<p>All kids who get an auditioned acceptance should be very pleased! And kids who do not get acceptances should understand that it is not personal; the odds are always against it. Would we tell a kid (who meets the general standards) who got rejected at all of the Ivies that they’re just not really very smart and should try some other goal than going to college? Never! </p>
<p>M&K is so right that this process is full of mystery, luck and who knows what other factors. I think my D has finally understood this since she’s been on the other end of the glass wall - she was able to help run auditions for incoming freshmen this year, met lots and lots of candidates, and saw who got in and who didn’t. She realized what a strange, confusing gauntlet she had run the year before, and that hard work and talent are only a few of the numerous factors that go into what kind of letter you get in the end.</p>
<p>Also she has seen 4 classes of students (freshmen-seniors) who were accepted at her school, and the various ways they used the opportunity of being there, at all points of the spectrum. She has met transfers in, and transfers out, and also has compared notes with people in other programs (theatre and otherwise). She loves the work, and is as enthusiastic about her chosen field as ever, but she sees how luck and another thousand factors impact an individual’s experience - in any college education, not just in theatre.</p>