I remember the waiting was agony. And then the NOs but at least you knew where you stood. Then we got a YES and another and another, etc. This time last yr it got to be that I almost was wishing for the final 3 or 4 to be NOs just to pair it down, as D was happy with her choices.
Same thing happened to my academic S (non theater). His first 5 or 6 were rejects and it was really bleak in our house as he didn’t want to attend state U even in the Honors College. Then one great yes and we could breath. Then in one week he got 5 or 6 YES’s in a row, all great schools and we were like, how is he going to decide. Thank god this was back in '17 so we could go back and see a few again.
Booked a tour at Molloy! Being on the waitlist is weird. I don’t want to get her too excited about the program in case it doesn’t work out, but I also want to make sure she’s confident in her decision to commit if she gets off the waitlist so I figure it’s worth it to tour.
We booked a tour through Molloy (on the website). When my daughter reached out to Rebecca she said they were talking through whether it would be possible to do CAP21 tours and she would be communicated with the group of accepted/waitlisted students.
The more we read this thread and research this program and school, the more we’re excited about the potential opportunity. And given how competitive this audition season has been, we are grateful for the acceptance and the chance to dive deeper.
@namenotusedyet - I completely understand! 3 years ago when we were in your position, we too fell in love the more we read this thread and researched the program! My D is very happy she chose Molloy! No regrets!!
@namenotusedyet A little over 3 years ago, I did some research on programs that would be at Unifieds that my kid didn’t have on his list. I handed him the list about an hour into our 10 hour drive to Chicago and told him to look at the programs and see if any of them might be interesting enough to do a walk-in for. Molloy/CAP21 was one of 3 that he picked off that list - that he had not heard of or looked into previously. He was familiar with the CAP21 name as they were well known prior to the Molloy relationship. We checked the boards for walk-in opportunities on the first day - no Molloy. He was kind of disappointed. The 3rd day in, we ran into a very frazzled mom who had just arrived with her daughter and was trying to figure out where the rooms were, etc. We walked her to the main area for information, and were surprised to see a notice had gone up for Molloy/CAP21 walk-ins. To this day, I feel like it was Karma for helping that lady. S was able to get a time slot. I sat in a waiting area on a different floor reading my book and looking at my watch. Most auditions were 5ish minutes. He’d been gone for quite a while. He finally showed back up. Here he’d had about a 30 minute audition and discussion with Rebecca, and was super excited about the program. When we left unifieds, I asked him after everyone he met and the information sessions, etc. what he was thinking. Molloy had arrived at the top of his list - tied with a very well known “top” program that had been there all along. The visit in April sealed the deal and he has never looked back. There’s always a bump in the road here or there going through college, but he’s been very happy with his choice.
So excited my son got into Molloy Cal21! It looks a lot pricier than we anticipated even with merit and talent. Are they flexible with asking for more?
What is my favorite thing -
From the perspective of a mid-western parent, I loved the best of both world aspect of the program that you get the first year or two to have your kid in the dorms on a small campus in a safe town on long island while they also get the city experience and training. The thought of moving an 18 year old directly into a dorm style apartment or an apartment in the city would have made me very uneasy. (people that live in large cities might not feel the same)
From the perspective of my kid - the studios are amazing, the teachers working broadway/off-broadway professionals so they’re getting the most up to date - what’s going on in the field today - training and perspectives while building relationships with very connected individuals. Additionally, their performance projects are collaborative so they participate in the creative process from end to end.
