<p>I’m a sophomore this year, but since I’m from Canada, it’s time for me to start getting prerequisites and getting ready for everything. I’ve been in French Immersion for my entire school life and my parents are really pushing for me to go on French exchange (to either France, Belgium or Switzerland) in semester 2 of grade 11. I’d be away from February to April (2012). I’m planning to get a college audition coach sometime in grade 11, but do you think that even with using Skype with my coach and everything that going away for 3 months would be a hinderance? You get matched up with your exchange partner based on your personality/interests, so there would be opportunities for theatre, but I’m still a little worried. I do really want to go away, as I feel like I’ll regret what I didn’t do in 20 years more than what I did do. I need to decide whether or not I’ll be going soon, though, as the application process is a long one. Is there anyone who’s done exchange and MT college auditions before?</p>
<p>I do not feel you need to start the coaching for your audition songs and monologues until the summer before senior year when you will be applying. That gives you six months to do audition prep before the winter auditions. What you should ideally keep doing in junior year if abroad is to try to take voice, acting, and dance lessons/classes and participate if possible, in theater. You still can do preliminary searches for monologues and songs no matter where you are. That is an appropriate time line even if you were back home. You also should be exploring your colleges and making your college list that spring as well. A French immersion program for a semester sounds fantastic to me!</p>
<p>PS, I did not even notice that the immersion program is just through April of junior year. That is plenty of time to start on audition prep/coaching AFTER you return. What you need to do prior to that is keep training, and also explore lots of MT repertoire for your type and voice and lots of monologues and plays, which can be done anywhere.</p>