<p>I didn't see Theatermom's great explanation on UMich when I posted and it reminded me that I forgot to say that while some who auditioned last year waited a longer time than others to hear (they were holding onto those), some also get "deferred" and I forgot to mention the deferred thing. </p>
<p>One correction is that while Penn State is a rolling admissions school for REGULAR applicants, the BFA students do not hear until MARCH. That school you need to get your application in early for academic consideration but the BFA kids all have to wait to hear until all auditions are done. Thus they all find out in March. If you are a regular applicant to Penn State, such as my niece who attends, you find out during the year on a rolling basis but this does not apply to the BFA in MT program. I can say this having had a kid apply and get into it. It is a very good program, by the way and hasn't been talked about much on here this year.</p>
<p>Thanks for the PSU update Susan. If that really is the case, it is a change from the year my D applied. Although she withdrew her application when she was accepted to UM, we had already visited PSU and met with the Department Chair and he told us that they did utilize rolling admissions, even for MT's. He told my D she could expect to hear between 3-6 weeks post audition. I guess that changed last year. As always, things CAN and DO change from year to year. So, as these experiences suggest, its always best to check with each school individually and personally.</p>
<p>I posted this on the old archive, but your discussion of the EA option at Emerson reminded me of something. I know that there has been some concern voiced on this forum about the state of the Emerson MT program and I know there used to be frequent posters to this forum who had happy students at Emerson. If they are still lurking, perhaps they can reaffirm the status of that program for those who are interested. I wanted to add in the program's defense that my D, who was accepted EA as an MT at Emerson, received the nicest letter from the admissions office at Emerson, actually the nicest letter I read throughout her entire audition/application experience. It was personal and positively inspirational. It was her first acceptance and it meant the world to all of us. It felt like I had been holding my breath for months until that first "yes" arrived and it has never felt better to breathe....</p>
<p>The number of students auditioning for musical theatre programs has grown exponentially in the last few years. And this has changed how some schools are handling admissions. I believe CCM's added Dec. audition date is ED. Some schools with rolling admissions who used to accept kids outright are now deferring or waitlisting more.</p>
<p>Much has been said on this site about "yield", about which we were totally ignorant when my D auditioned. We thought they offered to the # of people they wanted, then if any of them chose other schools, the program would go to its waitlist. (This is true in some schools - just not all). And, I believe more and more schools will be going back to offering to a smaller number, because I have heard of at least 6 schools whose incoming class the last 2 years has been larger than expected or wanted, because all (or nearly all) of the students accepted, chose to attend.</p>
<p>And, although some of the oldies may sound like a broken record about going straight to the schools for info, instead of just relying on what you read here, or hear other places, often valuable information DOES change year-to-year. If I had a child currently auditioning, who got deferred, or waitlisted, and they were waiting on that decision, you can bet that one of the questions I'd want answered, was what their yield had been the last couple of years, to have a handle on whether realistically that would just be a deferred No.</p>
<p>Theatermom, maybe PSU changed when my D applied because the way I mentioned was how they did it last year. That's why sharing here is really helpful particularly when sharing experiences (which you can't get in a brochure!) but for any hard cold facts, it always helps to ask each school specifically and yeah, things do change a bit from year to year. I could tell people that BOCO had no dance audition and I'd be wrong for this year because now they do and so the forum can't be the main source of the factual informational and people need to find out directly. </p>
<p>Funny you mention Emerson because last night, my older D who is a soph at Brown, traveled to Emerson to see the student run production of Hair. Two friends of my other D's were in it. One is a friend she has gone all through school with here in our town, and even directed a youth musical theater program with this past summer, who is now a freshman MT student. The other is a soph who went to Stagedoor and was a good friend of my younger D's (but my older D had met her at camp and also once my younger D was in a show in DC and this girl lives there and came and joined our family for it). My daughter said she was quite impressed with the production and the talent in it. My daughter has seen a LOT of theater at all levels because not only has she done musical theater herself but she is very interested in it and has been to numerous productions and so I think when she says it was very good, it was. She also likes Hair (both my kids do!) and once we took all her friends for her birthday party to a professional production of Hair in another state. I saw Hair originally in Philadelphia when I was a teenager. Hair will also be put on at Brown this year, where my D attends. Anyway, lately there have not been people posting here who go to Emerson (they used to a while ago) and so I may as well mention that this student run musical was very good, as student run musicals can be. I know the local girl's mom was there last night as well as my younger D's best friend from home and so when I see them, I'll get their take on the show too. Another friend from VT is also a freshman in MT there. </p>
<p>what can i say? you guys are all great....thanks so much for all the info--in this time of complete lack of control, a little knowledge feels like a lot of power--even if it is just an illusion!</p>
<p>PSU
Not sure what this means, but I know a friend of my D auditioned in fall of last year and heard within a couple of weeks that she was accepted for BFA MT. So there must have been at least some kids who were rolling admission MT, because this was not an ED or EA type admission. They courted her rather heavily from what I understand, but she chose another well-known program after auditioning in January (another rolling admission school) and is a freshman there now.</p>
<p>NYDanceMom, then perhaps that is how it did work at PSU. My daughter auditioned on the last date which was at the very end of February and they said decisions would be out in a couple of weeks. I guess I assumed that all decisions would come in March at that school. Hers did and her best friend also got admitted at the same time and that friend had auditioned at Unifieds in NYC (neither took the offer). So it is best to check as this may very well be the case at PSU. </p>
