@Kkrazie do the walk ins charge usually? Does anyone know which schools do not charge?
The Viterbo walk-in was $20. Ball State, UAB, Utah and Molloy did not charge for a walk in, if I remember correctly. Most of the well-known, popular schools charge an audition fee. I remember that Hartt was a $100 fee plus you had to go and apply online to the school. There were several schools that didn’t charge an audition fee but required you to go online and apply to their school before you could audition, so students did that on-the-spot. So, those application fees were $50-$100 each.
If I remember correctly, there are schools that academically admit before you can hear about the live audition and there are schools where the audition decision is separate from the university admission and you have to hear from both. My daughter applied to TCU in October, auditioned at Unifieds in February and got an offer to the BFA program in early March; however, the offer was “pending university admission” which we did not hear from until late March. I think we had heard a university admission from most schools prior to ever hearing about the audition decision because we applied in the Fall. There were a couple schools where my D did walk-ins where they held off the offer until we applied and were admitted but they were not difficult admits.
@Thespis1 it’s different for every school. Some charge a walk in audition fee some don’t. Bring a check book to Unified auditions so ready if needed.
@soozievt i was reading a post you rote from @EmsDad freakonomics approach to applying where you said
“If you are a true contender for a BFA in MT, I don’t think you need more than 8 BFAs on the list (then the two non-audition safeties), but certainly not more than 10.”
i wonder in light of hearing people applying to 20+ being the nom now and having heard multiple people in the 30 range if the evolution since that discussion 7 years later gives you a different perspective?
I ask this not to dreg up old arguments but only bc i respect your many many posts and being a seasoned advisor to people going through this process
@NYYFanNowMTdad Funny you should bring that up. The other day, when the discussion on some threads were talking about number of schools people were applying to and there were posts about 20-30 schools, I thought of posting. Then, I decided, nah, do I really want to get into those debates again?!?!?!? LOL So, I didn’t post. But now that you tagged me, I feel I gotta respond. 
I can’t find that post but I see the quote you posted that I must have written 7 years ago. So, yes, I think the number of schools one might apply to now would differ from seven years ago. It is my contention that TODAY I don’t truly believe anyone needs more than 14 schools on their list (and not saying you even need 14). The caveat is that the list must be appropriate to the candidate both in terms of their academic and artistic odds, and the list must be well balanced. I find in my line of work as a college counselor advising applicants to both BFA programs in MT/Theater, but also in any field, I observe that many people, when left to their own devices, often come up with college lists not suitable to the qualifications of the student OR college lists that are not well balanced in terms of odds. Now, of course, that is hard to do with BFA in MT programs, whereby a great majority have single digit acceptance rates. Still, I’ve seen people apply to colleges where their academic profile is not in range for the school, or their artistic skill set doesn’t seem to be in the ballpark (it helps to have either some benchmarks or an artistic evaluation by someone in the know in terms of whether the candidate is in range to be accepted at BFA in MT programs, or a certain level of them). Even though most programs have very low acceptance rates, some programs have a less competitive applicant pool or attract those from the region and not as much nationally, and so on. Whether it’s BFA in MT programs or applicants to regular colleges (for any field), I find there are a lot of unrealistic people out there and they are applying to some colleges (or programs) where they are not competitive.
I understand the very low acceptance rates at BFA in MT programs, surely I DO! Even my own kid went through this, and I have been helping students go through this process for over 15 years and so I get it. I know what I’m going to say next is going to be unpopular, but I feel if a student is applying to 15 MT programs and doesn’t get into any of them, then they are either not competitive artistically (or academically) for these programs, OR their college list was not appropriate to them in the first place or not well balanced. In my view, if someone has the level of artistic skill set competitive for BFA in MT program and the required level of academic stats (and all else in the admissions process outside of the artistic skill set), that student will NOT be shut out entirely from getting into at least one school (though which school would be hard to predict given the acceptance rates into these programs), as long as their list was well balanced and at least 12 schools on the list, but no need to go beyond 14. Even the stats that someone posted on this forum the other day polling how many MT schools each applicant applied to (sample of students) and how many they were accepted to, showed some sort of average (don’t have in front of me and so this is not an exact quote) of about 14 schools and about 4 or 5 acceptances. Obviously this is not clear cut data of a large enough sampling. But students were getting accepted SOMEWHERE even if they applied to about 14 schools. I have never had a student not get accepted to college. I can think of about 2 or 3 who landed at BA programs for MT/Theater, but nobody got shut out completely from going to college to study MT or Theater, and most who wanted a BFA got into at least one (but usually more), and yet nobody applied to more than 14 schools.
