ATLAST

Love your videos! Thanks for sharing. We live in Alaska, where there are no such things as marching bands or drill teams in our high schools! So jealous - D would've LOVED to have such an opportunity. I agree that being a strong dancer will be a huge asset for your D going into MT, if not for admittance to a particular BFA program, definitely for obtaining employment afterwards! Here's to a great audition season - my motto going in is "reduce the stress, don't obsess!", just lots of good hard training! D will do some college prep at Mpulse in July, and try to fit in other monologue prep and voice/dance lessons whenever possible throughout this summer. Thankfully, she will also get some help w/audition prep @ school this fall. She attends Interlochen Arts Academy and the Theatre dept. takes the seniors down for Chicago Unifieds, so they will be prepping for that up until Feb. Best of luck to all!

HNHDAD

My pleasure. I think it is more fun for the parents than the girls. They have to put in all the hard work and we just sit back and watch. ha ha Good luck to you as well

BvilleLady

Those girls are just amazing! Kicks to rival pretty much anyone! We have nothing that I know of here in NJ so I can't even make a legit remark. Plus, I've got a DS who went into MT with pretty much no formal training. (He is getting it now, come hell or high water, lol!) To say she is ready is more than obvious. Good luck to her!

aridyn

My son is starting his senior year. The biggest issue with this whole process is going to be the cost. We're in TX and his main school choice is Texas State for MT. He wants to double major in MT and Vocal Performance. His fallback is opera vs. MT.

So far I can only get him to look at certain schools (other than TSU). We're looking at Coastal Carolina, OU, OK City Univ. UT Austin is a fallback school for him. As opposed to some kids, he's a singer and dancer who is working on his acting skills vs. some of the kids around him who are actors learning to sing and dance. He went to TX All-State for choir last year.

He keeps being told by his vocal teachers that he is selling himself short with his main choice of TSU. I think he is worried about the cost more than anything else. At TSU he'd get in-state tuition. At Coastal Carolina, he can live with his grandparents and save on room and board. My concern is since these schools limit their entrance to 14 freshman, he is less likely to get in if he only applies to a couple of schools. Academically, he'd be admitted to any Texas college and he hits most of the requirements for public universities.

I'd be interested to hear any ideas for the financially challenged on preparing for auditions, etc.

Nccpdad

Aridyn,

If he has exceptional ACT or SAT scores, Oklahoma City offers substantial academic merit scholarships. The one son who applied to both VP and MT at OCU also received great academic and music awards. He did not opt to attend but I would not shy away from the school simply because of its price tag. The scores required are detailed on OCU's site. Rather than the double major option, he might want to explore BM MT programs rather than BFA or BA. From my understanding, double majors in the MT world are very rare.

There are many, many posts on the "recommended' number of schools to apply. As a father of twin boys, its not just the girls who face long odds. My boys were fortunate, but they did audition at 8 and 11 schools, respectively. You never quite know where the money and offers can come.

steamedartichoke

I'm an incoming senior as well, and I am just rearing to go! I get online everyday to check out audition/admission requirements of schools, scholarships and financial information, and other useful stuff. My list includes about 17 or 18 colleges right now, mostly on either coast with a few in the middle

The whole process is extremely scary to me because I really don't have anyone that I lean on for help but myself. My parents are supportive of my goals to major in MT, but they don't have the time or energy to help me, and I don't have money to pay for a coach. I do have my voice teacher and I work at a professional dinner theatre so I have some surrounding actors and singers to give me advice. And I have CC

Reading all of the ACT scores and GPAs is also a little daunting! I got a 31 on my ACT and I have a 4.0 UW GPA, plus my school has a concurrent enrollment program with a local college so I'll have 25+ college credits by the time I graduate. I'm pretty satisfied with my scores but I'm going to take the ACT at least one more time.

My biggest concern, like many, is fitting in all of the auditions! I'm pretty sure I will go to NY unifieds (I'm paying for it myself), but would going to Chicago or LA unifieds in addition to that be a good idea? I'm afraid I won't be able to audition for all of my schools at just one location but I'm also worried about running out of money haha. I also think I will take a short trip to SD in December to audition for my safety school. If only traveling didn't cost so much :/

Well, anyways, best of luck to everyone preparing for the exciting and crazy year ahead, and if anyone has suggestions for songs/monologues for petite blonde sopranos that they would like to share, please message me! Thanks!

