them during the admissions process.
If you have questions, please read our Admissions FAQ. You may also contact our Admissions Office at admissions@ocsarts.net or 714.560.0900 ext. 5510.
Important Note: Applicants who are members of the Southern California School Band & Orchestra Association (SCSBOA) are strongly encouraged to submit their applications early. Only one OCSA Placement Activity date (February 7, 2026) does not conflict with the SCSBOA rehearsal schedule. Applying early increases the likelihood of being scheduled on this non-conflicting date.