Amazing!
I’ll share too.
My daughter has been taking vocal lessons since she was 7, and is an MT major at an arts high school. She approached me about using MTCA, but I didn’t relent until the end of June. She used them for choosing and practising songs and monologues. A professional choreographer that works with her high school show choir offered to help with her dance prescreen. We filmed all prescreens at home, except for dance, which she filmed at school.
We did a lot of travel for auditions since she hates virtual auditions (she only did two virtual, but one of them will likely be where she ends up!).
This has been a wild and unpredictable ride!
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My son got an email that he was on the waitlist last week.
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I’m curious how everyone will be evaluating offers? I’m encouraging my daughter to think about these 4 factors (in no particular order):
- Quality of Training/Education (i.e. reputation + faculty, etc.)
- Location
- Cost
- “College Experience”
For example, she’s excited about Elon, but it’s in the middle of nowhere. We love the idea of Univ of Miami (FL), but lots of distractions and far away (we’re in Los Angeles). I would love my USC Trojans, but it’s very expensive. TCU is a wonderful university, but the MT program isn’t that highly ranked.
I know many advocate to listen to your “gut” but I’m way too analytical to do that LOL
Thoughts?
We are looking at all those things and he will be doing visits to campuses to audit classes, speak with faculty and students, etc. Hopefully he gets a few more decisions this week so we can arrange visits for his top 2-3 schools over our spring break. He wants to make sure he clicks with the people he is going to spending so much time together. It’s definitely a process!
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My daughter received an email from Otterbein yesterday.
Very smart approach!
This might be something you are already including in “college experience,” but we’re also looking at overseas programs – most but not all are in London – specifically, what’s the affiliate program and whether it includes actual training or is a glorified semester-long field trip.
On the quality of training issue, we also encouraged our kiddo to look at each school’s approach to three factors: how they run their senior showcase process, whether they create a path to an equity card, and whether they have access to working with a professional company while in school. None are dispositive and none are deal-breakers, but each can further help inform their decision-making.
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Your 2nd paragraph is why I’m steering my daughter towards Elon, at least based on my knowledge. Still quite a bit of data points to consider, but your summation is excellent.
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A friend of ours contacted CMU yesterday, inquiring when the rest of the results would come out for MT. They shared they have called all those accepted and “most who are waitlisted”. They will email the rest of the decisions by April 1st. My child already considered it a “no” when they didn’t get the call on March 1st but it would still be nice to have official closure.
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My child auditioned on campus and they said they would send one email with artistic and academic decisions as well as financial aid- All in the same letter, all on the same day. They said they hope by “March 15th but don’t bother checking your email before the 10th.” Any day now!
Does anyone have any experiences or thoughts they can share about the program at Marymount Manhattan?
An acceptance, waitlist, or a no?
What about for acting does anyone know?
not sure about umiami, but i was told at my audition that oberlin would call their yesses on march 21 and release all remaining decisions on march 22! its currently my top choice program, so hoping for the best!!
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Your daughter accepted at USC?
Yup, that’s what we were told as well. UMiami typically releases on a Friday, and I believe the third Friday of the month, so that would be the 21st.
For one, I am so excited for your family! So many awesome options!
One thing my son has done is looked at the curriculum and the catalog of classes. What are they actually teaching and comparing that to what he wants to learn. It’s basically narrowed it down quite a bit just by doing that.
Also, there is a YouTube/Podcast called MTCA (My Theatre College Auditon) and I just love what he does as a free service - he interviews the MT Directors about their college programs! If you go to YouTube and search MTCA and the college name, you might find a wealth of knowledge about the opportunities each of the colleges offer.
I’ve loved looking up Senior Showcase material for some of the schools. You can actually see the resumes and media that graduating classes are putting out. Obviously the alumni and agent/representation success upon graduation is a major factor for us.
We are going to try to visit the top 2 or 3 offers over spring break too… seeing a show, shadowing a class, seeing the dorms and all of that should narrow it down. At the end of the day, I hope you all will feel hopeful and confident in the school that you choose.
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We’re looking at those things as well. As an international student, cost is a major factor, as I know it is for many others.
Texas State is where my daughter is leaning: their reputation is great, the faculty is incredible, and the cost can’t be beat. She’ll know for sure once she visits, though.
