@NYart15 and @lithpool thanks so much! I feel very fortunate to have a program that fit my D so well, and lucky to have found so much great help here on cc!
Before I begin…sorry for the length. I love final decision stories and hope I can help someone else! Also, apologies I am not a better writer!
Programs Applied to: Initial list included: Baldwin Wallace (MT and VP), Belmont (MT and VP), Central Oklahoma, Florida Southern (MT and VP), Hartt School, Molloy College/Cap 21, Ohio Northern Univ, Ouachita Baptist Univ, Samford Univ After Walk-ins at Chicago Unifieds: Lynn, Nazareth, UAB, University of Illinois UC (BM Lyric Theatre)
Prescreens: Otterbein and Shenadoah, passed neither, but not surprised given the circumstances as she submitted last minute.
Artistically accepted to: (BFA/BM MT): Ouachita Baptist University, Lynn, Molloy College/Cap 21 (from waitlist). Redirected to BFA Theatre for Youth or B.A. in Music at Samford, B.A. at UCO, FSC, ONU, UAB
Artistically rejected from: All others
Wait-listed at: Nazareth and initially Molloy College
Coach: MCA Chelsea Diehl and staff…cannot say enough about them and their support. My D grew leaps and bounds in a few lessons, but mostly got the mental support she needed during this time!
Summer Programs: Texas State Nexus 2018, Baldwin Wallace Conservatory Summer Institute 2018
D has loved musical theatre since she came out of Seussical at age three singing all the songs. I don’t think of her as the typical theatre kid as she is introverted and on the quiet side. But she does come alive when she is performing! She begged to take a class in first grade and as she hid behind me I was like…ummm are you sure??? But after that first class she begged for voice lessons and from then on much of her extracurricular life revolved around theatre. As a member of the program’s performance ensemble she was able to make multiple trips to the Junior Theatre Festival, two trips to New York to workshop new musicals, and even received a part as a munchkin in the local shows of the Wizard of Oz National Tour. She is definitely a singer first and although active in choir from 5th grade on, didn’t really have formal dance or acting classes outside of summer camps until high school. She attends a non PA public high school with a strong fine arts department. She started expressing interest in performing arts as a career in late middle school. But due in part to her shyness and in part to an anxiety disorder her Dad and I questioned (mostly to ourselves) if she had the confidence and drive to be successful. But after attending Nexus in 2017 she was convinced. We received a lot of help, advice, and support from those who have gone before us both in our town and on CC and for that I am truly grateful!
D began putting her list of schools together junior year. Based on the advice of others, we had her first make a list of things she wanted from a college in general and criteria she wanted from an MT program to use in narrowing down options. Initially, she was going to do a mix of MT and Vocal Performance auditions, but in the end she cut out many of the VP auditions. We also visited several different types of schools during Spring Break and that helped her finalize her desires as well as realize some thing she didn’t want. She was even able to sit in on classes at a few that were not on Spring Break. Another helpful tool for D was the blind curriculum comparison at the beginning to help her whittle her list down. Over the summer she prepared her material and attended DSM’s Audition Prep Workshop where she got additional , but conflicting feedback. She felt that workshop was very worthwhile, but the mixed feedback left her a bit confused. This led us to approach Chelsea Diehl for some feedback. It was really late in the game and in hindsight I wish we had done things sooner. But she helped my D get some great monologues that really fit her personality and the MCA team helped her prep them as well as work on her acting the song. Acting is definitely my D’s weakest of the three disciplines.
Most applications were submitted in August because she wanted to get them done before school started. I had her jump on getting auditions scheduled early both to avoid getting shut out at BW and so I could get all the travel arranged around her busy senior year schedule. In November just as D had her pre-screens (FINALLY) scheduled to film, one of her dear friends and mentors died in a unusual accident. It really crushed my D and sidelined her filming. Unfortunately, she happened to have her first audition scheduled the very next weekend at Samford and decided to push through since we could not reschedule due to our already tight schedule. Samford was picked as a first audition because it was lower on her list and was a smaller program. What she didn’t expect was to totally and completely fall in love with the school, the professors, and their curriculum. Despite a less than stellar audition from circumstances, followed by a redirect to a BFA Theatre for Youth, the school moved to the top of her list and stayed so until almost the end.
