admittance question

WallyWorld
Thu, 15 Feb 2007 13:17:36 +0000

Don’t forget that there is no math as a further attraction to the major!

I think All4FSU has given a responsible answer that I would twist a little bit. If every program suddenly doubled their capacity there would not be a subsequent doubling of the available professional work. I could imagine no worse of a scenario than to be a teacher at a conservatory and to be encouraging and enthusiastic about the future of a student(s) who in the back of your mind you know they have no chance of making it professionally. So, for their own integrity and the limited amount of professional work their only choice is to keep the programs small.

That said lets look at the numbers because I don’t think it is as bad as you think. If you only apply to one school with a 10% admit rate then your chances are 10% right? Or are they? First most schools hold on campus auditions that attract “locals” many of whom are not that serious about a profession in theater. “It sounds like something that might be fun to try” with a pretty limited knowledge of what it takes to make it in a conservatory. Example; I overheard a conversation between two girls at the Unifieds, “how is your monologue coming? Its okay, I haven’t memorized all of it but I have the gist of it”. So, if you are a serious and experienced applicant I think you can subtract out a certain percentage of the applicants that really are not a threat to take your spot from you.

Next, nobody is just applying for one program. Say you have 5 schools who each audition 500 applicants and each of the schools admit say 20 students. There are not 2,500 separate applicants (5 x 500) seeking 100 spots (5 x 20). By in large it’s the same 500 applicants vying for the 100 spots (20%). Then, talented as many kids may be your just not going to have 500 kids in any one given year with what it takes to thrive and survive elite conservatory life to go on and become a professional. You would be lucky if that number was even the 100 to match the open spots. So if this is your passion and you have complimented natural talent with lots of hard work, the odds are not as bad as they seem at first blush.