So, I honestly do not believe anyone needs more than 14 schools on their list (and many could apply to less…maybe 12) to yield results. Again, if 12-14 schools shuts someone out, they either weren’t competitive enough in the first place (or may not audition well…auditioning is a skill in itself), OR their college list was not appropriate to their profile/qualifications or was not well balanced. The right list is essential. I feel that when you start adding more than 14 schools (and certainly 20-30 schools!!), it becomes like throwing darts at a target. Not only that, how can a student put together excellent applications and essays to all those schools without it being a bit diluted per school, and how can they demonstrate interest in each school or know 30 schools well enough, and that is not even getting into the costs, travel, etc. involved. A well crafted list is essential. An assessment of ones’ artistic competitiveness for BFA in MT programs is very important. I also see people simply seeking colleges that offer MT without even weighing their academic odds of admission to each school (yes, it counts, and at some colleges, you must be accepted separately to the college on the academic end).
Then, if you apply to 25 schools, for example and are accept at 8 of them and you have not yet visited them, that’s a lot of visits to cram into the month of April.
On a personal front (just one MT kid’s experience), back when my D went through the BFA in MT admissions process, I felt she was a contender, due to various benchmarks, but I had no idea which schools would accept her. I was anxious, sure! The odds at each school were in the single digit acceptance rates! Eek! She applied to 8 schools, all BFA in MT programs. I felt pretty sure she’d get one acceptance and not be shut out. She got 5 acceptances, plus a priority waitlist (CMU). It turned out better than I thought. If she were to apply today, I would suggest 10-12 schools to her, not 8. I gotta say though, there are a LOT more BFA in MT programs that have sprung up since she applied and so even if more kids are applying now than then, there are a lot more programs too.
Well, I’ve said plenty and I’m pretty sure arrows are going to be shot this way!
@soozievt you nailed it. I do not understand the applying to 30 schools and then doing visits in April. It shows no discernment. When I went through this process with my child we visited colleges starting in sophomore year. We met with people from the schools and their mt departments. It was invaluable and made the audition process so much less stressful plus some schools were eliminated they just weren’t what my child was looking for. I’m hoping you don’t get arrows. I think your advice is spot on!!!
@soozievt Thank you so much for your post! My D is a current senior, and she has 12 on her list. This is a very carefully crafted 12. I’m not going to lie, when I come on here and see people with 20-30 schools, I get a little worried that our net isn’t large enough. She has her dream school on it, a regional safety, and the rest are excellent options that are high on the “national” scale, but ones that she will get into academically and could very well be what they are looking for artistically. My nervousness sometimes gets the best of me and I worry we should start just throwing her app at places and seeing what happens, but she is the one who reminds me that is not necessary. I think the key is intentionally spending the time to see where she feels she could see herself attending, if she fits the “stats” for that school, and then moving forward. And to be honest, we don’t have the financial capability to pay for all those applications and auditions!
And honestly, I don’t want to offend anyone here, but if people are just sending out an insane amount of applications without the true desire to attend the school or just to see “what happens” - it bogs down the system for the schools, and therefore ultimately bogs down the process for the applicant. Please don’t burn me at the stake for that comment! I appreciate you all!
@MTdreamin yes! I have not been doing much with my nephew; just worked with him on the spreadsheet and some preliminary things. He’s been doing most of it on his own! My freshman just closed a show where 5 of the seniors are “in the process”. Because she has been around it so much, she’s already talking about planning her next 3 summers.
