@fancytheatrekid D1 was also a May 1 girl and ended up with last dibs on housing. She was in a “converted triple” (a tiny double with a bunk bed) her freshman year. She spent most of her time at her studio, at the coffee shop or in the library 
When does financial aid package need to be accepted? Is that also May 1?
@CentralOHmomof4 Beautifully said!! The college audition process is just the beginning of this journey. There will be so many twists and turns ahead. All we can do is love, support and encourage them along their path whatever that path may be.
@MomofMTBoy , @#booknerdmom, @GloriaVaughn , @CoachC , @dramamamaCC – thank you all so much for your kind responses to my question about dealing with illness and Unifieds. I apologize that it has taken this long to come back and thank you all…my H and I left for the first kid-free vacation we’ve had since our D was born the day after I posted that question, and we just got back late Monday. I deliberately brought no laptop or iPad so I could “unplug,” and though I did cheat a couple of times by checking CC on my phone, this thread already had 200+ more responses by the time I checked it and I found it too difficult to try and post a response from my phone.
I took notes on all your responses and am so thankful for how thoughtful, detailed, and helpful they are. Thanks to you all, I have already started to formulate a plan and make changes in my D’s environment/routine, and I also see I need to get moving on this from a medical perspective now, especially since specialists are typically booked up months in advance! Thank you also to several people who PM’d me with their experiences and advice…I have been a bundle of nerves over this, but knowing that my D is not alone in these struggles, and that they can be overcome, give me so much hope.
The post above from @muttsandMT about having to search through 200 responses in a general discussion thread like this highlights the fact that if you have a specific issue or question, it is not a bad idea to start a new thread specific to that topic. That way, you can easily find all the helpful responses.
Threads like this one are great, but sometimes can be fairly difficult to navigate for help on specific topics.
To those who are struggling with kids who are down in the dumps (if not outright depressed), I promise you they WILL get through this but they have to mourn and navigate the gap between expectations and outcomes. My daughter was there and it was so painful. They are entitled to dwell in this space for as long as it takes them to return to themselves. That is EVERY artist’s journey and to quote the Streep Oscar acceptance speech they WILL take their broken heart and turn it into art. Try not to make sense of it for them and they’ll do the work to process the rejection, figure out how badly they want to forge ahead, and then take the leap of faith that they can succeed from any program if they train and double down on their passion. This process is, for the vast majority of kids, brutal. It contains a level of rejection that is so compressed that it doesn’t compare to any other period in an artist’s life (5-6 rejections in ONE day? Come ON!!!) My kid is back on cloud 9 which is where she typically resides and has seen that the program she chose (and that chose her) is the BEST thing that could have happened to her. On a highly personal note, I will encourage those of you who have introverts (25% of the population) to really consider whether at age 17, the 6 minute audition behooved them. It is what it is but it’s my opinion that it vastly favors energy-forward personalities. Ultimately they’ll master extroversion-on-demand but most don’t have it figured out by this developmental stage!
Well. Our journey comes to an unexpected end. D got just 1 accept and 3 WL. Accept was a walk-in but school visit turned out not to be a good fit. 3 WL were high quality programs, one has since filled their class and dropped her from WL. She’s not holding her breath on the other 2 WL because the whole process has just been one heartbreak after another. In the end she’s found an academic school she’s absolutely in love with but that doesn’t even have an MT program. I find it hard to imagine her future without MT, but I’m happy that she’s happy and moving on. Maybe she’ll take an acting class or two - maybe she won’t. Congrats to all whose dreams came true. Only wish I knew who some of you were so I could say I “knew them when…”. Good Luck!
@bdwybbymom I’m so sorry! Hugs to you both! Sounds like she found an amazing school though. She can always do summer intensives in NYC or elsewhere. There are so many great ones out there. Good luck to her!
Soo… D is committing to a school today. So obvious - the school was soooo right for her. Amazing classes, amazing performance opportunities, perfect location, opportunities for professional connections and agents…and they agreed to our negotiated financial aid package. Can’t wait to post it later! (This was a teaser!) 
I just love Final Decisions, @Fergie978 ! Spill it!
@Fergie978 ooooohhh I bet I can guess! Yay!
@EmsDad Handy trick for finding something you read but can’t remember who said or when or if you just want to see if anything mentioned a specific school or topic like “financial aid” or “illness” :
You can search just about anything using the search tool next to the page numbers. It will search the entire thread, not just the page you are viewing.
If you don’t remember what Discussion it was in, you can also go back to your bookmarked Discussion Pages list and use the search tool there and it will search all the discussion threads you have bookmarked.
Probably can’t do that on a phone so easily though.
We have been through such a stressful time with this process, but I would have not been able to get through it if I didn’t have such a carefree and loving child as my D. I just wanted to share this one audition story.
While driving to the audition for Rider, we both thought we really had nothing to be nervous about. It was a school that we knew a little about (one professional actress we have worked with had just graduated from there and one friend has been there about a year).
I kept asking D how she felt about going to this audition, because, for some reason, I was more excited (and more relaxed) for this one than any other schools. I couldn’t tell you why, I just had a very good feeling about it.
We attended the free Cabaret show, “Revolutions” the night before, running into our friend on the way in the door, who was excited to see us. The show was in their black box theater, which was very much like many of the black box theaters we had seen, about 100 seats. The songs in the was very edgy, very eclectic, all within the “rebellion/revolt them”. We went back to the hotel, and my D seemed to be more excited about the audition, seeing how incredible the upperclassmen were.
