nytheatermom

Even though my daughter is "just" a junior, I have been through the college process with my son (not MT). So let me take a stab at directing you here regarding references.

Actually, direct you is the right word -- direct you to your college office/guidance counselor.

Every school does things differently and many teachers do things differently within the same school. For example, one teacher may give the guidance counselor a reference and tell the office to feel free to duplicate it at will. Another teacher may want to "control" the process better and send the letters out her/his self.

Also, advice I have seen on this website before: Make sure your guidance counselor knows that the auditioning student will miss far more days of classes than other seniors. I gather from previous postings that the best way to avoid problems about this is to let the schools know in adavance.

It has been stated on this site that some schools restrict the number of applications from a student. This is particularly not fair with MT applicants, where there are no safety schools. Fight any such policies!

So, check out your own HS school for the best information that will apply to you.

shauna

*Don't be afraid to show off!

marissal

I'll second Shauna's advice, because I am bad at selling myself - I think that was definitely reflected in my interviews.

Lexasmomkbj

Lexismom,
I think you will find that most people on this thread auditioned for 6-8 programs with some doing fewer and of course, some doing more. My own d applied to 6, auditioned for 3, got an EA acceptance to the program she loved and decided not to proceed with auditions. This was a personal choice for her...some continued so that they could see how many choices they would have come April. Nothing wrong with that, of course! As far as getting the numerous required recs, my d had teachers,counselors,etc make multiple copies when they could...all other recs were done via internet and those she asked were very gracious to follow through given the number of times she asked. As for talking with your guidance counselor about the MT audition/application process...unless you are fortunate (and my d was not) many have NO IDEA what getting into a performing arts program entails or how to advise on it. I am sure my d's counselor knows a lot more since my d has gone through it! At any rate, get whatever advise you can from the guidance counselor, read all the posts on this forum (it will be the best info you will get) and don't be afraid to contact the schools to find out what you need to know. We have found most to be very helpful. Good luck!

Lexismom

Thank you all for your input. I'll have her check now with her school. She does attend an art school so they are aware of the process. I just wasn't sure how to handle all the letters of recommendation as to if they each need to be originals etc. and how they would handle multiple letters. Looks like it will be a very busy summer. We thought the junior year was so hard with all the tests etc.

Thanks again

jamimom

The number of schools is a difficult question to answer. If your student wants MT and only MT, he needs to be aware of the acceptance statistics. Unfortunately reading them and lliving them are two different things. If your MT student has been in a number of venues where he has known many students who have gone down this path, and can gauge himself against them, it is helpful, though not always accurate. If he is a good student with SAT scores higher than the norm at the schools where he is applying and has had MT experience where he has done well relative to kids who are currently in MT programs, it is a pretty good indicator that he will get into a MT program. If you are shooting in the dark where you don't know many people who have gone down this path but your student has always had the lead in school performances, community theatre, you do need to proceed with more caution. It seems to me that this is the category (along with those who are truly clueless about the process and decide to audition as a lark) that have the most disappointments.

By applying to some early or rolling programs, you are giving the auditions a litmus test of sorts. If you get lucky like Lexasmomlbj's D did, (not diminisishing the talent end of it), you can eliminate a number of scheduled auditions or even the rest of the audition schedule. That is truly the best thing to occur as you limit the stress, time, travel, expense IF you get in somewhere. Everything else becomes pure gravy and elective. But if you do not get positive feedback, you may need to reconsider your options. You still have time to do this in December. You can schedule auditions at the Unifieds, you can add some non audition strong arts schools, consider some other types of programs. You can also call the schools where you auditioned and find out what the problem is and make adjustments, though often you may not get any helpful information, as the sheer number of kids interested in this program makes it so that qualified kids are denied. I truly feel that early feedback is crucial for those kids who have not been around the type of kids auditioning for these programs as the competition is not going to be like anything they have ever experienced. My son goes to a school that is strong in theatre arts offerings so that some of the kids who are not the top contenders there are still strong in the audition categories of schools beating out kids who are perenial leads in their school/community programs where the competition is not as intense. The other category of kid that seems to hit a streak of rejections, is the very talented kid who has weak academic stats. With the competition is as tough as it is, even if academics are only 10%, 5% of the total consideration, that is a tough hurdle for kids weak in that area since there are som many kids that are not only triple treats in the performing arts but are also outstanding academically. You can see that the merit/talent awards are generally given to the kids with the high academic stats; rarely if ever is it given for pure talent, and in those cases the kid has something rare that the school is seeking in addition to the talent. There is much, much talent here, so it is not reason enough to get accepted or get money. So kids with weak stats should have a number of schools where they are in the midstream academically, along with some schools that are not as concerned with the academics (Bos Co, Roosevelt come to mind) The school college counselor told us from the onselt that there is a direct relationship between the academic stats and the acceptances even for these programs that so intensely audition, something I did not completely believe upon the onset of my son's auditions. Now having seen the results for a good number of kids, having met some kids on the audition trail, I can see she was right. Not to say that high grades and test scores will make you a shoo in, but not having them is a definite detriment to your chances, and if you are looking for money, they are essential.

