@marg928 - your frame of reference must be for acting, because for Musical Theatre Elon is a very highly regarded program that I think most people would love to see an acceptance from and certainly not what I would call a “Tier 2 program,” unless “Tier 1” only has about three schools in it. From data here on CC, Elon is in the top 15 most popular MT programs to audition for and from data elsewhere is in the top 15 in putting students on Broadway. If you go through the Final Decisions threads over the past few years and count rejections vs. acceptances, you will see that Elon is in the top 5 toughest programs to get into for MT based on that data alongside schools like Baldwin-Wallace, Penn State, Ithaca and Texas State.
@EmsDad you are 100% right. I logged into my MTCA portal to double check and it was listed in the Tier 1 group. Sorry after 23 school applications I’m all mixed up.
@CTDramaMom I should define “tier” in their sense of the word…Tier 1- most competitive, Tier 2 - more competitive, Tier 3 - least competitive…then there are the non-audition safeties. It’s just a way to make sure the student has a balanced list, not necessarily a rating of the program.
@singoutlouise My S is at MSM and is loving it. With the larger than expected class, they are split into 4 groups for most of their classes. That puts them at 11 or 12 per class. MSM seems to be serious about making this a program that fits with the high quality of the rest of the conservatory. Obviously, being in NYC is a huge advantage when it comes to the type of experiences available and the crazy line up of master classes they get. The faculty is top notch and Luis is amazing! This is my second kid to go through this and we are very happy with everything so far. Let me know if you have any specific questions.
Thank you so much @MTmom1216 - we are still up in the air! I think we have spent the last six weekends traveling but it may be worth it to do just 1 more!
Did anyone go to the L.A. Unifieds 2/9-2/12? We went in with an open mind and didn’t know what to expect. Went to the 5 scheduled auditions and 3 walk ins. I have know idea what will come of it all, but we had a lot of fun! Also, I’ve seen some of you post about scholarship offerings. D has been accepted academically by Montclair and Hartford but there was no money offered. Is that something that only comes with MT acceptance or do I not qualify for financial aid? Thoughts.
@aquarose26 you often get a letter of acceptance to the school (academic acceptance) and then with that letter or shortly following that letter - an offer of financial aid (which can often include merit aid if your child is a good/great student). Then you wait to see if your child is actually accepted into the MT program. If they are - you may get a performing arts scholarship which can definitely help! So keep your fingers crossed!
Does anyone know what the situation is with penn state notifications? I’ve read that they historically have had “decision Sunday” after their last audition and that that week, notifications begin to roll out (which would mean this week). Can anyone either confirm or deny if this is sill the case this year, given their new program head?
@aquarose26 perhaps the offers will come with her artistic acceptance? Or shortly after. I read that a few of my D’s school would send the financial package about a week after the artistic acceptance. Someone might chime in here that knows your schools better. Welcome to CC. My D and I were in LA for Unifieds at the same time as you. Glad you went with an open mind and had fun, that’s the way to do it!
@aquarose26 - Last year my D received merit scholarships with all her academic acceptances. She received artistic scholarships with her artistic acceptances. But we knew about most of the scholarships right away.
@bisouu you’re right about Montclair. We learned 2 things about that school at unifieds. 1. They are NOT a “cut” school as the rumor mill purported and 2. They offer “in state” tuition for the BFA kiddos. As for the financial aid offers, I guess we’ll have to wait and see. She’s had 4 academic acceptances and no $$ offers.
As for financial offers we have heard about merit aid either with the academic acceptance or afterward like a month or so after. We haven’t heard anything about any from Montclair , only academic acceptance and my D hasn’t auditioned there yet. Honestly I’m not expecting much because of the in state tuition deal.
We have heard from one school that my D has been accepted for MT regarding a theater dept scholarship but not the others. Thinking those come out a bit later for most it seems for the theatre dept specific $.
All I know is when we have all the info at the end of the day we sure need to get moving on making a decision because there’s not going to be much time! Plus time to visit any school that D wants to see again… yikes
I wouldn’t expect anything from Montclair. We are in state and know a lot of kids who go there and I’ve never heard talk of kids getting money. My older D was accepted there for dance right in the room and she did not receive anything.
When my d was accepted to Montclair, her admission letter included a $4,000 per year academic merit award. If you receive academic merit aid, notification normally comes with your acceptance letter or fairly soon after in a separate letter. Sometimes you have to check your portal to see the scholarship offer, this happened for my d at Florida State, where she learned that they had offered her in-state tuition from the admissions website. Some forms of scholarships or grants come with your financial aid package, and talent awards are normally made with the artistic letter of acceptance.
Home sick from work today (shocker-caught D’s cold), and I am making myself crazy, reflecting upon the fact that it’s nearly March and she still has FIFTEEN schools in play. We did our research, We knew it pretty much had to be this way; but yikes, we are both so ready to know 1. Where she’s headed, and 2. How much it’s gonna cost!!! This was all so simple, 2 years ago, with S/athlete. 5 applications, 5 acceptances-decision made first week of March.
My D and I came up with a schedule for her after school each day to keep her mind off of all of this now that we are in the waiting phase. Since she is no longer actively working on the audition phase, on top of the fact that she is not currently in a show is giving her too much time to think…and worry.