Right after Thanksgiving (when we finally got some pre-screens thrown together) we found out that my father was dying from cancer. It was only two weeks from diagnosis to his passing. So thankful he didn’t suffer and that we had Thanksgiving with him just prior to his getting sick. But here we were right before Christmas planning a funeral. My D had not recovered from her friend’s death and was really close with her Granddaddy so it was a crushing blow. She got sick during back to back tech weeks for two different performances, tanked her audition for the Spring musical, and she started questioning life. We started putting forth the idea of a gap year so she could regroup, breathe, and be more mentally prepared for auditions. I thought she was headed that way when right around New Year’s she announced that she wanted to go through with auditions. After some rest, she felt motivated and thought she would be happy with Samford Theatre for Youth if she didn’t get in elsewhere. So we plugged ahead. I will admit I wasn’t sure it was the right decision and Chelsea tried to encourage her to reconsider the gap year, but ultimately the entire process needed to be my D’s decision.
January she auditioned at Belmont. To my utter shock she wasn’t feeling it there and said she wouldn’t attend even if she was accepted. Just goes to show everyone’s fit is different! I know other kids who chose to go there even when they didn’t get in the BFA because they loved it so much! February was the bulk of auditions. She had Chicago Unifieds which she thoroughly enjoyed. She only had three auditions scheduled, but added 6 walk ins of which she applied to 4. I do think her nerves were present the first day. But I saw her confidence grow with each audition. We drove from Chicago to Baldwin Wallace. She truly felt at home there last summer and I saw her happier than she had been in months although the numbers made me know it was a longshot! The following weekend D went by herself to Florida Southern. She had the time of her life on that trip. She spent the first night with a friend in Orlando and then stayed on campus during the weekend. She loved everything about that school and couldn’t stop talking for weeks. She finished up with her auditions in March at UCO and Ouachita Baptist.
(to be continued)
Part 2
Somewhere before the last two auditions the no’s started rolling in. D handled almost all of them in stride. I think losing loved ones so close together had put things in perspective and she believed she would end up where she belonged. Baldwin Wallace crushed her a bit because it felt like home and she had high hopes for her VP audition. She was a little disappointed with the UIUC rejection because she really loved that audition. However, it was her first Unified audition and I think the nerves were at play. Within an hour of that rejection, she received a waitlist offer from Molloy which excited her. It wasn’t a no! Then a few days later she got a waitlist notification from Nazareth. She received her first BFA acceptance at Ouachita Baptist in March. A year ago when we visited she fell in love with this small Christian school and the professors and could really see herself happy there. But after visiting other campuses she sadly didn’t get the same vibe during her audition visit. But still she kept it on her list for a bit since it was an artistic acceptance. Central Oklahoma held her for decision until all auditions were complete. She was very hopeful. She had a great return visit there (after a shadow day junior year) and really connected with the students and professors. She had kept in contact with Dr. White and loved all the program had to offer. But in the end she received a no although he softened it with a personal email really encouraging her to attend with some other related degrees and to re-audition next year. He said that they had an enormous number of applicants this year compared to previous years. After lots of thought D decided that while she loved the program and professors, the campus itself didn’t check off most of her boxes and she let Dr. White know she would not be attending.
So with all of her decisions in, (except Lynn which notified her of acceptance 5 days before decision day…if she had heard sooner it might have been a contender) she had one BFA acceptance and quite a few redirects. Any mention of a possible gap year by anyone at this point was responded to by her with “Zip it!” In early April, she had her decision narrowed down to the BFA at Ouachita, or B.A. double majors in music/theatre at Samford or Florida Southern. After all the curriculum examination, several phone calls with questions, and pro/con lists she decided that her best fit was Samford. They were really going to work with her to craft the curriculum she wanted and to prepare her to either reaudition for MT or audition for Voice Performance next year. The faculty truly love their students and there are a ton of performance opportunities for all majors.
