So my daughter got her application in to CM with all the supplements. When she went to register for audition at Unifieds, all of the slots are full to capacity. Checked all Unified locations…all at capacity.
Anyone ever encounter this? Do we call the school and beg for a slot? Kind of sucks if she doesn’t get to audition after we paid for application fee.
Thanks for help/advice!
Call them, things always change.
People cancel auditions all the time for a multitude of reasons. I had the same issue last year with DePaul - all the slots were filled. I called, was put on a waitlist, and received an email from Jason Beck during Unifieds (who was the head of admissions last year, though I think he has since been promoted) telling me there was a cancellation and I could come in the next day. And I attend DePaul now! So, try not to be discouraged.
Hi- does anyone have advice how to schedule the Carnegie audition? I know they are full at Unifieds, but apparently Pittsburgh is not full. The problem is I can not figure out how to get the ID number from the CM common app. The only thing I received was confirmation that I paid the fee. Would it be on Naviance? Called Carnegie for help and they said call common app … Looked on common app website, no phone number! Emailed them but no response! All of the other schools we set up auditions for required the ID number issued by the school, not the common app. If Anybody can help me with this, I would be so grateful! Tia!
@duxellen - If i recall correctly from two years ago the ID number came via email from the common app. Check your spam filter…
If you log into the Common App, the ID is in the upper right corner under the student’s name. It says “CAID” in bold lettering, followed by 8 digits. Good luck!
Thanks so much- that worked! Sadly, CMU audition slots in NYC are full. Called them- they said there was no such thing as a waiting list… The only thing I could do was either sign up for Pittsburgh audition… or keep checking the website to see if there is an opening in NYC. Hoping to avoid a 10 Hour drive from Boston… Especially since it’s such a longshot! I tried to slide her Syracuse audition into the time slot we had thought CMU would be- but of course ,Syracuse Unifieds NY is now full …so I’m on a wait list for them… Crazy! Hope we survive this process with our sanity intact! Lol!
I found CMU to be the least helpful and most “attitude” of all the colleges my DH has applied to. Very much of an elitist vibe (in re: to our Acting audition/application) … I’ve spoken with a few people in admissions. Not even remotely polite… just rude and condescending.
I had suggested that perhaps they indicate that when their audition slots fill up they should note that BEFORE you pay $65 to send in your application (not to mention the extra work on the extra essays that have to be written) and realize there’s no chance in hell you’re going to get an audition slot. I was met with a “well, we are an in demand program”… SO??? All the more reason to be gracious…
I’m sure they’re a fine program (and ridiculously hard to get into), but I am so OVER it. For all the $$ your paying, at least have some courteous customer service. It’s the only school I’ve had bad vibes about in this entire process.
rant over. thank you. 
@pamelama17 - I am so sorry you had difficulty with CMU admissions. The irony is - despite their UBER “competitiveness” CMU is universally regarded as having one of the best audition processes. I have never known a kid who had a bad day there. Even if you tank (and I know a girl who did- forgot lyrics to her song AND lines to her monologue) they still make it positive
One thing to remember is that admissions depts at universities generally have NOTHING to do with any specific dept/major. So rudeness from admissions secretary does not necessarily translate into rudeness in a program.
There are a variety of schools where you need to be the early bird to even get a chance at the worm - it’s not the school’s fault if you weren’t.
@toowonderful - that’s the only painful part. my DH had heard so much about the audition experience that she wanted to experience it. It’s unfortunate that the reputation of the department doesn’t spread to the admissions or administrative level. As a parent, I’m thinking, what will it be like to deal with those people for 4 years?
My D is a sophomore at her program (NYU) haven’t dealt with admissions in well over two years. I would recommend not judging any the the schools on your list by their “covers”.
@toowonderful I appreciate the objective input. On a non-emotional level I get what you’re saying. I won’t do that. That office was just really off-putting. thanks for your insight, I appreciate it.
Ha - my daughter had a TERRIBLE audition experience there. Just terrible. We’d heard how great it was and she was dismissed for mispronouncing the name of the play from which she was doing a monologue - and she pronounced it correctly. The adjudicator was wrong, but very insistent and when she correctly pronounced it again, was told “you can go.”
This was one school that D didn’t have on her list for a few reasons, yet I kept thinking she should. However, turned out that, at Chicago Unifieds, someone associated with running CMU’s auditions was incredibly rude to us in both words and attitude (obnoxious and incredibly arrogant) for just wandering past their audition hallway (and not even looking towards the audition door, which, after the girl made her rude comments, I noticed was closed). We seriously had just walked past; we didn’t realize that the hallway was a dead-end; there was no signage to indicate otherwise. This was the only negative experience with a school at either Chicago or NY Unifieds, which made it stand out even more. After we walked past the girl, dumbfounded, my D turned to me, laughed a little shocked laugh, and stated, “See? That’s why I didn’t audition there!”
Of course, this girl–whoever she was–certainly doesn’t represent the whole program. It did leave a bad taste in our mouths for it, though (even for me, who, like I said, wondered about it before).
Admissions people, however, do not represent actual programs even though they, too, can be responsible for leaving bad tastes in mouths. I’d be much more apt to ignore them than I would someone who is representing the program from the actual program at an audition in whatever capacity.