As a mom to a freshman performance major I just feel like it is so much more competitive now. There are so many more MT programs both BFA’s and BA’s - it brings in a great pool of very, very talented kids for limited opportunities. And I am seeing, even AFTER paying the tuition bill there are always add-on’s - extra money for dance labs (which don’t count for a credit), performance hours (again, no credit but understood it is required), vocal lessons, masterclasses, etc. Even though my D is on Staten Island ANY trip into the city costs money. She would be thrilled to work a summer stock job even if there was no pay, just to get the experience (which I support), but in reality she needs to come home and work at the deli this summer because college is expensive! It sounds like your daughter must be incredibly talented to have had all these opportunities - especially at 20 yo. My D at 19 has a long way to go and she most definitely will be one of those kids waiting in line for a day just to get the opportunity to audition. It IS a harsh reality for MOST MT graduates and MOST MT graduates DO have to pull part time gigs waiting tables or whatever to make ends meet, especially if working in the city. My D’s college coaches are both broadway professionals - both now working on tour, yet they supplemented income by coaching kids, teaching Pilates, doing concerts, teaching masterclasses whatever they needed to do to pay the bills. When people ask me what my D is majoring in I always say professional waitress 
Anybody know when Coastal notifications come?
For those who are saying that it is more difficult now, it is true. We sat in multiple parent meetings during this audition season where the colleges told us point blank that it was harder and more competitive than ever. The number of applicants has been increasing each year at an astonishing rate just over the last 3-4 years. They said it has gone up tremendously just since last year and were very upfront and honest about this with us. Now add to that many of the programs accept more boys than girls (because there are more male roles and that’s what the market dictates - their words, not mine.) The females have quite a battle just to try and get training and an education. We knew this was fiercely competitive going into it, but the market dictating more male students really made me feel like we were in the dark ages.
Just wanted to pipe in and say - if you are thinking it is more competitive now than it was a few years ago, you are right. The heads of many schools told us this.
In regards to instrumentalists - I know quite a few. They have one big difference of not being out of the game due to their height, hair color, sex, type, etc. It’s usually based on talent. Atheletics is similar - they would never pick one athlete over another because they have too many blondes already. There is just so much more to this little world of MT.
Wishing everyone luck wherever you are in this process!
Everyone thinks that their year is the most competitive! 
Yes, the number of applicants/auditionees has increased but so have the number of programs offering MT. From the department heads that I know, the total numbers may have increased but the actual increase in competitive students is a smaller number. This isn’t to say that the process isn’t difficult. It is, and always has been. It’s best not to focus on how difficult the process is. Students should prep well and go into the admissions/audition process with a positive outlook and know that they have done their best.
@notforthefaintofheart your statement just confirmed why we need more badazz girls who are writing scripts, producing, designing sets, writing plays, filming, directing and choosing whom they want to play in their own Stuff! although my son was probably 1 of 3 males at the NYU Audition (and he being the only one for acting/drama), I saw about 16 girls who could’ve easily been a movie star (by looks), standing in line for production and tech. At Fordham, I saw about 14 girls in line for directing. I was proud to see them standing in those lines with their portfolios in hand, ready to take on the industry
I agree with @alwaysamom that while more kids are auditioning for BFA in MT programs, there are way more programs than there were 13 years ago. The acceptance rates have not truly wavered from the time when my own D applied.
But in terms of the NYC professional world, there simply has always been lots and lots of actors for way too few jobs.
@actingdreams , you mention:
On a personal anecdotal front, 2 of the 3 musicals my D is currently creating are all women creative teams!
For my D’s own musical, she is the writer/composer/lyricist, and the director is a woman, the producer and associate producers are women, and her musical is all about women! For the musical she was asked to do the music/lyrics for, the director and playwright are women too and the lead character is also a woman. For a musical my D adapted last year, also, she was the adapter and composer/lyricist and the director, choreographer, and music director were ALL women. My daughter cares about this aspect a great deal. Breaking glass ceilings. Empowering women. Creating works FOR women, including for herself.
So, there’s hope. 
Hey @soozievt does your daughter need a female SM?
@actingdreams “more badazz girls” love this and yes yes yes!
Yes to more badazz girls!
Just to clarify - the competition getting more difficult was not me just stating my opinion. This was the heads of the theatre departments that told us this several times. We were told over and over and over. That said - It is what it is! Maybe don’t focus on the difficulty, but also we want to be realistic about the ever changing journey to get that BFA degree.
Congrats on your daugher’s success @soozievt How exciting for her to be a part of the growth for women in this industry. There is hope!
The point about the competition being greater now was brought up by @theaterwork in relation to finding jobs AFTER college in this field. It wasn’t about competition so much in relation to being admitted to a BFA in MT program. I don’t think the competition for professional work has gotten harder since my D graduated. It was and still is very hard at certain levels in NYC.
Remember that not everyone who graduates from a BFA is going to end up pursuing this 100% or for the long run. My niece has a BFA in Acting from U of Michigan and didn’t end up pursuing auditioning once she graduated. Not every classmate of my D’s is still in the field. Many are and many are doing well, but I’m sure for each person still at it, there is at least one or two who are not.
