@slowride Congratulations on making the Julliard callback! That is quite an accomplishment. I just looked at their website and it looks like they accept approximately 18 people out of the approximately 40 called back. That’s better odds than merely drawing a lucky straw! I’ve lurked on this board for a long time and there have definitely been instances where a student gets in at Carnegie or Michigan and not other programs. It’s hard to know why that occurs, but I suppose it could be what you’re suggesting - that they think the student will not accept their admittance offer because they know the student will receive offers from a more prestigious program. Hang in there and see what happens with Julliard, Carnegie, and Michigan. Congrats again on the Julliard callback weekend! Go there and give it your all because 18 out of 40 ain’t bad odds.
First time posting but have been following for a while. I haven’t seem anything on here about Missouri State. My daughter loved her audition at Moonifieds and they seem pretty interested in her. We haven’t gotten to visit yet.
Any info? Anyone?
Just wondering if anyone knows anyone who is a current MT student at Missouri State and how they like it. We already received the out of state tuition waiver, so it’s very appealing. Would love to know more. We are hoping to hear from MSU soon. My D has been accepted to the BFA programs at LIU, Arizona and Ohio Northern. Not sure how to compare. Of course she’s has her share of rejections too …6 total. One today from TCU was a bummer. But we are hopeful and waiting on about 10 more. Any info on MSU, Arizona or LIU would be much appreciated. (Don’t think Ohio northern is her cup of tea)
@MTAlabamaMom did tcu news come email or snail mail?
TCU came via email.
@MTAlabamaMom Missouri State was another instate safety school for my S…they offered generous aid. Our HS theatre teacher is a recent grad, and we know current students in their BFA Acting as well as Choir programs. My S attended the Missouri Fine Arts summer intensive a few years ago. Feel free to PM me with any ?s
@slowride Just to clarify…did you apply to MT or straight acting for all those programs? I only ask because Juilliard and Purchase don’t have MT and you applied to both those programs. Purchase was one of my D’s top picks and she was also denied, but got into the BA program. Can the issue just be that your strength lies in acting but not MT? My D did not apply to any MT programs although she has been dancing her whole life and has a beautiful voice. It’s just she doesn’t have the right type of voice for MT. Do you have dance and voice experience?
@slowride I am sure many people are in your “predicament”. I am sure you are fabulously talented, but your pride is affecting your better judgement. First of all many extremely talented young artists get rejected everyday from top and so called bottom programs. The school doesn’t make the artist. If you are as good as you say, you will be successful anywhere without having a designer label on your school. If you are that sensitive to rejection, you need to pick a different career. That might sound harsh, but it is true. One more point, having an attitude that you’re more talented than others is not going to fly in any professional program. In order to be successful, you need to be open to correction and resilient. You are going to be broken down, humiliated in front of your class, criticized and you will wonder why you chose this path many nights crying yourself to sleep. One of the most important things is that you will be working with all these so called “lesser” actors who may get more attention than you, and your professors may think they are more talented than you. You will be with a small group of people who will become your family for a few years. Collaboration is everything in theatre and if you don’t lose that competitive attitude, others won’t want to work with you. Believe me, you don’t want that reputation going forward. You may have always led the pack in high school, but you are going to be humbled by the amount of talent in your freshman class of any BFA or BA program you decide to attend. I’m sure you didn’t mean to come off sounding arrogant and you must feel really crushed by not being accepted into some of the schools you applied to, and yes there are many others in your predicament. Break a leg and wishing you the best at your Juilliard and other auditions.
@slowride my daughter gave up an acceptance to a highly respected BFA program to attend her safety and she couldn’t be happier. College is what you make of it. It doesn’t matter where you attend.
@theaterwork My D did the waitlist tango last year. It was stressful - especially fitting in the visits - but she was very fortunate. She got off all but one waitlist and is attending one of her waitlist schools. Feel free to PM me with specific questions.
@marg928 I applied to Julliard and Purchase for straight acting. I am considered to be an equally strong MT and actor. I have 10 years of experience in dance and 8 in voice. I had the perception for a long time that a MT school was best for me but the owner of our community theater explained to me that in the long run I actually might be better in a straight acting program. It sounds like almost every straight acting program allows you to continue taking dance and voice. I did apply to both straight acting and MT at both Carnegie Mellon and Michigan. I would be more than happy to be accepted to either the straight acting or MT program at either school. One last observation as I know some of the people who were accepted and wait listed by the schools I was either denied or wait listed and the people on the wait list might be a pool of stronger applicants than the accepted group at some of these schools.