Audition started with dance, and again, she was not nervous at all going in. Neither was I. After each audition, when she comes out, she always gives me the run down of the audition, and how she felt. By this time, we had auditioned for Ithaca, CCM, NYU, Marymount, Pace, Syracuse and Penn State. After Pace audition, she said, “that was my favorite audition”, then after Penn State audition she said, “that was my favorite audition.” Sooo, I had to laugh when she came out of the dance audition for Rider and said, “THAT was my favorite one!” Coincidentally, it was a combination to the same song that was used at the Penn State audition. Now, when D says it is her favorite, it is because it is challenging and artistically creative. She loved it! Then, they changed into their clothes for the vocal and acting auditions. The MT students took the auditioners back to the room in groups of 5. D’s group was the 3rd group of 5 to go. I watched her go back and then waited a long time. Finally, I saw a few from her group come back into the room to meet with their parents and go. Then, they took the next group of 5 back. I looked around and wondered where she was! …And waited. Then they called the next group of 5… and watched some of them come back. Finally she came out. “What happened?” I asked. “I GOT INTO RIDER!” she whispered.
We waited for the end of auditions to speak with Robin, the director of dance for musical theater. He enthusiastically explained the program to us and how they would be able to able to grow Jillian as an artist.
He also explained that Mary Barton, the director of the Princeton ballet company, (for whom the role of Clara in the world premiere of Robert Joffrey’s Nutcracker was created for) would be teaching her in her advanced ballet classes to ensure that she wouldn’t lose all of her dance training! And they bring in master teachers every Monday! Last week. Tara Rubin Casting came in to talk to the students. They have had 100’s of guest artists over the past three years - all of whom are impressive. They also explained the number of performance opportunities and the proximity to NY - living in NJ - but being close enough to NY to visit/audition on weekends - which many students do!
After this audition, having already been accepted, we drove home — not introspecting. In fact, we didn’t say much of anything - except that we were canceling her last two auditions (AMDA and BW) because they really didn’t feel like a fit for her.
So, with acceptances at Marymount and Rider plus Syracuse (WL) for musical theater or Pace and Point Park for other majors, Rider was not only a stand out, but felt like the right fit completely for her.
I feel like we found a HIDDEN GEM. We think found a real jewel here that is going to be talked more about for years to come. This is a very new program (about 7 years old) so this is only there 3rd graduating class, and they already have a name - with many students on Broadway, National Tours, and Films (we talked with a current junior who was just cast in the national tour of Rent!)
Will post the stats on Final decision page. Just wanted you all to hear about what a real find that RIDER UNIVERSITY is!
And those of you who were able to continue reading to end of this post, GOD BLESS YOU!
What an exciting story @Fergie978 !! So happy for you and your D! Gotta love it when they find their “home”!
@MThopeful2022 - yeah, I kinda let the cat outta the bag by starting that group chat, huh? :))
@bdwybbymom do not be surprised if your D winds up doing a LOT of musical theatre at her non-theatre-major school choice. My D is in an MFA MT program she loves but none of her high school co-stars went that route, and they are all performing (a lot) at their respective schools. And they are in productions that are excellent, co-starring with wildly talented people. There are lots of ways to find yourself in show business or media… there will be many surprises ahead. Good luck to your D, and to you.
The post by @fingerscrossedmt about kids navigating the rejection of this process was,so wise and compassionate - I find myself re-reading it over and over! It’s so hard to see our kids upset and disappointed and doubting themselves. Thanks for the wise reminder that they need the time and space to process this on their own - we can’t “fix” it for them, as much as we wish we could! - and that they WILL come to terms with it and forge ahead and find their own path. Much-needed perspective!
On a happier note, congratulations @fergie978! What a wonderful story!
And hugs to @brdwybbymom. I am glad your D found a school she loves, even though it’s not MT.
@fingerscrossedMT We need a stronger button than LIKE for your post. This is all so true!
My D is finishing her freshman year at her university and she is IN LOVE, yes IN LOVE with her school and her program. This time last year she was battered and bruised and this is after a bevy of excellent auditions. Yesterday she called me, on cloud 9, to detail a meeting she had with one of her professors for feedback about her auditions for Generals. This man took a half hour with her to review her audition AND discuss her other gifts AND her future (both college and post-graduation). After the “PTSD” of last year, she has found her footing again and is rebuilding her confidence in a place that is discovering and developing her gifts…all of her gifts. I love this for her. Our kids are strong and talented and they will rebuild! Good luck to the Class of 2022 from all of us who have been through this crazy process!
I will post our story soon… but I just am hopping on here quickly to say that this whole crazy process was all worth it when I received a text from my daughter (who is shadowing an MT student today on campus) and the text simply said “Mom, I’m in heaven”. I have chills because I honestly think the school where we committed this week is 100% where she is supposed to be!!! We didn’t know it was back in the fall, but I guess God did!!! Doors kept closing and in hindsight, the shifting paths in this maze led us right to this place and the more we learn, the more we believe this program is EVEN BETTER for her than the places she “thought” were her #1’s. Now I see sometimes doors close for a reason and I am just so full of gratitude right now. If you are in a place where you are feeling discouraged… try to remind yourself that this is a very advanced level maze and your kid might not have found their next turn or doorway opening “yet”… but keep on keeping on! Some artists will just end up having better stories to tell about their journey. Hang in there! We are all cheering you on.
I love that philosophy, @savedrama4mama! So happy your D ended up in a place she loves!