Our D in the middle of the audition process but there are already things that we would have done differently. I know that there are plenty of parents of juniors reading through this discussion and this post is just my thoughts and opinions so far. Our D is a great student with solid SAT scores so that is a comfort because she qualifies for a large amount to merit aid. She has friends that will be accepted artistically to several top programs but could potentially denied admission because of their academics. The academic acceptances have come easily for our D.
The 1st - We would have found a way to send my D to some of the summer MT programs that her friends were able to attend. For some of them, their pre-screen was waived to those schools and they had already established relationships with some of the program directors before college auditions. This is not a guarantee of admission but it certainly wouldn’t hurt.
The 2nd - D would have used a coach from the beginning. We would have started my D with a coach last January and had her pre-screens done long before her senior year started. Pre-screens have changed the “game” and these are critical to perfect these if you want to get to the live audition.
While there are many MT hopefuls that do not use coaches, I want to give you the reasons why I think they are helpful.
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THEY KNOW THE DIRECTORS OF THE PROGRAMS. They know their “ways”, their likes, dislikes, etc. The coach may not have a direct influence on the decision makers but they certainly have a relationship with them and have a “feel” for what they are looking for. Are they looking for legit singers? Belters? Huge personalities? Dancers?
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The coaches have many years of experience and they have seen the industry change over the years. There are only a few of the top schools that don’t do prescreens but six years ago, this was not the norm.
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Many coaches have smaller versions Unifieds. This is a chance for your MT hopeful to audition for some programs early. It also gives them a chance to do a “live prescreen” which in my opinion is a better.
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I believe that teenagers need mentors other than parents. The right coach can be encouraging and helpful in a way that parents cannot be. They can help instill a confidence level by setting realistic expectations. After all, I am not an MT expert. Our D’s coach is a love and loves all of her students.
D didn’t start with a coach until really late in the game. The short period of time that she spent with her coach was extremely valuable and I can’t imagine how much more our D would have gained had we started earlier. D was able to attend an early audition event and had great success. However, I feel that the students that started earlier had a much greater advantage over our D and had more call backs and acceptances. These were also the same students that had done the summer programs as well. Our D is “on hold” for three MT BFA programs. Her dream school is one of these three. She has auditioned for them and they continue to send emails and snail mail correspondence that she is still being considered but final decisions are not sent out until after their final auditions in late February for most of these schools. In late January and all through February, she is attending four live auditions. I’m not putting the names of schools down because I don’t want to “jynx” anything. LOL!!!
The 3rd - D would have researched more schools other than the TOP MT SCHOOLS!!! Her three “on holds” and her four auditions are all on this top list but there is always a possibility that she won’t get accepted anywhere. She has had one audition rejection and three live prescreen rejections, and two schools where she passed the prescreen but has opted not to audition. There are so many programs out there that are up and coming!!! This was her list - after everything is said and done, I will hopefully be able to post that she received at least one acceptance: Point Park, Baldwin Wallace, PACE University, Penn State, Shenandoah University, Coastal Carolina University, AMDA, Boston Conservatory, Rider, Otterbein, Texas State, Florida State, and Ohio University. She considered Elon, NYU Tisch, and Hartt but did not submit her application to these schools.
This process is just INSANE. Sending huge hugs to the moms, dads, guardians, etc - that are swimming in this vat of uncertainty!!!
