<p>although my D loved CMU from her intital visit(sophmore year and it helped the current lead in Newsies was her tour guide) She always knew it was a lottery school but as time went on in her senior year and she did more and more research if she were being totally honest with herself - it did not have some of her requirements. </p>
<p>Statistically you can not argue that many of their alums do great - however I believe they want a more polished performer and they appear to want a very commercial look. I do believe they have great training and not saying if my D had won the lottery I am sure she would have wanted to go there but if she really checked her list of what she wanted out of a program they did not match. Her main problem with them was not having the opportunity to perform often and not getting to audition for 2 years(yes I know they have student directed shows), but for her the idea of waiting that long and not getting to be in many shows was not what she felt she needed. </p>
<p>We were thankful she did have choices and they may not have been in the “top schools” or at her reaches, however the school she picked is a “lesser known” program but they do a many shows and she is already in a show and working with guest choreographers in the biz.</p>
<p>The moral of this story I guess is to not discount any program. Really decide what you want out of a program, take the name out of it (unless that is what you really want), sit in on classes and see if it feels like home. You can be in the “best” program and not get much out of it and in a “lesser” program and thrive. Much of it is what you make of it and if you are open to the experience, enjoy it and learn. As you continue in your growth you will always be evloving and training. </p>
<p>During the process it is easy to get caught up in they liked me, the didn’t like me, why didn’t they pick me, unless we are in the room we will never know. I know it is very hard when your D or S come out of an audtion knowing they nailed it, feeling like they really liked them and then they get rejected…that is the hardest part to get past because it seems personal, but once they get to their school in the fall and start taking classes and immerse themselves in the department it really does become a distant memory.</p>