@DramaMan I agree! There is nothing wrong with a gap year. It’s a great way of getting your electives out at a community college while auditioning for small parts. My S school continues to drill in their students head that in this business, you want your kids to come out of school with the smallest amount of debt as possible. If the program isn’t really what you want and you feel you’re settling, don’t. It’s not worth “starting over” next year. There is no need for that. Save your $$ and audition for your choices again next year with all of your transferable electives so that you only have to focus on the stuff you’re passionate about.
@txmtmom2022 - If it is a giant pain to give them what they need, I would call Syracuse financial aid office and ask if they need it prior to admission or just to finalize the application. As a point of reference, my son was admitted in Dec. for the Sound Recording Technology program and had the same request for additional financial aid, and he did get an acceptance. Many of the ED people had a similar request and they were admitted as well. Check out the general Syracuse board here on CC and see if others have had similar requests - it might be a good sign, but I don’t want to give you any false hope. Just sharing the experience we had with my son.
Beware for those of you who may end up choosing a gap year. If you enroll your kid in community college, then they reapply and audition as a transfer. This may be less than ideal! Think carefully before you do that. Perhaps my friend @daughtersdreams can add some of her knowledge about this. I know she ran into some problems because her D did one semester at another school before reauditioning.
@actingdreams - if a student is considering a gap year, and they have good grades and test scores, then accumulation of community college hours beyond a bare minimum may NOT be a good idea due to the possible impact on Freshman merit scholarships. Many schools offer great merit aid but only to “true” freshman - those with less than a certain level of transfer hours. Transfer students generally do not qualify for as much merit aid as incoming Freshmen.
Also, some programs may evaluate transfer students a little differently than freshman on an artistic basis.
Finally, many BFA programs have a fairly rigid, four year, lock-step sequence of musical theatre and acting coursework that cannot be modified, so the time spent at the school will still be four years, even with lots of transfer hours. However, the student would possibly be able to concentrate more fully on theatre studies having completed some/many of the general education requirements.
@gingersnap97 Thank you. I did check the boards here and didn’t see anything, but maybe I am looking in the wrong place. I will double check. Yes I will call on Monday and see if they NEED it.
@txmtmom2022 S applied to Syracuse in September and auditioned at NYC Unifieds. We got our FAFSA sent in very early (October 2nd) and the financial aid office emailed us in November, December, and January, each time asking for more documentation and forms. Not sure if that helps but they were asking for those additional materials before he even auditioned.
@Trish0118 @bdwybbymom , and others who may be considering add a few more schools, here is a link to a post from last week that might be helpful. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/2061178-no-acceptances.html#latest
@txmtmom @PaMTmom Did you both also submit the CSS Profile? Syracuse requires it…our FAFSA went in October, but I submitted the CSS profile on SU’s due date 1/1/2018. I haven’t had any follow up aid requests, but we won’t be getting any need support, only merit and talent…
We submitted all of it. This is a request for more information. Special forms. I doubt we qualify for anything either, just wonder if it has something to do with scholarship. I will call tomorrow. It is several forms that have to be printed, filled out and then faxed back.
@EmsDad thanks for the clarification. I didnt know that you are still considered Transfer if you’re a first year bfa student in their program.
I guess to be careful as a fap year student but I can’t imagine paying 30-40k for a year of school knowing that you really do not want to be there
Here are my.musings today … I think what makes this process so hard is that it feels very personal.
When you do an academic acceptance, they review your kid on paper. But in our case they’ve met her in person and watched her perform, so any rejection feels extremely personal
@actingdreams the guy I know who took a gap year did not take any classes, because as has been said, you are still going to pay for 4 years of college when they get into a BFA program so it is a waste of money. If they are going for a BA then you may be able to use the credits. Schools didn’t seem to mind the gap, as a matter of fact CMU loved it. Of course he is a guy that sings really well so has an easier time than girls. And he used the year to take some needed dance classes and voice lessons and be in community musicals (and work LOL)
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@actingdreams My D only took high level non credit dance classes at the community college and performed in as many productions as possible in addition to her normal voice lessons. She did not want to risk being considered a transfer student. Every school she auditioned for was very impressed with what she accomplished during her gap year. Also, several schools in the application process asked for a small essay describing why she took a gap year and what she did with that time.
