Husband just texted to say he brought in the mail and there’s a letter from UNCSA. Darn! We were expecting it, but still couldn’t help hoping against hope.
D does like Hartt though - I’m praying she gets in there! Unfortunately we won’t know for another month or so.
@actorparent1 I’m sorry about UNSCA. I have a feeling that Hartt is where she will be 
@actingdreams , as my Nana used to say, “from your mouth to God’s ears!”
@actorparent1. Darn about UNCSA. This is so hard. On us and on our kids. Do you mind if I ask where you live? Wondering how long they take to arrive in different places.
Wondering the same thing. A good friend from Massachusetts son got the letter today. He auditioned in Chicago. I am virtually certain ours is on the way to Danbury Ct. but my stomach will swoop and I’ll likely shed some tears (while my girl is in school) all the same. Hang in there everyone.
@FourStars , we live in New York.
It looks like the rejection letters just haven’t made it to the Midwest yet for UNCSA… Nothing in the mail today but I have a feeling that it’s coming. My kid hasn’t texted about a call and it’s after hours in NC now :). The waiting is mind-numbing
Guys-do not lose hope, re UNCSA! No news is good news. I commented on the UNCSA thread-but there is obviously a group of kids that haven’t been eliminated, or accepted, yet. They are probably waiting on this weekend’s on campus auditions to form an ideal troupe. I know of 3 gals, all in NC, who have not gotten a call OR a letter yet. Do I think that all 3 of them are gonna get THE call? Sadly, no. But one of them may
I agree with @owensfolks. The remaining acceptance calls will go out this week after auditions are completed.
Question about UNCSA: for those who received letters from UNCSA, did the decision show up on you portal as well?
Haven’t received a letter yet, but am wondering if I would see a decision on my portal. Let me know!
@Jamesdm25 The portal did not change prior to getting the letter. Haven’t checked portal since receiving the letter. No news is good news! BAL!
As the rejections come streaming into the homes of theater kids around the country, sprinkled with relatively few thrilling acceptances, I would like to encourage people to consider sharing their (or their kids’) disappointments on these boards, as well as their joys. And to encourage people to share even those lower-profile joys, the ones that they might not bother sharing because they’re not necessarily Big-Name Impressive.
I belong to an online group for parents at my kid’s HS where a mom recently called out the hive for being inadvertently elitist. The gist: The talk centers SO heavily on topics like which or how many AP/honors classes to take that it’s bound to alienate the parents of students whose kids take mainstream classes, or have special needs, or who aren’t necessarily college-bound.
Recently, I’ve been wondering whether, particularly around Unifieds season, these threads could have a similar impact on the many students (and their parents) out there who may be planning or hoping to study theater but who aren’t the ones getting callbacks to (let alone getting into) the Julliards or the Carnegie Mellons or the DePauls or the UNCSA’s. Or who may not be going to the schools where the people who ALMOST got into those schools will end up going instead.
There are a zillion reasons that students don’t apply to the uber-elite schools and a zillion other reasons that any given student won’t get into any given BFA program.
I have heard college auditors say they hate CC. Personally, I think the theatre threads are better than many others; they often seem filled with parents who want to support, encourage and inform one another.
But even so, I do fear that the tendency of these CC theatre threads to focus on extremely selective BFA programs may be skewing the perspective in some damaging ways.
May lead kids/parents to think that there are only a few theatre schools worth going to, with people failing even to consider a lot of lesser-known but still excellent (or perhaps regionally known, but not the subject of CC buzz) programs–including many that they have a better chance of getting into, or a greater ability to pay for, or where they might find the greatest personal fit.
May lead HS juniors/early seniors to create unrealistic college lists, forgetting that the posters on these “acceptance” threads are typically the ones who DO get admitted not to just one high-profile program, but to a few of them–and that numbers-wise, these kids are simply not the norm. (Especially for girls–but period.)
Suspected result: Mistaken perceptions of, say, Hartt or Montclair State or Western Michigan or other highly selective audition-based programs as some kind of “safety schools.” Families who are devastated when a HS senior is rejected from 10-20+ auditioned BFA programs and hasn’t been urged to include any non-auditioned options on their list, often with the rationale “'because my kid just won’t be happy anywhere else.”
One auditor at Unifieds claimed they aren’t comparing the kids to each other, which sounds lovely, but which simply cannot be true. Not when this many kids want these same spots! I had a hard time not snorting at this one.
These auditors are able to assess each kid SO very briefly. If they take you–fantastic! But the numbers are NOT on your side, and apparently, this has recently become more true with each passing year. ALL of these schools must reject many, many, MANY kids who (a) could have done amazingly in their programs and (b) do have it what it takes to succeed by many measures.
