Ok so my D has compiled a list of schools to apply for this fall. finally! I know this list needs to be flexible and some schools may drop off etc as things progress. My question is she has recently mentioned auditioning at CCM. I have discouraged this previously as they are so insanely crazy competitive plus I seems to remember they don’t give much to any merit or talent aid? Anyway I don’t know what to tell her. She has a few more competitive schools like BW on her list & others that are not as competitive so a fairly good mix . My concern is we are doing all on campus auditions & im concerned about travel and should I dedicate an audition trip to that school when her chances are so slim? Perhaps we should save it for a school she has better chances? Help! Also is dance a big thing at CCM , like do they only really accept triple threats for the most part? She is very strong vocally and acting. Dance is just medium
What is your list? Do you have to fly to ccm? Do they audition at unifieds? could that be an be an option? If finances are a consideration would the cost make her not attend if accepted? If she doesn’t audition she would never have a chance to be considered. And who says she is not what they are looking. You really never know. The nice thing about CCM is you’ll know within a week if your in or out. I wished they had a prescreen.
CCM is part of the University of Cincinnati which gives great merit aid if you happen to be National Merit. They also have good competitive scholarships for other high stats (check out Cincinnatus Scholarship on their website), not so sure about talent. They attend Chicago unifieds, perhaps others. Dance is important, but we’ve known people who got in with little dance training. It might be nice to visit for an audition b/c the campus setting is pretty unique and your daughter might love it or hate it. All audition schools are a crap shoot, so weigh the cost for travel as you would for any other school. If you don’t audition, you’ve already chosen your answer.
No @Ducky312 we won’t have to fly. I am just trying to weigh the slim odds with the logistics of scheduling yet another audition. We don’t plan on going to unifieds at this point as most of her schools don’t go there . They tell you if you’re in within a week? I was going to ask about the prescreen so you answered that for me . I feel like she doesn’t know enough about the school really just that it’s the “oldest program” and so highly regarded… Etc etc
@theaterwork the process really surprised me…how competitive it is. Prescreens brought some comfort. But in the long run we didn’t get an offer from any prescreens. Though we did get a redirect from one. We also did not end up going to unifieds. CCM is a great program. Not that I know. They seem to like strong vocalists. My child did everything to prepare. She scheduled the auditions. I booked the hotels and drove! It was fun! Unless there is some mitigating circumstance, I had no input on my child’s list.
My D is a strong vocalist. It’s her main thing really. Acting is a close second. I have to have input on her list or it would not be balanced! Plus we discuss financial considerations and how some schools will give $ and others won’t cause we will be out of state etc. plus location as sometimes my D has no clue where a school is in terms of traveling there etc. we have a crazy schedule at my house with my husbands job so I have to do the calendar scheduling and so forth. I’m making her job applying, scheduling her teachers to help with material & being prepared for auditions. Plus keeping her academics in check & SAT ACT prep
I think at this point we may nix CCM and concentrate on the schools already on the list.
I think every kid should get one lottery school. I mean, recognizing that that’s what it is. These kids are going to be facing impossible odds their whole lives, why not see how it shakes out?
Good luck to you @theaterwork! I’d love to hear about your daughters list and journey! And @Jkellynh17 I couldn’t agree more. Kind have wished my child had a few less lottery schools. But it all works out in the end.
@theaterwork, the only thing I’d add is that even with schools that have a reputation for giving no talent or merit, they almost always give talent or merit if they want the student enough. Since I’ve had 3 kids go through this process, I’ve heard through the grapevine of the journeys of quite a few students. The vast majority of schools give merit/talent, even when they have a reputation that they don’t.
I view it this way: You need to apply for reaches, safeties and matches in skill level, but also financially. You just never know what they’ll offer, while being realistic of course. So I agree with Jkellynh17, it’s good to have a lottery school. If your D likes CCM otherwise, and it fits your distance criteria, maybe she can consider it her talent/financial reach.
@theaterwork, my D was accepted to CCM for Design & Production this past spring. We are out of state and she received the Cincinnatus (Century) Scholarship due to her grades/test scores. If it helps you figure out if your D might qualify, my D had a 3.8 UW (4.3 W) GPA and scored a 1990 on her SAT.
It was a $5000/year award since we were out of state. If we had been in state, it would have only been $2000/year.
(She ultimately chose UNCSA, which didn’t give as much merit, but we are thrilled with her decision!)
If you don’t have to fly there, I would say give it a try!
My D was accepted to CCM in 2015 and received a Corbett award, a Century Scholarship, and a Cincinnatus out of state award. She also ultimately chose somewhere else, but it would have made tuition affordable. Your child may be just what they’re looking for to round out the program.