The biggest things we learned after coming in completely blind:
I would not wait until unifieds to do all the auditions. If they go poorly, there is no time to course correct. Do at least one on-campus MT audition early in the season. It will eliminate some of the mystery, could be a good source of feedback, and can also give your kid a realistic view of the “competition.” We chose an in-state university with a pretty good, but not “I must go here or I will die,” MT program, for D’s fall audition and it was super valuable. We were able to drive there and back that day, so it wasn’t costly either. That was when we discovered some hilariously now-obvious things, such as, don’t use all depressing material, and maybe leggings and an old baggy sweater were not the right move.
Use a coach. Her voice teacher, the PA director, and the acting teacher, while well-intentioned, are very likely completely clueless about what is needed for MT auditions today. Even if they were on Broadway “back in the day.” My D’s Broadway-veteran PA acting director literally said it would be “easy peasy” for her to get into any program. Ha! You don’t have to do the thousands of dollars, several months, one-week workshop, yadda yadda, with a coach, but coaches can be so helpful with the list of schools appropriate for your kid, and the one we used, MCA, does ad-hoc sessions, even via Skype. So if you just need help selecting a monologue, a song, or want coaching on acting for the song, you can add those as needed.
Dance classes, especially ballet. Yes, programs will take “movers” and non-dancers. But being comfortable with dance, the terminology, and the foundational moves, will only help them be confident, and possibly eliminate one “strike” in a brutal, unforgiving process.