<p>Jane, Good luck in that Juilliard audition. You can’t get accepted if you don’t apply and audition…and you never know what special talent they will be looking for. Now that it’s done…I think you did the right thing!!!</p>
<p>If you get into Juilliard go, but feel bad about turning down the Ed. This is a truely exceptional opportuity.</p>
<p>Break a leg, Jane! (You’ll do better at your audition knowing you’ve done the right thing, too!) Let us know how it goes.</p>
<p>Soozie, I did lurk in the MT forum, but discovered CC way to late to help in my son’s process which was a disaster in many ways. I wish I had found the forum sooner, as it is the most comprehensive source of MT college material I have seen anywhere. My son’s story does not belong on this forum for several years to come for all the toes he stepped on, and disasters that are not funny yet. I was not a supportive MT mom, and hoped through the whole process that he would end up in a BA program or one of the acting programs if he went BFA. He is not at a school I wanted and the process was not pleasant. A support group would have been nice. Some day I’ll share the story with you off the boards. But, yes, he is MT and he is loose in NYC every summer and vacation, performing and cavorting. He has been active in many theatre groups so I know a lot of kids going through this. THis is the area for it, where we live. IT is not unusual for kids to apply to different types of programs at all, and the OP is typical of the kids here. But not that many kids have the nerve to go for Juilliard that I know. And it is considered by many to be nervy to go the audition route because of what you need to do to travel that journey, as you well know. But there have been some surprises, as we do know a handful of kids over the last 6 years who have gotten in, and there are some that were not expected. It just takes a really good audition experience there, though they are very thorough. Someone who can really let go .Some of the ones we knew who made it were not top kids from their resumes and experiences. There is a luck component in there, and who knows what talent is lying latent in some of these kids? So if OP feels she wants to give it a whirl, she should. It just might happen. And there are kids who turn down Juilliard for a “real” university setting after getting in. Have seen that too. HPY is quite a draw around here, and I don’t know too many kid who get an accept from them who do not go there. </p>
<p>Believe me, I know the rules of the schools as to the combos to apply as I used them as safeties of sorts if he did not get into specific programs. For the most part, you have it down, but things sometimes do not go exactly by the rules. I do not recommend anyone assuming that, however. A reason why I think Jane should do the right thing regarding the ED situation she is currently facing. My son broke a number of rules, and the fall out was horrorific, though all ended well. It could have ended badly. </p>
<p>As to contributing to the MT forum, it overwhelms me, and I can’t believe we went through all of that. I saw so many talented kids, and kids who were big local talents that were overwhelmed. Around here, you kind of know if you are audition material because of the relationships here to NYC in terms of programs and instructors. Most of the kids we know who auditioned got into programs, not all of them, and some turned down some very hot programs to go to HPY and co. My son has several friends at Michigan and CMU. Many of the kids applied to more than one alternative at those schools, as did my son. He applied for 4 options at Michigan alone, and 3 at CMU (one automatic as you noted). </p>
<p>Brprepn, believe me, it is not so simple to “turn down” ED. She should change the ED to RD or could lose it all, if she gets it all which would hurt big time. I agree that the audition is an exceptional opportunity, though one anyone can have. Few do follow through which makes it an unusual experience. </p>
<p>Chedva, I am with you.</p>
<p>cpt, only share what you wish of course. I had no idea all this time that you had a kid in MT and so that is cool. It is not like I know lots of locals who do this and so networking with others is always great (can be off forum too). My daughter had many friends in this field from out of state. In fact, she is visiting several in Florida at the moment as I write. It sounds like you have been through a lot with your son’s process. It is a pretty daunting one that is way more involved than regular college admissions (and I already thought that was daunting enough with my first kid!). BFA admissions has way more to it and is also tougher odds than the most elite regular college admissions. </p>
<p>My D did not audition at Juilliard as she truly only wanted a MT program which is not what Juilliard offers. She also preferred a conservatory approach within a university (she likes studying academics too), though made one exception by auditioning for BOCO. Unlike your son, she only wanted BFA programs. But again, she has several BFA level type friends who wanted BA schools and I understand their choices as well. My D does have friends at most of the well known BFA in MT programs and thus our kids’ circles of friends likely overlap. The MT world is not that big (though it seems big come casting auditions, lol). Perhaps their paths will overlap down the line. After all, my D is also in NYC. </p>
<p>You obviously live where there are a lot of kids going for this field and also various resources and training opportunities. That is very unlike where my kid grew up. However, several from our region/state have been successful with the BFA admissions process, so this is possible no matter where you come from. </p>
<p>Anyway, I’m glad to see that the OP, Jane, decided to switch from ED2 to RD because that leaves her options open and that is exactly what she seemed to want. That is why my kids did not do ED. So, good luck Jane with all your schools. </p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>Btw, cptofthehouse, while your son has been through the admissions process, you still may enjoy the MT Forum because there are several participants with kids currently attending MT programs, well past the admissions process.</p>
<p>Again, I don’t know musical theater, but I don’t consider it nervy to audition for Juilliard necessarily. Some kids will audition who really have no chance whatsoever, because they have never gotten an honest appraisal of their talent. In other areas of Juillard, one won’t even be invited for an audition if they don’t pass the prescreening CD test. </p>
<p>It actually seems less nervy to audition in an open audition than auditioning after having passed the prescreening (where at least a candidate knows he/she is in the running). I can only use American Idol as an example of the “talent” that is seen in open auditions. </p>
<p>For college auditions, one hopes it is more self-selecting, but I have heard stories of people hearing kids at audiitons who are simply way out of their league. This is why I always think it is really important for MT, theater, or music kids to have an independent appraisal of their level of play or talent, to see if they are even competitive for these programs. I would just hate to see anyone go through the arduous process without knowing beforehand if they are even in the running.</p>
<p>I find the references to Juilliard auditioning interesting.
Perhaps the theater application process is different from their music performance process.
For music, there is often a prescreening audition. Even if that is not required, an applicant is only invited to audition if his/her paper credentials pass some kind of review. Thus, while it is true that anyone can APPLY to Juilliard, not anyone can self select to audition there. So, an applicant invited to audition, even if not ultimately accepted, does have some validation of their ‘talent’.</p>
<p>Musicmom, for acting at Juilliard, there is no prescreening DVD. There is no invitation to audition. You send an application in, you get an audition. The OP and the situation being discussed here with regard to auditioning at Juilliard is for an Acting major. There is no prestige in being able to audition for the acting program at Juilliard. Anyone can do so.</p>
<p>soozievt-
thanks for cluing me in.<br>
Wonder why one division of the school would agree to hear all applicants while another obviously limits the field?
From a music applicant’s standpoint, it might be disappointing to not even ‘earn’ an audition. But at least that applicant gets an objective read on their background/ability from the school and how they compare with others applying. Of course, the school will accept different numbers of students each year based on need for that instrument.
Our S auditioned at J a few years ago, not accepted. Can’t tell if he’d have been more disappointed if he’d never been offered an audition. With the music performance world so competitive, I figure the experience is valuable even if the outcome is not the desired one.</p>