This came up today with a friend of mine. About grad parties. Just wanted to put in a plug for having the grad party in August before everyone leaves for school. After this roller coaster, last musicals, dramas and proms….it was so nice to have the party in August and make it a combination grad/send off party. We combined it all in the decorations and invitations. A lot more kids and teachers were able to come and STAY because there weren’t a lot of other parties to compete with. So much more relaxed and great fun. Just thought I’d throw that out there.
Graduation/Send off party in August?!? What a FABUOUS idea @puma69 !!! Talking to the D about this!!!
I have called Point Park three times and still have not been called back or informed of my admission decision. What do I do? I just want to be done.
As long as we are on it…one of the greatest gifts my daughter received (IMO, of course…gift cards to Starbucks and Target were daughter’s favorite and cash) was from her Aunt. She took a small (14 x 8 x 4 approx.) plastic bin and filled it with everything medicinal you can think of…bandages, tylenol, advil, Tums, bacitracin creme, thermometer(!), ICY/Hot ointment, 4x4 bandages with tape, nyquil/dayquil tablets, cough drops, zinc lozenges, etc…go wild. I cannot tell you how many times I said, “Go look in Aunt B’s kit, you will find…” And it all stayed neatly in that same spot and fit beautifully in the bottom of the dorm closet. Amazing gift! We will refill it for next year.
@theimmortalfish Have you been calling the admissions office or the theater department? Whichever one you have not tried, call them. Also, back that up by sending an email too.
@theimmortalfish, did you contact the director of artistic recruitment? He should be able to help you.
@theimmortalfish contact Joe McGoldrick at jmcgoldrick@pointpark.edu
Regarding the schools pressing for an early decision (before May1), we were told in an email from our coach that since there is no governing body for performing arts programs ( like NCAA for athletics), it appears that arts programs are being allowed to set deadlines earlier than May 1 and are getting away with it. I think the implication was that you may lose your offer to the artistic program but maybe not the university itself? The coach is trying to research this more thoroughly because more program directors are challenging the May 1st date. The coach suggested the students talk to the program and ask for more time and offered to intervene on behalf of the students if there was a problem, depending on the school. I’m not sharing this to dispute anything that anyone has posted previously. In fact, I think the previous advice has been very sound. I am only sharing to share the guidance that we received in the hopes of being helpful. You can make your own decision and draw your own conclusions based on the information available. The consensus seems to be to talk to the program directly and ask for more time. Personally, I think it just sounds like yet another good reason to have a coach on your side during this process. This was not an issue for my family but I do know of another student who was admitted to a program that seemed to have a sort of rolling admission where they had an audition and made offers with an acceptance deadline that was before the next audition date. We assumed that they wanted to know how many spots would not be filled before the next round of auditions, so that they would know how many offers to make. I thought it was interesting.
Some thoughts…
I would not compare performing arts programs to NCAA for athletics. Sports are an extracurricular activity in college and not a college major. A BFA degree program in Acting or Musical Theater is a major in the academics of the university. Certainly they should have to abide by the NACAC’s code of conduct, outlined in the organization’s Statement of Principles of Good Practice, which their colleges have to follow as members. The theater department should not be able to manipulate commitments prior to May 1. This would seem to be in violation once an offer is made for a spot in an academic program at a college. A school might try to do this, but I think one should be able to point to the policies outlined by NACAC.
It sounds as if a coach is offering to advocate on a student’s behalf with a college. That sounds nice and everything, but rather unusual to me. I am not a coach. But I am an independent college counselor and one rule of thumb for independent college counselors is to not be in contact with admissions personnel on behalf of a student. The person who would advocate ought to be the student’s high school guidance counselor who is expected to have contact with personnel at a college admissions office (and even officially does when they send in a written report for their applicants). So, in my view, the parent should call and do what has already been discussed and point to NACAC rules and explain why the time is needed and should be allowed. If they still run into difficulty, then a school guidance counselor would be the next appropriate person to advocate.
