So when my D auditions for schools next season, what kind of time frame are we looking at for an admittance decision for the MT dept? I know all schools are different but what was a general experience? So the schools tend to wait until they’ve seen everyone at all auditions? Like if you audition in November say would you get some notification soon or have to wait until like March or so? I’m a bit confused by this and I know rolling admission schools are different but sorry if this is a dumb question. Just wondering if you will know something quicker if you audition early…
It depends on the school. Some (BW and Ithaca spring to mind) have an early audition, and then you find out if you are in, out, or “held” through RD round. Though Ithaca’s may be a true ED- not sure. Anyway- some schools dribble out early acceptances, but many/most make you wait through the whole audition season. Which makes sense when you think about it- if you are only taking 20 people wouldn’t you want to see everyone before you picked your 20?
Yeah I guess you’d want to see everyone. It seems like though if you audition someone and they seem like a good fit for your program and they fit the bill talent wise you would offer that person a spot . Guess it doesn’t work that way. Too little spots for too many kids. I guess they’ll always think they’ll see someone better later in the audition cycle.
Some schools do make offers on the spot. D received one of these.
Some schools call or email shortly after the audition with an acceptance offer or within the next day or two. D received a couple of these.
Some schools let you know after 1-4 weeks.
As noted in a previous post, sometimes you are put on a “hold” list until their audition process concludes.
Sometimes you get redirected or told you are accepted “to the theatre arts program” (which turns out to be a redirection or BA acceptance at a BFA program). Some of these letters can be somewhat cryptic to try and decipher.
Many/most schools begin sending out calls/letters/emails/web notices in late February or early-mid March.
A few (seems like fewer each year) make you wait until April 1 or the last week of March.
Then, of course, there is the dreaded Waitlist. D ended up on three waitlists. It was not very much fun.
Note that for some schools the earliest notice will be a posting on their student portal. In some cases, these can be somewhat cryptic to decipher, for instance, your “Desired Major” changes from “Theatre Non-Specific” to “BFA MT.” Or the other way around (gulp).
Some schools do acceptances and rejections in waves. Some will leave students “hanging” for several weeks after their initial letters of acceptance go out. I think some schools do this to gauge what their yield is looking like before accepting more students - so it may be a kind of “hold” status. Or not.
If you haven’t read the thread below, it makes for interesting reading - especially the part about “Waiting for Kaitlin” in Post #20. This is by far the most detailed account you will ever see about one family’s journey through the process:
I think it is the single greatest thread in CC history.
Holy cow I’ve gotta set aside some time to read that thread wowsa! will work on reading it. It looks unbelievable
This is great, but definitely gives me a glimpse of the “green-eyed monster” within. Boy, would I love to have so many pre-screen passes, offers, scholarships and positive responses from such great schools for my son! If we can just get one of the schools on his list, we’ll be happy!
One of the things I think the blog section of the thread does REALLY well is show how thoughts change along the course of the audition process. What starts off with “if kid gets in ANYWHERE I’ll be thrilled” can shift to critiques of the minutiae of various programs. Things that you thought were vital may turn out not to be important- things that were NOT important may become game changers. @claire74 - This is such a personal process, the feelings run deep - this will not be the last time the Green Eyed Monster shows up 
I got a hit of it last year when I was reading about the people with 10+ acceptances, and that was AFTER my kid was happily installed in one of her top choice schools!
Remember that the admissions notification time table will also be governed by the academic admissions timetable. Some schools do not release academic admissions until mid to late March, in these cases the artistic admissions may come after that date.
@KatMT how does it work at JMU? I think academic acceptance is mid January,my D’s audition is mid January too. So when will she be notified? Thanks!
@EmsDad Thank you for posting that blog!!! I loved reading it…and feeling what they went through. Just remiinds us all of what road we are about to travel with our kids…
@Joyfulmama At JMU if a student is admitted academically EA that happens in mid-January, and we will generally let those students know by the middle or end of February if they have also been admitted to the program. RD admissions decisions are sent in mid to late March, and we will let students know around the same time if they have also been admitted to the program.
For the most part we wait to make offers until we have completed all auditions in mid-February.
If a student is not admitted, or is waitlisted academically they will not hear from us whether or not they would have been admitted to the program if they had been admitted academically.
Thank you @KatMT ! She applied EA so hopefully January will be full of good news!
@theatrework there are a few things you can plan to try to help with the stress of this process. My D made a tiered list of schools (3 levels with 5ish schools each. Fortunately based more on her own factors rather than branding and with some diversity of program type) which I cross referenced with the possibility of getting a decision by Christmas.
We then made an effort to get her applications (and if needed prescreen/auditions) done first for both nonaudition safeties plus a couple auditioned ones - one second tier and one first.
The hope is that she can cut her list before the new year and enjoy her senior year. That’s the plan…
Son found out he was accepted to our one in-state option the night before NYC unifieds. February was full of rejections, and on March 12th he found out he was accepted to his two top schools. Everyone has a different story, but it often is a rollercoaster of a ride. Hang tight and have faith!!
Every school is different and every year is different. Last year CCM notified all accepted students at the same time in mid-February. This year, they have already sent out some acceptances to some students from the first audition day.
Rider said they will notify students within a week of their status. Most people (if not all) will receive a maybe and a couple will receive yes’s or no’s.