Any experience with Idyllwild Arts or Interlochen for a postgraduate year before MT college? How hard is it to get in for just a PG year?
As we are approaching/barreling towards my DD’s senior year, she is not showing the excitement/putting the work in for college searching, etc, as she should be. It could be immaturity, how overwhelming MT college process is, or something else. I’m researching a gap year-but she needs structure and independence.
She already attends a performing arts high school, and wants to participate in her senior year shows. It is the CLIMAX of the all the school’s hard work she has put in previous years. She is very talented, and that is not my worry, she just doesn’t seem to have a direction yet. I feel like her enjoying her senior year, then attending a PG year at Interlochen or Idyllwild where she can focus JUST on her auditioning and also strengthen any classes she’s struggled in would be a win/win.
She is very lucky not have to worry about cost. I want her to succeed. I want her to be a part of the process. Any sage advice from BTDT parents?
Maybe she’s signaling that she’d rather get a BA in theater, music theory, psychology, literature, history, communications, and do MT as a demanding EC? Sometimes kids that can’t focus on the “one thing” they’re supposed to be doing are actually showing a lot of maturity as they come to the realization that “I don’t want this to be my forever”.
I will talk to her, and I’ve basically said we support her in what she feels she would like to do. Her grandparents, and our bigger family, are not as supportive of her going into a performing arts major, because they feel like she would be stuck once she has graduated. I’ve told her we would support her journey however she would like to go.
We had wanted her to do a summer college intensive this summer to see if this is really what she wanted to pursue. I created the sheet for her to look at, figure out what programs she was interested in. Then I put it on her to do the actual getting things in (I would help if she needed it). She got ONE in on time out of the 3 she wanted. She put everything off, didn’t even try hard on the one she did get in (like took first version, didn’t meet with her vocal coach before finalizing the video like we had planned)-then got waitlisted. I told her she should send an email saying she is still interested, and she wrote it up–never got it out. She ended up being declined from the program. Needless to say, to me this shows she needs to grow up a bit more. AND if she wanted to go, she would’ve wanted to get it in on time/and tried harder.
I guess I need to have a bigger conversation to make sure I’m not pushing her–but just a month ago during her school production, she again said that is where she felt she belonged.
I don’t think the issue is “Am I pushing her”. The issue is- will the kid have enough energy/enthusiasm/zest to push through not just admissions but four long years of a very tough program, or should we be looking at non-theater options more aggressively.
As talented as she is- you can’t manufacture passion for her. And if she says she loves it- but can’t muster the drive to apply for summer programs, maybe SHE needs to start looking at “what does a BA in poli sci look like”.