<p>I'm wondering about the strategy for scheduling auditions. Did you notice any correlation between when an audition is scheduled and the perceived success of the audition? Do kids tend to feel more confident as audition season goes on? Looking at how our schedule will go, NYU will probably be the first audition. NYU is also one of our top choices. Because of this, I feel like maybe we should apply/schedule at a local school with an excellent MT program to experience an audition prior to the NYU/Pace weekend. Curious what others have noticed in regards to scheduling. Thanks!</p>
<p>I think it’s always good to have a “practice” audition before your top choices if possible. It helps get the jitters out and you may get some helpful notes on your audition material. And although each school conducts their auditions in their own way, it goves you a good idea of what to expect. Even better is if the early auditions give quick decisions. Nothing eases stress more than knowing you are already accepted into a program.
I would also not save your most favorite for last if you’re doing lots of auditions. D was a bit burned out by the last audition.</p>
<p>This has been discussed a bunch on this forum in the past. And you likely will find anecdotes of various experiences and likely no pattern to it. That said, I think there IS something to be said for NOT auditioning at your first or a top choice school as your FIRST audition. I think it is better to have some college audition experience under the belt. My D went through this process a long while ago but she felt she was getting better at her auditions as the audition season wore on. And her results seem to show that pattern, for what it is worth:</p>
<p>In order of her 8 BFA in MT auditions (all were on campus):</p>
<p>1: Deferred EA, Denied in RD, accepted to college
2: Denied
3: Accepted
4: Accepted
5: Accepted
6: Accepted
7: Priority Waitlisted
8: Accepted</p>
<p>She landed at NYU which was her first choice and 5th audition out of 8 applications.</p>
<p>Also, after the first audition, which she did Early Action in December (the rest were Jan. through early March), she changed one of her songs.</p>
<p>First audition - admitted after being wait listed
…all the rest rejected…</p>
<p>The question I would have liked to have had answered before we started the process was how many were on campus and how many were unifieds…</p>
<p>D is doing all on-campus auditions. We can drive to most, with only two flights. Think I’m going to try to adjust the schedule so that her top schools get center slots.</p>
<p>I truly believe there is no difference in admissions odds whether you audition on campus or at Unifieds! There are pros and cons of auditioning at one or the other, but acceptance chances are not one of them.</p>
<p>I haven’t been around long enough to really know but at least in our experience last year, those of us that were active on CC, there didn’t seem to be a big difference with on campus vs unifieds. I’m not sure my son got stronger as it went on, I think he remained pretty much the same…it was me that was unraveling on the inside LOL! I do think having a audition that was less stressful (it meant a lot to him but it was a good atmosphere) first was a good thing for him (WSU that included a master class the day before), it seem to set the tone. I KNOW having an early acceptance helped him relax he even said to me once “if all else fails mom I have a great place that wants me”</p>
<p>Interesting, at least to me, 3 of the 8 Otterbein MTs this year were from the same on campus audition date. And 2 of the 6 acting majors were from that same date. </p>
<p>Timing of the audition didn’t make a big difference here. She was accepted by both her first and last auditions. She’s attending the school she auditioned for 2nd. It was an initial wait list, that turned into an offer just a week before the decision deadline. Unifieds vs on campus also didn’t make a big difference. No discernible pattern of accept vs reject. </p>
<p>MTMC - I didn’t know that about the Otterbein audition results.
