<p>I thought this could be helpful for parents planning for future years…Everyone will have some good advice that could possibly be added to this one thread.</p>
<p>My D made the choice to apply to only a short list of top programs. Her plan if not admitted to any of them was to take a year and train and try again. She was fortunate and has good choices. However, if someone going through this process asked me for advice in building their list of schools, I’d say evaluate your student as objectively as possible and then choose at least one school that is less selective -either a BFA (I know all auditioned schools are a tough go and there is no safety), or preferably a BA program at a school that has a strong theater program and that also offers big talent scholarships or merit aid appropriate for your student’s stats. </p>
<p>This can be helpful for 2 reasons: if the student is not accepted to any of her audition schools, she has the option to attend the well-chosen BA and either fall in love with it, or take a year of academics and apply as a transfer if she changes her mind about the planned year “off” training. Also, if the student is lucky and gets accepted by a top program but also gets a very large merit scholarship at another school about which she is less excited, the offer from the other school can be helpful when appealing an aid decision at the first-choice school.</p>
<p>Finally, when we researched our EFC years ago, the Govt number was quite different from the institutional numbers, and our early research indicated the EFC would be split evenly between the number of students attending college. Now that we have a first-year student in private college and our D starting next fall, we have learned that the EFC calculated for each child (for 2 kids) is 60%. So at best, our expected contribution may increase 20%. We are still waiting for all packages, and the enthusiasm of good news is somewhat tempered by the anxiety and uncertainty around the projected costs.</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat as you, Sparkleshirley, only my S is my fourth child. I’m sorry to report that EFC is most certainly not split evenly between children. As a single mom of five, I’ve slowly gone broke over the years, and have had to take from my retirement and borrow against my house. I’ve made my choices and I’m glad I have but yes, this is a very anxiety-producing process. </p>
<p>Another recommendation: if you have the opportunity, do attend showcase performances or view them online at schools that post clips (I know Rutgers does). My D found this very illuminating.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t have done anything differently. I joke that I should’ve cancelled the rest of my auditions after I got my Viterbo acceptance, since it was the only acceptance I ended up getting. :)) But I’m glad I didn’t.</p>
<p>I can’t stress enough, however, to only apply to programs you care about. I was constantly feeling bad for only auditioning for 5 programs when most people had 10+. However, there aren’t any other programs that I loved AND could afford. This is very important. It’s pointless to waste your time on a school you KNOW you don’t love or cannot afford to go to. If you love and can afford 3 schools, apply to 3 schools. Adding 7 more will not change whether or not you get accepted into the original 3. That’s my only advice!</p>
<p>It can’t be said too many times…don’t make your top choice school your first audition. You’ll get better at auditioning as the audition season progresses.</p>
<p>Funny thing…my D’s top choice was her first audition and that’s the only program she got any sort of good response…she was wait listed there. Denied everywhere else</p>
<p>My son had similar results: he did a VERY early optional audition (in October, for Muhlenberg) but his first “real” auditions were next, in December, for two of his top three choices, and he was accepted to both. His other auditioned acceptance was his last one. He felt burned out in the crunch of weekly auditions following Christmas. Everyone’s different!</p>
<p>My son did an early audition (December), was rejected, then did a mid-January audition and was accepted. I think both auditions helped in preparing him for Unifieds. My takeaway would be to do an early audition if possible, or a mock audition if you have the opportunity.</p>
<p>Very good point re: mock auditions! If you don’t attend a summer program that includes mocks, try to go to a regional one (Virginia Theater Association conference in October is a good example) or mock auditions held by a coaching group. So helpful.</p>
<p>For that matter, I think preparing his prescreen was also very helpful for my son. He was forced to watch his own monologues! :)</p>
<p>I sort of embarked on the process alone. My parents are supportive, but they don’t understand the process and had little interest in finding out. My grandma was the one who bore the brunt financially, in terms of applications, audition fees, and also taking me to NYC for auditions.</p>
<p>I spent a lot of time researching what auditions were like online, and this helped immensely. You learn some of the things you can expect to hear at auditions (for instance, UMinn doesn’t say you sing at auditions, they asked me to, and I only knew to expect that because of what I read online.) </p>
<p>I think if I could do it again, I wouldn’t spread myself so thin - I applied to 9 schools. Some of which I will admit I didn’t care about very much. I received "no"s for the acting programs from: Uminn, Rutgers, & Fordham. Was not accepted the school at all at: Boston and Northwestern. Alternate for Pace BA Acting, and accepted to Marymout Manhattan, WVU, and NYU’s Acting programs. I only genuiy cared about 6 or so of them, and I would’ve saved time and money if I didn’t bother applying to the rest. </p>
<p>I bounced around with my monologues and which I was going to do. I wish I would’ve set it in stone by mid-October or so but I didn’t and therefore wasn’t as prepared as I should’ve been. </p>
<p>I wish I would’ve practiced my interviews. Only at NYU (my last audition), did I feel really comfortable. It’s not that I didn’t know what questions I was going to be asked, it’s that I hadn’t thought long enough about what the answer should be.</p>
<p>In the end- it all worked out and I’ll be attending NYU next year thanks to a generous Tisch scholarship. The experience of applying and auditioning is immensely stressful and very, very expensive but certainly worth it in the end. The experience I gained just from auditions was more than I ever expected to. </p>
<p>RomancePants, huge congratulations!!! So happy for you that you’ve been accepted to TIsch and that it’s a school you love. And you’ve done this all by yourself which is something most students have not had to do–Also, I love how honest and self-reflective you are. This will carry you far. </p>
<p>I would research schools better beforehand. I think most people do this, we were just hitting the ground running. My S ended up applying to schools that his director suggested, one that I suggested, and some that he did as a walk in at unifieds. The most unscientific approach ever! I think he ended up with a nice mix… by accident. Whew! </p>
<p>I think one of the best things my S did was attend a pre-college theater program the summer before his Senior year. He had attended a theater program every summer since 9th grade, but none of them really opened his eyes to exactly what a BFA would be like. The Northwestern program helped him immensely. He realized after last summer, that he as much as he loved acting, he had many other interests and wasn’t ready yet to be so tighly locked into one direction. I am SO glad he figured this out before the audition season, and before he was in a BFA program. </p>
<p>I second the point about mock auditions. The college audition prep workshop I went to helped me SO. MUCH. I would probably not have the 2 acceptances that I do if I hadn’t done it. The mock auditions we did ensured that I knew what to expect when I went in for the real auditions, which gave me a ton of confidence.
