And so it begins . . .

<p>My D just got her first acceptance for a BA in theater to Drew University with a wonderful scholarship! woohoo!!!</p>

<p>Congrats, that is great!</p>

<p>Yay Bisouu and D!!!</p>

<p>Congrats Bisouu and D!!</p>

<p>Great news–congrats to your girl, Bisouu!</p>

<p>Congrats, bisouu!!!</p>

<p>Yay the first one is exciting!!</p>

<p>all right and a big scholarship to boot! Guess you’d better visit Drew in March!!! or did u take that trip already?</p>

<p>We will have to visit in March for sure!</p>

<p>Congrats to your daughter, bisouu!!</p>

<p>How did your D’s auditions go @AMothersLove? We were able to switch to 1/26 for Fordham</p>

<p>TheatreMom74 - D began the second leg of her audition season with a VP scholarship audition at Gettysburg College Jan 18. It was her second time visiting the college and she fell even more in love with it. Thank goodness DH was able to drive her through the snowstorm to get her there! Her last 3 auditions are all clumped together (American U on Feb 15, CMU Feb 22, and Pace 3/1 & 3/2) and the auditions will be for both acting and MT. While D put together a very mixed bag of colleges, it has definitely helped her to refine exactly what she wants in a program. Hope your D’s Fordham audition went well! When will she be done with her auditions?</p>

<p>@AMothersLove We’re pretty much finished after SCAD and Fordham last month. She loved SCAD but didn’t really like the closed-in and intensive atmosphere at Fordham. We didn’t know students at LC live in and take all of their classes in one high-rise building in the middle of Manhattan. I don’t think she’s a big city gal, after all. The other BA programs she applied to didn’t require an audition. Hofstra allows an audition for a Theatre Activity Grant in March, so we’re applying to that. D’s friend got a full scholarship to AU and he’s ecstatic. We live in the DC Metro area and the school has an amazing reputation. Good luck to your D!</p>

<p>@TheatreMom74 - did your D’s friend apply ED? As a parent I would kill for a full scholarship at one of D’s top schools, especially one as highly regarded as American!</p>

<p>Yes, I believe he did. I think he’s an intended Biz major. I asked DD what his stats were and, in typical fashion, she had no clue. But I’m very happy for him to receive such an honor. </p>

<p>Just received the letter today announcing D is a National Merit Finalist! Hooray! Some of the schools she’s applied to offer fantastic scholarships for NMFs - but of course she has to be admitted! (Fordham: full tuition; Univ of Minnesota: close to full tuition; BU - half tuition; OU: full tuition + extras; USC - half tuition). She has finished all her auditions - now we just wait!</p>

<p>Congrats mountainhiker! My D missed it by one point when our state had a particularly high score this year.
But there are some great offers out there for NMF’s. Glad you have several potential options. :-)</p>

<p>dramamom0804: I have a good friend who’s D also missed by 1 point; her state’s cutoff increased by 4 points this year - seems so unfair! But there are many schools that will still award great academic merit aid, regardless of Natl Merit status. Thanks and good luck!</p>

<p>I noticed on BU’s website it says that one of the NMFS requirements is that you name them your first choice by March 1. Can anyone tell me how this works? I didn’t see anything on the USC Scholarship page about a date…it just says you must let NM know that USC is your first choice. I also didn’t see a date for Fordham…and I think they admit on a rolling basis after auditions…but they aren’t listed as our # 1 choice right now. I don’t want to screw this up, but how exactly does it work? Could we miss out at one school while waiting for another?</p>

<p>MsMommy - if you’re looking at this forum on your computer (not on a mobile device), there is a listing on the left side of the page of TOP FORUMS; under that heading is a forum called “Financial Aid and Scholarships.” Once you click on that, it will take you to a new page, and there is a sub-forum there for “National Merit Scholarships.” You should be able to find all the info you need about the strategies for naming your “first choice” college. It is a bit convoluted and confusing in my opinion. Plz send me a PM if you need more info.</p>