Great story @FROG65 - that’s exactly what I am talking about. Opinions can change over time, and after seeing you in person.
@collegemom2000 Yes, Combines & Unifieds are very different. The “No” college was still interested. The person did get other acceptances & in the end selected another school. Maybe this is very rare but it can happen.
@SoCalPops but that is the problem; it isn’t very professional at all to not take “no” for an answer. You get passed over for a part, it’s generally not a good idea to go back and ask for a second chance unless you are Emily Blunt or someone who matters. It doesn’t really show tenacity, it shows that you don’t respect their opinion (even if it was the wrong one.) If your daughter really feels strongly about walking in to a school that rejected her, then let her do it. For my own daughter, she moved on from each rejection and put her focus other places and ended up with a half-dozen offers from other schools. Best of luck to your D! Hope she proves me wrong. 
Just putting in my two cents. Doing a walk in for a school that has already rejected you is risky emotionally for the student. I am completely supportive of students being persistent in a professional way, but I think it’s crucial to consider what could happen once you are in the room with a school that has already rejected you from your prescreen (not at Combines) My son who is now a sophomore MT major auditioned at Combines two years ago and there was a school in the room that had rejected his prescreen. His focus was on the other schools and not the school that had rejected him. He was able to walk in knowing that and be positive about his audition. It’s important to keep a positive focus during this process because if the school remembers you were rejected or looks you up (which they do), it can become very uncomfortable in that audition room. This negativity can carry over into the rest of your auditions which in my opinion is not what you want to have happen. You need to be at your best emotionally for all of your auditions and this is not the way to do it. Having said all of that it’s truly the students choice. Just make sure your student is aware of all the pros and cons before taking this step
I’m new here but this conversation was brought to my attention by a friend who thought I had already commented. I think trying to do a walk in for a no school is a waste of time mainly because you have no idea why you got the no. However, I think a consortium is a completely different situation. If the no school isn’t interested let them go refill their coffee. I wouldn’t let them prevent my kiddo from auditioning. Just my thoughts. Hope I’m doing this right, first post here.
One does not become An Emily Blunt by accepting their initial, incorrect opinion. One becomes “someone who matters” be acting like someone who matters. It’s not unprofessional to value yourself and your talent highly. All they can do is say no again. Seems like a number of people here are afraid of additional rejection for their kids. Again, the prescreen to audition process is flawed and imperfect. The upfront no, might not have been a no if the same people at unifieds had evaluated you in October with the same mindset they have in February. Things can change.
@SoCalPops I disagree. Acting like someone who matters doesn’t make it so. Unless you have been in one of those auditions rooms, you should probably let your daughter do a few and then decide. The auditors are not always friendly, especially after sitting for hours seeing kid after kid. Once you see the chaos that is Unifieds, you will understand.
My kid already attends a great MT program so I am just trying to pass along the wisdom that I gained doing this last year and the advice that was given to me this time last year when I had the very same question. You do what you feel is best for your child. I agree the pre-screen process is flawed, but so are a lot of things. This is how the game is played, unfortunately.
Wow @SoCalPops - that is really something to say they are incorrect.
(By the way, I was not addressing my comments to Combines…I know nothing about them - but instead to Unifieds). The schools we auditioned for had their professors and panel adjucators evaluate the pre-screens. (They were not viewed by administrators or grad students). These people are professionals - and when I say that you are taking up someone else’s slot- it is not to pity the poor person who hasn’t applied yet (as someone mentioned above…). It is to say, these are very busy people who have already divied up and viewed thousands of pre-screens. But irregardless of that - I know how this is looked upon in the college audition world.
Best of luck to you and your D.
I brought up this subject based on the preceding string about “admins” viewing the pre-screens and making initial determinations. My guess is that everyone is a little bit right about your opinions based on one or some of the schools. And I can’t imagine someone remembering little Emily’s 32 bars and 60 second monologue after having viewed the hundreds/thousands of pre-screens that were reviewed by multiple people. I’m not saying everyone should do it, but I brought up the question again based on the experience of the posters who may or may not know what they are talking about. That’s all.
And adding to the mix, the parents have spent a lot of money for these pre-screens and the application process, and they will be spending a whole lot more money to one of these colleges. It seems to me that they should come to their own conclusion based on their specific situation and goals. If my D said, “Mom, X is taking walk-ins but they rejected me but I really want to go for it,” I would say “Go for it.” Trust me, my D is plenty familiar with the word “no.”
No, you wouldn’t ask a director to reconsider their decision after auditioning for a show, but this is not an audition for a show. This is the beginning of the rest of their lives. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there. If you or your child feel it would be inappropriate or you don’t want them to be psychologically scarred or the other myriad of reasons, then that’s your decision, but let’s not call other people inconsiderate or unprofessional or ruining it for someone else. BAL, everyone, and Happy New Year!
@mtnyc19 - like @BrennaK mentions, the prescreen evaluating process varies from year to year for each school and from school to school. Some schools have more than one faculty person sign off and some have just one. As far as assistants looking at videos - I have heard this occasionally but in those cases the schools were/are transparent about it and had/have a thoughtful process behind that. Schools want to make sure they don’t miss anyone they’d really like to see based on their videos.
re: the Combines discussion - FWIW, I also know of at least one student who got a callback from last year’s Combines to a school she had been prescreen rejected from. She was kind of dumbfounded by and even skeptical of this callback, but they ultimately not only called her back but ended up waitlisting her!
Random side comment - but I have to say that it really annoys me that prescreen schools would DO combines, or walk ins for that matter - what the heck were the hours of filming and editing about if someone can just waltz in off the street?
