@takealeap, I’m sorry your D had disappointing rejections. My D didn’t get into any of her top schools either. But as others have said, your D did incredibly well for someone who got into acting only two years ago.
Maybe this will give her some helpful perspective: my D has known she wanted to be an actor since she was in a school play at age 8. She took weekly acting classes from age 8-14, did student films and community theater, got an agent and did some professional work. She auditioned and was accepted to a prestigious performing arts high school that has wonderful acting training and where kids routinely get into top acting and MT programs. In junior and senior year, she was cast in the school musical (very competitive since there’s so much talent at the school). She also won a YoungArts award with the same monologues she used for college auditions.
She went into audition season with high hopes. Her dream school was Rutgers, and she also auditioned for CMU, UNCSA, Purchase and Juilliard as well as lower tier schools.
She only got two acceptances: Marymount and UArts. So, she’s going through the same disappointment as your daughter, even with so much training and experience.
We have only one school left to hear from, and it’s Hartt. If my D is lucky enough to get accepted there, she will be absolutely ecstatic! It’s a fantastic program: an intense, rigorous conservatory with excellent training, well-connected faculty, and 10 weeks in London junior year. We’re trying not to hope because of all the rejections, and next week she’s sitting in on an acting class at Marymount and visiting UArts. But if Hartt came through, I would feel like it was a miracle.
So tell your D that she did great, and that Hartt is excellent. (However, yes, it’s true that acting students can’t audition for the musicals there.)
You asked about Marymount. It’s a decent program, but it’s only 60 acting credits there vs over 100 at Hartt. Marymount prides itself on giving BFA students a strong liberal arts foundation along with the acting training. It also leaves a lot of room for electives or a minor, if a student wants to explore other interests. Which is great for some kids, but my D wants intense conservatory training with few if any gen eds.