<p>Honestly, I think it’s too late in the year to start the planning and preparation for BFA programs for 2013. Aren’t most applications due in like two weeks?</p>
<p>If she wants to go the Musical Theatre BFA route, start planning for 2014. The folks at Fabrifaction can help her with the audition process. They are NYU Tisch grads, so they know the drill.</p>
<p>Looks like she is going to audition for the theater and music scholarships at 3 of the 4 schools where she has been accepted. She has her monologues and music already figured out… And wants to go directly to college so the next 6 weeks are filled with auditions plus a theater based college fair of sorts (CITA). Maybe that will give her some addtl options. </p>
<p>I am grateful for the input and will keep reading the forums.</p>
<p>I realize that your daughter wants to go directly to college but I’m still wondering if you might reconsider. She will be with far older students; many students (like my daughters) are older than 18 when they start. There’s all these pressures, like drinking/drugs, time management, independence, etc., and while every student is different, I don’t see how it’s a bad idea to delay for a year at the least. My daughter took a gap year but we didn’t think it meant automatically going overseas. She stayed home and worked 20-30 hours/week, took a supplemental German class at the community college, plus acting classes at a local professional theatre. She also auditioned for community theatre shows and was in a few plays. IT was a busy, very productive year and she has been positioned to start Northwestern this year as a more mature student who is disciplined and used to working independently. I think she would have had a horrible experience in college had she started several years ago; she was far worse in time management especially then. Again, this is individual of course, but I hope you consider that a ‘gap year’ does not mean merely going overseas, and that staying home and working and taking a class or two at a community college or theatre can be very educational, and will also bolster your college application. Best of luck with whatever choice you make.</p>
<p>Hi connections, just to clarify, the trip is her idea of how to spend a gap year. She feels she had worked too hard to graduate early to not move forward. She had the same problem when she finished middle school at 12 and the homeschool arts program would not admit her. This kid fights for what she wants and woe to me if I try to hold her back. I originally started this thread to see of I shouldn’t be pushing her harder but from hearing from you guys and bouncing this stuff back off her it is becoming clear that she has a plan … Small college now then bigger college later. Based on what we have learned, that probably means bachelors then masters.</p>
<p>Many young people spend their gap year by working for the first six months, thus saving money to be spent on travel in the last six months.</p>
<p>And remember that travel is a LOT cheaper if you stay out of U.S., Canada, and Western Europe. (Which actually are the only places I have travelled!!)</p>
<p>From reading this thread, ahermitt, it sounds like your daughter is extraordinarily driven and knows exactly what she wants, so I’d encourage her to go for it. Unless she spends the gap year training, workshopping, and staying active in productions, taking time off isn’t going to be incredibly conducive to personal growth as an artist-- and since the audition process is not going to get any easier as time goes by, now is just as good a time as any to go for it, regardless of her age.</p>
<p>You also mentioned that she’s worried about being behind, not coming from a public school education. I wouldn’t worry about that too much-- my high school’s drama department was a joke, and with the meager “training” I got there I’m lucky to have gotten accepted to any schools; the manner in which one received their theatrical training isn’t weighted too heavily. If she’s got the talent, she’ll get in. Best of luck to you and her as you go through the process!</p>
<p>Ahermitt, I also have a daughter who will be a 16 year old senior when she applies for college and I was wondering whether/how to make this a plus for her app? I know that others have posted that this does not seem especially young however I know that she is the youngest in her class of 400 or so students and she is doing very well in school.</p>
<p>Hello! Please just tell your daughter to follow her dreams! Do what makes her happy! I love that this site is full of parents that wholeheartedly support their children. There are too few parents like that. I can tell that you feel that way about your daughter as well, just make sure she knows. Programs like Juilliard don’t have standard students that they accept. They take all kinds of students of all ages. If she wants to be in a program like that, she should audition! If it doesn’t work out, she can always audition again later.
I took 2 years off after I graduated and moved to Atlanta, and it was the perfect decision for me. So that could be great for her, too, but it’s definitely a personal decision. The benefits of taking time off for me have been working as an extra and a production assistant on film sets, which most of the time you have to be eighteen to do.
She is young, but just from reading your posts, she sounds like a mature 17 year old. I’m sure that she will adjust fine to college life. Atlanta has some fantastic schools, but if she wants a really good MT program, she’ll have to move away. I’m sure that this is sad for you and your husband as parents, but she’s reached a point in her life where she has to make decisions based on her own needs.</p>
<p>Daughter ended up getting accepted to Brenau BFA program and received a nice scholarship, but in the end is leaning toward focusing on a BA because she doesn’t want to give up history and literature which she feels will serve her greatly as an actress in the future. I agree with her. </p>
<p>This thread and your responses was incredibly helpful in letting us ask the right questions. Amazingly, most theater professors recommended she go for the BA after spending some time with her. I am grateful for all of your insight.</p>
<p>Hi mom 709. I didn’t notice your question, until today when I went back to give an update. I think your daughter’s age will speak for itself… mine did. What shone even better is that in person, no one could tells she was only 16. She had to take out her drivers license and prove it. </p>
<p>As a homeschooling parent, I did get to add a note in her application mentioning skipped grades as an explanation for her age. If you can’t do that I would suggest that your daughter somehow inserts into her essays a little tidbit about being younger than everyone else, if it doesn’t seem forced.</p>
<p>ahermitt, I am so glad your daughter has found her home for the next few years. I have a feeling she will excel at whatever she puts her mind too!!!</p>