@slowride the only program I know of that incorporates dance and voice in their BFA acting is UNCSA. I think at the majority of schools the student may be able to take them as electives. Many people on this board know way more than I do so I would be interested to know what other schools require voice and dance for Acting majors.
@MTAlabamaMom I graduated from Missouri State… way back before it was Missouri State.
They give instate tuition to the children of Alum… when I learned that it jumped up my daughters list. (She is still a few years away from college)
We went to visit this summer as we were in the vicinity, and the school has grown, the campus is very eclectic, with lots of old buildings mixed with some beautiful modern architecture… and southern Missouri, is very pretty with lots of out door activities.
We saw a production at the Tent Theatre that was outstanding. The main roles were played by professionals but the ensemble had a number of MSU students in it.
I know a lot of kids who are currently students but not any MT. Happy to answer any questions I can.
@marg928 Yes the classes I would be taking for voice and dance would be electives. @samigaga @bisouu Both very good points. I believe my biggest strength is I am coachable and a team player. I made those statements because I want to go to a school that has even more talented actors than myself and I want to be broken down and pushed. I was really put off by the one auditor who said out loud I’d be better served going to Michigan or Carnegie Mellon. How does he know his school isn’t my first choice? In fact if I don’t get into the top three I would have chosen his school before I heard that comment and if accepted. I guess things happen for a reason. I just wonder if I would have attended some of the summer programs at these schools I was wait listed or denied maybe I would have been looked at as an applicant differently?
@slowride - My D is someone who applied (and was accepted) to both acting and MT programs and chose acting - it was right for her, there is nothing wrong with that as a plan. But I would join others in cautioning you to take note of the importance of attitude within this process and this business. The schools you mentioned do NOT have to figure out strategies to get kids- they will reject more than 90% of those who apply. There are a lot of layers that go into these things. I highly recommend that you go back and read some of the final decisions threads from previous years and you will see that they only pattern to acceptances and rejections is that there is no pattern. I have never seen anyone go through the BFA application process (not to mention actual college or actually working as a performer) without getting a healthy lesson in humility. Best of luck with the rest of the process
And yet some people are just better at this than others, and people who make final CBs at Julliard are at the very top.
@Jkellynh17 - you are entirely correct, my point was that it is extraordinarily unusual for anyone to go through this without rejections - including those who make the best programs, and/or become the most successful performers.
@Slow Ride, I was a little taken aback by your post. You said, “The schools I all either got denied or wait listed from were CCM, Ithaca, Suny Purchase of NY, Penn State and Elon. I in fact know some other kids who are incredible talents and got wait listed while lesser talents got admitted to these schools. Is this common practice or a new way schools not in the top three go about assembling classes?” These five schools are all top tier, incredibly competitive schools. All of them. Incredible talents get WL or denied from top tier schools every year. It is common, because there are hundreds of incredible talents out there, and a limited number of slots at top tier schools. But for you to judge the kids who got in and say they are “lesser talents” than you and others is really not fair. I find it hard to believe that these schools are admitting “lesser talents.” These schools don’t have a “new way” of assembling lesser talents. They are looking for certain things, and they all pretty much have their pick of kids. I don’t think you can substitute your judgment of who is talented and who isn’t for the judgment of these schools. They know what they’re doing.
If you read these threads, you’ll find that schools often ask where else you’ve applied, and why you applied to their school. These are typical questions because they help the school figure out your thinking. If you apply to conservatories AND academic-heavy schools, some programs wonder if you know what you want. And if you can’t answer the question, “Why this school?” you may be in trouble. They want to know that you researched their program, and are interested in it.
While yield is a real thing (some schools may say no to a very talented student b/c they know they will get in and go to a top tier school), I think if you look at the final decision threads from years past, it is highly unusual for a student to get rejected from all five of the schools you mentioned and others, and then ONLY get accepted into CMU or Michigan. In fact, I can’t think of a single instance where that happened, although I certainly have not memorized the lists and I know not everyone posts on CC. But typically, kids who get into CMU or UMich also get into schools like TSU, Ithaca, Pace, Penn State, Elon, etc. Some of the kids who get into CMU and UMich have a dozen or more acceptances.
So, I would suggest you take a deep breath and try not to analyze why certain kids are getting in to certain schools. As Brent Wagner always says, you can’t move forward if you’re constantly looking sideways. Worry about you and your path. Good luck at your Juilliard CBs. It is a phenomenal program.
@slow ride Just curious - are you one of those “unicorn” male triple threats? If yes, I’d wager you have an excellent chance of getting a spot at CMU MT. My unscientific opinion is that boys who sing/dance/act have an advantage in the MT programs.