What is Acceped? Do you have to pay to apply for every school or is there a Universal application? Please help. Also how early can you start applying for BFA in MT programs. Help me save money. Thanks!
Yes you pay to apply to each school… Each school has a different date when they open their application process. Unfortunately you will need to check with each school. Look into Unified auditions they will save you a lot of travel expenses.
Acceptd is a site some schools use to process video and resume uploads. Usually an additional fee is payable. Other schools use Decision Desk or their own sites for application uploads. Each school’s website will include instructions and fee information.
Not only do you have to pay for application- you have to pay for auditions too… That’s one reason I am amazed people would end applying for 20+ schools- that’s a fat stack of cash
There are schools where there is no application fee if you use the application on their website. There may still be an audition or acceptd/decision desk fee, however. It definitely adds up.
If you are applying to 10-15 schools, plan on setting aside $1000 to $1500 for miscellaneous application/audition fees, maybe more depending on the specific programs.
Two years ago Point Park had free application if you submitted it by a deadline. Otterbein instructs folks to not apply unless they have passed the pre-screen, which I think is great.
Point Park is still that way as was Baldwin Wallace.
Add in fees to send SAT or ACT Score Reports to each school.
We did not pay app fees for several schools because we had been on their email list early and received a special app if you applied early. When a school is on the common app, you still pay the school fee when submitting . None of our schools had audition fees either. The SAT/ACT scores include a certain amount of schools to send to without charge if you know your list early. I believe there are no fee apps for hardships too. Check with each school now so you have as much info as possible when preparing your list.
Also check with your school counselor’s office - ours had a fee for sending transcripts. It’s not much for regular students applying to only a few schools, but for ours, it added up!
BW was the only school (of my D’s) that did not have an application fee- but their audition fee was also the most expensive, so it was kind of a wash.
To really give yourself a good idea of what expenses to expect, make a chart. List each school to which you are thinking of applying. Then have separate columns for application fee, audition fee and fees for sending test scores. Total these for each school so you know the total amount it will cost at each school to apply. (it will vary school to school). At this point, do not worry whether or not you get application fees waived. Waivers will be a nice surprise if they come your way. In the meantime, this exercise should enable you to know the maximum you will have in application fees.
I agree with @vvnstar. I created a table to keep track. Each school is different. For example, Michigan charged for the general application, Decision Desk profile, $15 for the prescreen and then another $50 for an audition if you pass the prescreen. Illinois Wesleyan was a free application and a small prescreen fee on acceptd. Also, check which schools super score before paying to send multiple test scores. Do not waste money sending multiple scores if they only look at one.
As @joyfulmama mentioned, it is a great idea to get on email lists and/or send your SAT scores to schools you are considering - my S had five or six schools waive the application fee that way. But, yes, there is nothing inexpensive about this process between all the fees, travel to the schools and/or unifieds and travel to make a final decision. That being said - it is a double edge sword. My S was one of the crazy ones who did 20 plus applications and was fortunate to have several offers and those offers ended up being important when negotiating for financial aid. Literally we were asked to send other offers when negotiating and it mattered.
The other way to save some money, if you know you are doing unifieds and you know you will have room in your schedule (and you do your research to know which schools do walk ins), you can do walk ins and then decide whether to apply. My S did some walk ins without paying a fee and then he paid on the back end if it seemed like a good match. That approach requires knowledge of the schools and is not something you would want to do with your top choices and/or the super popular schools.
FYI, if you are on free/reduced lunch or have other special circumstances, you can get your fees waived or steeply reduced. This is handled differently by each school, and your guidance counselor would be involved.
I am high need but I took the long view that this was an investment; I agree with VATheatreMom2020, that you increase your chances not only of getting in but of getting a better scholarship.
It is expensive to travel if you have to fly to Unifieds but there are certainly ways of saving money, e.g. going to an inexpensive hotel or one that is a little farther from the site. We were fortunate in that we could drive to NYC and go for the day or stay overnight for a single night. But it can get quite expensive when you add up prescreens, app fees, audition fees, SAT scores, Profile charges, AP scores, and any travel expenses incurred. As far as the SAT though—last I checked it is the same price regardless of how many scores you send, so there’s no need to worry about whether they superstore. I wouldn’t use their ‘free’ service since it mandates you need to send the score before you know what it is, not always wise; and it’s not much money in the scheme of things.
Regardless, be sure to budget ahead. In balance, I did view it as an investment
For my oldest non MT college son each school he applied to averaged $150-200, not including the visits. There were many surprises, like sending items certified mail or overnight and such. Second non MT son was less expensive because he applied in August for everything (many fees waved if early) and only sent his single best test scores. A spread sheet to keep this all in order is essential.
UArts waived my daughter’s application fee because my nephew went there a million years ago!
Some have low or no fee. We ended up with a pretty even balance of cheap & expensive. The low/no cost ones make the high ones easier to swallow.
It costs a fortune…its insane – plus there are separate “audition” fees