@slowride see above
@slowride attending a summer program makes no difference. I know three kids, who attended three different summer programs, and none of them got in to that school. They were all extremely talented, some with Broadway credits.
@BeBop1 Same. We did 't get in ours and neither did anyone else my D is in group chat with and it’s a BIG group. Also know a few in other programs in the same boat. We are waiting for one from D’s summer camp that still has not heard, to hopefully get in.
Same here. My D did two summer programs. I don’t think anyone from either of those programs got into the school they summered at. Mind you, they did all get into good programs. Just not the ones where they spent their summers.
@Slow Ride (or @slowride ?) Your resourcefulness and work ethic are admirable! It is great that you worked so hard to make your trips to NY and Chicago possible! I think these strengths would be accentuated by you reconsidering the ways you are thinking about schools and your future classmates/colleagues. I think it can be poisonous to tier and value the prestige of schools in the way you seem to be doing, and even more toxic to think about some of your future classmates/colleagues as “lesser talents”. I understand what you are trying to get at – some schools clearly have more prestigious reputations than others, and some applicants clearly have more experience than others at this stage in their development. But IMHO, all of the schools being discussed in this forum offer incredible entries into careers in the arts, and all of the students who are passionate enough to be on this journey are hard-working, motivated, muti-talented, and on their way to amazing things. Your education and your career will be what you make of it. Aim for your top choices with all your heart, yes!, but it is oftentimes more impressive and valuable when people make something amazing out of their Plan B or Plan C. For example, I know many people who hoped to get into BFA programs but for various reasons instead ended up going for a BA in Theater, and through a lot of hard work and resourcefulness they were able to get from those BA programs everything and more that BFA programs have to offer. These positive, determined, talented, and hard-working BA graduates have gone on to become working actors who are living their dreams in places like NY, LA, Minneapolis, and Chicago. BA Theater graduates in my home town are producing some of the best new theater works I have ever seen. All that said, I am thoroughly rooting for you to achieve your Plan A! Break a leg in your Julliard callback, and keep us updated!
FYI, Lin-Manuel Miranda has a BA from Wesleyan University.
@Slow Ride I don’t know any BFA programs that are in the business of “breaking” their students. If you got a call back from Julliard and you accepted you should entertain the offer. If you applied to 11schools I’d say you can expect 1 - 4 offers depending on your SAT/ACT scores and your GPA. Break a leg!
Regarding summer programs:
My D attended a summer program for a very popular MT BFA school.
She was on the front cover of their advertising for said program within months.
She didn’t pass the pre-screen for that program when it came time to apply.
:))
So yeah, attending a summer program usually doesn’t mean a darned thing when it comes to BFA acceptances.
@Ducky312 some programs (juilliard and UNCSA included) do say they are going to break you down the first year or two in order to break all previously formed habits and start from scratch to build you back up. That said, I Know juilliard has become “softer” in their approach to this. And UNCSA is a very supportive environment. But that philosophy may be what @slowride was referring too.
I have heard the “breaking” thing as well. Any reputable program will include some very tough moments.
My D went to UNCSA summer program and didn’t get into their BFA program and that is the case with most of the people she knows from the camp. So far only person from her summer program got in and she has a phenomenal unique opera voice and she also got thru first round of Juilliard call backs. I do recall UNCSA saying they would break bad habits and have to retrain, but it appeared in a positive manner. I feel very fortunate and elated that my D was accepted into Elon’s BFA acting program. We have suffered rejections from UNCSA, Pace, FSU, DePaul, SUNY Purchase(got BA in theatre) and my D is still waiting on 9 programs which we will be lucky if she gets accepted t0 another ONE and have a choice. As we all have learned on this journey it is all about what they are looking for. Keep in mind they are thinking do I want to work with this person for the next 4 years, are they trainable, adaptable, good personality and easy to get along with - because all these kids are talented. The competition is fierce and I commend all the students for putting themselves out there to even try. It is so much harder than any of her friends applying to regular college. You ALL will be stronger after this whole process! As some of the schools told us, if you think you are too good, then we don’t have anything to teach you. Good luck in your call backs at Juilliard @slowride
Good luck and break legs @Slow Ride! Can’t wait to see where you end up. It’s obvious you are passionate about your profession. Please keep us posed.
@bfahopeful I stand corrected. My child didn’t apply to either of those programs. I’m very glad most the schools she applied to were more about nurturing than breaking a performer!
There’s a big difference between a program breaking bad habits and breaking the performer. All kids walk through the door with bad habits. I think that’s more what @kaf011 is referring to, at least in relation to UNCSA.
Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement and comments regarding how I should approach the rest of the process. Everyone who goes through the process I wish nothing but the best. Just going through these auditions will make us all better people in the long run. I was just stung when the one auditor said I belonged at Michigan or Carnegie Mellon. I wanted to get into every school and then decide which school was the best fit for me. In reality I may not be good enough to get into either school or Julliard. I’m just wondering if when asked where I had applied and when they asked what happened with Julliard I told the truth that I had either received a callback and then made the finals. It may not work out for me but I told the truth and in the end they can’t call me a liar. I’m just expressing my feelings because I might not get into those top three schools and I’m scared. Everyone is right no school makes the person. I just felt I might be one of those small number of people that got lost in the shuffle in the sweet spot just below the top three schools and not admitted to the others rated just below the top three because they thought I would be admitted by the Julliard, Michigan or Carnegie Mellon. God bless everyone!
Just saw that FSU started making calls today for MT. Has anyone heard anything?
@nodaybut2daymom wow that’s good to know! My D applied to the BFA Acting I wonder if they are notifying also.
I have a question about students being “redirected” whether it’s to the BA program or another program at a college. Is every student re-directed if they are not selected for the BFA program? Most of the BA programs I am talking about are obviously non-audition programs so does the redirect really mean anything? Does it depend on the particular college?
@sabersunshine, I think it depends on the college. But, most are going to redirect a student if he or she is not selected for the BFA in hopes of getting him or her to still attend the college in question. This is usually the case since many schools require that you be admitted before you audition.
@nodaybut2daymom they actually started making calls yesterday. I’m hoping Michele will let us know when all offers are out as she did in previous years.