@tatteredandfriendly congrats, we are local to molloy cap 21 on long island and happy to answer any questions about the commute into the city/lirr,subways etc…but @EastchesterMom & @speezagmom will be much better resources about the program itself
@CaMom13 I love “amiably rumpled” 
Well, I can’t say it’s a good look @tatteredandfriendly - but it definitely comes naturally to me. 
Great story and final decision @tatteredandfriendly ! It’s so true how this crazy process binds us all from different backgrounds, appearances and journeys through life. Congratulations on your journey and finding the perfect fit!
@tatteredandfriendly Congratulations!
@tatteredandfriendly Congratulations! Loved reading your story!
@tatteredandfriendly - congratulations again and a “warmandfriendly” welcome to the Molloy/CAP21 Family! Whoever told you that this wasn’t a great school is out of his or her mind…but you already know that!
Checked in for the first time so catching up on all these great stories! Congrats to all!
@Kristiern1 my d is finishing up her Freshman year at Ball State and has had an amazing (and crazy busy) year! Their freshman showcase is April 28th - It’s been a long dry spell after seeing her in so many shows in high school so we can’t wait! If you have any questions just message me!
Finally finished 14 pages… and what the heck? I live in Ohio and non-theatre people here have no idea that it has become theatre central - even I can’t believe how many of your kids are coming to the plethora of schools here. Of course my d went to Indiana LOL what can I do?
@MTdreamz, Thanks! I think we are driving up to see the Freshman Showcase. My son has been talking to some of the students and he mentioned going!
@tatteredandfriendly Congratulations! And welcome to the Molloy/CAP21 family!
Okay - here goes! I considered not doing this because of our final outcome, but I think it’s important to know that this happens and it is part of the process as well!
Programs Applied to: Carnegie Mellon, Shenandoah, Otterbein, Univ of AZ, Belmont, Cincinnati, Univ of Alabama (main campus), TX State, Ball State, Elon, James Madison Univ, Manhattan School of Music, Anderson Univ (in-state “safety”), Azusa Pacific (video submission), Univ of Hartford Did a walk in for Univ of Utah in Chicago
Prescreens: Passed: CMU, Shenandoah, Otterbein, Alabama Did not pass: Elon, TX State
Accepted to: Anderson, Univ of Alabama, Belmont, Univ of AZ, Azusa Pacifc, Manhattan School of Music
Rejected from: Hartt, CCM
Wait-listed at: CMU, Shenandoah, Otterbein, James Madison, Univ of Utah
Redirected to the Ball State BA Theatre Creation Option
Coach: MTCA alacarte for song coaching
Summer Programs: Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts Shakespeare Short Course in London
Background
My daughter has had a dream of pursuing musical theatre since she was in the 8th grade. She gave up a traditional high school experience after being accepted to a residential performing arts high school for her junior and senior year. College has been a huge focus for her, and we worked really hard on perfecting her list of schools to reflect what was important to her and where she felt she would thrive. With her list of 15 schools that she was unwilling to budge on, we moved forward even though I was nervous it wasn’t enough. After prescreens, we were down to 13.
Fall auditions began, and her first audition was at our local university, that while it is an audition based program, she was using it as her safety as we had a good feeling she would get in (she did). The next audition was at Belmont, and she loved the school. It was a rainy day on campus, but even through the rain she knew it was a great option for her. The campus is beautiful, the people were awesome, and the day itself was extremely well organized. Two weeks later she was at Univ of Alabama for her final fall audition. All three auditions resulted in acceptances, and she was sitting pretty going in to Christmas break.
Carnegie (which had always been the dream) was first up in January, and it was a great trip for us. She loved them. Then, a week prior to Unifieds we found out she had a pretty serious health issue. Her high school takes the students to Chicago, so it was a huge decision for me to let her still go without me. She went to Chicago operating at about 60% of normal capacity, but she fell in love with an audition experience - Univ of AZ. She was so impressed with the way they took personal time to get to know her and to work with her monologue. It was by far her favorite audition experience out of the whole year. The rest of the auditions she didn’t really feel great about, although she loved her walk in experience for Utah.
After decisions finished rolling in (can you say wait list queen?!?), she had it narrowed down to Univ of AZ, Belmont, and Manhattan School of Music. MSM came off when she realized she didn’t want a conservatory because she felt she had already given up a normal high school experience when she moved in to her performing arts school and she didn’t want to miss out on a typical college experience as well. The visit to Belmont went great. The people are amazing, and their spring show was awesome. I expected her to have some clarity after the visit, but she wasn’t really sure yet. We assumed she was holding out on Arizona. We flew out to Arizona, and she absolutely loved the campus and the people. Hank Stratton is an amazing guy, and my husband and I thought for sure this was where she would want to go. However, she still wasn’t sold. Something was wrong.
On the way home from the airport, she told us that she had taken a career quiz. It said she should be a broadcast journalist. She said she couldn’t stop thinking about it, and she was beginning to think that the reason she wasn’t having her “OMG moment” everyone kept talking about having is that she had lost her passion for MT. (She had been questioning it a few times during the year, but she assumed it was a normal part of the process) At first my husband was irritated because of all the time, travel, and expenses, but we both quickly realized that it is much better for her to come to this realization now versus spending an enormous amount of money on a year of college just for her to transfer later. We told her to think about it, but to follow her heart and we would support her no matter what her decision turned out to be. Two nights later, she created a pro/con list of each, and it was overwhelmingly clear for her as to what she should do.
Final Decision
University of Alabama majoring in News Media
You know what? I’m absolutely over-the-moon happy for her. This was an absolutely crazy year. The travel, the time spent on these boards, the stress…I wouldn’t change it. I think all of this was necessary for her to figure out what her true passion is. After she made the decision, I asked if she wanted to wait a few days to make sure it was the right one, and she said nope - the decision is made and I’m so happy. She notified all of her schools last night, and I paid the enrollment deposit this morning. One of the great things about this board is the way that we all support our children who just want to chase their dreams…even when they change. And the great thing about theatre is that she can always take part in community theatre if she wants to. Her amazing talent isn’t going anywhere!
@carriemc95 I’m glad you shared that story. It’s important to hear. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the “MT or Bust” mindset when reading these threads. There’s a whole world out there…congrats to your D for finding a path she’s happy with!!
@carriemc95 - congratulations to your daughter who has the strength to know herself! And to you and your H who supported her in discovery! A beautiful story. May she continue to grow and prosper as she travels HER road. Sounds like she is brilliantly prepared for whatever comes her way.
Congratulations @carriemc95 !! What an awesome story - thank you so much for sharing your Ds journey of self-discovery!! And kudos to you for supporting her no matter what!! <3
@carriemc95, thanks so much for sharing your story. Sounds like she landed in the perfect place!
@carriemc95, congratulations to your D on finding her perfect fit! It’s wonderful that she figured this out BEFORE enrolling in an MT program, and also wonderful that one of her MT acceptances was a school that she loves but she can major in broadcast journalism! And yay to you for being a supportive parent who’s letting her find her own path!
Wonderful story @carriemc95 , so glad you took the time to post it. A change in career objective does happen eventually for many MTers and it’s great that she recognized it early and you honored her decision. She will do great in broadcast journalism and, as you said, her talent isn’t going anywhere
@actorparent1 it really worked out very well! Her biggest scholarship was to Alabama, and it wasn’t tied to theatre, so she can still use it while pursuing this path. It all worked out in the end just like all the previous parents promised us, it’s just not doing what we expected. And that is totally okay!
@carriemc95 - someday your D will be anchoring the 11:00 news on a major network…her talent will come in handy for that!