Final Decisions Background - Class of 2021

College Majors Musical Theater Majors
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@WhiteRaven1 have you considered contacting academic admissions at CNU, VCU, and JMU to see if there is any chance you could still matriculated at one of these state schools in the fall? At CNU you could go in as a theatre major. At JMU and VCU you could go in undecided and then reaudition your freshman year.

Calling the schools and asking if it would be possible at this late date does not mean you have to choose to attend if any of them say yes, but it could possibly give you more affordable options to explore and consider.

I was confused by this statement… “I don’t believe I applied to any instate public school mainly for the reason that there aren’t many in my state.” You did apply to CNU, VCU, and JMU, right?.. if you choose to defer at Shenandoah, you could also look at Longwood, ODU, Mary Washington, George Mason all state schools with Theatre and some with Musical Theatre… to see if you can find a more affordable option for education and training at a state school. At a few of the state schools ot may even be possible to do a year or two at a CC and then finish with your Theatre or Musical Theatre degree in two or three more years.

I sincerely hope that Shenandoah works out financially for the next four years, and you are able to attend! It is so impressive how you have been handling this mainly on your own, and we can tell how much you want to be there.

Shenandoah is a terrific program, but if the costs are prohibitive, and you will come out in four years, trying to start a career in the performing arts with a lot of debt, you may just want to consider all options that could be available to you.

Wishing you tons of luck! :slight_smile:

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@WhiteRaven1 I agree with all above statements. You do have some options, and BE PERSISTENT! I too have followed your story and you should be very proud of what you have been able to achieve. You may also want to look into other options at Shenandoah like work study, being an RA etc. - Best of luck to you on your journey!!

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I think it’s finally time to tell D’s story. I’m not really sure why I have been waiting. I guess I feel like when I tell it, I’m ending something that has been a constant in my life for almost 2 years…and it makes D’s leaving all the more real.

Anyway…here goes!

Schools applied to: Otterbein, Santa Clara (BA safety), Wright State, Ohio Northern, Webster, Rider, Western Michigan, Oklahoma City, Ball State, Nebraska Wesleyan, Oakland, Drake, UAB, University of Evansville (Acting), UArts, University of Arizona, UC Irvine, Illinois Wesleyan, TCU, Texas State…all for MT except where noted

Prescreens: some recorded and some live at Moonifieds, passed all that required except Texas State

Accepted: UArts, University of Evansville (BFA Acting), Nebraska Wesleyan, UAB, Oakland, Nebraska Wesleyan, OKCU (BFA Acting), Ohio Northern, Santa Clara

Waitlisted: Drake (came off waitlist), University of Arizona (came off waitlist)

Coach: Mary Anna Dennard

DH and I met in a musical 20 years ago. Most of our friends are actors/musicians or are in education (DH teaches theatre). When D was born I remember thinking “please don’t ever be an actor or a teacher!”. I knew all too keenly how difficult the life of an actor is and how much education was changing, putting more responsibilities on the shoulders of the amazing men and women who have dedicated their lives to kids. When she was little, she wanted to be a chef, or a farmer, or a “fire lady” but when you plant corn I guess you can’t be surprised when it grows.

I was directing and vocal coaching a local production of Aladdin and D begged to be the carpet. She was 6 and that was the end. After that, she did as much theater as possible (we would allow), danced 4 days a week, and sang in the school choir. Being a voice teacher myself, I didn’t really start her in lessons until she was a teen (by then she stopped listening to me anyway lol). She continued dance until her teacher said she had to make a choice between dance and theatre…she chose theatre. By the time she was in high school she was already planning a career in “the show biz” even though she was at a very rigorous college prep high school on the campus of our local university. Most of her peers are off to Stanford, Harvard and MIT and her school counselor didn’t know what to do with her. Enter…College Confidential. I CANNOT imagine this process without the amazing people here!!

D is on the young side but insisted that she was leaving our home state. She wanted to follow her dreams somewhere else. Following the advice of some and knowing we really didn’t have anyone in our area with experience in the college audition process, we partnered with Mary Anna as D’s coach. She was fabulous! D got so many comments on her monologues…they were perfect for her! Moo helped with a good balanced list (which is KEY) and her videos are so helpful. We only had to film 2 or 3 prescreen videos thanks to Moonifieds and those were submitted in October/Early November…later than I wanted but what can you do.