On Financial Aid
I don’t have a great answer here as we never tried asking for more. Probably dumb, but the only offer we had in hand that was less was for a state school that was a back-up in his mind. I don’t think it ever hurts to ask - if there’s more or if there are other scholarships you could apply for. That said - look carefully at the estimates they gave you. I remember getting it and being confused. They include a chunk of money that is not paid to the school in their estimate. That may or may not be your experience in terms of costs. My kiddo does not live on campus so taking his bill and adding in a standard double room rate and the bronze meal plan (which is what I think they end up with their freshman year), the bill to the school, including the studio fee and before any scholarships/financial aid, should be about $53,000 - give or take depending on what meal plan you choose. You’ll have to add in transportation to the studios. I calculated that at one time - way back in another post. I want to say it was about $1800, and we did 10 packs for the LIRR. Some students shared a monthly pass with a sophomore which was a bit cheaper. So perhaps $55,000 all told before you subtract financial aid - based on the 2020-2021 tuition. Haven’t seen the 2021-2022 rates yet.
D is a freshmen, and with covid, this is her first semester on campus / at studio (and because of covid the studio has been split into a hybrid so two days became one live day). So hard to comment much about the training as she’s really just started. Luck or bad luck of the draw.
She does love the studio and greatly enjoys her instructors.
She and her friends travel into the city every weekend and hang out. I particularly love that part as she has told me she thinks she could navigate her way anywhere in the city now. Has already mentioned she’ll easily be able to train and subway to the airport when the semester ends. For someone who wants to live in NYC, this is a big deal. As @speezagmom said, I also like that she wasn’t thrown in to the city 100% immediately. That said, she’ll be living in Lower Manhattan for their summer intensive for seven weeks (will catch them up from the fall situation). And she’s already making sounds of wanting to move to the city for sophomore yr (which will likely be a no but glad she wants to). Funny because her home is in the Tampa suburbs and we could never get her to walk half a mile to her friends house. Now taking the subway and walking 10 blocks is nothing.
Can’t wait to covid no longer has its affect on the training (distancing, smaller dance classes forcing hybrid online, online vocal training) as they’ve done what they can do, but it’s not the same as being in the room.
We’re grateful to have a Molloy/Cap21 tour scheduled after Easter. Anything we should be most aware of? Any recommendations? Suggested questions to cover?
Also, we’ll likely make one of the hotels near campus as our home base, and venture into the city that way to get a feel for that. Any restaurant recs for us?
@namenotusedyet I don’t know what to suggest to ask/look for when you are there. I can ask my daughter. I suggest if possible ride the train/subway between campuses. If you have a car driving around Rockville Centre, Oceanside, and Westbury gives you a feel of the areas on LI students frequent. Hopefully you will get to meet with some students.
For hotels we either stay at the Hampton Inn in Rockville Centre or Westbury. The benefit of the Hampton in RVC is that it is walking distance to the train station. And walking distance to my favorite restaurant in RVC… Press 195…the best pressed sandwich and fries I have ever had. Can’t wait to eat there when I visit soon. There’s also a good thai place but the name escapes me.
I think the chances are pretty good. My kiddo was a Sophomore when it opened, and he wanted a single room so was in Maria, but I think most of the freshmen MT students were placed in Bogner because they knew the practice rooms would be a big deal for them.
@namenotusedyet If they do the learning living community, have your daughter apply. It was in Bogner and that was how my daughter guaranteed getting in. However, I will say that two years ago when Bogner was new all the freshman Cappies wanted to be in there and then most chose to move to Fitz (or MR if they wanted a single) for sophomore year because they said it was more homey. This year there are definitely more freshman Cappies in Bogner, but plenty in the others as well. And some of the ones not in Bogner wish they were because of the Bogner basement lounge. Guess the grass is always greener lol. Not sure if they will allow triples because of Covid-19 (they didn’t this year) but the only triple rooms remaining are in Bogner. So another way would be to request a triple if that is an option. But my D hates the lofted beds so that is something to consider. The price savings was nice though.
Freshman year, my son was in a “converted triple” in Fitz. That was definitely an experience - especially for a kid that always had his own room. They were not allowed to loft the beds and there was literally a walkway as wide as the door down the middle of that room as it was wall to wall furniture. I shudder to think what it looked like after they lived in it a couple of weeks post parental setup assistance.
