<p>Hi xoemmie- Christie2 did a great job summarizing a lot of what my D also experienced. </p>
<p>I would agree that it is not wise to count on walk-ins a Unifieds, as there is no guarantee that any will be available. That being said, my D did do a couple of walk-ins at the LA Unifieds, and lo and behold is now attending one of those schools. She had not really considered that program when she put together her original list of schools and applied, as she just wasn’t familiar with it. Before the auditions, she started hearing some good things about the program and was lamenting that she had not applied. They did end up fitting her in for a walk-in and she was instantly impressed with what they had to offer, and the interest they took in her. Even though her original 1st choice that she had applied to in the regular manner did offer her a spot, she ended up going with the walk-in, and is very happy with her decision. So while I would not count on any walk-ins, I certainly encourage it if there are openings and you have time. For the two walk-ins she did, applying after the fact was not an issue.</p>
<p>While it would have been nice to visit the various programs prior to auditioning, we were not able to do that. My D also did all of her auditions at the Unifieds (except UCLA as it is local to us and doesn’t attend Unifieds). It worked out very well for her on both counts, and she easily fit all of her auditions into the weekend. She loved the energy of the Unifieds and had a great time. The risk is that if she had been sick that week, it could have really ruined her auditions. She waited until she had her acceptances, and then visited the schools she was still considering. It was kind of nice in that by that time, the programs knew who she was and she got a lot of personal one-on-one attention during her visits. Of course if you are able to visit programs ahead of time, you might be able to narrow down your choices a bit before going through the audition process. </p>
<p>It is a good idea to try to research scholarships for the various programs if that is important to you! You can at least find out if particular programs have any specific restrictions such as Christie2 mentioned. However, some of the schools which were purported on CC to offer minimal scholarships surprised us, so nothing is set in concrete!</p>
<p>I too feel that 22 schools is way too many; the application fees alone start really adding up. I woud recommend a minimum of 8 schools, but the 12 to 14 that Christie 2 recommended is probably a good number! Good luck!</p>