<p>@vocal1046 - in what way is this beyond belief?</p>
<p>I think it’s a pretty bizarre move to put so much investment into such slim chances. I know our statistical pals say it’s a 25-30% chance that you’ll be admitted somewhere but looking at class sizes it just seems like a pretty bleak prospect. If a school admits 10 kids and you have to fly across the country to be one of hundreds of auditioners vying to be one of the 10 lucky ones, that’s a lot of time, energy, and money to wager. Just hard to grok. But that’s just me and the kid is the kid.</p>
<p>That’s why I was so thankful for Unifieds in LA…we were able to audition for all the programs we were interested in without flying anywhere 
But I agree, the odds are ridiculous…</p>
<p>It is nerve wracking to be sure. But, Given that the odds of being “successful” (and there are many definitions of success) as a performer are even slimmer, the BFA audition process seems a good 1st step towards reality. I have known more than one “big fish” who got big eye openers from the process. I am thinking of one in particular who “everyone” said would be accepted “everywhere” and was rejected from all of their top schools…</p>
<p>Now, to be fair, a student of D’s voice teacher was accepted at CMU, Michigan, CCM, NYU, Ithaca, and a host of others. If my memory serves, she was 9 out of 10. Wish I could remember where the “no” came from. Clearly NOT a reality check for her…and neither is the kid from D’s school who went on to CMU, had 3 bway offers when he was graduating, and has worked non stop ever since in leading roles…</p>
<p>@toowonderful, The thing is, the student you speak of left 8 open slots in her wake. She could only attend One School. And there were actually a total of nearly 100 slots in those schools – NYU having the bulk of them. But still. Some talented kid will fill those NYU slots leaving the others open. So the odds are not as long as we might think. Yes, maybe there are 600-800 viable MT candidates this year. But that makes your odds 1 in 6 or 8 for the five schools you listed. Much better than the less than 5% odds everyone speaks of. </p>
<p>Okay, all, deep breaths. Cary Libkin from Penn State specifically said that you can’t be good at math to go through with this process. So, I am going to continue to invest and think of ponies and unicorns and rainbows. 
</p>
<p>I’m more responding to the fact that the kid, who lives on one coast, was just invited by a midwestern school to audition at Unifieds on the opposite coast. Possibly could have been avoided by applying earlier but, nonetheless, difficult to assess the cost benefit at this point since reason flew out the window in August. </p>
<p>I’m more of a Carrot Seed fan than the unicorns and leprechauns type.</p>
<p>@tramsmom- that is why a well researched, balanced list of places is so important, and it’s why BFA kids tend to audition at a wide variety of schools- even the exceptionally talented (and lucky) girl I was talking about in my earlier post- it helps the overall odds. The kids I worry about most - and I know a kid following this plan this year- despite LOTS of advice to the contrary- are the ones who only audition for one or two programs- particularly “lottery” schools, saying they ONLY want to go to X school…</p>
<p>I think these odds are really not that different than applying to Ivies or other highly competitive schools. BFA candidates should follow the same plan as everyone else, have a balanced list of reach, match and safety schools. The only difference for a BFA candidate is that a safety school by definition must be one that does not include an audition for admittance. Every year there are kids who make this mistake both in the BFA world and outside of it. CC is full of stories from kids who applied to only reach schools and were shut-out, whatever their major.</p>
<p>@vocal1046 I see it like you do. Numbers, odds and percentages; all very daunting. Maybe Ill think differently when its complete. For now, I’ll let my kid think unicorns, leprechauns and all expenses-paid free-rides to CMU.
What worries me more is when its over, and they have their degree…Then What? . …they join Actors Equity and work 16 weeks a year? making a median avg $7k? That’s what it says: <a href=“http://www.actorsequity.org/docs/about/AEA_Annual_13-14.pdf”>http://www.actorsequity.org/docs/about/AEA_Annual_13-14.pdf</a>. I know there’s exceptions, but don’t most members have to fall into the middle averages somewhere? ugh… I wish he’d just be a plumber. …happiness-shmappiness. </p>
<p>@pghmusician Not wanting to stir the pot and get this thread off track, I am sending you an old post of mine by pm.</p>
<p>Actually, most earn nothing. It is only by working under all union’s jurisdictions that an actor makes a life. Theater will, most likely, be the smallest piece in terms of dollars earned. Training can be applicable to any job and the peer-to-peer connections made while in school can be critical to future employment.</p>
<p>You cannot win if you do not play.</p>
<p>Here are my unicorns and lollipops. My daughter is at a school she loves, studying something that she adores and can’t wait to learn more about. She is intellectually challenged, creatively stimulated, and feels like she has “finally found her place in the world” (a direct quote from a conversation last night). I don’t know what the next phases of her life will hold. Like everyone, she will make compromises and choices. Some dreams will come true (I hope) some will not. But NOW- she is where she wants to be, doing what she wants to do. If her goals change, she is getting a world class education, and I am confident she will be able to get skills she needs to be successful.These are all good things. </p>
<p>I will echo what @toowonderful has said…my daughter has said the same thing to me over and over with the additional remark that she is so thankful her mother spent time here on CC because this is where she found her dream school. This is a great supportive environment. Take advantage of those of us who have been through this process. We are here to help. The 2018 parents have formed a Facebook group and we have continued that support now that our kids have gone off to college. Funny story, my daughter was in NYC yesterday at the drama book shop and a fellow CC mom and her daughter happened to be there too. The mother recognized my daughter and they got to met and exchange hellos. Theater is a small community…
Also, last year when everyone was telling me to relax that my daughter would end up where she needed to be I didn’t believe a word. I stressed and anguished over every decision, redirection and acceptance. Still not believing that the parents who have gone before me knew what they were talking about. That my situation was somehow different. But they were right, and we are right. Hang in there, it will be unicorns and rainbows, I promise.</p>
<p>I’ve been reading CC-MT for over a year now, but rarely post, so I feel a bit strange chiming in on this subject…however I wanted to post a “bright side” in terms of how we’re looking at acceptance rates. If you consider how many kids are accepted CUMULATIVELY across all of the colleges with good MT programs, that number is probably, what, about 800-1000? I know at the 16 schools my D is applying to, based on class size info posted here on CC, I am estimating there will be about 450 kids accepted into those schools. If you remember that a lot of the same kids are auditioning for the same colleges, the odds don’t seem quite as bad!</p>
<p>UArts: 20-22 in 2014 Freshman Class: all but 2 are girls.</p>
<p>Thanks @bisouu. I appreciate the sentiment. Though on the outside I may be just as stubborn as you were last year! lol. (but quietly hoping on the inside for my kid to see rainbows and pots of gold.) </p>