Last year was a boom year for sure with most schools remarking how they had a record number of applicants. It’s quite possible that there are fewer applicants this year.
At both the school district where I teach, and the school district my kid attended- last year’s graduating class was larger than this graduating class. Maybe that is true in many areas?
@toowonderful … interesting! I have 2 Ds … one in the h.s. class of '14 and the other '15. The class of '15 in our area is infamous for being huge … they had to add an extra class in many of the elementary schools when they were little. (Like they went from having 2 second grade classes at one school to 3!)
@GSOMTMom … D is auditioning at Ball State today (she’s between the dance portion & monologue/song right now). The original email had her at one time - we got an update in January that said due to an exceptionally large amount of people auditioning, the time was moved again. But today? Lots of people either cancelled or were no shows - her time got moved up by an hour. So who knows!
Re: Chicago. Yes Monday was lighter because of weather, but most got there by late afternoon or Tuesday am. I thought it was going to be a zoo Tuesday, but wasn’t. Heard several people say not anything like last year. Front desk in my hotel (Hampton) said same thing.
And at one on campus audition they said a lot more no shows this year.
A couple schools D has auditioned at have said numbers are the about same as last year, but that’s just 2-3 schools, and I obviously don’t know about the rest.
D had a blast at Chicago Unifieds. We stayed at PHH in a nice large 2 double/1 bath room and paid an extra $25 to be able to check in early (at 9am) our first day, which was well worth it. A few suggestions for people who attend in future years:
*Get the Yelp app to find well-rated restaurants in the area. The food and drink at PHH is exorbitant, but there are so many good restaurants just steps away. We couldn’t explore too much because of D’s heavy audition schedule and the blizzard, so the Yelp app helped us find inexpensive and quick options for food.
*Use the CVS or 7-11 nearby to stock your room with snacks and drinks.
*Give yourself some time for sightseeing. Chicago is a great town and we just didn’t have the time we thought we would to do some sightseeing. I am jealous of those of you who got deep dish pizza and went to Second City and the Sears Tower. Wish we had more time to do some of those things.
*If you have a College Coach, utilize them during Unifieds. We use MTCA and they were SO positive and helpful during the process. Going into these auditions with confidence makes all the difference in the world for our kids.
D did 11 auditions (2 of which were walk-ins), 6 dance calls and didn’t want to leave after 5 days! Now, its hurry up and wait for those decisions to come in. Good luck to all!
My D and I had a great time. It’s a one and only for us since she is my only artist. I was sorry the weather was so bad as I had intended to do some walking and exploring in downtown. Loved the Palmer House. D had 5 scheduled auditions and did 4 walk ins. She had a great time meeting all the kids. She said there was one boy who was getting several call backs to many of the big programs and all the kids were talking about him. Must be nice to be a guy! Anyway, my D said she was pleased with her effort so now I guess we just wait and see!! Good luck everyone!
I felt the whole vibe of the people at the Palmer house was very kind and positive…so that was nice…
However… Curious… How common are these ‘call backs’? Do you assume a school was not interested in you if you didn’t get one? Or are you still in the running? Are the two songs and monologue that are critiqued and given a few compliments, and then you leave enough? Any parents of the past have any guidance on this? Grasping at straws here, as My D wasn’t ‘called back’ for anything 
I think they’re the exception. DePaul does it for acting. PACE maybe? I can’t think of any other schools. (CMU has the mysterious “passing to the next room” ritual, which may or may not mean anything.) I wouldn’t read anything into it, honestly. Most schools make their decisions based on one round of singing/acting/dance.
^Agree. None of the 10 schools son auditioned for had call backs (Pace MT did not have call backs, but did for BFA Acting as Jkellynh17 noted).
The only school S auditioned for that had any type of callback was PPU. I would not stress or read into anything.
Thank you 
All - did Penn State do callbacks at unifieds? S’s time chunk was running 90 min behind so they seemed to race through kids - wondering what others experiences (btw, they were very friendly - unlike most of the rumors we have heard of PSU auditions).
Penn State cut D off during second song for time, even though she followed their published instructions to the letter. It was however, her favorite dance call!
What schools had walk-ins? My daughter missed sign-up for Boston Conservatory and I’d rather not have to fly to Boston.
Schools with walk-ins last year at the Palmer House:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19094128/#Comment_19094128