<p>I agree that one bad experience can be shaken off. We had a bad experience at BU on a tour in the Spring with a student who was way over full of herself. This cast a bit of a negative on the program but a very good experience at her recent audition has enabled her to put in perspective as just an attribute of that student and not a reflection of the program. </p>
<p>But there is something to the overall culture and feel of a program that you can get through multiple interactions which says something much more significant about the nature of the place, program, etc. I’ll give a non-school example because it comes from a kind of place even less likely for people to have positive experiences. My wife is getting knee replacement surgery and she is having it done at the Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC. After experiencing positive interactions with literally everyone we came in contact with, it was no surpise to learn that it is ranked as the #1 hospital for orthopedic surgery. In my opinion, the type of positive interacting we’ve had with everyone we’ve dealt with there does not happen unless its reflective of some leadership at the top about the way the organization is run.</p>
<p>ActingDad, I agree completely. We tried to put the occasional bad (or great) tour leader or the inept admissions department out of our minds. It’s difficult to say what is representative of the school. A second visit, if you get to that point, can help a lot.</p>
<p>But the audition process is something else again. The audition is a department event–most obviously in the presentation, if any, but also in each audition. If a school seems to go out of its way to put its applicants off balance by making them wait in corridors for an hour or more; or takes a third of the total time to hype itself to the students, thereby shortening the audition time for hundreds of applicants; or allows auditors to use what little time is left to lecture the students on what they don’t already know; then I think it’s one indicator of the kind of education you will be getting there.</p>
<p>Also, one good thing to remember is that people “sound different” when it comes to e-mails or even facebook. One of the Admissions Counselor that I had been exchanging e-mails with sounded a bit rude, which gave me a bad impression of the school. I met the person at the audition and (s)he was so helpful and answered all my questions and was nothing like his/her ‘internet self’.</p>
<p>Just want to say that Adelphi did an exceptional job of making everyone students and parents feel welcomed and comfortable. From the moment you walked through the door you were never alone. They escorted parent/student to the holding room where we were met with enthusiastic current students who sit grab a chair and sit down right in front of you giving you 100% attention. Then they worked hard to engage you in conversation asking get to know you questions and offering details. When the students moved on the two directors each followed suit and made sure they had a moment to connect with each student and parent. When the students took off for movement and warm up games, the director of the program had a Q and A with all the parents and then we were given vouchers for lunch. Lunch was a little dicey because the cafeteria wasn’t on board with the arrangement but in time it worked out. They individually escorted each student to their individual audition and a large group of current students stayed with those waiting for their audition. What a nice experience. Speaks miles about the nature of the program.</p>
<p>I certainly agree with the idea that auditors should at least pretend they are enjoying the experience – it is an acting school after all, and no matter if it is the first kid or the one hundredth, it is the first time for each of those kids. We certainly don’t want to be perceived as rude or uninterested so the auditors shouldn’t either. I don’t think the auditors would have been happy if I had said “Well, you know, a degree in acting is the most useless degree you could have, second only to a BA in ceramics,” so I don’t know why one of my auditors thought that was okay to say to me during an audition. Really people? A little bit of enthusiasm, and discretion, goes a long way I think.</p>
<p>Aspiring - I had to laugh at your quote - my older daughter is MT, my younger, ceramics!</p>
<p>Five years ago when my older daughter was at an admitted student day the Dean of the Theatre program said something so off at lunch that my daughter looked at me and said, I’m done, this is not where I want to go. I can’t remember exactly what it was but something to the effect that she favors some students and chooses her productions based on those students she favors. Now this might be true at other schools, but really? Why would you say that? It’s not like she knew my daughter and was saying she would favor her. Odd, very odd.</p>
<p>same here, amtc!–my older D is majoring in Studio Art (sculpture and painting), probably less practical than ceramics even. I seem to specialize in impractical dreamers…</p>