I agree that I don’t think location necessarily matters. I do think that the “adjustments” that son received throughout the process helped him to prepare for the next audition. Son had an acceptance before Unifieds which helped me to relax, but it was to a school not on the top of his list. Looking back, I noticed that the schools he was accepted to were also the schools where he definitely “clicked” with the auditiors, and was bubbling with excitement afterwards.</p>
<p>Unifieds vs. Campus was one of my big worries last year- and it turned out not to be necessary, her “best” (meaning they were highest on her list) acceptances came from unifieds. But, if you can get to the campuses, that is great too. However, if possible I would schedule something before she gets to her top schools. Last year D did Muhlenberg (where audition is for scholarship and therefore less pressure) 1st, then a school that has a strong BFA program and is close to home. (She really liked the school, did not like the close to home aspect). Both of those experiences helped her refine her “look” - (you can read elsewhere there was a very specific look for MT girls last year, D wanted to be different) and song choice (she had been working on 4, feedback helped her narrow down)</p>
<p>@entertainersmom yea can you believe that? I knew it about the MTs because I met their parents at the audition and at the brunch I met the acting majors. I couldn’t believe they were all from the 2/1 date.</p>
<p>MTMC - It’s interesting that the audition date was the one squeezed in between NYC and Chicago Unifieds. I have to give auditors a lot of credit for their stamina and devotion to making well considered decisions.</p>
<p><em>No daggers please.</em> 
This article came out before my daughter’s audition season, and as a teacher who’s sat through kids’ presentations and back-to-back parent teacher conferences, I can tell you that there is for sure decision fatigue. Like I said, this was just our plan, but when scheduling my daughter’s auditions at Unifieds, we prioritized her list and scheduled her top schools first, and as early in the day as possible without actually being the first few time slots. Or, we scheduled her audition as close after lunch break as possible when we knew the faculty would be fresh. The only audition where the scheduling didn’t work out was a block-of-time-required-school and she ended up being the last one auditioning before lunch due to being in the dance call in the morning. <a href=“Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue? - The New York Times”>Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue? - The New York Times;
<p>Just chiming in with comments that I’ve made on the other threads about this issue–so apologies for being repetitive! My son did Muhlenberg first too, as a practice run; it was in mid-October, the audition went well, and it was sort of a confidence booster. The next two, Ithaca and Otterbein, were on campus on the first two weekends in December–they were two of his top three schools and he was accepted to both. The January/February auditions (including one at Unifieds) were a dry spell–he was tired, didn’t do well with the relentless pace, and felt burned out by the end. Had a couple weeks off and then auditioned at a more local program and rocked it. Those first two and the last one were his auditioned acceptances. As SoozieVT says, everybody’s experience will be different, and I think my son’s results may have had more to do with feeling that “click” with the school and auditors rather than the order in which they occurred. I didn’t expect him to be one of the kids who seem to flourish in the Unifieds atmosphere, but it didn’t bother him particularly either. </p>
<p>Oh and by the way, in his year, we heard a number of Otterbein acceptances came from the same audition date–in this case, their first one, in early December! </p>
<p>D auditioned on campus at NYU Steinhardt last audition which just happened to be her first choice. </p>
<p>@toowonderful - I am curious as to what “the look” for girls was last year. I saw a picture of a group that did a master class at Michigan and was surprised to see that 3-4 of the girls were all basically wearing the same cut, solid color dress. Thankfully, they were in different colors…</p>
<p>@addicted2MT - the “look” I saw over and over was an A line slightly above the knee solid color dress and nude heel. I would say “strong” colors seemed to dominate (shades of red, blue, and purple most common) with long curled hair (what I think of as a “messy ringlet” style) Some girls wore character shoes, others nude pumps. BTW - lots of guys had a “look” too, jewel tone shirts (blue most frequent) and black or tan pants the most common option.</p>
<p>Now there is NOTHING wrong with this look- most people looked really nice, and as if they had spent time and effort on their appearance. But there was a “sameness” to people, and if I were on a college panel, I would think it might get hard to tell them apart. There were also a number of semi-formal dresses and sleeveless dresses, which in the bitter winter of the audition season (it was -6 the day we were at CMU) just looked uncomfortable to ME. And there were ones that seemed the over the top, I saw a couple girls in full length classical recital type gowns, the very best (I have mentioned it before) was the guy doing Phantom…complete with cape and mask. </p>
<p>Bottom line is that an someone auditioning should look nice, and feel comfortable. My D had 2 different dresses that she wore for the bulk of her auditions - both by free people if that gives you an idea of style, kind of a boho vibe, with dark tights and tall boots. At her 1st audition she had the solid dress (though still with boots) and she said she wanted something more unique, something that felt more like “her”. Like I said- there is NOTHING wrong with the solid dress look, I know for a fact that respected college coaches recommend that in some cases. Just putting information out there. </p>
<p>I think things have changed in recent years with the girls’ attire, based on the reports I have been hearing about the same style solid dresses and nude heels. I didn’t see that when my D auditioned in 2005 and nor did she wear that look. There is nothing wrong with it but I don’t think one needs to look so “uniform” and should have their own style. </p>
<p>As an aside, I recall at the Ithaca audition, the auditors said nothing. No questions, interview, comments, redirection, anything. As she was leaving, they commented that they liked her skirt/outfit! She got in.</p>
<p>When my daughter did Unifieds last year you could certainly tell the difference between the MT kids and the straight acting kids. The MT kids all had the same look, dress, shoes, hair…the acting kids had all different kids of outfits and shoes. </p>