@MTplayer the short answer is: Correct. They are holding walk-ins because they are in a position to potentially receive a late-ish applicant (academic & artistic.) And some want the application fee, and even the application, filled out on the spot. Others do not. The financial piece is a bit more difficult. At this juncture, it is pretty late to expect that these schools will have $ left in their coffers. But of course, there are always exceptions-and there are several folks who check in here that have epic walk-in success stories.
I was not with my D at Chicago Unifieds last year (she attended with her PA classmates.) She and a couple classmates did quite a few walk-ins that yielded, for the most part-great interest from those auditions/schools. My D was actually called while still in Chicago by one (now defunct) program, offering her acceptance. Had I been there, I feel like I may have talked her down a bit. Yes-there are some great walk-in opportunities: But why wasn’t it on her original list/radar? Proximity? Cost? Size of school/program? Or is it truly a hidden gem that was somehow missed? My D received 2 walk-in acceptances (and would have almost definitely received 2 more, had she jumped through the required hoops once home: Sending of transcripts, test scores…) So I guess what I am saying is, tread carefully. Harness the power of the internet and see if it’s a school that your kid would truly be happy at. If not-spend that time hydrating, relaxing, warming up for the programs that you really want.
You can find Palmer House Floor Plans here:
http://www.palmerhousehiltonhotel.com/meetings-events/tools/floorplans/
The year my d went, there were auditions and dance calls on all floors, 3-7, plus dance calls in the ballroom on the lobby floor.
Some of the floors are truly a rabbit warren, so these maps can come in really handy.
@DramaQueen219, she’s a super happy sophomore in Point Park’s BFA MT program. Which just goes to show, there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
Me too for CCM.
Saw a very thin envelope in with the rest of the mail today…my stomach twisted…D opened it and it was basically junk mail about the academic acceptance. Dear heavens, is this over yet? My nerves…
I know of someone who was accepted at Rider today.
@EastchesterMom I’m just catching up on these posts so I’m a little late in my reply about Tisch but I wanted to add my two cents because I am so surprised about what your D reported regarding the current students opinion. My D graduated BFA Acting from Tisch in May and she had a wonderful experience as well as did almost all of her classmates. She found the teachers to be incredibly supportive (and in fact some continue to offer her support even after she has graduated). Yes, they do have long hours but I think that is to be expected in a BFA program and although it is exhausting, she loved it because she was learning and doing what she wanted to do. Lastly, in terms of a social life, not only did she engage in many social activities with other Tisch students she also joined a sorority so that she could have some friends in the “normal” world as well! LOL. No program is for everyone, but I would hate for somebody to write off a program that might be a perfect fit based on the words of some students which to my knowledge is a very different experience than most students there have. @collegemom2000 I’m happy to hear that your D had the opposite experience. I am here to answer any questions that anybody might have!
It’s so unfortunate how one or two students at a university can color the impression of a school. My daughter and I went to a college theatre fair and a girl at the NYU table basically talked her out of apply to Tisch because of the studio system. We didn’t know any better and didn’t do further research and my daughter took Tisch off her list. Looking back now I would have certainly done more digging before allowing her to do that.
@bisouu that makes me sick to hear that. If I thought my kid was bad mouthing a program I was paying $70k + for her to attend, you’d better believe I would pull her out and put her in community college so fast her head would spin.
@bisouu I am so sorry to hear that! I am also so surprised to hear that the kids who volunteer to do these college fairs are actually bad mouthing the schools that they are there to represent. I hope your daughter ended up some place that she is happy! @collegemom2000 I agree with you!! Why are they still there if they are so unhappy???
@jbtcat I think the one thing that was the problem was that the girl at the theatre booth was not in the theatre department. So she was speaking about things she had no first hand knowledge of and she didn’t phrase things very professionally. She told my daughter that she could get stuck in a studio she hated and she would have no recourse. That scared my daughter a bit especially when the cost of NYU is so high. She couldn’t imagine being unhappy for two years before being able to switch studios. I think if the girl had phrased it differently it wouldn’t have come off as so harsh. She also couldn’t answer some of my daughter’s questions about Tisch so that didn’t help. And yes my daughter ended up in a phenomenal program and will be graduating in May.
@bisouu that was very poor planning on NYU’s part! And I don’t blame your daughter for being scared off! Congratulations on her upcoming graduation!
When on campus for auditions at one of the top MT programs in the country (NOT NYU), the kids in that program badmouthed NYU to my daughter, which I thought that was in bad taste. She ended up going to NYU and loved it.
I got in trouble with another poster the last time I brought this up- but I think it is valuable information. NYU isn’t for everyone… but then NO program is for everyone. If you want a tiny, intimate “we’re a family and spend all our time together” type program, that’s not Tisch. My D had some one that in her PA HS (at least the idea that the same dozen people were ALWAYS together in class, shows etc) and she found it claustrophobic. She loves NYU b/c it’s big, and she has worked/studied with so many different types of people.
It does seem ridiculous that the student ambassadors for programs would be bad mouthing it- but we experienced it too. At our CCM tour, our guide was a VP major who spent a great deal of time poo pooing MT.
I agree @toowonderful !
We experienced the same thing at OCU last year. A couple of the students checking auditioners in for their singing portion were chatting between themselves saying some unflattering things about their program, some teachers, etc in clear earshot of all the kids waiting to audition. It was incredible!
S got a notice he is in consideration for CCM. FYI final auditions are 2/10 and they will decide shortly thereafter.
Congratulations @DramaMan!
Concerning hearing things about schools at auditions etc, I can’t even tell you how many times we heard CCM bashed. Actually still do to be honest .
Look I’m probably going to be roasted for this but this is what gives CC a bad name and why the schools themselves advise people to stay off of it. Every school has students who love their program and probably some who do not. Depending on who is sitting at the table and giving the tour you are going to have a variety of opinions especially if you have students who belong to other programs (Vocal Performance vs. MT, etc.). Obviously if a school knew the student was being disparaging they would remove them. Giving the school feedback is a good idea. Taking it all with a grain of salt is another good idea and then doing your own research about whether the program is right for you. Educating your child to think for themselves and to do their own research is also super important. I’m on here because a part of me is mourning our audition season, I miss my MT girl and we had such fun together. We had a good season and found much to love at so many schools, CCM and NYU included. These are great programs and there are parents on this board who love and value these programs. One experience is just that - one experience (ours included.)
Everybody break a leg and have fun!! Go out to dinner, see a show, enjoy the adventure before you know it your kiddo will be off happily ensconced in their program and you will be missing them!