NYC Unifieds was a total waste of time and money for us. Too exhausting and my daughter was unable to perform her best due to the stress of the situation. She only got into one school from Unifieds but the rest of the schools she got into were all on-campus auditions. I really feel like Unifieds was a bad decision in our case. On campus auditions seem to take more time to get to know the student where Unifieds seemed more like a cattle call.
I think whether to attend Unifieds is a personal decision. Our D loved the energy and camaraderie at Unifieds. It was one of our favorite parts of her audition season. She actually found the on campus auditions draining. Many involved tours, classes, meetings, etc… when she just wanted to focus on her audition. So for her, she preferred the energy and the ability to do many auditions in a shorter timeframe that was provided at UNifieds. Conversely, we had a friend whose d is very introverted, not a fan of crowds, nor does she like a fast pace. For her, on campus auditions were the best choice. Figure out which will give your student the best chance of success. It is nice that many schools offer both options. Your chances of acceptance are the same at either so pick the site that works best for you.
@marg928 My son had a similar audition schedule. He did a combo of acting and MT programs. Three auditions in 3 days in NY, then 7 auditions at Chicago Unifieds — stayed an extra day to do one more. He only did three campus auditions because one was required and the other two were close.
Regarding Unified v/ on campus, just keep in mind your child. Mine had an awful experience at NY Unifieds because it was chaotic and the energy there was just so high and nervous. Her first audition didn’t go well, and she had a tough time getting back on track for the others that day. All in all, we regretted going. For her, the on-campus auditions were much better and I wish we had done a few of the ones we did at Unifieds on-campus instead. I do think your chances are the same, but if your kid does better in a smaller environment and with a better chance to focus on one audition at a time, keep that in mind. Some kids thrive on that nervous energy, but mine definitely didn’t. Like so much in this process, know your kid!
LA Unifieds was a bust for us. She got in nowhere and the one school she got into was her on campus audition. BTW it was her first one. So there is no rhyme or reason to this process at all.
I have an off-current topic question. We are at the end of waiting and now on to selecting. It comes down to four -MMC, Rider, HARTT, Malloy/Cap21. We feel very blessed. Cap21 and HARTT has a great thread and has been very helpful. I need to ask some private questions from current parents relating to MMC and Rider I’d love to ask some specific questions on DM? We will visit all this week so it would be helpful to get some questions answered before.
For everyone still waiting - it is almost done. Big hugs and good thoughts coming your way. For those just starting for next year, start early! Summer before senior year is the key. Getting the college essays done and the videos before start of senior year helped my S tons. We could tweak along the way. It was so much less stressful.
This forum is a god send.
There was definitely one school where D would have been better off doing the audition at unifieds where they DIDN’T have an accompanist and had to use a recording. The on campus accompanist completely screwed up the tempo of D’s music and was totally nasty about it. Needless to say, that was a rejection… I regret that choice so badly right now. Still kind of upset about it… i wish we were able to get more unified auditions but it just didn’t work out schedule-wise…
Re Unifieds-whether it was a fluke, or whether on campus visits allowed my daughter to show herself better, made her less nervous, etc: Over the 2 audition years, 7 of D’s 9 BFA acceptances came from on campus auditions.
I have a question about illness and whether any of your kids have ever gotten really sick and had to cancel/reschedule auditions…in your experience, are schools willing/able to reschedule?
I have had repeated nightmares about Unifieds since I first found out about them when D was in 7th grade. My D has asthma, and EVERY YEAR since she’s been diagnosed she’s gotten sinus infections and bronchitis in February and lost her voice for 10-14 days. Every darn year she ends up having to go on steroids and extra doses of her asthma meds and missing several days of school, and of course it’s right around the time of Chicago and NYC Unifieds! (And yes, I’ve tried the secret of thieves oil and I get obsessive about sanitizing everything this time of year…yet she still gets sick. 
)
Because my D is female, we know she will have a long list of schools she needs to audition for, and I don’t see how we could possibly do it without doing at least one Unifieds (probably two), given that she attends a PA school that isn’t thrilled with lots of absences for college auditions/visit. But if I had my druthers, I’d rather have her not do Unifieds at all because of the high risk of her getting sick and losing her voice and having multiple auditions affected! Yet I also completely agree with what several PP have said about how much more expensive it would be to visit all those individual schools, and about running the risk of having your kid fall in love with a school they visit only to be that much more devastated when they get rejected.
All that to say…anyone else out there with a kid with health issues who’s willing to share how they and the schools handled it? We still have a while since D is only in 10th grade, but I figure it’s never too early to start planning (and worrying, lol).
To be clear, our experience did not really have anything to do with Unifieds. Since yesterday. I’ve had several people message me asking “was it…” and everybody got it right, and then shared their experience with school X… it seems that they have a reputation for being rude, arrogant, dismissive and demoralizing. It could have just as easily happened on campus. I’ll finish D’s Unifieds story when I’ve got a bit more time, but just yesterday she was commenting on how much she loved that part of the process. She had one really crappy day, and a breakdown, but that needed to happen and turned out to be a good thing. Her voice teacher tells her “this industry is 95% rejection, 5% acceptance. Get used to it now.” So the schools who weren’t interested in her, fine. We get it. But school X crossed the line.
