@Rjohnston That’s awesome! Way to go!!!
@Rjohnston congrats again, friend 
Tcu email just came
Thank you all so much!
My S just got into TCU by email tonight.
@toomanyschools - Thank you so much for sharing your notes. What great information! I think we are going to try and visit LIU and MM in a few weeks. 
oh man, I LOVE hearing about all these acceptances!
CMU is calling Thursday! Freaking out haha, best of luck to eveyonen who auditioned.
@UKTOLA That is completely ridiculous. Shame on anyone who would host a kid like that, when they are well aware that the kid is about to be rejected. There is absolutely no reason the department head couldn’t have simply told your son that he wasn’t going to be admitted. I just don’t get how some of these schools are handling this process.
As to the earlier comment that schools are just doing it the “old way,” and are not aware of the new environment of social media, I respectfully say that’s hogwash. All of these schools are fully versed in social media. This is simply how they are choosing to do it. They are insensitive to the needs/feelings of the kids going through this process. And I do not say this as sour grapes. My S has been admitted to several schools. But it really bothers me to see how so many kids out there are being unnecessarily jerked around by a few of these programs. I’ve gotten to know several people here whose son or daughter has been negatively affected (for no good reason) by this kind of thing.
And yes, I know it’s a tough business and you need thick skin. But these are teenagers, and the process is brutal enough. The people in authority at these programs need to take a good hard look at themselves, and make changes to ensure that the announcement of decisions is done with care and respect.
Speaking of social media.
Do you think it does a disservice if DS/DD announces they were accepted into a school on FB and then other schools see that and rethink if they will accept a kid based on where else they were just accepted?
Just wondering if announcing stuff on FB while acceptances are very fluid is wise.
My child is a junior but you mentioned seeing something on Ithaca anyway right? on their portal? does it say names?
@UKTOLA - I’m so sorry about your son. That had to be heartbreaking! This process has been tough. My D applied back in Nov. We have called to make sure they have everything they need as we were waiting on an academic answer even without an artistic one and still haven’t heard anything. They said we’d hear soon weeks ago and still nothing as of today. Had you heard academically already before your son had all of that happen?
@mamaboyz, at my D’s high school, there was a tradition that at the beginning of senior year, all the seniors changed their names on their social media accounts to something silly, so that colleges searching Facebook, Instagram, etc. for the students’ names wouldn’t find anything. In May, after they’d committed to a school, they changed everything back to their real names. (Not that anyone was posting anything objectionable - they just wanted to be as careful as possible!)
@boola boola Couldn’t agree more. The whole “well, it’s a tough business” excuse (for poor behavior on the part of some schools) just doesn’t cut it. At all.
In fact, in my daughter’s experience this audition season, the few schools that probably COULD have that attitude… did the exact opposite. Anybody here experience Juilliard? If they can put in the effort to treat their auditioners with respect and dignity and complete transparency, so can anybody else.
Somebody needs to remind some of these schools that equivalent training and networking can be had for many thousands of dollars less, often in only 2 or 3 years instead of 4. If these bad apple schools can’t provide a more supportive environment than the ‘real world’ for these young performers/artists/humans… then the bad apple schools are simply not worth the premium charged.
Given recent drama with what some heads of programs were posting on social media about CC - I would say they know EXACTLY how social media works (and that it can bite you!)
I like the schools that rip the bandaid off all at once - all answers (yes, no, waitlist) at one time. While I totally get the “thrill” of getting/receiving a personal phone call - I think schools that do those need to make a HUGE effort to do them all on the same day. There is no sound louder than a silent phone once you know calls have started.
I agree it is pretty rough that it went down that way especially if a school has rolling admission. To play devil’s advocate though. If programs tells kids early because they are planning a visit, then what is to stop family’s from calling every school and saying “we can only visit this week, can you please give us our decision now?” Some people would do that. This does not seem to be the case in this instance and I feel bad for them. Maybe write a letter to the head of the program and let them know exactly what happened and hopefully they can do better next time. Also I believe Montclair had auditions after Unifieds which could have changed things, so it may not have been intentional.
@NYAndOne Without even going into the convo re schools behaving poorly, I can say that I have been having this inner struggle with the cost of these schools. Without knowing for sure, and with few exceptions, I can’t help but think that their thought process might be the higher our tuition, the more sought after we will be because it gives an illusion that our program is more desirable than a lower-tuition program. One of the reasons that I have been struggling is that along this journey, I have heard multiple times that the BFA is really a diploma for a trade. And I guess that is true. The cost of going to a “trade” school is far less than the cost of going to a university. There is a lot of money in these MT programs and so maybe that’s why universities are willing to have a “trade” in their schools than, let’s say, plumbers, welders, dental hygienists. I am not putting down trades because I have been very successful, financially and otherwise, in my “trade,” much more so than most of my degree-holding friends.
For example, I have seen and heard a number of programs and students tout the number of graduates who are working in theme parks and on cruise ships. Well, I know a few kids who are doing just that right out of high school. My D is friends with another young lady who went through all of the Disney auditions. She had to wait a little while and then audition again, but she is working alongside many kids with college debt from these universities.
So maybe a D or S isn’t ready for prime time just yet and need more training and maturity, whatever, but why can’t they go to their local theatres, most of whom have training acting and dance classes who are taught by similar folks that I see at these universities, take community college courses, which is a good thing, and then strike out on their own. If they’ve got the goods, it seems to me they might even be ahead of the game.
Any way, just some things that I have been thinking about…
@frisbee3 - S applied back in November and was admitted 12/2. I would call admissions again re. your D.
@Karamiles & @“boola boola” - I agree with you both. I think that we did dodge a bullet and in my “maternal” opinion they are the ones that lost out! It’s just a shame that this “adult” couldn’t be honest with my son. I’m thinking of writing a “nice” email just reminding them that they’re dealing with kids here who have already put through the emotional wringers of academic acceptances, essays, prescreens, auditions and now the waiting game, and this just added insult to injury!
@BWmama Some certainly take that route. A friend’s D went to NYC to audition for Juliard and a couple others at Unifieds 3 years ago. Got no offers, decided to move to NYC anyway and has been able to make enough in acting, video projects, etc. to pay the bills plus a little. For my D she wants the “college experience” coupled with the rigorous training anticipated from a conservatory style BFA AND the opportunity to get on stage a few times, learn lighting design and perhaps some management classes. She doesn’t feel prepared for the “real world” yet and wouldn’t be able to handle trying to make it happen on her own just yet.
@BWmama I am in total agreement. That is why my kid only applied to his dream/stretch schools. The ones wanted for the combination of program, geographical location, full college experience. Yes not likely to even get in, but at these prices why settle for less than what you want. A gap year has always been an option. To get immersed in local theatre programs, sign up with agencies and get a taste of real life. Plus after the 70 hour weeks for the past 4 years, some time to breath and be a teenager. Then reevaluate next year. Apply again to Big dream schools, and or cheaper schools, or take on more real life experience. Let the universe point these kids in the direction they should go. And let them follow their heart and support that 110%.
I 100% support my son chasing his dream, but I told him he HAD to have a college education. IMO, they have to have a degree to fall back on in case they don’t make it… or even if they DO make it but get older and have a more difficult time getting roles.