Lastly, in my opinion, a program that insists on an applicant’s decision before May 1 (and that applicant may need to do campus visits, compare financial aid offers, or whatever else they are entitled to do), is not playing by the rules and it would leave a bad impression for me. NACAC tries to protect the rights of students and outlines the rights of all parties in this process. Colleges agree to follow this code of conduct. If a program within a college is trying to finagle something, well, it just is not right.
Know your rights. (I linked to those rights in an earlier post)
Here is NACAC’s Confidential Complaint Form (This form is to be completed in its entirety and then mailed or faxed to our association if you have a complaint about an institution’s admission practices that appear to be in violation of NACAC’s Statement of Principles of Good Practice):
http://www.nacacnet.org/about/Governance/Policies/Documents/ConfidentialComplaintForm.pdf
In the event you require additional assistance, please contact NACAC at 703-836-2222 and inform the operator that you have a complaint. Perhaps you can get by without even filing a complaint and just get some guidance from the people at NACAC as to how to proceed. Again, I would consult with the school guidance counselor as well.
PS…as far as losing the artistic acceptance but not the one to the university itself…keep in mind that there are many BFA programs that are NOT a bifurcated process and where the acceptance is all or nothing…ONE admissions decision, not a separate one to the program and one to the university (examples: NYU/Tisch, Syracuse or even some conservatories like BOCO or UArts) and so that scenario of revoking the BFA spot, but not a spot to the college, could not occur at such a school.
"I want to mention that the American Council on Education has issued a Joint Statement of Principles of Good Practice in College Admission and Recruitment, which states that members agree to “…permit first-year candidates for fall admission to choose, without penalty, among offers of admission and financial aid until May 1. Need-based and merit-based awards are covered by this principle…”. Your choice of the college to attend is an important one, and you have the right to take some time in making a judicious decision." - Melody Racine, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, University of Michigan, School of Music Theatre and Dance (2015)
@sloopysnoop
I do appreciate what you shared, just so you know.
It is interesting the vignette you shared at the end of your post where a program accepted some students after each audition date and wanted a commitment before the next audition date. That also doesn’t seem right because most students will not have yet heard from their other options. The school simply could hold off making any offers until all audition dates are over…problem solved. Other schools manage just fine by doing this. And most schools manage just fine by allowing all students their rights to reply to their offers by May 1. I’m sharing my thoughts but they are definitely not directed at you! Just trying to offer what I know to anyone going through this process currently.
Also, it’s important to realize that with very few exceptions, schools over-admit and anticipate a yield percentage that aligns with past years. So, a program that aims for a class of 25 may have admitted 50, expecting acceptances from 50%. It would take 26 or more kids declining their offers before any spaces ‘free up’ for the benefit of any waiting list.
What does it mean when there is a gate sort of thing on a member’s icon?
*As far as I know, those are supposed to be jail bars. They show up when a moderator has given a member a major warning. Frankly they are a bit off base symbolically because that member is not really prevented from participating on the forums, although they cannot start new threads. But that is how this software package works. It lasts 2 weeks.
There is a specialized thread for these questions called “Community Issues”. But it appears others that use the MT forums have the same question, so I went ahead and answered here instead of moving your post. Having said that, this is not the appropriate place to continue this discussion.*
Has anyone had issues with rejecting offers? My D attempted to decline remaining offers this week but couldnt find the place to do so on their websites. Do they expect you to call? If this is the case we need to get on it.
We sent emails to addresses that we had. Most schools are not very efficient in updating their databases though.
Yes that sounds like a good option. DePaul has an online option but she checked yes instead of no on their page. 
My son wrote a boilerplate email and sent a copy to each admissions office and program. He’s been getting emailed and snail mailed responses - all very gracious.
Great idea @vocal1046 She called one school but has 3 more to contact. This would be the best option I would think.