My D/we opted for a gap year in lieu of her going to one of her auditioned safety acceptances (with full tuition scholarship!) because it made more sense to take what we would have spent on room and board and invest in an additional Summer Intensive and coaching. My D has high stats; and @daughtersdreams ’ daughter’s experience (qualifying for lower scholarship amounts because she was a transfer-even though her D had a 4.0) certainly contributed to the path that we took. At virtually every single audition, D was asked about what she has done this year-and across the board-she was commended for making a brave choice, and forging her own way. A gap year is not for everyone: There are high points and low points (just like Freshman year of college!), you are somewhat socially isolated, you MUST be motivated to get out of bed every day (or most days) and do what needs to be done. But my D will tell you that a gap year was the best decision she’s ever made-and it’s actually turned out to be what she regards as one of the best years of her life.
@MTMOM17 that is true. Also, most of these kids have worked for this for at least a decade. My D has lived and breathed dance and theatre since she was 5. Being just another girl that can sing and dance out of 1000 faces is overwhelming. They are the stars in their school shows and get good parts in community theatre so the sudden massive amount of rejection is shocking. And, yes, they put themselves out there in front of a panel of judges - don’t know where they get the strength - and wait for months to be told they just aren’t good enough. How do you see what a kid is capable of in less than 5 minutes? My daughter is a totally different person on stage but she doesn’t have the ability to show this yet in an audition. There are so many talented kids and there are so many good programs, but the process of placing them is too long and painful. Some auditions seemed to totally ignore my D and some loved her. And it didn’t matter what caliber the school was or insure whether she got in or not. As a parent, it feels sooo random and arbitrary and subjective. And all that work and preparation (and money!) didn’t seem to mean anything in the end. There are prodigies out there that will get into every school (we know one that is still a freshman in high school) but for most of us it feels like a crap shoot, so if we are really lucky one school will notice our kids potential. It is a hard pill to swallow. Wow - that turned into a rant! Sorry!
From the sound of things, it appears that MT is much harder to get into than Acting. Maybe future MT’s would go in as actors who can sing really well (I know that some schools offer acting instead if the MT admit isnt there). Just thinking out of the box here. It would be great for an actress to get an acting degree and cast as a lead because she/he can belt that 1 song that is needed in the contemporary play and take singing classes)
Maybe the student really wants wants nothing more than MT? I don’t know, I’m always trying to look at a different angle. Lately I’ve seen women directors and scriptwriters actually acting now
@MTMOM17 Yes, exactly. A HS senior I know who’s applying to acting programs recently put it this way: “Regular people think it hurts to be rejected by a college? Oh, boo-hoo, they read your essays and they didn’t take you. Try getting up in front of people, baring your soul, telling them about your hopes and dreams, and then having them tell you that you aren’t good enough. THAT’S rejection.”
@txmtmom2022 Was it for W-2 forms that went along with a cover sheet? They did ask for that back in Feb.
@actingdreams so true. My S is in a play in the city, his first professional (paid) role. He got it because he can sing and the pivitol moment in the play is where his character sings Defying Gravity. A super hard song for a boy. He is loving the director and being with adults. It is also taking his mind off this months roller coaster of acceptances. But, if he didn’t get into any MT programs and was redirected to acting, he would do it. He loves the theater and there will be opportunities to sing down the road.
@actingdreams yes I do think that is a great option and many kids should try both - esp if they don’t have a really strong voice (which we learned during this process is what they are really looking for). My daughter is primarily a dancer (and is most insecure about her acting) so this wasn’t an option. We considered auditioning for dance - but she quit her dance team 3 years ago so she could focus on voice and theatre. And the dance programs left very little room for acting classes which is what she needs most! We were surprised to find it is hard to find a program that lets her move forward with her dance level as an MT student. This is also a hard pill to swallow after putting easily over 35K into her dance ability. She is very interested in choreography also (she has already been paid 4 times to choreo local productions) so it is important she can continue learning about that since it is kind of her backup plan. That being said she doesn’t want to be just a dancer… she wants to do it all! LOL. Nothing easy about this!