<p>Sounds like a great list, Eve848–I hope you’ll keep us posted as Unifieds draw near! :)</p>
<p>Eve848, good luck! You have a terrific attitude. I hope you keep us posted on your journey.</p>
<p>Welcome Eve! You have some great schools on your list. Wishing you the very best and please come back and keep us updated!</p>
<p>Eve - please know you are not alone in being rejected, and it is no reflection on your passion or your talent. The odds of being accepted into any of these programs are very low, as if you were applying to Ivies.</p>
<p>That said, I can’t help wondering what your back-up plan is if you don’t get into any of the auditioned programs? While we all wish you tons of luck, everyone who applies to a list of schools where the acceptance rates are all below 20% should have some safety schools - if their ultimate goal is to be in college next fall. If you have other plans if the auditioned BFAs don’t work out, that’s great. But if you need any ideas for good safeties, here is a list of non-auditioned BFAs, many of which have rolling admissions, good financial aid, and not overly-stringent academic requirements:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/1177128-non-audition-bfas.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/1177128-non-audition-bfas.html</a></p>
<p>If you want more ideas from us, based on your personal interests and needs, just let us know. There also are many non-auditioned BA programs in theatre that provide excellent training and experience. There are many threads on them here, too. The University of New Hampshire comes to mind - they have a Feb 1 deadline. </p>
<p>I will also put in a plug for Adelphi University on Long Island. Its BFA curriculum strongly resembles BU’s. My D also had BU as her first choice and was rejected, and is thrilled with the experience she is having at Adelphi. They don’t go to Unifieds, but they have some later audition dates on campus, will do personal appointments and will take video auditions, too. They are not super selective academically, and give excellent financial aid, too (merit and talent included).</p>
<p>Eve - as a Mom, my heart aches for you but it sounds like you have a good support system. I highly encourage you to follow EmmyBet’s advice and link, you must have a backup non-audition college in your list. I am the mom of two acting kids, and it is a safety net that is so important. </p>
<p>There is a place for everyone and I know you will find your place. Break legs!</p>
<p>Eve, since you have a definite “Dream School” I hope you have at least considered taking a “gap year” to get some more acting training and experience, and then auditioning again for the school that rejected you once you have become a better actress. Just because you didn’t meet their standards this year, it doesn’t mean you won’t be able to some time in the future.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>Times3, ugadog99, glassharmonica - Thank you very much! I’ll definitely keep you updated. </p>
<p>EmmyBet, photomom5, KEVP - Thank you for all the ideas and information. Nonetheless, my dad and I have thought long and hard about this list. I understand that it’s risky and not the norm to not have a non-auditioned safety school, and that I run the risk of being forced to take a gap year. However, my ultimate goal isn’t to just get into any college. I don’t feel like I’d be happy just anywhere, although I know there are plenty of students who can find happiness and success just about wherever they go. My ultimate goal is to be accepted to one of the programs on my list, and if that doesn’t happen, then yes - it’ll be a gap year for me. At this time, I won’t be adding any safety schools to my list. </p>
<p>KEVP - I try to tell myself that it’s less that I didn’t ‘meet their standards,’ and more so that someone else, someone just the same type as me, met them first. While of course I have miles to go in my growth and improvement as an actress, I don’t quite believe it’s just a matter of becoming a better or good enough actress for my dream school to take me. Perhaps it just isn’t the place for me at this time.</p>
<p>^^well said, Eve! :)</p>
<p>Eve - glad to see Emerson on your list. We have two local kids who are going there (both sophomores) and they really like it. One is in MT and the other is in radio. Since you like the Boston area, Emerson will fit that bill - it is located right across from Boston Commons. We saw a production there last year in one of the most beautiful theaters I’ve ever been in!</p>
<p>You sound like you really have a handle on this - best of luck with your decisions, and break legs at all of your auditions.</p>
<p>Eve–We did not take my advice either and my S has no non-auditioned programs on his list. He feels as you do.</p>
<p>I’m applying to CalArts, Central School of Speech and Drama, University of the Arts London, University of the Arts (Philly) and Columbia College Chicago. I will be auditioning in CA in February for all of them except for CCC and UArts London.</p>
<p>I know I don’t have a big number of schools and that I have less than a 5% chance in the auditioned programs, but that’s as much as money allows.</p>
<p>All my applications are ready, except for the UArts essay. I’m still waiting for the recommendation letters from my NTI teachers and because of the break, I still have no answers from any of the colleges about my transcripts and other bureaucratic stuff.</p>
<p>I never thought I would be that nervous! Even the thought that I’ll have to fly to California by myself and not have a shoulder to cry on after the auditions is making me really restless.</p>
<p>Eve,</p>