With so many colleges on the list, I was the one who organized things with applications, essays and Honors College essays. We got everything submitted early since many schools attending Moonifieds required it. With applications submitted, we worked on the prescreen videos and D worked on her material, knowing the bulk of her auditions were at Moonifieds. She had already decided that she wouldn’t do any theatre this year so she could prepare. She also got a job so that she could help defray some of the costs…which were A LOT!

By Christmas, she had done the majority of her auditions and had a couple of acceptances already. Had I known then what I know now, we would have stopped but D was a glutton for punishment so she kept on LOL.

Next came Chicago Unifieds. Some of you remember the awful experience we had with one school. I will say now that the experience with this school started well before the actual audition when they posted the wrong dates they would be in Chicago. I followed the advice of many here and contacted the university when we got home. Of course they were apologetic HOWEVER D never received notice of her acceptance/rejection. I finally emailed them in the last few days of April and asked if they planned on letting D know since I never told her about what happened. She was left wondering about this school and figured they had rejected her but was very disappointed since she very much enjoyed her audition and the faculty they had there. The day I emailed, I received no response from the director of the program or the chair of the department, just a form letter from an assistant, dated that day, that she had not been accepted. I can’t say enough how extremely disappointing the entire experience was with that school but glad to know if that’s how they treat their students, we didn’t want any part of it.

The rest of Unifieds was terrific and we had some amazing bonding time. Honestly, with as frustrating as that whole experience was, and really the difficulty of the process itself, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. D and I made some incredible memories!

Continued…

Then the waiting came. D did all of her auditions either at Moonifieds or Unifieds with one on-campus audition (Illinois Wesleyan) while we were in the area for Unifieds and two video submissions (OCU and Oakland). In March, the rejections started rolling in and so did the doubt and disappointment, and the second-guessing. She was very excited about the acceptances she had in hand but some of her favorites redirected her and that was tough. By April, though, she had several more acceptances, one with close to a full ride, and was starting to “love the one you’re with”. I will say that we were happy that her hard work in high school was paying off in the number of scholarships she was given. We were truly blessed to be given what we were!

So we planned to visit a couple of schools in the beginning of April and a few more at Spring Break.

The school tours and visits were awesome! She loved every minute of meeting students and faculty, sitting in on classes and getting to know the area of the schools. Some even surprised her. In the end, she couldn’t decide between two…Nebraska Wesleyan and Ohio Northern. She knew she wanted a small school and both of those fit the bill. Her visit to NWU was such a treat! Thank you to @KaMaMom for all of your support during this time! She absolutely fell in LOVE with the faculty and the students. This is a program that should get more buzz here…top notch people!! Then we visited ONU. Small school in a small town for sure! D was under the weather during her visit and I was worried it would taint her opinion. She had a terrific day planned and enjoyed meeting the faculty and students. For the next week or so, she seemed set on NWU. We were ready to pay the deposit and celebrate! Then, at the last minute, she changed her mind. She spent some time thinking about the classes she would be taking…and the fact she could minor in dance and double major as well was a huge decision factor.

So…we are so happy and proud to announce D will be a Polar Bear at Ohio Northern University in the Fall!!!

Words cannot express the appreciation I have for all of the amazing parents (and kids) here on CC! So many people helped along the way, that I feel like this was very much a joint effort lol. To the countless moms/dads who gave me advice, answered questions and supported me on this journey: Thank you, thank you! I can’t wait to see what the next four years will bring us!

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Congrats @MTheaterMom ! We visited Ohio northern last summer. Legit the nicest people ever. School was a bit too small for my D but she liked everything about the school itself.

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Congrats @MTheaterMom! D has a friend at ONU who loves it!

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I think I’ve finally reached a decision. Will post my story later. It’s going to be so long so I apologize!!! LOL

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@KatMT I was just thinking off the top of my head I thought CNU and JMU were private schools so thats why I said their weren’t many. CNU I kind of took off my list (I forgot to mention) They offered me nothing in financial assistance.
@LBSMOM Thank you so much! Yes, I am already involved with work study and I am planning to apply to be an RA during the school year!