But just when we think we know where she is going mid April she came off the waitlist at Molloy! She was over the moon excited although she had never visited the school. I had read so much about the school and program during her junior year and through CC was able to connect my D with current students last summer to gain enough knowledge to know it was a fit on paper and she added it to her list. It was easily one of her top 3 favorite auditions. But we hesitated to have her visit while waitlisted for fear she would fall in love more and get crushed. So when she came off in mid April we scrambled to get her there to visit. Her Dad and I were a little worried about finances knowing that we would have to purchase the monthly train tickets for travel, but we were hopeful with what we had read about their good financial aid. D met her grandparents in New York and had the time of her life. I think from the time she arrived at the Manhattan Centre to watch the sophomore showcase she was totally hooked. And what was it that sold her? It was 100% the people-both faculty and students. She felt like it was a family and she wanted to be a member! When we received her financial package we knew it might be a stretch, but then some things fell in place and we truly felt like it was meant to be! She feels like she completely found her home and is thrilled to be pursuing a BFA at a school that will both support and challenge her!
Final Decision: Molloy College/Cap 21!
Thanks so much to @waitingforlife @EastchesterMom @CentralOHmomof4 @speezagmom and others on the Molloy thread for all the information, questions they answered and just for cheering us on!
@MTSongbirdMom Thank you so much for sharing your difficult journey. So happy your D persevered and found her place! Congratulations!!
@MTSongbirdMom - Congratulations to your D so glad she was able to make it to NY for the visit and that it made all the difference!
@MTSongbirdMom so sorry your D (and your family) had to go through so much but I am so glad she found her place and I am sure she will shine there!
Congratulations @MTSongbirdMom and boy, that was a rough year. It really does put things in perspective. Your D has grit for sure! Congratulations also to all the others who have posted in the last few days! I’m just catching up but really enjoy reading all the great stories and learning about everyone’s unique journey!
@MTSongbirdMom - loved reading your story and I LOL’d at “Zip It”. Thank you for sharing and a huge congratulations to your D!
@MTSongbirdMom - what a tribute to your D’s guts and perseverance! I know first-hand that she won the brass ring! Break legs at Molloy/ CAP21, and for the upteenth time: welcome to the family!
Congratulations @MTSongbirdMom ! So excited for you and your D!
Yay!! Congrats @MTSongbirdMom . So glad your story had a happy ending…
@MTSongbirdMom so happy for you and your D! She showed a lot of grit and your support through it all is inspiring! Way to go!!
@MTSongbirdMom Congratulations to you and your daughter. So glad she found where she belongs!
Congratulations @sladdymtmom and @MTSongbirdMom!
So excited for your D, @MTSongbirdMom ! congrats!!
@MTSongbirdMom congrats, what a great story…& you are a great writer 
Thanks everyone! It truly is great to be on the other side! It was a rough journey, but what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger!
@sladdymtmom Congrats to your D as well for finding her home for the next four years!
So happy for you and your D @MTSongbirdMom !!! I know she will love Molloy/CAP21!! And again, welcome to the family!!! ?
Here goes…
I’m just glad this process is finally over! Many things I would do differently if we could redo, but so happy we have a decision and thanks all for the comments/advice since Feb (late to CC, I KNOW!!!)
