I thought I would get a thread started for the class of 2024.
Techies are definitely welcome here too.
@techmom99 posted this at the beginning of the Class of 2023 thread
“Wishing all of you luck and urging you not to leave out the techies. After all, your kids can’t perform if there aren’t kids like mine who want to do the lighting, set design, costume construction, stage management and the like…”
My D, current junior, is excited and scared about the journey coming up. She loves acting on stage and on screen and has been building her list. Of course, we keep tweaking it as we go.
Yep, time to take my hands off my ears and stop loudly going “lalalalala”. This process is slowly beginning around our house too. So much to doooooo …
@Goggleson Hi! I’m glad I’m not the only one!! 
So here are a few words of wisdom that were posted on previous threads to get us started …
I’ll share my mantra…LOVE YOUR SAFETY.
Mom from class of 2021 here chiming in…For those of you who are perhaps making a final decision between a BA and a BFA program… bottom line…sometimes it’s not just BA vs BFA, but it’s about opportunities as well. Weigh everything! Also compare credits in the major. There is a big variation within BFA programs as well as within BAs. Some BAs come pretty close in credits to some BFA programs.
Each school has a Net Price Calculator, use it for list building. Hurdle #1, getting in, and hurdle#2, paying the bill.
When I started, I used the lists of schools to which people applied, you can look at the current year’s thread, and previous years, it’s a good starting point. I also made a spreadsheet of basic information, freshman performance, study abroad, etc. so I could compare. If I were to start this journey again, I would have started with the BIG financial picture, other kids/retirement, etc, and determine up front a financial strategy. Are we willing to take out loans, if so, how much? How much can we pay each year? What is our EFC (Estimated family contribution) and do we want to pursue merit aid, need aid, or both? The answers to those question informed the list just as much as the program for our family. I spent WAAAAYYYY too much time researching programs we could never afford.
Best of luck and break legs, class of 2024!
One of the things we learned- they say it only takes one but I’ll add that it has to be the right one, including financially. So cast a wide net and consider places everywhere (i.e. if your kiddo is focused on one city don’t lose sight of great programs in others). You never know where you will find your fit. It’s tough out there but you will make it work!
Thank you @NYDreammom!
And congrats again to your D! My D loves DePaul (it’s less than a 4 hour drive for us to the Chicago area). She will be applying there.
Thanks, @anastasiasmom ! It’s a great school and we are so excited! BAL!
Good luck, All! D auditioned early and was able to get two auditions in before her top choice in mid-November. It really helped to have several audition experiences prior to the school she really wanted to go to. The process can be nerve-racking.
@anastasiasmom , thanks for the tips on comparing colleges. I am totally new to spreadsheets - is there one software program that’s better than others or will the one that comes with your computer work? We have an iMac.
I used an Excel spreadsheet and then separated the categories I decided to use with tabs. I’m using Microsoft Office on a Mac. The good thing is you can determine how many and what categories you want to have listed (costs, prescreen, audition dates, if at unifieds for auditions, application and audition costs, and program credit breakdown are a few of them that I use) and then size the rows and columns to fit the data for your own spreadsheet.
You can use Google Sheets or Numbers if you don’t have Excel.
Thanks “moms”! I can see I have to do a bit of exploring on our Mac and see what we have. Must add getting myself up to speed on spreadsheets to the “to do” list!
@anastasiasmom Thanks for creating this forum! My D and I are excited to get started on this journey! I’m working on creating my spreadsheet this month 
Hi @Classof2024ATL!! So glad you and your D are joining us on this journey! The spreadsheet will save me from insanity … there is no way I am going to keep all of the facts straight for this journey we are all embarking on.
Definitely agree with @anastasiasmom on the financial picture! I’ve been through this twice (MT then Acting) and D1 had a coach who included schools that would be affordable for us when they made her list. D2 did not want to use a coach, and we were naive in what we thought would be affordable (she didn’t apply to CMU or NYU knowing they were expensive/not known for giving aid). D2 ended up having to decline some really good offers/waitlists because we did not want to take out huge loans.
Now for more positive advice! 
Set up a new email account just for college. You will get TONS of college emails! We didn’t do this with D1, and there were times she missed an email here or there. We did it with D2 and it made things so much easier! She and I both had access to it (her preference), and I kept all of the login info on the spreadsheet.
I used Numbers on a Mac and, well, my daughter’s in college, so it worked! ;-D
@yellahamma @MTmom2017 @letterhead and @NYDreammom Thank you for your words of wisdom and encouragement!!! It is much appreciated! 
Thanks @MTmom2017 for the advice on the new email. My S already gets lots of the advertising emails from colleges in his school email, and I’ve been wondering if we should set up a new one to avoid missing important ones from the schools he’d actually be applying to. But was wondering if that would cause confusion at the schools who already have one email address that goes with his name (though maybe only in some marketing dept. database).
So am wondering if you set that new email up for your D2 before Junior year or do you mean set up a new one and used that one as the email address once you started applications?
Thanks @letterhead and congrats to your daughter. I expect I’ll start with Numbers too.