<p>You are right about the "courting" there. They called soon after the offer was made, as well as the scholarship offer and asked my D if she was accepting the scholarship and could she decide by the end of the week or whatever date (very soon) they gave. The thing is, her other admissions decisions had not yet all arrived so she needed to have all her "cards on the table". The National Reply date is May 1 and while they were allowing her to reply about enrolling on May 1, they were asking her to decide if she'd accept the scholarship about a month or so sooner which in essence is the same as deciding if you are going to attend because if you are going to commit to attending, you are going to take a scholarship offer! It did not seem quite fair to make a kid decide before the other college decisions were mailed out (the typical college decision date is APRIL 1) and also because the national reply date is May 1. When this was pointed out, they did let her take more time until all her decision letters were received. Her friend asked for the same courtesy and got it. My D liked what she saw of the program quite a bit. They also ran a very good audition day by the way. Their scholarship offer paled in comparison to six others received. I hope some kids on CC will consider Penn State but I have not heard many of this year's crop on here talking about it. </p>
<p>We would like some input on the procedure or etiquette for informing colleges of any competition scholarships or awards received after application has been mailed.</p>
<p>When my D received her honorable mention NFAA recognition, they sent us a personalized press release that we could use for whatever purpose we chose e.g., college notification, local press, etc. I sent a copy of this press release and a cover letter to all the schools to which she had applied and asked them to include it in her admissions file. Absent any press or formal notification from a competition or a scholarship committee, I would just send a letter with the good news.</p>
<p>I'm assuming there is good news to share so congrats in advance.</p>
<p>When my kids applied to colleges, and after the applications were already filed, later in the season they sent letters with an update if they had some "news" to report....new awards, other achievements, new activity of significance. They listed or talked about these new things since they had sent the application. The NFAA ARTS Award was just one of the things mentioned in the "update" letter. It was not a long letter. </p>
<p>can anyone answer this question please: does anyone know anything about audition "drop-ins"--in otherwords, showing up at an audition (in this case i am thinking about the unified auditions) and hoping they will have the time to see a student? i have heard about this approach and do not know if it is a myth or if this is an acceptable way of auditioning. if it is something that is/can/should be done, then obviously there is no application submitted yet--does the student audition and then fill out an application right then and there, or do they audition and are then invited to fill out an application (or possibly not?!) has anyone every heard about this "drop-in" audition idea? thanks for your help!</p>
<p>Yes, it's possible. At the Unifieds many programs have sign-up sheets for last minute auditions. You can make an appointment for later that day, or sometimes within the hour. There were also cases where slots opened up because of cancellations.</p>
<p>Just remember that there is no guarantee that slots will be available. As this major becomes more and more popular, more and more spaces will be filled by appointment. If you just want to try and make the most of available time at Unifieds and want to fill that time with walk-ins, great! But if you really want to make sure you are seen, it is always best to schedule an audition time. Also, not ALL schools offer drop-ins, so check with those you are really interested in.</p>
<p>Since the question of Unifieds has been brought up on this thread, I thought I would mention something I have heard many times. Maybe Theatermom can verify if she knows this to be true or not. The word is that University of Michigan never or almost never takes a student from the Unifieds, although they participate in them. Are all parts of this statement known to be true or is this myth, to use Sareccasmom's word?</p>
<p>I don't currently have any "hard" information about students being accepted at Unifieds or not. I do remember that it was expressed to us at some point in the process that UM does prefer it if students audition at UM. I believe this is because they want to be able to spend the whole day with auditioners and their familes and give them an opportunity to meet current UM MT students, who are among the program's greatest assets. Many UM MT's serve as monitors on audition days, usually juniors and seniors, and interaction with them will tell you so much about the orientation and philosophy of the program and the students. I have promoted this notion in the past but as the new audition season has started I think it bares repeating: the culture of MT at UM is incredibly collegial and supportive. Achievement both inside and outside the program is never viewed as a "zero sum game," i.e., one individual's success is never viewed as coming at the expense of someone's else's. The students learn so much from each other and help each other at every opportunity. </p>
<p>However, that being said, I don't believe they would participate in Unifieds if they had no intention of giving each and every student the same consideration, regardless of WHERE they audition. Like all of the programs, they want to recruit the strongest class they can so they make themselves available to the greatest number of students. Participating in Unifieds serves that end. If you like, I will check with my D to see if she has any info about Unified acceptances.</p>
<p>When evaluating these "myths" I think it is safe to say that the smart thing to do is NEVER accept the notion that any program NEVER does something. To me, that's the first red flag that the statement is, indeed, a myth.</p>
<p>Theatermom, if you get a chance would you please ask your daughter if she knows of any UM MT students who got in from the Unifieds? I think that would be helpful.</p>
<p>I just sent her an email but she may feel uncomfortable asking everyone (I know I offered her services.....but I don't know what she'll say). So if she doesn't want to do it, I told her to let me know and I'll be happy to contact the school and see if I can get some statistics for you. It may take a day or two but I'll try.</p>
<p>Theatermom, that was very nice of you. She shouldn't go to all that trouble. I thought you meant she might know some people who had been accepted through a unifieds audition--or not. This would not be scientific, as we know! But it's all part of our collecting of info on CC!</p>
<p>Finally got a chance to talk to my daughter and she told me (without asking around in the entire department) that she knows at least 5 people in her class (sophomores) who were accepted from Unifieds. Her class has 25 students so that is 20% right there. She said there might even be more but she is aware of these 5 for sure. So one more UM "myth" bites the dust.</p>
<p>She also said that if a student CAN get to Ann Arbor they will get a better sense of the program and the kids in the program. The first UM audition day is this Friday and they are all looking forward to greeting this year's first batch of "perspectives," as they call them.</p>