MT Programs Applied to: UMich (MT & VP), Western MI (MT & Acting), Millikin, Elon, Penn State, CCM, BW, Unv of UT, BYU, Unv of OK, BoCo,
Added video auditions in March: Studio School of LA, Ohio Northern, UArts, Belmont, Missouri State
Prescreens: Passed all that required them UMich (MT), Millikin, Elon, Penn St, BYU, Unv OK, BoCo
Accepted Artistically to: Western MI (Acting), Millikin, Ohio Northern, Belmont, Studio School, UArts,
Rejected from: UMich (MT), Elon, Penn State, CCM, BYU, BoCo
Wait-listed at: UMich (VP), Western MI (MT), Unv of UT, Unv of OK, Missouri State
Accepted from WL: ALL except we didn’t wait for UMich or Missouri
Withdrew: BW
Coach: none
Summer Programs: Mpulse (MT) 2018, Broadway Dreams Foundation 2017 MT (Toronto) and acting intensive (Philly), BDF MT intensive 2016 (Charlotte)
Background: I enrolled D in a musical theatre dance class when she was about 6 along with her other tap/jazz/ballet class, just for fun. Had no idea she could even sing until the year-end recital where she was cast as Dainty June and belted out the song from Gypsy. So she continued to take the class for a couple years and kept getting the lead vocal parts in the recitals. Then a friend said the local children’s theater was doing Annie and suggested we have her audition. She got the lead and from then on she was hooked. Every place she auditioned, she got the lead. It was crazy.
Then when she was in 5th grade we started her in a pop/rock band with her older sister and another sister duo. Hubby taught them guitar and I worked with them on harmonies. They played cover songs and even wrote originals. They played all over at festivals, fundraisers and competitions. This continued until her older sister graduated in 2017 and left for the Young Americans College of the Performing Arts in CA. Because D was so busy with gigs and musicals, it left little time for dance. She had spotty dance here and there (a BIG regret!).
As a sophomore, she auditioned and was put in the highest choir in the school (non PA school, but very good vocal and band program). She had vocal lessons on and off since she was about 11, but we finally found a phenomenal voice teacher summer before junior year. That’s when she started studying classical music and we learned she could really sing it (always thought she was a belter)! She has since won various competitions and received recognition as a mezzo.
Her voice teacher encouraged her to audition for voice performance programs, but it wasn’t her passion, so she only did one (UMich). I will say we made a mistake scheduling her UMich audition first (MT and VP were on the same day). If we had put it later, she might’ve done better! We let this WL go as it wasn’t her first choice. And note to anyone interested in BW for next year…make sure to contact them as soon as you get the scheduling email bc D got it at school and read it like 5 hrs later…too late. She was on the WL (#17) for an audition! When I called, they said they never got that far down the list and they were right: she never came off the WL to even audition! We eventually withdrew that app.
She was accepted to Millikin right off (via her pre-screens bc she was BDF alumni). But going into March, we still had only the one acceptance and began to get nervous. That’s when we decided to video audition to 5 more schools. PEOPLE, I"M HERE TO TELL YOU…IT’S POSSIBLE TO GET ADMITTED VIA VIDEO AUDITION! She was admitted to 4 of the 5 and WL at the 5th!
We knocked out 5 schools at LA Unifieds (CCM, BoCo, Unv of OK, Unv UT, Penn State), did UMich, Western MI, Elon and BYU on campus. Her favorite audition by far was Unv of OK at LA Unifieds. Director knew her by name when she walked up. Dance call was small and on a real dance floor (a rarity at unifieds) and they spent probably 25 minutes with her during her voice/monologue audition. She felt so good about that audition, Unv of UT and Western MI as well. The nice thing about Western is the flexibility of the program. She was accepted first to their BFA acting and WL for MT and then a few days later came off the MT WL so she was really torn. At that point, Western MI was her favorite yes. Middle of April she came of the WL at Unv of OK (WOW!) and Unv of UT. We quickly flew down to OK and she fell in love (like I knew she would). It really was a formality. She said to me right there…“why can’t I just say yes now?” I made her wait and think about it for a few days.
Final Decision
D is over the moon excited to be a Boomer Sooner BFA MT 2023! I’m so glad this journey is over…only to find out just last week that my son who’s a junior in high school wants to audition for BFA Acting programs next year! Oi vey! At least I know what to do now lol! Guess I’ll be switching over to the acting forum! 
Thanks, everyone!
@mommyMT Congratulations!!