<p>I don’t think it is realistic to imagine that the people who audition first are given an advantage over those that audition later.</p>
<p>If you are not even getting callbacks, I think you need to consider whether your audition skills need some work, as they may not currently be up to the standards they are looking for. I’m sorry to have to say that, but I think you will have a better chance at meeting your goals if you look more realistically at where you are now. I have no doubt that with some work you will be able to get your audition up to an incredible level that would be good enough to get you in to your dream school.</p>
<p>I also feel like college, even your “dream school”, is a really lousy “Ultimate Goal”. I pretty much made that mistake myself when I was your age. College should not be an ultimate goal itself, college should be a step that takes you closer to your “Ultimate Goal”.</p>
<p>But like everyone else here, I hope you will feel free to follow or ignore any or all of my advice as you see fit.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>I’m going to chime in a bit here. Eve - I’m not directing this at you, personally, because you clearly have a wide-spectrum plan that suits your personal needs and have thought about all of the contingencies. I know you’re working very hard at your audition material, and I’m sure you will get where you want and need to be - whether it is this year or next year. I want to talk about dream schools not to argue with Eve’s or anyone else’s plans, but just to express my feelings about focusing on a particular school (or group of schools) as a defining, make-or-break moment in one’s life. We see this so much here and in real life, and I wish it happened less, because I see it as unnecessarily painful. </p>
<p>I think most of us would laugh at the idea that where you went to HS and what you did there would somehow be crucial in your adult life. I, for one, think if that’s the case, it’s probably a recipe for a very unhappy future. Well, then, why do we think the opposite is true about college? Again, it is a short period in a very early stage of your life, and again, it is simply a place to gain experience and knowledge to use as you move on to more significant personal and professional opportunities (whatever they will be). </p>
<p>As a result, I very much agree with KEVP. I do not believe there is a “dream school,” and I think kids who see them that way are falling into a common trap. Based on my own, my kids’ and many others’ experiences of college, I would say that what someone should hope and plan for could be called instead a “dream experience” - where you are able to do work that means something to you, experience challenges, get support, meet people who matter to you, and grow as a person in all ways. This can happen at school, and this can happen elsewhere. There are places, including certain school environments, where it’s not possible for a certain individual - whether due to the curriculum, the people, the opportunities, or that individual’s personal situation. I don’t believe it can happen “anywhere” if you just “work hard enough,” but I do believe that it is significantly an internal process, and that it depends on so many varied elements that the school itself plays only a minority role. </p>
<p>On top of that, whatever made a school prospectively “dreamy” so often turns out to be either imagined, misrepresented, or just plain different once you’re actually there. Again, it is the mix of work, opportunities and personal growth that are the key elements to this educational experience, not the “school” itself.</p>
<p>Someone on the more academic threads once wrote the greatest description of how to remember that 90% - or more - of college is the same at any school: the classes, the peers, the learning, the growing, the living together, the socializing, etc., etc. We probably could paint a similar picture here about what studying theatre is like - you learn about the subject, learn about yourself, learn about productions, gain skills, gain experience, get feedback, find peers, mentors, connections, etc. anywhere and everywhere (including in a non-traditional learning environment). This is my opinion, but it would be nearly impossible to convince me otherwise - in theatre, or in any other subject.</p>
<p>Probably what some people would expect next in this post is a story about how someone made a no-name, basic school into the most amazing learning experience of their life. That’s not where I’m going here. Actually, in my case I had the opportunity to go to my dream college, a very unique school that was perfect for me and changed my life. My husband also went there, although for him it wasn’t perfect - it beat his butt and changed his life, too, but for that he’s forever grateful. My D1 went to her dream school - and it was everything she’d hoped it would be. But all three of us would say that while the dream match of curriculum, student body, location and opportunities we all had at our colleges made it a very satisfying experience, once we are done, we see that 90% again was more just the experience of being in a great learning environment (available in countless places) and that much of that incredible experience we had came from how our own minds, hearts and spirits responded to that environment.</p>
<p>I know so many people who have gone to Ivies, LACs, big state schools, and everything in between, that I will continue to assert that the unique mix of the internal, personal process and the external, environmental experience someone goes through during the post-HS years is so complex and individual that where those years are spent is of only moderate importance.</p>
