<p>Good Afternoon. First, let me congratulate all the students we had the good fortune to see over the past several months. We are currently evaluating approximately 900 students who auditioned for our BFA Acting and Musical Theatre programs! Our last campus audition concluded this past Saturday. At that audition alone, we had over 150 students on campus…one of our largest audition days ever at Ball State. Over the next week, the Department will be carefully evaluating each student who auditioned with the hopes of creating stellar 2013-2014 BFA classes in Acting and Musical Theatre. We will be in contact with all students by March 15th.</p>
<p>We sincerely appreciate each student who auditioned and particularly thank the patience shown by each of the parents. It is a long and arduous process…that said, you all should be very proud of the talent, poise, and commitment exhibited by those who auditioned. </p>
<p>Thanks so much for keeping us informed! That sort of consideration goes along with the kind words and supportive attitude my daughter felt in the audition room. Of the 900 (OMG) who auditioned, how many were for MT?</p>
<p>shaun0203-in my unscientific poll, I don’t think there was ever more than 4 in a group of 20 that were acting. This past weekend in a group of about 50 at a school only 1 was acting</p>
<p>That doesn’t surprise me. At Elon this past weekend there were 12 for Acting and approximately 130 for MT (unless it was 12 for Acting of 130 total - not sure).</p>
<p>The approximate numbers are about 700 for MT and 400 for Acting…several of the auditionees audition for both acting and music theatre which is the reason for the total number of students being over the 900 I stated. Regardless, it is a lot of fabulous students to get through! Good luck!</p>
<p>As our audition season is winding down, I hope you all are finally getting a break from all of the hard work that you’ve put in this season!
We are now at the process of settling in and making decisions.
I wanted to let you guys know that our offers and waitlist offers will be gong out in the next two weeks!
We wish you the best of luck and break lots of legs in the future auditions you may have!
:)</p>
<p>My son is beyond excited about his acceptance to Ball State MT program. We have traveled the country and seen more schools than I would like to admit…Ball State was a standout in every way. The students were warm and inviting, the faculty was encouraging and enthusiastic about what the program offers and the campus itself is fantastic. For any of you pondering once acceptances come, I strongly encourage you to visit if you are on the fence. We were sold within the first hour of being on campus. We saw nine eastern schools (east to us from the west coast) over nine days and Ball State stood out in so many ways above the “bigger” name schools. They are doing great work in a very well rounded MT BFA program.</p>
<p>Hooray actsandsings! My daughter got the call earlier this week and we are beyond thrilled!! After auditioning for nine schools, Ball State is my daughter’s first choice and she is on top of the world now. We too visited the campus and were fortunate to meet faculty and other students. We just barely slipped our visit in before the Chicago Unified Auditions. So glad we did. She fell in love with the campus and the department. Such a wonderful group of people. It felt so right. I have to add, we live in Hawaii and it is hard to let her go so far away from home. But this is one school that we feel completely comfortable with doing that. I have every confidence that she will be well taken care of while getting the training and education of a top notch program! I look forward to more replies of the same. Good luck to everyone.</p>
<p>Congratulations to your daughter hawaiimtmom!! Were you at other auditions outside Chicago? My son met a girl auditioning from Hawaii somewhere in this process, but I don’t remember where. You get extra kuddos as the commitment of time and money to travel to these schools/auditions was a huge sacrifice for all of you I am sure.</p>
<p>My D got her call Tuesday afternoon, and is beyond excited. For us, there is an added bonus in that we only live about 45 minutes from the Ball State campus, so assuming she takes this offer (waiting till all audition outcomes are in before finalizing), we’ll be able to watch her shows.</p>
<p>For those of you considering Ball State, I can tell you as an Indiana resident that it enjoys an excellent academic reputation. My D has been accepted to the Honors College, and if your child has been offered that it is an exceptional opportunity. The campus is beautiful, with about 12 thousand students I believe. The theater program is top notch. There are several kids my D has acted with both from her high school and from other schools in our area that have or are now attending Ball St, and they universally rave about the training they are receiving, the individual attention paid to them by the faculty, and how well rounded the MT training is. Kids coming out of the MT program are true triple threats. And for worried parents, I can also tell you that it is a very safe campus. And there are plenty of campus organizations, clubs, and goings on to make sure the kids will enjoy their college experience.</p>
<p>Muncie itself is kind of your average small to mid sized Midwestern town. I’m not sure what the social life in Muncie is like (and from what I’ve been told by the kids I know in the theater program, they don’t have much time for a social life!) but it’s only about an hour’s drive from downtown Indianapolis. The theater environment in the Indy area is very active, with several theaters downtown and in the surrounding suburbs for kids to go to Broadway shows, top performers, etc. In fact, in my town just north of Indy there is a world class concert venue (the Palladium) which also has two theaters where they have a ton of both local and touring shows as well as performers that come in. Plus I know Ball State has shows come in as well. So your kids will have ample opportunity to be immersed in theater!</p>
<p>I know Ball State was one of my D’s top choices when auditioning, and for selfish reasons, and for her training, I hope that’s where she winds up. I think it would be hard for another school to compete. She loves the faculty, loves the facilities, loves the students she knows there, and knows how great the program is. So for those of you sending your kids to Muncie IN, you’re making a good call. And assuming my D attends there next year, we’ll be happy to act as surrogate parents for your child!</p>
<p>Ball State = The hidden gem of the midwest
That what my D says about it and it’s true!</p>
<p>Congratulations to all of your children for their acceptances and in whatever decision they make. I can attest that the BFA MT program is wonderful as is the Honors College. It’s basically WIN WIN WIN all around.</p>
<p>I am assuming that the first round calls have been made then! (Congratulations to everyone who has made it!!) Will you all be contacting students who have been placed on the wait list? How often, and to what extent does ball state need to utilize the wait list? I appreciate your time!</p>
<p>My son is a junior in the MT program, and I can confirm all that you have seen…wonderful program, lots of opportunities, great faculty, top-notch program. Congrats to all who were lucky enough to be accepted…!</p>
<p>Nickmtmom…I think your son might have done campus tour a few weeks ago if he just started working for admissions. If so - great guy and he definitely sold my son on the program!! All of the kids were extraordinarily welcoming and inclusive.</p>
<p>jeffandann…sad to report he is 5’10 1/2" - not sure that qualifies as tall :(. His dad grew five inches after high school - so there is still a chance!</p>
<p>actsandsings: my Nick IS a brand new tour guide…so that is a good possibility. I will take the compliment for the program in general, though! BSU is a great choice.</p>
<p>jeffandann- my son is 6’3"…come on in!</p>
<p>Good luck to everyone with their decisions!</p>
<p>Okay, I have to ask. Has anyone heard from NYC Unifieds? I know people who auditioned on campus have heard, and people who auditioned in Chicago have heard, but neither my D nor her friends who auditioned in NYC have heard anything beyond the “Congratulations you are part of the pool from which we are picking the class” email. Any news, positive or negative, from NYC Unifieds or are we all in the same boat?</p>