BFA Acting Class of 2023: preparation, prescreens, auditions, questions and support

Hi again. Re: Unifieds. Early on, I heard from a few knowledgable people, and on CC, some of the following benefitss of Chicago Unifieds, even though we live in NJ. 1) Spread out over 4 days, can get a lot of schools in, 2) most/many auditions are in Parker House and if you can afford to stay there, or even spring for the Executive Floor, you can pop back to your room between auditions, 3) somewhat less stressful than NY Unifieds.

So, we booked a room at Parker House. Once we had her school list firm, and I got the major calendar going with each of those schools audition dates, it became clear that since we were doing a mix of On Campus, and Unifieds, that we could definitely fit in our schools at NY Unifieds. She did 6 at NYC Unifieds, plus 2 Walk ins. These were all just for Acting, but some also have an Info session which you need to factor into your realistic schedule.

Hi all, I followed the acting board closely last year and learned a lot from the families that were sharing their experiences, both good and bad. There was a lot of good advice on everything from schools, to prescreens, travel, walk-in strategies, auditions, acceptances/rejections and more. I see that @FourStars joined the discussion, which is great because from what I saw last year, she had a ton to contribute and has just been though it - thanks @FourStars ! I’m just checking in because we’re all probably in the middle of getting prescreens done and in some cases, waiting for prescreen results and also trying to start of finalize all applications.

I wanted to share what we’re doing now and encourage others to do the same so we can all collaborate, strategize, commiserate, etc.

My son is applying to numerous schools for BFA Acting (no MT), and a couple that offer BA programs as well. Not a lot of safety schools in his school choices because most require either an in person audition or video audition, so he’s casting a very wide net. Thus far he’s submitted 8 prescreens. Received good news from Pace (both programs), Ithaca, CMU, & Syracuse. Received a no today from DePaul which was a bummer because it was one of his favorites. What’s funny is that in reading people’s experiences from last year, I thought we’d be ready for the inevitable rejections. However, I guess it’s natural that it stings when someone says no to your child. Trying to follow the great advice from last year’s families and roll with it. Make sure to stay upbeat and positive for and stress to my son that everything happens for a reason, there are plenty of great schools out there, and he will find the best fit for him in the end.

Good luck to everyone and hope to be sharing more in the future.

Hi, Is UNCSA scheduling auditions yet? How long is it taking people to hear about scheduling auditions after their applications are complete?

UNCSA is scheduling interviews/portfolio reviews already, at least for D&P. Not sure about Acting.

My D has submitted all her prescreens for acting programs. Passed Elon and Pace so far. Elon took about two weeks, just as the promised. Pace was fast - 2 days, and they promised within 5 days. Syracuse she submitted 3 weeks ago and she is sill waiting. They said 2-3 weeks, so maybe this week we’ll hear on that one. She’s submitted a bunch of others as well in the past week and a half, so probably won’t hear on many of those for another couple of weeks. Seems like 2-3 weeks is the typical turnaround time, on this? Some though I think are longer, like no answer expected until November. Depends on the school - rules are different for each one.

@CharacterShoes. Hi. I have not heard specifically about if UNCSA is already scheduling auditions. However, I can share that if you phone Admissions, they are extremely helpful. I even had to change an audition date and time and because it was early enough, Admissions was extremely helpful.

For both Syracuse and Ithaca, my D applied quite early like you, trying to get early audition dates and it was a longer turn around time. When it got to almost 3 weeks, I politely called and got an update, and then we did receive the notification.

@CharacterShoes received email from UNCSA that they would be sending out audition info early November for acting.

@FourStars did you hear back from Ithaca?

@AUDITIONMGR, FourStars’ daughter auditioned last year, not this year.

My son sent in prescreens for Ithaca, Syracuse, and Otterbein on Oct. 7th, still haven’t heard from any of them. He wants to know if he should start applications for Otterbein and Syracuse? Also if he should add more schools to his list…

@songbird17 My S was accepted to Otterbein last year. Hold off on application until pre screen is passed. After all auditions are over they will send a notice if you are in the “final cut” pool and stress that you get all things in order with applications and financial aid etc. They offered spot late February via phone. Good luck!