@CaliMTdreams sorry - I was offline all weekend. It looks like walk-in questions are answered? Both of my girls walked the floor at Unifieds on Sunday night (at both the Palmer House and Hyatt) to check if any schools had posted walk-in notices. They walked the floors early again each morning, Neither had an audition scheduled pre 10 am on Monday so both did a walk in prior to their first scheduled audition. I also know the kids shared walk-in information in the Green Room (as @Kkrazie notes). Coaches may also share information about walk-ins if you are using a coach. Bring your checkbook - many (most?) schools charge for the walk-in!
For my daughter, she did do 20 plus auditions but quite a few were for both musical theatre and acting. CMU,UM, Ithaca, University of Arizona, Baldwin Wallace, Otterbein etc Sometimes it was a separate audition and sometimes the school considers you for both. This would vary the numbers. UM you audition for both and get rejected/accepted individually…Does the school count as 1 or 2? Don’t you just love it! 
@soozievt @Ducky312 @carriemc95
Thank you for your posts! You shouldn’t receive criticisms for your practical, well thought-out plans. I’m sure you’re echoing many members thoughts. I’m with you. And I think it’s valuable to think of each school in terms of how honestly happy you’d really be if you ONLY got into that one.
To each his own. I think which programs and how many to apply to is a very personal decision. While I can appreciate the thoughts behind applying to 10-14 schools, my family is one of the ones applying to more. I don’t feel the need to justify why this is so, and I don’t really get why some people seem to be judgemental about it (not referring to anyone in particular here). It kind of baffles me to be honest lol. You’re applying to 3 schools? Great, I support you! You’re applying to 40 schools? Great, I support you! Like I said, to each his own. I just hope that all of our children end up in a program that will make them happy. 
My D is graduating college class of 2019, so she applied fall of 2015. She applied to 7 schools (accepted 2, waitlist 2, rejected 2 and one failed prescreen). I think, first, there are a ton more kids applying now as opposed to four years ago. We can thank all of the kids’ shows (Matilda, Charlie, Newsies, etc.) for drawing kids to this field. At the school she currently attends they had 1200 for 35 spots in her year. Last year it was 1500. I let her lead the way and we did visit some schools junior year. She only applied to schools that she actually saw herself attending. She would have taken a gap year if she had been denied by all. I think it is a good idea to have this conversation with your kiddo before you spend on all of the app fees and auditions. If you have a child that will go anywhere as long as they get to study MT, that’s great. Mine didn’t feel that way. She wanted conservatory only, preferably in a city.
We did not have to factor in financial aid, but if you do, the time to look at it is now. Can your family afford the 60K + fees at some schools? Say you get half in financial aid, can you afford 30k+? It would be horrible if the only schools your child got into were in that price range. Are you going to be able to say no then? Better to work it out now.
Personally, I feel that in the current environment, 12-14 schools will be plenty. It should be balanced with at least one non-audition school (we did not have one on our list and I wished we did). Your list should also be balanced financially. CMU and NYU are reaches artistically but also financially.
Lastly, if we had to do it again, I would 100 % use a coach, if only for selective services. Song and monologue choice and mock auditions. Like you, I believed my kid wouldn’t be the one who was shut out, but her acceptances were the last two we heard from in late March. I didn’t think I would live through it. We were already making plans for a gap year.
I am not trying to be a downer, because as stressful as this was, it was also an amazing, exciting time in my D’s life. We had a blast. In reality, those with a balanced list have found a home, with a few getting acceptances but still choosing a gap year. I am curious to see how the 30+ audition kids fare. It may turn out to be the new normal.
