@muttsandMT I’m so glad my post was helpful! I’ll try to answer your specific questions.
U Michigan Acting BFA
Class size/Admissions:
Yes, the director gave very specific information about this and will answer questions candidly.
–they will accept 28-30 kids targeting a yield of 20 (he said about 2/3 accept offers)
–they will maintain a small waitlist and if you’re on it and Michigan is your top choice (ie- you will definitely accept an offer off the waitlist) then you should contact him and let him know
–I don’t remember hearing how many they invite to audition, but everyone who applies is not necessarily invited to audition, so you’ve made it through a sort of pre-screen already (I want to say I read somewhere they will invite/audition around 400? I don’t remember where I read that though)
And he described the rest of the admissions process in detail as well.
–they carefully review applicants to choose those they invite to audition, looking at the whole file (they know that applicants also have to pass academic admissions so they look at that initially)
–they invite students to audition on campus (1/10 was 1st) and at unified auditions
–Feb 9th they’re done auditioning students
–during auditions they call people in groups, then at the end of each group they discuss all the people they’ve seen
–after 2/9 they get together and discuss notes made during auditions, then they all (especially director) look closely at every aspect of the application- essay, film you uploaded, academic record, recommendations, etc. and decide who they’ll accept (director said “I’ve already looked closely at quite a few of them”)
–they forward their list to the UM admissions
–if UM admissions has an issue with anyone’s academics, the department can advocate for them if they really want that student- he said they can successfully advocate for students who are “on the edge”
–they will reach out with acceptances at the end of February
Acting/MT: At check-in they were calling Acting and Directing students to separate lines, and I don’t remember any MT people being there, but by the time we got out of our meeting/tour there were definitely MT people all over the place. You all understand when I say you can tell the MT kids from the Acting kids, yes? Sitting in the hallway I felt as if I were front row at fashion week- some amazing ensembles. Alas, actors are not so dramatically clad. Bottom line, I bet you’ll be able to hang out with your MT friends while you wait for kids in the afternoon. They are all in the same building and the atmosphere was pretty relaxed and friendly. Kids were sitting together all around the hallways- even the ones who had just met in movement class.
I’d also add in terms of logistics, there isn’t much parking around the theatre building so we took a lyft from our hotel (stayed at the Residence Inn 3535 Green Court in Ann Arbor, was quiet, beds super comfortable and free breakfast bar that was decent.) There are other parking lots around for a small fee, but it was easy to lyft so that’s what we did. If you drive, there’s a circular driveway in front of the theatre building to drop off and a free bus system that you could take back to the theatre.
Hope it all goes well and BAL to your daughter!