@MToverload - im no expert and will likely offend MANY, but the typical tier one schools HIGHLY competitive, & Im sure I will accidentally leave some out…doesnt make them better than the others just generally considered more selective…there are MANY debates on CC about this so I truly hope not to offend anyone but Heres my best effort to help: Michigan, Carnegie Melon, CCM, Penn state, Elon, Ithaca, NYU, BOCO, Syracuse, FSU, UNCSA, Texas ST, Oklahoma CIty, Point park, Shenandoah, Pace, Baldwin Wallace are the ones that most readily come to mind as " tier one". Again there are many opinions & I am no expert…then theres a long list of AMAZING programs that might be considered less competitive ( but still highly selective) . Im dreading pressing send here cos I know Im about to get thrashed & I truly am just trying to help overload…any audition school can not be considered a safety and even the " less competitive" ones are rumored to accept only 10-20% instead of the dreaded 2-10% . rates…oh boy…i hope im not offending & I am no expert, there are so many other great programs: like Montclair, rider, costal Carolina, Wright state, Webster, Illinois Wesleyan, Viterbo, U of Arts, AMDA,Belmont, Fredonia, Milliken, Molloy/ cap21, CCPA, LIU Post, Marymount, Manhattan school of music, Hartt,Otterbein, W Connecticut- that my daughter would be THRILLED to get into any of those, luckily for me shes in the class of 2024 and hoping my getting bashed for this post will stop before then 
. hope that helps? covering up in the corner now…
already realizing the great ones i left out like JMU, American, Catholic,UAB, Ball stat, Indiana…should never have replied , UGHHH
@NYYFanNowMTdad lol no worries! you are only trying to help and, hopefully, most people will understand that and not give you grief!
@jbtcat thats good ill just keep posting names of great programs as i think of them LOL
Miami
Arizona
Tampa
Emerson
( taking cover…)
lol no worries NYYFanNowMTdad… most of us on here are not so uptight as to bash you for your perception of tier 1 vs. tier 2 schools. Fact is that they are all “reaches” when it comes right down to it but some more so than others. And it doesn’t make a program any less wonderful if they have a 7% admit rate than a 1% one. kudos for trying to be helpful to another member!
@El-Cee - Agreed and thanks…as many people say if you read the final decision stories from prior years ( always the best thread IMHO) it truly is about FIT when deciding whats “best” . many a kid “snubbed” acceptances from the perceived tier 1 when they found their fit at a " unnamed hidden gem"
@elledaspitzer, now that we’re in the midst of it, I’d say if you can keep an open mind and expect the unexpected, everything will be fine. In our case, my daughter is waiting to hear from some non-pre screens and if she is accepted, her list will be even shorter than it was to start!
This year has been full of a few surprises, but for us, fortunately, some of them have been pleasant
@NYYFanNowMTdad I really appreciate your answering and certainly didn’t want to upset anyone either. I just keep reading in past threads about tier 1, tier 2, etc…, but it’s never very clear to me which schools fall under which “categories.” I just want to make sure that we have applied to enough of a variety of schools to give my D a tiny bit more of a chance I guess. I’m so worried about how this whole process is going to affect both her and I this year!
Has anyone heard from the University of Alabama regarding prescreen results?
@MToverload - i suggest you read final decisions for class of 2019-2022 they are amazing stories, each threat 25-30 pages and mostly feel good stories, it really helped me understand this process alot better- though still nervous and Im still a full year away…
@MToverload @NYYFanNowMTdad you listed Ball State so no complaining from me! LOL. But I agree with your list. We used the Broadway Artist Alliance list of college programs that double starred top 15 which would be tier 1 schools and single starred 35 more that I would considered 2nd tier. It also identifies non-audition and BA programs. I know it is a little dated (there is an older one with top 40 that is even more incomplete) but we wanted an established program so we’re ok with that. Of course you should research any school you are interested in. But any school that has an audition is not a safety - especially for a girl. My d did not apply to safeties because she said if she didn’t get in she would major in psychology and minor in MT for fun. If you want a BFA then you need to apply to a lot of schools unless you are Sutton Foster :)) my d applied to 18 - auditioned at 15 and was accepted to 2. And by the way - just met and worked with Sutton Foster! Yay!
My daughter auditioned for CMU a couple years ago at Chicago Unifieds. Her time slot was 12-4. She didn’t get out until after 5:00. They don’t have a dance call so it’s just a whole lot of waiting. Some kids were done after an hour and a half, but plan for a wait. Some schools were good about taking kids later if they were in another audition, but some were not. We scheduled most important schools first with less important ones around them just in case they ran over.
@ebapro you just made me think of a tactical question that i am considering…now there are a few assumptions here BUT if you are going to HAVE TO do some auditions on campus and a school like CMU requires a 4 hour slot, are you better off making CMY one of your on campus auditions and being more efficient with time at unifieds? i understand lots of variables with travel dates and expenses but i wonder for those experienced folks in cc what their thoughts are with that strategy??
@NYYFanNowMTdad I would say it depends where you live. If you can drive to CMU than go there (although beautiful campus so dangerous - you may fall in love LOL). But if you can’t then you might as well just spend more time at Unifieds. I would only plan 2 in half a day at Unifieds anyway. 3 maybe if you do 9 and 10 and 11 and are sure they will go quick. And check for changes if you have dance and vocal mixed in there.
@NYYFanNowMTdad by the way Pace and NYU take half a day and Ithaca will tell you that also but most of their’s is waiting after the initial meeting so you can sneak away if you need to. There could be others too I am not aware of.
@MTdreamz Yes, but I wouldn’t risk it
@MTdreamz D did CMU summer program so we are already screwed :)…long drive or short flight…
@NYYFanNowMTdad ? my d had no interest in CMU but we drove by when auditioning at PP - it was so nice she almost changed her mind LOL. but their dancers go to PP for class so she didn’t even apply
The app fees are ranging anywhere from $0 (not many of those) to $100! The average being around $50. The audition fees seem more palatable. With the average around $25 but BW fee was high!! I would say a safe estimate based on how many schools you all are applying to is somewhere between $1,200-$1,800. Its difficult because this is the part you have zero control over! Good luck!
So he thinks it went well at FDU yesterday! Auditioned for 1 person - the head of MT. No accompaniest so he brought his tracks recorded by voice teacher on piano. They did 1 monologue and 1 song of his choice from MT canon. Short interview afterward. He said she laughed at monologue (Neil Simon). They had a theatre student with us the whole time and he stayed with me while DS was in the theatre. He was very nice and answered a lot of questions. When Ty hit the money note on his song, we heard him from the theatre lobby. The student stopped talking and smiled – always a good thing! I guess now we wait! Rolling admissions, so maybe we’ll hear in 3 weeks?