My D got notified yesterday on her pre-screen status for Syracuse and DePaul. Syracuse took about 3.5 weeks, and DePaul took about one week.

A brief update from a theatre tech parent – D19 has finalized her list down to 13 schools – 5 BFA and 8 BA programs. She has acceptances in from one BFA and two BA programs so far. Of these, I think she likes the BFA program school more than the BA program schools, but she has not sat in on classes yet.

She has already completed two on-campus portfolio reviews in addition to four on-campus academic interviews. She has four on-campus portfolio reviews scheduled (two in early November and two in early December) with three more “to be scheduled” in January. She is trying to get the on-campus portfolio reviews completed this fall so she has time to work on the winter show as well as the regional one-act competition (January-March).

One thing we have learned through this process is the importance of being organized!

Here’s where my S is on BFA and BA apps. Applying to 15 schools. Has been accepted through auditions at ITF to UNL with full tuition scholarship, Univ of St. Mary’s with partial scholarship, Loyola- partial scholarship. None of these schools were ever on his radar to audition for, but they showed interest at ITF and they can always be his safeties. Has submitted apps tor Fordham, CMU, UNL (accepted), Northeastern, Rutgers, UMinn, New School, UEvansville, DePaul, Univ. of Houston. Will submit this week NYU, SUNY, UNCSA, BU, Julliard. Heard back after 2 days that he passed DePaul prescreen. Waiting to hear back on CMU pre screen. Will have final auditions with The New School and UH in November. All other school’s auditions are/will be scheduled for Chicago Unifieds.

I was so confused when we started this process and of course the hubby doesn’t understand at all why I am even getting involved in the whole process. He thinks our S should be handling all of it. He doesn’t get the logistics of having to plan all this out. It can be pretty overwhelming. I’m so glad I’ve been able to reach out to those who went before to get advice on putting the puzzle together.

Good luck to everyone!

@collegeadmiss The high schools also push the concept that kids should be able to do this all themselves. For acting and MT, the audition process adds an additional layer - I think it is appropriate due to the cost, travel, and scheduling demands that parents are involved. I know I had doubts that maybe I was doing too much last year, and looking back, that was just baloney, I should have never doubted the support was needed. Family teamwork is a great asset. Especially the list building aspect, since cost was (is) a big factor. I am in the process again this year for kid#2, she is not acting and it’s way, way easier.

Parents definitely need to help with theatre kids. The pre-screen prep, audition prep, audition scheduling, add a huge layer of complexity to this that a 17 year old just doesn’t have the life experience yet for. IMO, parents that don’t help their theatre kids are failing their kids.

Hi everyone! I’m a newbie and this is my first post. I read through last year’s BFA Acting posts and loved all the info everyone shared and all the support everyone gave! My D is applying to 14 schools, 13 are BFA Acting programs, and 1 is a non-audition BA Theatre Arts program (Drew University). We’re in the Los Angeles area, so we’re going to try to schedule all her auditions here in LA over 4 days (Friday 2/8 - Monday 2/11.) She’ll only miss 2 days of school. She had 5 pre-screens. She got a yes from DePaul and Pace (FTVC). She heard from DePaul within 2 days and Pace within one day! Today, she got a yes from CMU, but a no from Syracuse. What a bummer! At least she got a yes from CMU the same day she got a no. Both CMU and Syracuse took 1 1/2 weeks. Now, we’re waiting on Ithaca’s pre-screen results, and also waiting to get emails from the other schools to schedule auditions. Looking forward to going through this journey with you all!

Best of luck @love2share!

@AUDITIONMGR - Yes, actorparent1 is right to clarify that I am describing LAST year’s audition process. I am just on to Pay it Forward. Happy to answer questions, just like so many people who helped me!