Oppose to taking a gap year (because that just isn’t an option), I have considered re-auditioning during my first year of my undergrad (studying voice) for MT again. It’s not I that had bad auditions, I received a lot of positive feedback from amazing schools for having a great audition. I try not to read into it because of my outcomes with acceptances. Can anyone or parents shine some light on the chances of transferring, stories of transferring, and information on transferring (besides the fact you may have to restart as a freshman). This process has been extremely stressful for some us, and any information would be amazing to leave some hope.
@berrytenor congrats on your successful auditions and positive feedback. Others may disagree-but I believe that each year of pursuing MT is becoming more competitive. My D’s BFF is living with us: She went to her non-audition MT safety in Fall; left in December, and is now deciding among 3 great programs for BFA Acting for Fall. For her, one of the benefits of “trying” MT was that she hated the rigor of dance, and that her gift is Acting.
I offer you the following (as the mom of a gap year gal) NOT to convince you to do a gap year: But to go in, eyes wide open: If you pursue this route-get right on it. Like, now. Hire a coach if you can. Write your essays, contact the school(s) that you want to re-audition at and ask them if the academic steps can be waived/reduced, due to the fact that you applied last year. BUDGET your audition dates and travel plans: How will you get from your Freshman school to auditions? When? What will you tell current faculty when you have to travel?
They say that insanity is doing the same thing, and expecting a different result: If you can, reach out to schools where you were rejected, and ask for feedback. This unfortunately, is not solely about talent: There’s look. There’s type. There’s breadth and depth of understanding one’s monologues. This goes back to my coach recommendation. Yes-kids get into top schools without a coach-but especially if it’s your second year auditioning: A coach may be invaluable in determining what aspect made it a no instead of a yes last year: Was it song choice? Was it presence (lack of confidence)?
There are a bunch of great coaches; and I am sure that everyone thinks that theirs is the best: But this 2nd year my D partnered with Chelsea Diehl and her team at MCA (Boston.) Best decision ever; and best money spent in this whole process. If I had a younger child pursuing MT, I would skimp on hotel stays (maybe do all Unifieds), and SOMEHOW find the $ to budget a National, well established coach.
@berrytenor if cost is an issue (as it is for most of us!), often for transfers there is not much scholarship money available. It seems that the majority of scholarship money goes to first time freshmen, so even if you have to start over as a freshman (most MT programs you do), you will not get the benefit of being a “real” freshman.
My non-PA oldest kid looked into transferring from a school where he had a full ride to one that he’d been offered significant scholarship money as an incoming freshman. The money just wasn’t there for a transfer. He ended up loving the school where he had a full ride and staying, but it would have been financially difficult for him to transfer. Instead he graduated with no debt.
All that being said, D1’s MT program had several transfers from other schools who started over as freshmen.
Good advice here, especially about scholarships. Once you take a single unit of college after you graduate from high school, most schools see you as a transfer…you are no longer eligible for all the freshman merit money you see on university websites; however, you will likely still start out as a freshman in the program to follow the 4-year cohort plan…only advantage would be getting GE units out of the way to free up schedule for additional classes you want to take (in major). Explore a part-time job to fund your gap year and start now on audition prep and training.
@berrytenor my daughter transferred last year from MT at BoCo to Syracuse MT. Her situation was a little different because she had been previously accepted to Syracuse MT the previous year as a senior in High school. She did restart as a freshman but is ahead of others as far as credits. Another program offered her a transfer to MT as a sophomore mid year with a decent scholarship too. So it is possible. I agree with others though that financially you’ll get your best offers if you do gap year and re-audition as freshman.
@muscialmama @loribelle @owensfolks Thank you so much! I think the best thing for me to do is just contact the schools I’m interested in and hopefully talk to the departments and discuss the situation. I’ve heard stories of students receiving full-ride, talent, transfer, and outside scholarships. If I stayed at the college I’ve committed to I’ll have my first year of school covered, get a couple gen-eds finished, continue my training at my ballet, stay close to my talent agency, and etc… (I’m trying to stay away from conservatories because of how things transfer)
Hi! I saw this discussion and was wondering how things have been working out for you. I’m applying to several MT programs this year, but I’m worried about not getting accepted, since transferring would be hard for me financially as well. I’ve had a family emergency that has put a lot of pressure on me these past few months, and I’m not very well prepared for my auditions coming up in a week… If anyone has any advice here, that would be great too. I’m only auditioning for 5 institutions because we can’t afford all the application/audition fees, travelling for auditions, etc. I’m just not sure what to do at this point.
@youngscrappyandalwayshungry , my advice would be to do the best you can at you auditions, and if you don’t get in anywhere, take a gap year. Since money is an issue, you can get a part-time job during the gap year to earn some extra money, and also work with a coach who can help you pick the best schools for you and help you pick the right material to show you at your best. Many people find a gap year helpful because it gives them the opportunity to focus on the auditions and applications without the stress of senior year and high school assignments and finals and things like that. And if you take a gap year, then you still get all the good scholarships for incoming freshmen, which you often don’t get if you start at one college and then transfer. Good luck to you!
@youngscrappyandalwayshungry Hey! Things have been ten times better, but still stressful as I am still doing a lot by myself still! I’ve passed all my prescreens so far about 8 (waiting on a few more schools). But, I also got an amazing coach (who has been my rock), continued with my voice coach, and have been training with a pre-professional ballet academy. Last year, I scheduled and went to every audition all by myself at 17 (I was a mess)! I come from a single-parent household and have been through financial hardships my whole life, so I get you!
I thought about the gap year, but I’m getting a lot of GenEds done. I’ll be a nontraditional freshman, but there’s a greater chance I have of getting a minor compared to a traditional on a MT track (unless I land at a conservatory).
Also, don’t fear about not getting in! Don’t fear about having to transfer either! I ended up with no artisitc acceptances except for the university I’m attending. Either which way this goes, you’ll be fine! Schools and programs understand situations. There’s fee waivers for applications, prescreens, and you’re still considered for most scholarships through the university and department. Plus A few college coaches give out scholarships too!
If you have any questions. Please feel free to PM me!
@berrytenor hey! I was wondering if you could give us an update on how you’re doing right now. I’m a senior looking to pursue MT/Acting. I passed 4/7 of my prescreens, but when I went into most of my auditions I felt unprepared compared to most of the other students. I just was unaware of how intense and rigorous this entire process was. Just yesterday, I got the rejection letter from Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, my dream school, for both acting and MT. As you can imagine, I was devastated and am unsure of my capability to get into any of my other schools, hence why I’m here. I was wondering, how have auditions been for you so far? Have you heard back from anywhere yet? Please get back to me as soon as I can!
Hey @niksalad ! I passed all 10 of my prescreens (mostly competitive schools). I did Chicago Unifieds and I felt I did amazing. I think I auditioned at 12-13 schools? I haven’t heard from any schools yet, but I am praying for the best outcome. I won’t hear till end of Feb and beginning of March.
@berrytenor hey! Just checking in. Have you heard back from anywhere? Please let me know how you’re doing!
@niksalad I heard back from a lot. It’s looking like Otterbein MT 23
@berrytenor How are things going? Did you commit to Otterbein? How is your “first year” there going? Also, wanted to ask if you were offered any merit scholarships or other scholarships/grants.