soozievt

I think Jamimom's post is excellent and I concur with her advice.

catsmom

Copy, paste and print what Jamimom wrote above. We are living proof. B average, top 1/3 in class (performing arts h.s.), horrible sat's (just a bad test taker), excellent letters of recommendation. Did not bother to apply to NYU, UMich, U of Miami, etc. Made a trip to audition at Emerson early action - I would not have done this - they DO care about SAT's and she did not get in. We did however get into BOCO, Roosevelt, Hartt, UArts. We are still waitlisted at Syracuse. Jamimom is correct about the money offers dealing with academics first. We did not get any scholarship offers and did not submit a FAFSA. Husband has a jar on his desk asking for donations to D's college fund.

NOCCAMom

Just curious - don't mean to pry and I realize that most will not want to discuss this....but I am still trying to figure out how everyone pays for this. Our income looks great by IRS standards, however, like many I know we barely make our budget every month. We have some savings but nothing that could begin to cover the tuition at some of these schools. There is no way we would be considered for any "needs" based awards. I feel like we are in the "twilight zone".....too well off to get help, yet too poor to afford college.....can anyone give me some solace? What about student loans that have payment deferrals?

bluevartouhi

I'm was in the same situation as you NOCCAMom; the amount of money my parents earn makes us seem really well off on paper, even though with the usual daily living costs not much is really left over. Filling out FAFSA really didn't do me a whole lot of good; I didn't qualify for any grants because we don't fall under the income ceiling, and my estimated family contribution was A LOT! The best way to save money on college is to attend a community college for a year or two, and then transfer to a 4 year institution. And there are always scholarships you can apply for; don't rule out scholarships just because you think that you don't have the grades. There are lots of scholarships given for various skills, talents, backgrounds, or a great essay.

Most student loans don't require payment until about 6 months after graduation. In California, if your EFC ends up being even a little bit less than the projected cost of college, then you will be offered a subsidized loan for the difference, where the interest is paid for you. The rest of the cost will be covered in unsubsidized loans, where interest is accrued. In almost all cases, payments don't have to be made until after graduation, though interest does accumulate.

jamimom

You are in the same boat as many, many people. Too rich for financial aid, too poor for pay without pain. If your MT student has high grades and stats, it seems to me that there are a number of merit awards out there as some of the schools with MT programs are eager to bring up those SAT scores of the school. From what I can gather, the more generous awards are not from the department but from the school itself. A kid with a 1400 SAT is usually not going to apply to Emerson, so if he does, he will likely get some merit money even if he is applying as a MT major. Harrt, OCU, Elon, CCM, just to name a few, all offer merit money, and it can be generous. The talent awards that I have seen that are departmentally offered tend to be below $5K; where I see kids make out is if they have good academic stats. So alot of the MT and drama programs are good bets for merit packages for such students. Also there are a number of such schools with relatively low sticker prices. That with the loans, may get you through. I know my friend was seriously considering SUNY Buffalo for her son who has gotten into a number of programs because as NY state resident, the cost would be very low, plus I believe he got some merit money there. State schools with programs can be a good consideration. Our state has a small program within its theatre program that offers some excellent opportunities and for us it would have been free as S got a full academic scholarship there. If cost and budget are big issues, a few financial goodies like that need to be added to the choices. Otherwise, MT colleges are paid for the same way you pay for any colleges. The private ones tend to be very, very expensive unless you get a good financial aid or merit award. Your state schools are less, and there some low sticker price schools out there as well with good theatre programs where you may be able to put together a good MT regiment.