EmsDad

@steamedartichoke: it is my understanding (from the head of my d's PAHS's theatre department) that Unifieds at Chicago has the largest group of schools in attendance (many of them are not on the "official" list but show up anyway) plus one extra day to audition (3 days) vs. NYC (2 days).

steamedartichoke

@EmsDad, thanks so much for directly answering my concern! I am wondering what you mean by some schools that just "show up." What do you mean by that exactly? How could I prepare for these schools if I don't know they'll be there? Or did you mean more that they plan to be in Chicago at the same time as Unifieds but more independently, and they will let people know this in advance on their website? Thanks again!

Christie2

Many schools, over 50 I believe, independently participate in Chicago Unifieds at the Palmer House. I have the printout of the schools from year before this to get folks started. If you'd like it, please pm me and include your email and I will happily send it to you as an attachment. Schools will also list on their audition website if they are participating in Unifieds. Remember, however, that some of them require preaudtiion screenings by video. Be sure to check for that and not just assume you can get in at Unifieds.
****To Arydin, please remember that any school that requires an audition should not be considered a 'safety school'. Also, don't mark off schools because of cost, as many of the private schools may offer substantial scholarships. There are a number of threads here about that. Have your son go to the Big List of Schools thread at the top of the forum (below the boxed list) to really get a good look at the available schools. At this point, Texas State is VERY difficult to get into in MT due to the number of kids auditioning for it! It is not in any way selling himself short to apply there! James Madison has 2 ways of entering MT, through VP or Theater. Take a look there. Still a very competitive program.

EmsDad

@steamedartichoke: to clarify, the "official" list for unifieds that is posted on the Unifieds website is only a subset of the schools that actually show up and hold auditions in and around the designated location. To confirm that any school will be at Unifieds you should check the school's website; and then, of course, you should schedule an audition well in advance to ensure your spot (and, as noted above, note any pre-audition video or other requirements). Some (but not all) schools have slots open at Unifieds for "walk-ups" if time, energy, and your psyche permits after your scheduled auditions.

steamedartichoke

@EmsDad and @Christie2, thank you so much for clarifying all of that! It makes much more sense. Another question that I just thought of, how many MT auditions can you fit into one day at Unifieds? Considering most of them are 3-4 hours, would you say 1-2, MAYBE 3 if you're brave? I'm so scared I won't fit all of my auditions in the time provided, so I'm willing to go to the limits to make sure I get to audition for all of them.

alibabba808

My D did 8 in Chicago (and could have done more with walk ins) and 6 in LA. This involved a lot of early planning and scheduling. Ensuring that dance calls were accounted for was difficult. Fortunately my D stayed healthy and really thrived on the energy at the Unifieds. Many auditions were very short (with a dance call that could be booked separately) and a few asked you to book off 4 hours of time. Each school is different in terms of how much time it will take - when you schedule, it will become clear as to how much time it will take for each school. I kept a master calendar of times/dates/schools and it went off without a hitch. I only had to call 1 school to make a change in advance once I encountered a conflict. The key is early scheduling of auditions - so this means getting your apps/essays/paperwork etc in asap.

alibabba808

BTW - I am not advocating to put all your eggs in 1 Unified basket - but for some people that have to travel great distances it is the only affordable option.

legallyblonde87

I went to Chicago Unified this past year and was able to complete my 10 scheduled auditions there within the course of three days, PLUS time for walk-ins. It's definitely worth it of you plan it right, and I actually really liked the environment. Once you get into the swing of things it's easy to knock out 4 or 5 in one day! (If you have the energy). The best advice I would give is COME PREPARED. While I was able to get 2 acceptances and some various offers at other schools, I changed my material about 2 weeks before, which was a little unnerving. And also STAY HEALTHY!! Because if you get sick you're pretty much screwed.

Walker1194

Just sharing: D is in a production of Hairspray that opened last night. She is a freakin' funny Penny. Everybody was cracking up! I love watching my kid . Best thing though was that my mom got to see her. D has been doing MT since she was nine but my parents live several states away and have not been able to see her perform. My mom looked at me and said, "I understand now why she wants to do MT in college. She needs to." lol, now THAT'S support