Audition/class size numbers

<p>Is it OK practice to have a coach with whom you have not worked assess your D/S? We love our voice teacher, but she has become a friend... same with one of her acting professors. ( I like to think they are objective, but who knows!)</p>

<p>I think it is DESIRABLE to have a coach or teacher who does not have a vested interest in your kid (or a longterm relationship with him or her) make an assessment. That's a good idea. Of course, it should go without saying that you have to instruct the person to be honest and even blunt. You have to show that you are willing to hear their honest assessment.</p>

<p>Although this is a different subject, the other way that we decided that my S was competitive was by having him attend a summer program for MT. The program at OCU was wonderful and allowed him to assess his talents alongside those from larger locales and with more extensive experience/training.</p>

<p>I am very confused by the mentions here about academic and artistic selectivity. I only know a few kids personally who have tried for BFA programs (from our high school and from a performing arts high school in the area). I don't know everyone's "stats" in terms of academics, but I have an idea (from talking to parents). I don't know how everyone ranks artistically, but I have an idea from seeing how they are cast in school shows. And I have been surprised repeatedly by where these kids have been accepted and rejected. Some are "in" at schools (such as NYU or BU) that are reportedly tough academically when they are no where near the top of their class academically and have never had the lead in a school play. Some who were repeatedly cast as leads throughout high school were rejected at schools that should have been within reach academically. Teachers, guidance counselors, and parents have been baffled and unable to parse these results. While the guidelines noted here by soozievt and others are important to consider, I have come away from this process thinking that you should not be deterred from applying to your dream school for any reason, AND you should not expect to be admitted anywhere as a matter of course. No matter how we all try to analyze the audition process, it is an ART, not a SCIENCE, so it defies analysis. You can only try to beat the odds by applying to a wide variety of schools and by being the best that you can be.</p>

<p>Jumping in a little late here on the subject of UMich and their requirement to accept 3 in-state applicants. At our college visit interview last spring, we were encouraged, as owners of a second home in Michigan, to investigate the process of changing our primary residence to our home there, if our D truly had UMich at the top of their list. It seemed to be putting the cart ahead of the horse, so to speak! But it does make me wonder if it would have made a difference?! Neither here nor there at this point...D is thoroughly satisfied with the way things turned out.</p>

<p>Letsfigureit out, I just checked NYU stats and 70% of those admitted are in the top 10% of their class. The avg GPA is 3.63 and mid range SAT is 1300-1430. So while it's a very selective school, it's not one of the elites. Also, they weight talent equally. So I could see how lesser students could make it in. </p>

<p>Casting in high schools can be political. And often a talented performer who has been cast in the past is cast repeatedly as a safe choice -- one who has proven he will be reliable, cooperative, etc. It's sometimes just easier to go with the known quantity. And I agree that casting is an art. It's a subjective process in which one performer will be viewed very differently by any number of ajudicators. </p>

<p>Trying to see figure out the actual odds of admission is important to me because it will help with planning that list. Once you know you are academically & artistically qualified to compete, there are still a whole lot of hoops to jump through. With limited time, limited financial resources, & scheduling issues, it's another part of the school profile that's important.</p>

<p>letsfigureitout, I also have seen students with stats well below those in the median range of otherwise academically challenging schools get in to those schools' BFA programs based on talent. It may happen less at NYU than CMU and some other programs (which makes sense when the former is deciding based on 50/50 academics/talent and the latter is looking at 20/80 academics/talent). I agree that one should cast a wide net, but in my experience, poor standardized test scores are not a deal breaker except where clearly stated (UM). Grade averages might matter more, since this is perceived as indicative of effort and while programs are looking for talent, they are also looking for character traits. Again, someone will know someone with low grades who got into a great program anyway. In fact, I know someone in that boat. So parsing it is academic for us and not going to ever explain every case. Which is what makes it fascinating...Of course it's great if a student is brilliant in the classroom and on the stage, but many are lopsided, and what matters is what that program is looking for that year.</p>

<p>
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I also venture to say that the toughest/lowest acceptance rates are for girls pursuing MT vs. boys pursuing MT and vs. all those applying for MOST acting programs (with a few exceptions of the very tippy top acting programs).

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That is true. However, I think many MT kids looking for "safeties" or semi-safeties should really be looking for music/vocal performance majors where they can work on their acting and dance chops in an elective capacity. I'll venture to say that admission into good schools in that area is much easier than virtually any reputable acting BFA that I know of. I say this based on knowing at least six schools in my home state where a student could get excellent vocal/music training supplemented with good dance and elementary acting as opposed to the one school where you can get actor training that really only prepares one for professional training in an MFA or a pro studio. I imagine that's around normal for the rest of the country. Just some more food for thought ...</p>

<p>I apologize for asking this OT question, but how do I quote a previous post (like in #108)? If I check the box that says "Quote message in reply?" will it repeat the entire quote or will it allow me to choose a small portion of the quote?</p>

<p>I didn't want to experiment, and I couldn't find the answer in FAQ nor when I searched the obvious wrong words!!!</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>It should let you choose a section.</p>

<p>I'd like to know about the following school if anyone knows: Millikin, Pace and Montclair State</p>

<p>:) Thanks</p>

<p>Re-Assessment by an outside coach-</p>

<p>It is a very good idea to have someone else entirely coach a student for college auditions or at least watch the prepared piece and give feedback. I don't really think seeing 2 coaches for the same work is a great idea but if it's someone you're close to it's true you might not be getting as much constructive criticism as you need. When I coach a kid Im not familiar with it's so much easier for me to zero in on what needs to be worked on, and interestingly, the kids seem to handle the critiquing better from someone they don't know well.</p>

<p>I don't think that it is crucial to get feedback from an outside coach if your own voice and acting teachers/coaches are familar with BFA admissions and have worked with and know students who have been admitted to them. For instance, my D did not try to find an outside person to give feedback. But the people she worked with had had students attend BFA programs and knew if she was competitive. These folks were not at our HS and were private and both also taught at a theater school in NYC. But for instance, if I have a student who has only worked with the school music and drama teachers and if those teachers have not had students who have pursued BFA programs, I think they do need some other evaluative input. This would be further compounded by if a student's only experiences were on the school level as well when it came to casting, competition, or experience with other talented students and thus would have less ability to comparatively self assess as well.</p>

<p>Anyone going to post any more numbers?</p>

<p>snoggie ...</p>

<p>The way to do a quote that I know of....</p>

<p>copy and paste what you want to quote and then....</p>

<p>BEFORE the quote you have to type: [ quote ] BUT leave out the spaces I just had....NO spaces</p>

<p>And right AFTER the quote, you have to type: [ / quote ] BUT leave out the spaces I just used and have NO spaces.</p>

<p>Does anyone have OCU info?</p>

<p>Pace:</p>

<p>roughly around 700 auditioned. 28 accepted.</p>

<p>Hilary....just so we are all comparing apples to apples....</p>

<p>Were the 700 all for MT or for all the BFA and theater programs?</p>

<p>Were 28 accepted in all or were there 28 slots in the class? If 28 were accepted, then how many slots are in the class? Or if there are 28 slots in the class, how many were accepted? And were those JUST for MT? </p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>To all who helped me figure out quotes...</p>

<p>
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Thanks so much!!! :)

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</p>

<p>
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I'd like to know about the following school if anyone knows: Millikin, Pace and Montclair State

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</p>

<p>When my son auditioned at Montclair State, we were told that they had over 400 audition. They accepted 18.
Hope this helps.</p>

<p>Lesmizmom-is that 18 the number of offers to get a class or is the class size 18?</p>