Lexasmomkbj

Concerning college costs...
We are also what you would consider middle income people and we did not qualify for need-based aid. my d got a very substantial merit scholarship from OCU, but it still only covered about half-tuition for four years. I would still recommend filling out the fafsa, however, because when colleges build your financial aid package, which can include student loans (minimal), parent PLUS loans, and work study,they use the fafsa information. Also, my d applied for every local scholarship she was eligible for and will receive some help there (but only for the first year). Some parents we know are using home equity lines to help pay for college (and its tax deductible). I think that if you really want this for your s or d,you will find a way to make it work and that several of these colleges will try to help you find the money you need.

Starmom

I definitely concur that everybody should fill out the FAFSA, whether or not you think you're going to be eligible for financial aid. You just never know. We're living proof of that. At first glance, it would appear we are not within the income levels for need-based aid, but digging deeper gave us a considerable level of financial aid, which is helping tremendously. It takes little effort to fill out the form and it could reap big rewards.

Also, apply to your schools early, so that you are eligible for any merit-based scholarships. My dd was given a sizable merit scholarship, in addition to a talent-based one and had a lower GPA and test scores than a friend of hers who applied later. Rememer, the early bird catches the money.!!!!

NOCCAMom

Thanks for all of the responses! I feel better that we are not alone, but it still sounds like there will be some stretching to do. I was also told by the HS counselor to fill out everything you have the time and energy to do because you never know. All we can do is try, right? This topic probably merits a separate thread especially for new folks who may not realize that talent alone will not get you into the schools that you want. I think this is a common misconception. Especially for kids, like mine, who are middle of the road in academics. I think some people give our kids a false impression of what it really takes to be accepted into university regardless of how talented you are. I have started having some very frank conversations with my S and D about what reality holds for us. I am not going to disallow them to audition for their "stretch" schools because I think the experience is valuable but they understand that even if accepted, unless there is substantial awards or loans, they simply won't be able to attend.

jamimom

NOCCAMom, you and your kids will have the advantage that you are going into this with your eyes open. There were parents who thought that their highly talented student would get some major awards since he/she is considered such a super star in the community. When I entered the process, I thought that the fact that S was a triple treat and male who be a great hook. Well, the hook is like the one they use to pull you off the stage. Many of his schools were shoo ins academically; it was the MT part that made them reaches, super reaches. He did get some merit awards but they were all because of his high SATs, not because of his audition or resume, and if he had had higher grades, he probably would have gotten even more money offers. The money offered was in direct relationship to the academic stats, from what I could see with all of the kids we know who went the audition reoute.

My friend, whose son had mid level 1300's in SATs and a B- average did get some merit money ranging from $1000-5000, from those schools where his SATs put him in the upper 25% to give you some idea of the threshholds, and they did not apply to the smaller, less known schools, where they may have even gotten a little more. My son' s classmate with SATs a bit lower and grades about the same from his prep school also got some merit money in that range, and also from some non MT school with strong PA programs. They also included low sticker price schools so they had a good range of option, but they were more interested in theatre and acting programs and applied only to a few MT schools.

The only comfort is that you would be in the same boat even if you were not looking at MT programs and that in looking at these programs some schools, not on most college lists with lower sticker prices, and lower merit scholarship threshholds are possibilities. Schools like SUNY Fredonia and Buffalo are not as expensive as some out of state schools, and they do give nice merit awards without the academic numbers having to be so high. Some of those little schools that are not so well known but have great MT/theatre programs are not that expensive and may well give some merit money. The big boys do not tend to budge, but you are quite right allowing them to audition, because despite what the experience overall may show, you never know what may happen on an individual basis. There is a young lady in PA who did get into TIsch with a very nice package this year that belies a lot of what is being said here--don't know the details, just through the grapevine, don't know her stats, but it was a combo fin aid/merit award. It's just that you do not want to go into this expecting a full scholarship because of what wonderful talents your kid has--there are many, many kids with talent in this area. My son could have gotten into Michigan (well, likely, I think) and CMU if he were NOT looking at MT as a major. As it was he was rejected and waitlisted. Don't know what would have happened with Syracuse and Emerson, but I am pretty sure he would have been an academic shoo in, but I wouldn't bet a dime he would have made the MT cuts. And as for scholarship, doubt he would have gotten anything at any of those schools.