@Christyflower , my D is a Physical Theatre major at Coastal (not sure if that’s the major your D is looking at, but since vvnstar mentioned it, I’ll expand on it).
She auditions for everything along with the MTs and Acting majors. Two levels of Ballet, Jazz and Tap are included in the PT curriculum and she is allowed to take voice lessons if there are slots open after the MT majors schedule theirs. She actually continued with saxophone lessons last semester and was cast in a musical and play this year.
I think I’m going to have to pull her out kicking and screaming in May, to bring her home for the summer. She loves that place (and so do we).
AlexaMT’s was a wonderful CCU ambassador, and it was primarily because of her generous sharing of information on CC that son applied. Imagine my delight when I realized she was one of our guides last year. I remember blurting out, You’re AlexaMT, I know you from College Confidential!
Thanks everyone for the CC info! D would be accepting the academic scholarship as its higher than the MT scholarship. I called the financial aid office yesterday and we don’t qualify for the common market in state tuition:( There are a few scholarships that she can apply for through the school / alumni but not a lot of $ and lots of applicants, and decision day is only a few weeks away so not sure how soon we would find out if she receives any of them. Sure wish we could stack those talent and academic scholarships! Still definitely on the table though! We are touring the other top choice next week and hopefully that will help in the decision process as well!
Some potential good information:
Look and see if the school superscores. I was just casually reading school website, paying deposits… And noticed that they superscore. Holy cow! D has a SS 30 ( best sitting was 28). Filled out a quick form for additional money and got 3k more a year! Worth checking on.
Hi all - question for you. S received an email from a school asking for his decision to come next week (instead of by May 1) and stated his offer would be revoked and given to another prospective if they do not hear by said date (I want to say April 25?)
Is this allowed? S is having a hard time making a decision, and I feel like we are still going to be debating back and forth on May 1, which could cost us the spot at one of his top three schools. Any advice on how to handle this?
-Quinoa
Hi @Quinoa They can’t give up his spot, however if he was given a scholarship, the scholarship can have an earlier deadline. That is my understanding. Best wishes!
Quinoa, I would have your son call the school. I think I read that there may be loopholes around the May 1 date if the school offers another major to the student if spot is revoked.
There was a thread on here (a few years back, I think?) where some programs unexpectedly gave away the “artistic program” offer to someone else when they felt students didn’t accept soon enough (even though it was before May 1). Can’t remember which schools did it. Apparently they were allowed to do that because the students were still allowed to attend the college itself, even if the artistic offer was withdrawn. Definitely check with the school!
@quinoamom206 Definitely call the school and go in prepared with information that the school may think you are not aware of. Tell them that you know that NACAC (National Association of College Admissions Counselors) has an agreement with colleges. Colleges have agreed that: “No college can require you to commit to attending prior to May 1, the National Candidates Reply Date, with the exception of Early Decision or NCAA athletic scholarship programs.” Point out that you know this is the policy. NACAC’s code of conduct, outlined in the organization’s Statement of Principles of Good Practice, enforces the association’s responsibility to protect students’ rights in the transition to postsecondary education, through monitoring and enforcing ethical standards and practices. Member colleges support the Statement of Principles of Good Practice of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Colleges agree to: “permit first-year candidates for fall admission to choose among offers of admission and institutionally-affiliated financial aid and scholarships until May 1 and state this deadline explicitly in their offers of admission” and also agree to: “work with their institutions’ senior administrative officers to ensure that institutionally-affiliated financial aid and scholarship offers and housing options are not used to manipulate commitments prior to May 1.” Tell them you need until May 1 to compare financial aid offers, complete college visits, and so on and are entitled to that deadline. They would be breaking the policy if they require you to reply before then and they are not allowed to give up your spot. Now, they may TRY to do that thinking you are unaware of that policy. I would talk it through with them.
While not quite the same as your situation, I recall in April of my D’s year, one of the BFA in MT programs she was accepted to called our house asking her to commit right then and there if she was accepting her scholarship or not (which in my view, was a way of asking if she is accepting her spot or not because if she was accepting the scholarship, it would only be if she was accepting her spot!). I told them we needed more time and had not yet decided (and in fact, my D was waiting to hear of her studio placement at Tisch). There was no threat of taking away her scholarship. In other words, they tried the pressure thing, but once I said we needed more time and are allowed up through May 1, they didn’t balk. So, in your situation, it MIGHT be a ploy to get you to commit sooner than you have to and once you come across knowledgeable of the rules, they will step back the pressure. But you have to see what they say.
And yes, Point Park in recent years (not sure about currently) was not playing by the rules. My kid didn’t apply there but I have read stories on this over the years.
All of us would love it if students would at least cut schools loose that aren’t top 3. Too often students have five or more offers, and don’t let schools know until they have made final decisions. I would never try to pressure a student into a final decision early. But given that I’m on both ends this year (as a recruiter and my son beginning college as a music student) I hear the nuance from the schools calling him. Suggestions of how to place a deposit to insure his scholarship, etc. If you know what you are listening for, it is all no more than trying to create a sense of urgency and is right on the edge of “outside the guidelines.”
As I just stated in the post above this one, Point Park, at least in their communications so far, are now playing by the rules. They clearly state that the accepted applicants have until May 1st to make their decision. I think it’s time this forum lets them out of the box! Still @soozievt , that is good advice above.
Glad to hear that Point Park has come about! I have a feeling that their previous ways brought negative attention and they likely knew about posts on CC that informed members of their rights and so they have corrected things. That is great! What matters is what they are doing NOW.
Also, @DaddyDoRite when I composed my post (3932), I hadn’t yet read yours (3931) and so now I have…thanks!
One minor correction in my post #3932 is that NACAC is the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (not “of College Admissions Counselors”). These are folks who support students and families in the transition to higher education.
Thanks - you have contributed greatly on this forum and your words carry weight. I just felt the extra oomph was warranted as it is so easy to climb the wall of worry with this process. Point Park conducted excellent auditions for the young artists, and the parent info session was professional, informative, and very transparent. If CC contributed to any positive changes to their process over the years, then that is a wonderful outcome.
Thanks @DaddyDoRite
Just so you know, I have nothing against Point Park and have recommended it to many of my advisees over the years and continue to do so currently! I was not thrilled with the stories in the past about this whole May 1 deadline thing, but still think it is a good program and so recommend it all the time. And I am happy to hear that they have fixed that one thing apparently and are fair about it now! Thanks for the update. This is one of the great things about CC because information like this is shared and many issues and experiences arise here that one can’t find on a website or in a book.
There was an issue with the early deadline for my daughters class, where so many students accepted spots early and some accepted students were reassigned to the waitlist. It was a debacle, which the school admitted to and which many, many CC’ers offered opinion and advice. The school bent over backwards to accommodate those students who were initially accepted yet lost their spots due to early over enrollment. Those students who in the end still wanted COPA, were guarenteed spots for the next year, with considerable increases to scholarships. And yes, some were very disappointed. COPA’s admissions policies have been updated and they no longer adhere to the university’s rolling admissions policy for artistic acceptances. You can still deposit early, but once accepted, you are accepted. Let’s move on…it’s been four admission cycles ago and nary a complaint or comment about it till today. The admission process for MT is a mine field enough without bring up long ago cured issues. Frankly, the school addressed this on its own, with individual families who had a personal connection with admissions that year with the outcome and with that current group of enrolled COPA students.
