<p>Hello all! I’m a current student at Montclair State who is transferring out this fall and I just wanted to advise other potential transfers of the way I was treated here. </p>
<p>I auditioned for the MT program in the Spring of 2012 and was not admitted, but was told I could re-audition if I decided to attend undeclared. As they had provided me with a small merit scholarship, I took them up on their offer and packed my bags for New Jersey. Upon arrival, I loved the school and the proximity to the city and prepared for my audition in the fall. When I met with Clay James to set up an audition slot, I was immediately put off by his attitude. Also, he told me to get in contact with him via email, to which he never responded and I had to set everything up on my own. He told me to try out for the upcoming production while I waited to audition for MT, and I was thrilled. However, once in that audition, he made nasty comments to the other auditors while I was singing, which really crushed me. It was unprofessional and hurtful, as he was the one who encouraged me to try out. Needless to say, I was not cast.</p>
<p>When my program audition rolled around in November, I was once again met with Clay James’ cold, harsh attitude in the room. Upon leaving, I felt confident in my abilities and was told I would be emailed within the month. When December rolled around and I still had not been notified, I went down to the performing arts office and was told by the receptionist I would probably not hear back until APRIL, which I found ridiculous. After another unanswered email to Clay James, I paid for another semester and loaded up on some dance courses while I waited for my response. In said dance courses, I have been completely exiled by all of the MT students, seen as an outsider and not welcomed in the least bit. I know that most programs are this way, but it felt as though I was in high school, being judged and looked down upon by the “popular kids.” </p>
<p>As it is now April and I STILL had not heard anything from the department, I went down to the office yet again today and demanded to speak to Kim Whittam, the head of admissions. She informed me that I had been rejected from the program and should have been notified back in November like I had originally been told. This, to me, is extremely unprofessional and I cannot believe that I wasted an entire semester’s worth of tuition and board money just to get a response that was 5 MONTHS late. I am not the only one who has been left out in the cold by the department, as one of my friends who tried to audition went through the exact same ordeal. Clearly, the department is trying to get more money out of its students by never sending out notification and banking on the fact that students will stay an extra semester.</p>
<p>Thankfully, I planned ahead and used this useless semester to audition for other programs and have been accepted to a few and waitlisted at others. Needless to say, I cannot get out of MSU soon enough and feel like I should warn others of what they will most likely face upon coming here. Clay James has no desire to work with anyone if they are not his precious MTs and will not help you at all. Please think twice before deciding to come to this school and re-audition for their program, it was the biggest mistake of my life and so much money was just tossed down the drain for nothing.</p>