@notforthefaintofheart Yes, you are correct. It IS more competitive now for the more competitive schools. Anyone who does not understand that is out of touch
@notforthefaintofheart @Notmath1 I agree with both of you. Competition for spots in college programs has increased and so has the competition for summer stock and post college opportunities. This is the reality our S/D must face. Many colleges are reporting large increases in applications received. UNCSA just released an article that applications are up 30% overall which has caused them to be more selective in their admission process. This number is for all of their programs not just the performance degree. I truly believe knowledge is power and that this industry changes year to year, so keep up to date and let’s keep each other informed:) The support on CC is fabulous!!
I’m afraid that anyone saying it isn’t harder now than 10 years ago is a little out of touch. Creating new BFA programs does not keep the application rates flat for the older, more established programs. What it means is that the top 25 programs are INUNDATED with applicants. Most applicants aren’t excited to go to a new, untested program that just started auditions this year. (This is true also of regular admission colleges, everyone is applying to the top programs and they are being swamped). In addition to UNSCA’s article about applications being up, my S is at BU where applications have also skyrocketed, as has yield which means that they will reduce the number of offers they make this year, further reducing their already tiny acceptance rate. There are many articles out there about this if you look. Elon had applications more than double in the past four years.
Consider Molloy/CAP21. My D is in the first graduating class. New partnership; tried-and-true MT training by an old name. Nobody heard of the program in 2014 (including me - until CC!). They wanted a cohort of 24 and got it. In the second year, the word got out and the doors blew off …the yield was so high for the Class of 2019 that it had to be split into two cohorts. Since then, the applications come in droves and it’s very, very selective…in just 3 years. I hear it’s the same at MSM, now in its second year.
Also, if you read Audition Update (forum for New York actors), a recurring theme is that the industry has gotten INSANELY more competitive in the past few years. Every year, all these MT college programs release hundreds of new grads into a field that has too few opportunities to begin with. All the actors on that forum say the EPAs and open calls have become exponentially more crowded in just the past 3 to 5 years.
Yes! Even the students we know in current programs are saying that it’s becoming more difficult to get in. We will have no problem acknowledging that next year will likely be harder than this year, so the comment about everyone thinking their year was the most competitive isn’t the least bit true. We are speaking to our current reality - please know that doesn’t take away from your child’s journey or accomplishments in the least.
Ithaca had 600 applicants in 2008. This year they had their largest applicant pool with MORE than 1900. And, they said that there were more QUALIFIED applicants than ever. This is a message we have heard over and over throughout this process. Texas Tech has a new program. This new program will give a whole 6 students a shot to study musical theatre! lol. (I’m sure it’s great and would be happy to send my child there even with it being so new - but they are overflowing with applicants for only 6 spots in their new program too!)
@EastchesterMom - I have heard about the applicant explosion at Cap21! Can’t wait to see what these upcoming graduates do!
We are trying to stay positive, but also realistic after speaking to so many dept heads across the country. It’s so much more than just doing your best in your audition. Michigan said that at this point, you’ve proven yourself and passed the prescreen and academic requirements - now it’s basically just a numbers game. Thanks to everyone for sharing their info. I agree that we just need to keep each other informed! Thanks, CC friends!!
There are definitely more kids interested (Hamilton effect, Glee effect, etc.). But the increase in applications to each school is in part due to kids applying to more schools based on guidance from coaches. Plus, prescreens allow kids to audition for schools far away that in the past they may not have applied for due to geography or time constraints.
I think it is a combo of a sharp increase in interested students and an equally sharp increase in number of schools to which students apply.
Three years ago, my D’s friends in the Theater field had a fairly easy time getting into a competitive MT program. The past two years, some of her friends (who have been in Theater high schools and doing new professional shows all of their lives) were getting NOTHING. So yes. It is more competitive. More young people are going into the field with more exposure of Theater on television and in communities - which is good, but it is also increasingly the number of students who want to explore Theater for college. I find this especially true on the East Coast! Many colleges report that they are getting so many applications that they have to turn down auditions now. Carnegie Mellon and Rider, for example, just started doing pre-screens this year to ensure they really had time to give to those candidates they were seriously considering. This was due to the fact that with so many auditions, they were not really taking the time they needed to seriously consider each candidate. I personally loved all the auditions we went where there was a pre-screen involved! At least they didn’t feel like such a cattle-call!
I’d say the game is changing. Wannabe MT majors HAVE to apply to more schools just to land a spot somewhere = more competitive now.
@toowonderful I have to agree with you that having coaches involved in the process has led to an increase in the number of schools that kids apply to. When my older D went through the process (2012-2013) she had picked 10 programs to apply to based on what she wanted out of a program. She then decided that she needed a coach. The coach thought it was a mistake for her to not apply to more programs and was pushing her to double the number of schools to which she would apply. My D refused because she felt that if she did not get into one of the 10 programs she had chosen then she would rather reconsider her path. Luckily, she was accepted to 8 out of the 10 programs. My point is that with more people using coaches these days there definitely seems to be an increase in the number of applications to many more programs resulting in more competition for all of the programs. (I don’t want anyone to think that I am bad mouthing coaches – I am just commenting on how their involvement relates to the increase in applications).