My son is in a theatre academy of a magnet school. When he first started the head of the theatre department told us that is you want to go to college for acting or musical theatre here is some advice:
Do not get your heart set on one particular school
There is NO SUCH THING AS A SAFETY SCHOOL for any BFA theatre program
BFA programs in MT are the most competitive. If your dream is MT you should also apply as well to a range of schools with good BA Programs in Theatre
Treat this process as a business.
If you are waitlisted consider that a âcall for actionâ
@emf1959, thanks! could you say anymore about the âcall for actionâ piece of that?
Thanks @0827NJ
@katew529 The âcall for actionâ should be to have possibly theatre teachersâŠguidance counselorsâŠetc contact the school and sing the students praisesâŠget them on their radar. See if anyone you know has a contact at that school that can help you. Be the âsqueaky wheelââŠmake sure they know what they are the students ânumber 1â choiceâŠhave the student reach out as well.
My son was a no to BU and a Yes to Pace (tv film comm voiceover) Yes to New School Drama! Congrats to everyone on their acceptances! This is my third year in a row applying to colleges with a sophomore and freshman in college! I really believe theyâll end up where they belong! But wow, this audition stuff has given me some gray hairs! Good Luck everyone!
Congratulations @act3kid ! Awesome choices!
My son is a freshman at Emerson in the BFA Theatre and Performance program. Ask away! @robinmom
Congrats on all recent acceptance 
@katew529 You do not have to explain yourself. I knew what you meant earlier on and was not offended nor did I feel bad. All is good in the world on my end. To be quite frank, in many scenarios people who have Leg ups are People with Money. People with Power. People who are non minorities. Those are the leg ups. This has not changed and we all internally are aware of this.
Just like so many other people, those with training may have an advantage. My Kid leaves home at 6am and returns at 6:30pm Monday-Friday (and some wekends and even later for rehearsals) he has never participated in a school game or did other âteenageâ type of school events but he chose that life. If this is advantaged, he worked at it and worked at it some more when he was at home practicing. We would hope there is something gained from the sacrafices.
I said early on that Types are cast into these schools just like types are cast in shows. We all are aware of that. Sprinkle in some schools requiring grades and can afford it, you may be one of those people. If your kid resembles 100 other kids, your chances were probably cut.
My comment on CMU and many accepted through a particular coach was an indication that perhaps those people know what they are doing. I have also said that I can see why others need coaches because a mom told me that she lived in rurual conn and the only school with art was more than 200 miles away. She skyped so her kid could get some training. It really doesnt matter at this point. It could be socioeconomics because many schools are a business and they are looking for people to Pay Up. Its part of the game.
My comment was a response to the Pace situation that was singled out. I understand why it was intentionaly brought up and I needed to clarify myself.
There was no teacher that knew anyone there until the evening of my S audition. That is how they had connected. Oddly, this situation has been dragged (propbably more behind closed doors just from reading the tone of the comments) As a matter of fact, according to Naviance, 12 ppl applied last year, 1 was accepted and the same for the year before where 15 applied, no one accepted into the bfa program but 2 for dance. One enrolled. Pace isnt really on most of their radars I suppose. His teachers, many of them are from the west coast Or syracuse. My S did not apply to any of those schools. I feel silly having to explain myself but nothing special happened with connection.
There are Leg ups in this business and our kids better get used to it. We have some parents in the business. If their kids just slide in, its part of the business. If they can donate a nice amount of $$ or they are alumni, they have an advantage.
I can assure you that the majority of those reading this has more âleg upsâ than I could ever dream of. Just wanted to get that out.
I hate that this topic went this far. Hope everyone can get back to being supportive.
@STHmom your experience is typical and its great that it happened for you. @emf1959 just confirmed my post. For every BFA program that is a top tier or even local school, there are 20-40 applying and the odds are very slim for everyone at his school.
One again, Iâm not the advantage. The advantages are Money,Power, being in the business,having what they are looking for at the moment and can PAY
I love positive wnergy and helpful comments. I hope that we can move in that direction
Congrats to Pace, The New School and BUâs if I missed you. Its nice to hear of good news insteead of the stresses of waiting for decisions.
@EMVP66 My son got accepted into EmersonâŠI was wondering how many students they accept into the Theatre and Performance program. Was this your sons first choice? ( mine was BU but unfortunately that was a no) . Is your son happy there? Right now my S options are Miami U, Pace, Hartt and Emerson. Still waiting to hear from 4 schools. I was super impressed with Emerson when we visited!!
@actingdreams, in my experience, the kids who have to struggle do well. These kids work so hard to stay in school that thereâs just no way theyâre going to let things slide afterwards. The ones whose parents buy them apartmentsâŠnot so much.
Re Acting BFA @ CCM, anyone here who has experience either as a parent or student? Have heard conflicting views on the program.
Tagging @josh703.
@Jkellynh17 agree. They seem to be really hungry. Love to hear their background stories when they do make it
Josh was a very vocal advocate for CCM Acting and must be graduating this year. If he doesnât respond, you might want to DM him. One of my sonâs friends/slightly-older-mentors is a CCM acting grad who is regularly cast at Steppenwolf and has done some TV as well.
@emf1959, when did you hear from University of Miami and how (portal, email, call)?
Has anyone heard from University of Oklahoma or know when they will send out decisions?
We have heard from Oklahoma, it was a no. Email was sent this past Wed. Perhaps @dramamama2022 you will get a call? Take it as a good sign!
I still have not heard from Pace, no email stating they would be late in letters either.
Congrats on all the wonderful acceptances!!!
Thanks, @HopeinMT!
@HopeinMT we are still waiting to hear from Pace also. Pace and SUNY Purchase are the last two schools my D has to hear from.