I suggest future applicants do both! You will need as many schools as possible and there is no realistic way to do it without Unifieds. We did only on campus, would not skip it if we had it to do over again.
For us, Chicago unifieds worked well. We stayed at the Hampton a block from the palmer, and the hotel was quiet and much less hectic feeling. We went with several scheduled auditions and on the trip there he built a list of schools he was interested in doing a walk-in for. He got walkins at 3 of the 6 he was interested in. When he had breaks, we went back to our hotel so he could do prep or walked to a coffee shop or restaurant away from the hotel. Staying out of the palmer when possible kept the crazy to a minimum. He has a couple of school visits to go on yet, but I am pretty confident that he’s going to choose one of the two walk-in acceptances. If we hadn’t done unifieds, we would have missed out on a school he wasn’t familiar with in advance but has now fallen in love with…on paper. We’ll see if he still feels the same in a little over a week when we visit.
@muttsandMT my son and I both have reactive airway disease (not full blown asthma) and we both seem to get really sick in either February and March. This year I did an amazing preventative routine with advice of husband (who is a family doctor). Starting in late January, I began to do a 2x daily medi-rinse (often only got it done once per day). I used an over the counter nasalcort and prescription azelastine spray. I used an asthma inhaler Symbacort. I also got the flu shot. During audition season, my son made it through November auditions, January unifieds and began to get bronchitis/sinus infection the second to last day of Chicago unifieds. Had a fever and horrible ear pain on flight back home from Chicago. He was ill all the way through February on campus auditions. We treated with Pro Air, antibiotics, oral steroids, rock candy lollipops for laryngitis (don’t ask…it just worked), tea/honey, and matzoh ball soup. He was never so ill that he couldn’t get up and move, and while his singing voice wasn’t its best, it was fine. So…be super prepared over the summer with your list of schools and getting audition material up to speed. Meet with an asthma specialist or ENT or good Family Doc who understands vocalists. Go on prophylactic meds in January through March. Be prepared with medicine if you are away from home. Assume that February will be a bit rocky even with everything. Go to as many early auditions in November and December and NYC unifieds (not nearly as much fun or as well organized as Chicago). And assume complete exhaustion will set in by late February so don’t schedule much for then. It is not too early to start planning. She needs two to four good monologues. She needs two to four contrasting songs. Get them down now and if she knows the songs backwards and forwards she will be able to sing them sick. My son can knock out his really prepared songs even with the flu now. Preparation and prevention are everything.
@muttsandMT I second @MomofMTBoy, the early audition dates in October, November & December. S got 2 acceptances by mid-December providing stress relief; with NY unis close behind. There are also many programs that have dates in March, so if you needed to schedule around February, it’s possible. Interestingly, all of my S February auditions yielded an offer! He did 3 over February break, which was actually pretty stress free, despite all the driving in the NE that we did.
@muttsandMT consider getting a letter from the doctor and send a copy to any school that you need to reschedule.
Proof that she is ill and the schools may just respond back with an alternative method of auditioning.
Hi cc peops! This has been a crazy journey for us all! Something I personally was not prepared for! But at the end I have to believe it all happens for a reason and each of our amazing kids, with perseverance and dedication no matter which school (or no school) they attend, will find happiness doing what they love. Just might not be the path we thought they would follow. Can anyone share their thoughts on UArts vs. Wagner, or know where I can find some CC insight. Much luck to all and hope every MT dreamer knows how special they are!
@MomofMTBoy NYU does not require on site auditions. They do regional auditions In Miami, Chicago, L.A., Shanghai and Berlin.
Unifieds are a wonderful option for many people but you have to know your kid. There have been lots of stories here on CC through the years about kids who have had a bad experience, for various reasons. A bad first audition can throw them off for the remaining ones. The chaos does affect some kids. Often stories of a particular group of kids who are there together can affect others. Weather issues And there’s always the possibility of illness at that time of year so that if you have the bulk of your auditions scheduled for those few days, your outcomes may not be what you wanted.
I always think that visiting and auditioning on campus is the ideal choice, if you can swing it time wise and financially. Waiting until all decisions are in and only visiting the schools that were a Yes can bring its own problems with busy senior year activities, and limited time before committing. Of course, ideally, visiting before senior year would be best so that the information gained can help with compiling a list of schools for apps.
I would say factor in Unifieds weather issues as obviously in Jan etc the weather does not always cooperate and you may indeed not be able to go. Then obviously you wouldn’t have wanted to put all your eggs in one basket
@MThopeful2022 I understand your frustration!!! If it makes you feel any better the accompanied at one of my D’s unified auditions played the tempo completely wrong during her audition even though it’s clearly marked on her music (in bold at the top) and even though he asked for the tempo before beginning.
I guess that kind of mistake can happen anytime they’re using a live accompanied instead of a recording.
Class of 2021 chiming in we did unified in Chicago best decision for our family. I enjoyed the shopping and other parents in the lobby and yes the bar. My D loved all the kids and running around the Palmer house she had 9 BFA acceptance 7 came from Unifieds. We live 3 hours from NYC but wanted to have a more relaxing ,stress free audition season it was 100 percent worth the money. She got her dream school from Chicago Unified and that school was drivable for us too! Can’t wait to read your final stories!