@MToverload - I totally agree with you that how many schools you apply to etc is a completely personal choice - and all choices are valid. Plus, every year is different - having read every post on this forum for 5+ years - there have been years when the attitude was very much “you’re insane and have no chance unless you apply to X number of schools and hire a national coach”. @soozievt has been here longer than any of us (sometimes I wonder - were you just online one day and they built the forum around you? ) and she has presented a different viewpoint - and what’s even better, has strong knowledge of what life on the OTHER side of the whole college process looks like for a working performer. (would you believe me if I told you that all of you may look back at the getting into college section as the easy part of the process? At least there are benchmarks and pieces of info that can be gleaned an analyzed). And I have felt compelled to post a contrasting viewpoint to the X schools or bust viewpoint as well - especially in years where people who weren’t following that path got a lot of flack (go back and read the threads from class of 2014/15 I think that is the year several posters got banned from CC altogether b/c attitudes got SHARP). It doesn’t mean that I am right… or that you are. There is no ONE path to BFA success - if there was, everyone would be on it.
My kid is a planner - she wouldn’t apply to a school she hadn’t seen, nor would she even consider walk ins at unifieds - and so many people have great experiences/acceptances from those. That wasn’t her path. Doesn’t make another experience less valid
It has been common advice to include a non-audition safety school in your application list. Why? Because, I am paraphrasing, ALL audition schools are very selective. With the increase of schools using pre-screens (I assume this trend will continue), why wouldn’t you cast a wider net at the front end?
We are planning our daughter visit at least 20 schools before her senior year (she’s been to six already and she’s in 10th grade) and she will be taking only three classes her senior year, giving her maximum schedule flexibility. IF she gets past too many pre-screens to manage the subsequent in-person auditions, we will make the decision to cull the list at that time. If not, we have only spent some additional resources on the time to make the videos and cost of applications, one we are able to incur.
The increased use of the pre-screen tollgate naturally opens the option to apply to more schools with limited up-front resources. I am not surprised that some are taking advantage of it.
@toowonderful- I was wondering why/how people got banned? LOL @soozievt I appreciate your perspectives, thus why I tagged you. @BeBop1 I think most of us are just perplexed at what a " balanced list looks like…have read like you guys nearly every post and still am not sure…as you say some kids got declined their pre screen from the so called safety then got accepted to a " elite Schoo;" every one says any audition school is not a safety & you want your kid to be happy …Add in if the non audition schools are places your kid can’t see themselves at…you end up with 15,20,25 & now even 30 plus schools on your list…My D is just a Junior so j hoping we can pare it down, but then you hear the advice, don’t bother visiting till you have acceptances in hand…this forum is amazingly insightful, but it can make you ( or just me) nuts as well…Agree w @MToverload-very personal decision…we all just want a great outcome
@soozievt Thank you for your reply and I truly hope no one says anything negative. My D has heard no to 5 prescreens so far and only one yes. You do start to wonder if she has what it takes to get in any program. I am not sure where to get an honest assessment of her artistic competitiveness for a BFA in MT. We are working with well known coaches who assure us she is competitive but I am starting to question how reliable that information is. If we were told she wasn’t; we would be steering her in a different direction.
Hi new poster here but I will say after a major meltdown last night I can firmly say this process is crazy making! There are too many requirements for each prescreen so much so that in trying to meet the deadlines we missed a few minor “rules/requirements” and are now stressing big time that those little things are going to take away a chance for a real look at her prescreen. I’m talking reading the work “or vs to” for song lengths. Some people say not a big deal others say it’s the end of the world. At some summer intensives they said “sing what you love” others say you’re doomed if you don’t follow the rules to the second and sing what they say. I didn’t sleep a wink last night and am sitting here trying to make myself feel better by reading all of the comments to see that we’re not the only ones that have made minor mistakes and that there’s still hope. All we want is for our kids to go for their dreams. I have many who would never let their kids go this path…shouldn’t the parents get a prize for letting them follow their dreams? LOL
@MTMOM2019 Just a little persepctive from someone who did this last year. My child failed all but one pre-screen but was ultimately accepted to six colleges for MT (a combination of BFA, BA and BM). She is now attending one of the best programs I have ever seen for MT…on par or superior to most of those “elite” schools with failed pre-screens. We could not be happier with the outcome and can’t imagine her in any of those other schools knowing what we know now.