<p>Congratulations!</p>
<p>Congratulations!!! Incredible!</p>
<p>Congratulations, AsstToTheMT! What a great story about Carnegie audition! And an amazing result! </p>
<p>Many congratulations to the newly added decisions! Hope to soon join in on the transition to the next part of this journey. </p>
<p>Congratulations annelisesmom and dramamom0804! Thank you for sharing your decision stories–chocked filled with thoughts (for future students) and heart (the best part for all of us now). Now that the decision is made, life becomes even more exciting and it is truly thrilling to have a fellow CC parent headed to the same school (not to mention helpful and comforting that one of you is near…I speak from experience). I remember stockiing up on a few bumper stickers last year, as we traveled to open houses. Hoping that I would have the correct sticker the day my S decided on what school…I wanted to slap that baby on that very day…it was like earning a badge for Girl Scouts. Very thrilled for you and all those who are FINALLY headed to Bed Bath and Beyond!</p>
<p>AsstToTheMT, I am not surprised your daughter chose Carnegie Mellon. I really enjoyed your write-up and hope you will stick around to share her freshman experience. You mentioned she will have the opportunity to audition for MT in the fall – I hadn’t heard that is a possibility at CMU. Whether she decides to do that or not, she will be embarking on an exciting journey and will be working incredibly hard! Congratulations to her, and to you for guiding her through this bizarre process.</p>
<p>Audition schools applied to: Juilliard, Carnegie Mellon, Rutgers Mason Gross, Fordham, CalArts, BU</p>
<p>Non Audition: Bard</p>
<p>Accepted: Carnegie Mellon, Rutgers Mason Gross, Fordham, CalArts,Bard</p>
<p>Rejected: Juilliard, BU</p>
<p>Waitlisted: None</p>
<p>Final Decision: Carnegie Mellon</p>
<p>Audition Coach: Yes, local casting director worked with her beginning in the summer before senior year (infrequent summer meetings) and every week or two from October-January.</p>
<p>Summer Programs: ACT San Francisco, Brown TheatreBridge</p>
<p>Training: YoungArts winner junior year (YoungArts Week in Miami was an amazing chance to work monologues and get used to high-stakes auditions, as well as meet peers from all over the country), 4 years voice, 7 years various dance</p>
<p>High School: Homeschooler part time at public high and some local university classes. High school has a good drama dept.</p>
<p>Gosh, it’s hard to put it all into words, but you are the people who “get” this experience. No matter how it turned out in the end, I knew my daughter had made the right career choice when I saw how much she enjoyed her auditions. It was busy, stressful and expensive, but I loved every minute of traveling with her and sharing the journey with her. And I’m very aware how lucky she is to have had choices - like many have echoed here, we went into it saying, “Hopefully you’ll get in somewhere. If you are really lucky you will have a choice.” Her backup plan was to take a year and train and re-audition. She has been completely set on the BFA route for years now (although the Fordham BA program is exceptional and she knows she would have had great training there). I asked her to apply to Bard “just in case.” She ended up unable to participate in the musical and the spring play in high school due to her audition/callback schedule. That was so sad for her at the time, but in the end I think the extra time for audition prep and rest and homework was a good thing.</p>
<p>Another thing I’m struck by is how kids’ change in only one year. When she was a junior we visited BU for their wonderful October Open House - really first-rate with sample class group activity and big tour, etc. She was so impressed with the program and the nurturing environment that she wanted to apply ED. Incidentally, the director of the Brown TheatreBridge summer program is Mark Cohen, who is on the faculty at BU. I talked her out of ED - I wanted her to research more schools, not limit her options, and not bind us to one financial aid decision with limited negotiating power. After YoungArts in January of her junior year, (where she was mentored by the fabulous Barbara Marchant from Rutgers) she had expanded her list to include many top programs. BU was her first audition (in order to make the Trustee Scholarship deadline), but by then it was no longer at the top of her list. She was rejected by BU in the end, so that was an interesting twist.</p>
<p>She had a 14 hour day at Juilliard and made it all the way through the first round callbacks and the interview. She auditioned on campus and was hooked. Tears were shed when she didn’t get the final callback invite. During her interview, however, she learned something important: my daughter still craves some academics in her conservatory experience and was excited by the possibility of the Columbia exchange. But that exchange is not possible for actors, so she would have virtually no opportunities for academic classes during the school year. Still, she was smitten with Juilliard, and probably would have forgone the academics has she been admitted. Now that she’s visited CMU (only after acceptance, last week), she is so excited to be able to take top-tier academic classes within the conservatory setting. I think it will be perfect for her.</p>
