The advantages of auditioning early action in December are 1) at that point, you’re only competing against the other people who auditioned on that one particular date, not everyone who auditions for the entire audition season, and 2) you find out if you were accepted within a few weeks. So if you get in, you know early and youhave one solid acceptance in your pocket before the main audition season starts. If you audition at one of the later dates, then you have to wait till February or March to find out if you got in.