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@WhiteRaven1 – got it! JMU and CNU are both VA state schools. For and instate student, like you, tuition, room, and board at JMU is just over $20,000, at CNU tuition, room, and board is just over $24,000, VCU is also in that range. Are any of these (or other VA publics) within commuting distance from home? Did the aid from the private schools, like Shenadoah, bring the cost down below the instate publics?.. sometimes it does! I only ask because it may help posters continue to help with suggestions and encouragement.

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@MTheaterMom … so happy for you & your girl that she found her home!

Now you can by lots of Polar Bear swag!

:wink:

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@KatMT @WhiteRaven1 My daughter was accepted to JMU and the total cost is more like $26,000 not 20K. I think they included transportation and other miscellaneous costs, but it was basically the same as VTech. Even Mary Washington (not highly ranked) lists their total costs in that range. It’s crazy how expensive the state schools in VA are.

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@LeastComplicated I was only mentioning tuition, room, and board… not books, transportation, personal expenses, because those will be similar costs at all schools, can be managed a bit by choices made by the student, and are not billed directly by the college.

However, the billable costs will be slightly higher depending on the fees billed by the school (which vary from school to school), and it is also important to see how many credits the full-time tuition covers… this will also vary from school to school, some up to 15 credits, some up to 18 credits, some up to 21 credits, etc…

VA state schools are less expensive for in-state students than some other states, and more expensive than others. I wish VA had a program like HOPE in GA, Bright Futures in FL, etc… :frowning:

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Want to chime in that we thought NW was a fantastic program.NW has a great theater and academic program.

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As I read through the hard fought, hard won entries of parents and their children that have been through the process this year, I wanted to contribute our son’s story. But first, and most importantly, I am amazed and so impressed by each and every unique commentary. What different experiences we have had and yet, why not? Every child is different even though most would say from the outside that they are pursuing a common goal. To me, this exemplifies the beauty of theatre, music, acting, and dance. So what struck me was the difference in each child and really, gives me hope and helps me look forward to the future of the arts as our children train, learn and then impact the world with their talents.

Our funny not so funny story. We went to Unifieds in Chicago and as much of a germaphobe that I am, took great advice from these boards and stocked everything from a steamer to emergen C to an amazing amount of Clorox wipes. Yes, I got sick. I was sick the entire week. Okay good; our singer was fine. And that was a win! At one point security at Palmer House asked my husband and son if I was ok as I was leaned back on a sofa, so unwell that I could not keep my head up. Now it’s funny.

The day before we left one of our favorite schools cancelled their auditions due to an unavoidable emergency. This was not a good day. Frantic calls and arrangements were made, the audition was rescheduled and all was well.*

But! The good things were numerous! Lessons learned about auditions, people well met. Amazing professors at different schools and unique and talented kids. Some great food, it’s Chicago! All auditions went well and we made it home to await decisions.

*Ultimately our child made it into a private university with full tuition due to academics and a place in their awesome MT class. We could not be more proud, he is in a fantastic program and could not be happier. I have to say, this forum has always said to trust the process and that your child will land where they should. This could not be more true for us. So if anyone is reading this and totally stressing the way I definitely did the last two years; you cannot help but feel that way. But take a moment and believe that it will all work out. You and your child are doing your best, keep choosing those songs, monologues and outfits,make your book and most of all enjoy the ride. But most importantly, try to get the biggest room at Palmer House possible!

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@Sarajanine - Congrats! Which school?

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@CentralOHmomof4 Thank you so much for sharing your story, including your moments of frustration! I am gearing up for a long year with my D. applying for BFA this year and am eagerly reading all the helpful posts here. Best Wishes for your D at Molloy/Cap21. Sounds fabulous!

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You’re welcome, @FourStars !! I didn’t hold back, because I found the “warts and all” posts, DMs and comments I received/read on here to be the most helpful as we worked with D through this process, so I figured I’d pay it forward. She’s over-the-moon happy (and excited, and nervous) for a move to NY. Plus the all-new Manhattan Center CAP21 will call home starting this year is going to be an amazing place to learn. Hang in there – what a difference a year makes. Break a leg to your D!!!