<p>Rutgers callback weekend was amazing and the decision to decline was a hard one. She agonized before making her final decision. Rutgers did great outreach by faculty and students in making contact with my daughter during the decision process and were very specific in their response to her particular interests. While she was at Rutgers callbacks she also saw BU and CMU senior showcase performances and found them very instructive.</p>
<p>Fordham also impressed her very much with their commitment to social justice and the plays they perform each year. The only meaningful Fordham contact she had was with a student I found for her on CC. My D will stay in touch with that lovely girl who generously took time out (right before midterms, I believe) to meet her and show her around campus. Fordham offered a generous grant package, but did zero in terms of outreach. When my D was in town for the Rutgers callback, she received her Fordham acceptance. I immediately called, asked if we could schedule class visit, tour, etc. in the next couple of days. They said they didn’t have enough notice to schedule any class visits. We scheduled a tour and then they canceled that. She has had no contact from faculty or current students (aside from the wonderful girl I mentioned).</p>
<p>In contrast, CMU current students practically bombarded my D with contact (Facebook, phone and email), and faculty emailed her regularly and put her in touch with many people for additional phone calls and emails geared toward her interest. When she visited last week she spent 2 nights in the dorm and visited 4 classes and met one-on-one with the acting chair. </p>
<p>CalArts surprised us in how much we liked the program and their experimental, 21st century focus. My D was not super-interested in being in LA, however. She had a great audition experience and faculty were friendly and did good outreach, invited her to come back and “shadow” a student, etc. but it wasn’t the best fit.</p>
<p>For someone who says it’s hard to put it all into words, I certainly just wrote a lot! </p>
<p>I’m wishing all of you students and parents the very best and hope that the audition process has strengthened your resolve; validation is nice, but all these kids are signing on to lots of rejection too. I’m so impressed with the strength of character this vocation requires. Congratulations to all for raising (and you students for becoming) such vibrant, resilient and creative people.</p>
<p>I will be happy to answer any questions I can about my daughter’s CMU experience in the coming years.</p>
<p>Wow - those are some amazing acceptances. Congrats!!!</p>
<p>Congrats, Sparkleshirley and D. Hope she LOVES CMU!</p>
<p>congratulations and thanks for the in depth peek into your experience! </p>
<p>I enjoyed reading your informative post, sparkleshirley. A big congratulations to your daughter!</p>
<p>Very interesting how all the great contact from CMU helped her decide that that was the program for her. </p>
<p>I’m curious about what she thought of the BU and CMU showcases, if you wouldn’t mind saying. My son graduated from BU last year and was one of the students who chose not to do the showcase, so I never saw one of them.</p>
<p>Congrats, Sparkle! I think she made the right decision. </p>
<p>It’s interesting to read your perspective on Fordham. My daughter had a different experience, but we had enough time (and we live close enough) to schedule a visit at their convenience, and during the visit she did get to meet with many students and faculty.</p>
<p>I don’t think she ever really expected to be cold contacted or emailed by faculty and students (and when some other schools did that–Tisch and Temple come to mind–it felt like pressure. But you may have a point, that schools need to lobby more to get attention from their top recruits, like your daughter. </p>
<p>Congratulations SS - that’s fantastic! All the best to you both!!! :)</p>
<p>Why don’t we have a final decision thread by school name and by member name without the background like the MT forum does?</p>
<p>dramamom - great idea!</p>
<p>I must be in a different MT final decisions thread…people are posting background there, too.</p>
<p>I started one…</p>
<p>Glassharmonica, that is a really good point! I can see how contact after the acceptance could also be viewed as pressure. In my D’s case, relationships as well as program were the winning combination. The girl she met at Fordham was super and gave her great insight into the program, but in her case the faculty seeking out students with similar interests and going that extra friendly mile worked for her. I think she is in the right place, but had Fordham reached out more, I wonder if she would have been more swayed. I’m just glad to be done!</p>
<p>@bisouu – found it. Will post after Sunday!</p>
<p>Good Luck @EastchesterMom, hope you have a great day Sunday! :)</p>