I also encourage next years’ auditioners to, above all else, be honest with themselves: about what they really want in a program, about what their family can afford, and most of all, about their own talent. I was planning on applying mostly to MT programs originally; however, I started to really examine my abilities, my strengths, my weaknesses, and what I really wanted, and what I realized changed everything. I determined that my voice wasn’t yet strong enough to be competitive in the insane race of tiny white girls auditioning for musical theatre, and also that I loved acting more than singing or dancing anyway. My list of schools shifted drastically, and as a result I ended up with choices that I loved a lot and also gave me more realistic chances to study performing. My only BFA acceptance is from a school where I was originally going audition for MT - if I hadn’t switched majors, I would be looking at no BFA acceptances at all. So yeah just be honest about your strengths and weaknesses and where you fit. I’m really happy with how my audition season went overall and I’m glad I have two great options to choose from. </p>
<p>That’s a great post @daniellececelia. Knowing your strengths is so important, not just for BFA auditions but all through life. I hope you’ll let us know when you decide. </p>
<p>I’ve gone through this three times and each time is different and each time I make mistakes and feel like I lurch from moment to moment. Takeaways: 1. I’d hire a good coach specializing in college auditions and advice. We cannot afford one really but found one who is excellent and whose prices were reasonable. I’d borrow money if necessary as a coach is an investment (a good coach). 2. I’d practice interview questions as much as the audition. My D messed up Guthrie, a top choice, I think largely because she was totally unprepared for interview questions and panicked and was super tongue tied. 3. Trust your judgment as an adult and don’t be afraid to encourage them to try different schools you think may be a match. 4. Follow your child’s lead and individual goals and don’t be influenced by other peoples’ choices.</p>
<p>Honestly, the only thing I regret is not having auditioned for Juilliard because I was sure I wasn’t going to get in. I know it sounds dumb, but I still wonder to this day what it would have been like.</p>
Hire a coach and start monologues early. My S applied to Northwestern and felt he had a good shot so we didn’t start his monologues until after he received his rejection in December. That was a big mistake. He should have started months earlier. We did have a great coach but only had 6 weeks to prepare.
I am glad that he applied to 10 schools. However, more than half were “reach” schools. We now know that the top schools will probably accept the same kids. So I would recommend picking 2 or 3 top schools, a couple of non-audition programs and a large number of middle or “up and coming” schools.
Spend more time researching each school and customizing your essay and interview questions. Visit the theatre program if you can.
Practice the interview…my S did that but there were some unexpected questions. The question that threw my S off was “what other schools are you applying to”. If anyone knows how to answer that one, please let us know. Several schools asked and I thought it was an odd question.
Really think about the type of program you want. S thought he wanted a conservatory style BFA. Many of the BFA and BA programs allow you to minor in something else. He fought us on this but now agrees (and with a lot of AP credits it will not be hard to do).
Unless your kid is immensely talented and has a lot of credentials, try to steer them away from applying to only top schools and be sure they have some BA options. No audition program is a “sure thing”.
Do not apply ED to your top choice. I was told not to apply ED to Northwestern but my S insisted. I really think they are pickier with ED students…a friend told me that everyone she knew who applied ED to Northwestern was rejected. We thought it would be good to know early and not have to audition but the audition process itself was a great learning experience and I feel my S grew as an actor.
I also wish he had attended a summer program at one of his top choices. He did one after sophomore year locally but not at a school he was interested in. </p>
<p>It is also disheartening for us that our S, with high academics and ACT scores, could have had huge scholarships at many good schools. What we didn’t realize was that most BFA programs have talent scholarships, not academic. So we are faced with paying almost double what we had anticipated. If he is happy and successful it will all be worth it but it is still very stressful. </p>
<p>It has worked out well for my S in the end…as most of you have heard, he is over the moon about the program he chose (Michigan). </p>
<p>My daughter is a sophomore and is interested in Commercial Dance (at Pace to be specific, lol). We are definitely doing things differently with her. She has seen what her brother has been through so it will be easier to steer her in a more practical direction.</p>