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Hi @CentralOHmomof4 - so glad to hear about your D’s excitement! Can you fill me in on the current Cap21 program?

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Sure! I’m not sure I’ll do it justice but I’ll give it a whirl! Here’s what we like about it: Molloy is a small, super friendly, liberal arts college in a very safe suburb on Long Island, which the theatre arts BFAs attend 3 days a week as freshmen. Then two days a week they head all day to the CAP21 conservatory in Manhattan, in the financial district. They all ride the LIRR train together (which they reach through a frequent school shuttle to the train station), and ride the subway together, so they aren’t wandering the city alone. While at Molloy, they take dance, private voice lessons (every week, all 8 semesters), and about one GE class per semester. This is a true BFA program. CAP21 is a musical theatre conservatory with a strong acting focus, and the faculty are currently active in the industry. Sophomore - senior year it flips to 3 days at CAP, 2 at Molloy. Freshman year they focus on training, and then sophomore through senior each semester has a focus that culminates to performances, which are integrated into the program. Last semester of senior year includes a practicum with current casting agents and directors who give the kids notes as they prepare for senior showcase. According to the department chair, Henry Fonte, the showcase is one of the best attended in the industry because the folks who have been working with the kids are invested in their progress. It’s a big class this year - 34 students, which will be divided into two cohorts for classes. The faculty is impressive - for example their leadership: Fonte is from Miami, and before that Hartt, and dance is chaired by Spence Ford, who built the Penn State dance program from the ground up, and acting is chaired by Lawrence Arancio, who has a truly impressive acting bio, taught at HB studio and Columbia College of Chicago (and, if I may fangirl for a moment, is married to THE Ann Dowd!!). Voice and music is chaired by Heather Petruzelli, who has been with CAP21 since their NYU-Tisch days, taught at AMDA and NYU, and co-founded the opera company of Astoria. The list goes on, and we really feel like D has snagged an amazing gem and will get the best possible combo of training, location, and faculty. Message me if you want to chat - or head over to the Molloy/CAP21 thread where there are more folks who know a lot more about the program!

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@beachymom - My D is a proud member of Class One - the first cohort to enter the program in 2014 - and I’m the one who started the Molloy/CAP 21 thread (BFA at Molloy College/CAP21), where I have tried to keep everyone informed of what D and her cohort are up to. I must say, @CentralOHmomof4 did a great job describing this program; it truly is a gem. A few things to add: there is dorm space for freshmen and sophomores only; after that, it’s off-campus…although I assume if your child becomes an RA, he or she would be staying in the dorms. Off-campus is NOT a bad thing, far from it! My D and her pals found a great place in Ridgewood, Queens…a safe neighborhood. They drive to campus Mondays and Wednesdays and take the subway to CAP 21 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays - yes, Saturdays. That’s when rehearsals are for the mainstage show the senior class is presenting in October, and in junior year, that’s when they rehearse for the Projects (Composer, Pop/Rock, etc. - these are the performances that integrate everything they’re learning). This is a very rigorous program. D knows she is getting great training, and I have seen first-hand her growth as an artist and as a strong, resilient woman.

The program has undergone some major changes since D got there 3 years ago, and all of them have been for the better - MUCH better! Henry Forte has made this program world-class, and Molloy took 100% control of the program last year and poured money and resources into it. The result is, IMHO, the best deal in the MT world - high-caliber NYC-based training at a price considerably lower than the competition.

As if this weren’t enough, right there on campus is the beautiful Madison Theatre - a state-of-the-art venue that puts on shows independent of the program. Upperclassmen are allowed to audition for some of these shows. The kids get paid a little, and they get to meet and work with professionals. It’s a great opportunity for the kids to perform and add to their resumes.

I sure hope you give us a look - you won’t be sorry!

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@CentralOHmomof4 and @EastchesterMom - thanks for the informative and thoughtful posts! Sounds exciting and innovative. I’m heading over to check out the program’s specific thread now.