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New here! Wow…wish I had found you all a year ago! Unfortunately my daughter and I had absolutely no idea what was involved in this process. I feel like I really let my daughter down by not knowing more about it. She applied to a total of only 6 schools, send pre-screens for some and ended up auditioning virtually for 2 and in person for 2. She has received 2 no’s, waitlist on one and still waiting on NYU (one of the 2 virtuals). She is devastated. I have tried telling her if she doesn’t get into one of the last 2 she should take a gap year and re-audition for those she can plus use everything we have learned and hit it heavier next year. Unfortunately, right now all she wants is immediate gratification so she doesn’t even want to consider a gap year. She has senior-itis so bad right now that she just wants to go ANYWHERE. Her top choices were MMC and TXST and she received academic acceptance for both. She wants to know why she shouldn’t just attend one of those two and try again next year. Unfortunately MMC won’t allow her to re-audition so, unless she gets lucky and they move down the waitlist and she gets in, that’s a non-starter. Any advice on what may help her decide what is in her best interest? I’m at a loss (although based on what I’m reading maybe look into a college audition coach or whatever that even means).
Thank you!!
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Thank you for sharing your experience! I love that you had so much insight, forethought and personal relationships that helped your kiddo achieve such a successful audition season. Way to go!
I/We on the other hand are late bloomers so to speak. Sadly, with complete naivety we sent off prescreens to 10 dream schools with no real audition help or awareness of how hard and competitive the process is. A friend of mine did stellar quality Prescreen recordings, but he still failed all 10 prescreens. 
And this was not because he is not talented and wonderful, we just didn’t have good material, he had never had an acting class or worked a monologue with an actor, had only had highschool student directors who don’t give helpful notes, he had never had taken a dance class, just the dancing/choreo he has learned in the musicals at school. Thankfully he has had about 1 year of vocal training (the main thing going for him). Honestly - a newbie with tons of heart and passion and love for theatre. So, after all the Prescreen nos, that is when we found out about college coaches. As in, I did not know that was an option or a thing until December 2024. Getting focused help was seriously like a light switch for him and his final blitz of hitting Prescreen deadlines for more schools and non-Prescreen schools. I’m talking over winter break to January 15th, he prescreened for 17 more schools (schools we didn’t even know about that are actually amazing!) He passed every single Prescreen and even found new dream schools on account of those coaches. Because of the new material and monologue help and song choices, he was able to make it Unifieds! Literally by the skin of his teeth! I had no idea such help like that existed in the world. We didn’t know what Unifieds was y’all! I mean???
That is why I am so excited when I hear younger Highschoolers talking about going into performing arts and wanting advice on where to start or what to do. Even the idea that Vocal Performance is an avenue to MT, Theatre Performance programs or Drama/Acting are all avenues to MT. I/We had no idea! Also, the beginning of his senior year he was the set builder/set designer, music director, sound and light teacher to new students, the literal HS chorus teacher/accompanist and a lead/supporting actor for the competition One Act play. Just a little busy helping keep his highschool theatre afloat through the transition of a new MT teacher at the school. The stress of college was in the back of his mind, but the time and availability to focus on himself was gone.
Again, some folks have been aware and on the journey for years - he started picking material in Oct/Nov 2024 to send Nov/Dec prescreens. Now we know, that’s a little late. If someone is going to ask my advice about how to get into drama school, I will always share my experience and give them all the free knowledge/resources I have, as well as point them to professionals to see what they can afford, because for our situation, it was the best thing that ever happened for my son’s career thus far.
I love that some people can do it alone or with the community of theatre professionals in their town. I love that time, space and awareness blesses many of the folks who pursue MT and who are on this thread. I am overjoyed that in the end of this season, many of the students represented here will have options and choices of where they want/can go to school. That foresight is just something that we lacked and were blind sided by. Sometimes I wonder if he should do that first round of prescreens again (and take a gap year) just because he would fare better at getting an in person audition with his new material media. But, I’ve just got to trust the process and let him explore his own path…
We all have different journeys! I am so glad I found this website 
The love and support is unreal. Like no one in my physical world wants to talk in depth about this stuff. I’m so glad I can share it here.
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