<p>I love these posts and agree with everyone about ‘vibes’ My kids are all big on vibes, but they are also able to specify why they feel this or that college is right or wrong. To use a non MT example, my oldest thought he wanted to go to Columbia. But the moment we stepped on campus, it was ‘off.’ He dressed and ‘carried himself’ literally like no one on campus (at the time he was more ‘hippy,’ with very long hair and a beard). Literally all the guys at the time were clean cut and very conservative looking in dress. Right there he immediately felt like an oddball. And he didn’t want to feel like an oddball. (THe visit went downhill from there.)</p>
<p>I realize that it is perhaps unfair to judge a program based on their website but it does say something about how the school considers its program. One college’s theatre website was shockingly ridiculous–littered with grammatical and spellling errors. It stayed up for months. Sure, maybe the office got some poorly educated intern to do that, but it says something about how the college regards the program. Not worth their investment and time, not worth serious presentation; also the program itself would implitictly not have much power or not care about how it presented itself. </p>
<p>Appearances matter. We tell that to our kids. Who would audition in ripped unwashed jeans, unwashed hair and a dirty sweatshirt? Appearances indicate your own self regard, your respect to others, your level of professionalism, and so on. In my opinion, the same goes for college websites and their emails and official interactions with you. IT’s not a be all or end all, but it’s a factor. </p>
<p>For my kids the absolute biggest factor are the current students and the classes. FOrmal tours are the lowest on the list because they can easily be ‘canned.’<br>
YOu can tell SO much by spending a day or two with current students and sitting in on classes.</p>
<p>I want to clarify that I’m not trying to judge programs by advertising, etc., but I know I do it without meaning to–and I don’t want to, you know? But we live in a culture that convinces with advertising. That’s a fact. So, I’m trying to work backwards now by chatting with people here and making some visits to the schools. </p>
<p>Also, I want to clarify about the email messages that have been off-putting. It really isn’t about the tone, but about the communication process. It’s the sort of thing that seems elementary. When a program has been doing this for years, it seems that the process and emails should be pretty stream-lined by now. No one wants to deal with that for four years. I don’t want to mention specifics at this point, if you catch my drift! Great discussion. Everyone’s points are valid. I feel like I’m watching ping-pong, and thinking, “Yah! Good shot! Ooh. Good return!”</p>
<p>OK, I took the glossy BU viewbook to bed and read every word, cover to cover, like it was a juicy novel. Oh, if I could turn back the clock! College is wasted on the young!</p>
<p>My daughter called me last night and had just finished teching a show and was about to start a few hours of homework…I was very happy to be in my bed with nothing to do but finish watching Psych…</p>
<p>I think there are a million clues in the viewbooks and websites, especially the way a program describes itself. Some are really inspiring. But also-- does the curriculum cover the whole historical range of theater, or is it more avant garde, or more classical–even the photos of the productions give a sense of the values. </p>
<p>I thought of this thread yesterday when a friend was comparing two elementary schools she substitute teaches at. At one of them, she was saying, the conversation in the teachers’ room tends to be mean gossip about the students. At the other this would be unthinkable. You can guess which is the better school, though they are just a few miles apart from each other. You get the vibe when you walk in-- the same as when you walk into a BFA program.</p>
<p>I don’t think auditors have any duty to “pretend to enjoy” your audition. It is YOUR responsiblity to create an audition that folks will enjoy. It is YOUR responsibility to hold the audience’s attention.</p>
<p>This isn’t loving parents going and watching everything their child does and pretending it is good. At this point folks are being asked to be genuinely good.</p>
<p>And most auditors get to be very good at maintaining a “poker face”. You really shouldn’t read anything into auditor reactions. They frequently, for example, have to take notes during your audition. So they remember that you were the incredible one. You should be delivering your monologues to an imaginary person standing behind where the auditor is sitting. Imagine that that person is giving you full attention, enjoying your monologue, and so on.</p>
<p>Great advice KEVP - I know at CMU Gary did say don’t feel like we are ignoring you (cause we are…lol) but in all seriousness he did say they need to take notes as well…same goes for Kaf-they said not to be offended if we do that - we are paying attention. Also maybe we will ask you to do something or send you to someone else or you showed us what we needed and we don’t need to see more. I think the waiting is what plays tricks on us because it gives you time to think about everything that has happened. Most auditions are winding down and since we as parents are not as busy arranging things it gives us too much time to analyze every little thing. Best of luck to everyone as we wait for the results.</p>
Great discussion. Everyone’s points are valid. I feel like I’m watching ping-pong, and thinking, “Yah! Good shot! Ooh. Good return!”</p>