Yes, it is really something to say they are incorrect. It’s really something to believe in yourself, and not accept others judgement of you. It’s something to hold your head up high and say you need to see me. Because the opposite is to say they were right, I guess I’m not good enough. Chances are, any kid trying this approach won’t get an audition. But if a weather event happens and some prescreen schools are taking walkins because other kids didn’t show up, then you’ve got another shot - take it.
I know I keep bringing it up, but wondering if anyone has heard from USC MT. I know their website says they will notify by the end of December…and they are only inviting back a small number…but it seems like they would send something either way. (Or at least others have.) Just seems strange to hear nothing…but maybe that means there is no callback…and we are just supposed to know that. Anyone out there get some good news from them?
A little anecdote that supports the idea that the people who watch the videos definitely remember who has submitted to them and who they’ve rejected…
My D attended a summer program last year in which students were pulled out of group sessions to have individual sessions. One of the days, she was pulled aside for an individual session as she was heading into a group workshop of about 20 students, so she wasn’t there for the beginning of the workshop. When she was done she walked back into the class and the teacher (who was new for this particular workshop, and whom she’d never seen before) was asking the group for ideas on how to accomplish a particular physicality. My D said that she started thinking about this exercise that she was once taught, and didn’t realize she was actually doing it and not just thinking of it. So the teacher says, “Yes, the exercise X (my D) is doing is a good one…let’s all give it a try.” My D was stunned because she’d never met the teacher before, and the kids weren’t wearing name tags, so she couldn’t figure out how he knew her name (he said both her first and last name).
After the session was over, my D walked up to the teacher, thanked him for the session, and shook his hand and said something like, “I apologize if I looked surprised in class when you knew my name…I don’t recall having met you before,” and he said, “You’ve auditioned for me once.” She said her brain started racing, thinking how/when/why, because we aren’t from an area of the country where he works, and she kind of blushed, and he said, “I’m the head of XYZ summer program, and I watched your audition video.” Umm…she was WL for that program. She said she was mortified because she was the only one of her friends who applied who didn’t get in. She said that she kind of hoped he’d volunteer why she wasn’t accepted or otherwise comment on her audition, but he just let the “I watched your audition video” comment lie without saying anything else…yikes! Very, very awkward for her. I was very proud of her that she just thanked him again for the session and said it was nice to meet him, let it roll off her back in the moment, and then waited until the day was over to tell me about it and freak out a little about it, lol.
I understand it isn’t exactly the same situation as not passing a prescreen and then doing a walk-in…this summer program she attended was obviously one to which she was accepted, and she had no idea this guy would be there…but still, we were both stunned that the head of a well-known summer program (that has hundreds of students apply each year) would remember some random girl who didn’t get accepted. YMMV.
@luvbloominroses - Since this is their first year it’s likely the admissions process at USC for MT won’t always be working like a well-oiled machine. 
I think you are right to keep asking - hopefully someone will hear soon.
Appreciate seeing the different views and would urge each to learn from the other and avoid trying to prove a point.
We got the best lesson about trying to protect our children from rejection from our then 6-year-old about an audition when we asked her how she would feel if things didn’t go her way. Her simple reply, “Then I’ll just try again next time.” This is from the older kid who is now a STEM kid. She is also a networking genius–not afraid to put herself out there and not afraid of rejection.
We have told both of our kids “most people’s reactions are more about them than about you.”
OTOH, we urge the MT kid to be humble and polite, work hard, and be noticed for her talent, dedication and positive attitude. This is a collaborative business and nobody likes a jerk. It is also a small world and word travels fast. Strive to project quiet confidence, not brash arrogance. There seem to be disagreements about where that line is.
I tend to agree that if a prescreen school accepts walk-ins at Unifieds, then what is the point of all of the prescreen angst? They probably will get a share of kids who walk-in despite a failed prescreen, since other chances are given to those who didn’t even bother. Kind of a prisoners’ dilemma. Obviously for schools whose dance cards are full, they may not have this problem, but it may be a rational choice to skip the prescreen for schools known to accept walk-ins.
We haven’t heard anything yet from USC either. I sent an email today to ask. Since we are visiting LA, we wanted to know if we should schedule a tour of campus.
@CaMom13 - thanks for “listening”. I don’t want to sound like a pest…but also don’t want to keep wondering if the news is out and they simply are not letting the “nos” know. I agree…new program…a few hitches I am sure. Needless to say, USC has plenty of experience in this process overall…so hopefully it is coming together.
In reference to prescreens, I do know that a few schools (Pace, for sure) have laptops and pull up the student and look at the prescreen during audition. My D changed her songs between prescreens and auditions and the auditors commented on it. They knew exactly who she was so i have to assume that the decision-makers had already viewed her prescreen. We had the experience of being told at some schools that 800 kids passed prescreens for maybe 10-25 spots, so while passing is always good, it is no guarantee. Still huge competition.
As for everyone being qualified I have to agree with other veterans and say that many just aren’t. We knew a girl who got every lead in high school (where it turned out casting was political) and her prescreens were just awful. Seriously. Off-key, pitchy. Dance was embarrassing. She got no prescreen yesses and everyone her whole life had told her how wonderful she was.
Also agree, with less talented kids getting acceptances. There is a wide range of talent in my D’s current MT BFA class. Look and body type seem to take precedence in some cases. These kids are good, and super enthusiastic about learning, but they are way behind in training and performance ability. The auditors needed that type and chose kids they thought they could work with. So don’t assume that only the most polished get offers.
@BeBop1 You make very good points. I agree 100 per cent