May lead families to take on crushing debt and/or blow retirement nest eggs and otherwise mortgage parents’ and kids’ future by fixating upon very pricey programs that they may later regret. I hear so many people say, “My kid is at [blank really expensive school] and loves it.” A small number of families can afford to pay $250k-300k for their kids to have 4 happy years studying at their dream schools, despite slim odds of making much $ upon graduation. But for the rest of us, I sure wish we had a way to know what percentages of grads 5 or 10 or 20 years out (and their parents) believe that it was or wasn’t worth it.
May lead to a scarcity mindset that invokes unnecessary anxiety, panic and stress, rather than an abundance mindset which tells us there are many paths available to happiness & success.
May lead people to buy into one-size-fits-all fallacies (for example, that a BA is somehow clearly inferior to a BFA for anyone who’s “serious about” theatre, or that a more prestigious program is automatically better than a less prestigious one, regardless of fit).
*I love the positive and supportive vibe on these threads, but I also suspect that even the most supportive and well-meaning posts could have a toxic impact on assorted bystanders. One additional thought: To any kids reading this: When you see parents telling each other, “Don’t feel bad about your kid not getting into X! This kid is obviously very talented; look, they got into Y and Z!” please do NOT read into that anything like, “Well, great for them, but I didn’t get into x OR y OR z, so I obviously suck.” That kind of thinking is essentially the equivalent of non-theater people talking as though the definition of “a good school” basically = the Ivy League, and that’s it. This might feel real, but as an adult, I can almost guarantee that you’ll look back later in life and realize that it’s nonsense. Wherever you go to school, your life will be what you make of it. (Which, I suspect, is one of the main reasons that college admissions folks and college counselors all seem to hate College Confidential.)
To those amazing, brave young people still auditioning: BREAK A LEG!
To all those waiting to hear: Good luck, hang in there, and remember that some wise person wrote an entire book titled “Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be.” (I haven’t read it, I just love the title!)
Do Emerson letters come on rolling basis or are they expected in early to mid-March? My D auditioned 2 weeks ago.
@katew529 thank you for this reminder.
I think overall, these threads on CC are very supportive. I’ve heard the others groups here, not so much.
As much as it pains me, I do appreciate hearing about the rejections, because it does put things in perspective.
One thing I did do (a couple of days ago) was re-read the thread about the stories of each kid, leading up to their decision. It helped keep things in perspective (kids who get rejected from ‘good programs’ but get accepted to other great ones).
I just wanted to thank katew529 for her thoughtful, insightful and kind contribution today (above). I’ll read this several more times today I’m sure, hoping the wisdom to sink in. I also had to share it with my spouse who keeps telling me not to read these CC comments “because it just makes you anxious and upset”. (I even thought about sharing it with my daughter, although I think these young kids with their wonderful deep and enduring souls - often have more common sense and ability to refresh, reboot, and rebound coming to these same conclusions often more adeptly than us parents.) ~with appreciation: another waiting parent.
I agree with the observations in the post you printed. My S17 is a theater tech kid, not an actor or MT kid, but he does, of course, interact with them. When he was applying, we did not choose the top programs. The main reason was that S 17, as a dyslexic and dyscalculic person, simply didn’t have the GPA and test scores required for top programs which admit academically first, like NYU. Secondly, we are in that bubble where our EFC is way higher than we can actually afford to pay and I knew that, because of reason 1, S17 was unlikely to be awarded enough merit money at the top programs, even if he did manage to get accepted academically. He’s the youngest of 5, a very pragmatic kid, and agreed that if there was only little chance of an academic acceptance or of being able to pay for the school that he didn’t want to bother.
So, we looked at other programs. I am very happy with the SUNY program he is in and so is he. However, I sometimes get the feeling that a program like his is looked down on (even if it’s just subconsciously) because it’s a state school. He is not at Purchase. I sometimes feel like people think that the more expensive a program is, the better it has to be and that’s not always true.
Out of all my kids only 1 participates in theater and I’ve always thought about, compared (in my mind)and marveled at the supportive/encouraging environment in theater vs. other activities where I have not found support and encouragement to be there in the same way. And I’m not referring to the “everyone gets a trophy” mentality. Tolerance, encouragement and acceptance! Love theater folks! And I don’t expect an athlete to play when performance is suffering, I just would hope for decency among parents.
@katew529 Wow and thank so much for that! I will also be coming back to your wonderful post again (and again).
It is truthful and grounded and wise. I agree with all of it and am glad it’s here with so much eloquence for us and those in the years just behind. Very wise. Very important and helpful. Thank you again.
@vpvpbp I would like to believe that no news is good news, but I live in Canada, and I might not have “news” yet just because it takes longer for me to get mail.
Is there no update on the portal after the letter was received?
@Jamesdm25 I’m rooting for you! Hope that letter isn’t in the mail.