<p>I believe summer programs do matter, but perhaps for different reasons than have been mentioned so far.</p>
<p>When my D was beginning the college audition process, she was in a similar position as most of the kids who decide to head in that direction. She loved everything about theatre, acting, singing, dancing. She had been cast frequently and well since she was young, and had been told by local folks (in our major city) that she was talented. But still as a parents we felt like the whole process (preparing, coaching, lessons, auditions) was so costly and required a lot of time that vetting on a more national scale was necessary. Some kids have that already. They live near NYC, can audition for Broadway, etc…we just did’t have enough of that here. A national audition coach told us that at the time, MPulse was the only truly competitive program left, that was not show-based. That may not be so today, as i haven’t kept up on these things all that well. Having her audition for MPulse wasn’t a make it or break deal…it was just another level of vetting; one that we couldn’t get at home.We considered the CMU program, BPT, Cherubs at the time. They all seemed like really great programs that could potentially offer a lot of things, but not the one thing we felt she needed to find out…can i make it into a summer program that auditions a few hundred kids nationwide and only accepts 30. </p>
<p>In retrospect, that audition served many more purposes than just seeing how she fared amongst her peers, nationally. it was an intro into an incredibly valuable 3 weeks that had her engaging, working and having fun with amazingly talented peers and phenomenal professionals in the business. </p>
<p>I don’t think getting into MPulse gives anyone an advantage at UMich for regular auditions, as we know kids who attended who didn’t get in and those who were rejected by MPulse and got into the school later. But i know that almost every school she auditioned for, noted and asked about her MPulse experience. Perhaps they do that with any summer program a student’ attends, i don’t know. But it seemed to have clout amongst the folks doing the auditions, which makes sense. Brent Wagner is a bit of a super star in that world.</p>
<p>If we had really been smart she would have started well before and tried for MPulse, Cherubs BTP and CMU…as again this is not a slight to any of the other programs. They all have something special…</p>
<p>Just wanted to amend what I said above, as another participant here brought another aspect of this discussion to my attention, and he/she is correct:
There are times when attendance at a summer program can help the student get into that college or university’s program, because the summer program gives important faculty the opportunity to observe the student’s talent and work ethic. For instance, I know a talented young man who attended CMU’s precollege program in MT and was tapped for admission the following year. Other parents have told me about their sons or daughters attending a program at, for instance, NYU, and then having a faculty member’s attention and support for admissions the following fall and winter, during college admissions season. </p>
<p>My post above was meant to convey that it is not, by any means, crucial to a student’s resume to have attended a prestigious precollege program in MT or acting in order to get into a good college program.</p>
<p>Similarly, at BUSTI, rising seniors have an opportunity to audition for BU, and the tech director also will let seniors know if they would be strong candidates for that program. The connection with faculty is an asset but obviously not at all a guarantee for kids interested in going to BU. Equally if not more important is the improved understanding of what faculty are looking for in applicants and what it would be like to go there as a student. I honestly think that last piece was the most important thing my son gained from his summer programs. And in that sense, he was better prepared for auditions. Clear, accurate expectations are SO important in any college application process, and the summer programs provide a great reality check.</p>
<p>My D never attended a summer camp and was accepted into 8 of the 14 programs she auditioned for. Not sure how much times have changed but she graduated from Boco in 2011. I would say summer intensives are more of a luxury then a necessity.</p>
<p>I think a lot depends on where you’re from. If you live in a city and/or your child goes to a huge school with lots of talent, and still gets attention, then you kind of know that they could most likely compete in a big arena. But if you live in a small town, you have the “big fish” syndrome, and have no idea how they would do compared to every USA town’s “big lead.” Summer programs can help with that.</p>