<p>D2 did not get into her dream school. She did decide to apply to a list that would provide her with guaranteed great options so she could be in school right away, because that was an important personal - immediate, and possibly also ultimate - goal for her. There were things about that dream school (the same as Eve’s) that she still misses a tiny bit, but less so all the time. She has found out that she can do everything she wanted to do there at the school she is going to. This is partly because she was very thorough in making her list, and made sure that what she wanted most was available wherever she applied. But more importantly it is because she is seeing how that unique personal process she is undergoing is less dependent on the individual characteristics of a particular school than on the more general opportunities of being in a great learning environment, period. She is going through the process of personal growth and development that she needs - internally and externally. That, for her, is the “ultimate goal.”</p>
<p>I completely agree that getting into school, and definitely getting into a particular school, is merely a touchpoint in this long thing called lifelong learning. Knowing in a bigger way what you want, and need, and are working towards, is immensely valuable, and is different for everyone. Anyone can find their way - I do believe life is rich and full of open doors. I am thrilled for all of these students who can take this incredible journey of growth and connection with their passions and with people who share them. That is what thrills me about my own kids’ experiences, and the only thing that matters to me as they’ve gone through this particular stage of young adulthood.</p>
<p>EmmyBet makes excellent points. When my daughter was going through this last year, I made her apply to 14 schools, mostly non-auditioned schools running the gamut in terms of their academic selectivity. Yes, I was a little panicked that she would have nothing in hand come April. </p>
<p>We did receive excellent advice from a member of this forum, whom we also know personally, that she only apply to her top schools and take a gap year if nothing came through. This strategy would have saved us almost a thousand dollars in application fees. But I was spooked by the ridiculously low admissions rates to the schools were she applied. (There was an additional factor, in that we wanted her to cast a net for merit awards; in the end, she got into her dream school, but with a low award, and we were able to successfully appeal that award because she had higher offers at comparable or academically “more competitive” schools-- but that’s a different issue.)</p>
<p>So I think it’s a legit decision to stand your ground and take a gap year if necessary. These admissions are so chancy that very few people, if any, are admitted to all their schools, and some talented kids come up snake-eyes. But most get a yes or two.</p>
<p>The process is unlike any other in that your performance in the audition is only one of many factors leading to your admission decision. Most schools are looking at your type, and most are also trying to get a sense of how your work with a director-- whether your style with fit in with their program. You could give a terrific audition and get a rejection that has nothing to do with how well you performed or how talented the panel thinks you are. And this could happen several times. If you’re willing to take the risk, and if you think your ego can stand it, why not aim for the stars?</p>
<p>If you get in nowhere (probably not going to happen) you can either re-assess whether this is what you want to do with your life or work on your skills (imagine how much better your monologues will be after an extra year of prep.) Gap years are very popular these days. I can’t think of anyone I know who’s taken one who has regretted it.</p>
<p>Nicely put, glassharmonica. As I said, I wasn’t exactly trying to argue for or against any kind of plan - except that I don’t believe seeking or even getting into a dream school is going to provide any guaranteed outcome. And I know no one here was arguing that right now, either. I’ve just seen it come up many times among prospective students that I wanted to talk about it. Lots of people read these threads as they enter the process, and it’s helpful for them to hear all kinds of perspectives. That way they can decide what rings true for them.</p>
<p>I would say in my D’s case, she wanted to be in school more than she wanted to be in a particular school. I myself would have been fine with a gap year, and I can imagine she would have gone into college more experienced, and perhaps with different admissions results. Now that I think about it, my D1 did plan to take a gap year if she hadn’t gotten into her #1 choice (she got in ED, so we never faced that issue). But that didn’t feel right to D2, and what she did worked out just fine.</p>
<p>Having dealt with people in different fields that have much more rigid hurdles, I find it so refreshing that in theatre there are so many valid pathways to enjoyment and success.</p>
<p>To EmmyBet and Glassharmonica, thank you so much!! Your posts are just what I needed to read. Of course, I “know” all of what you wrote, but when you are caught up in this crazy process, it’s really difficult to always remember it. I am feeling the pressure right now as we head into the hectic period of end of January through end of February and too much travel and too many interviews. In the end, I do believe my D will end up in the right place. I just sometimes forget that. I printed both of your posts so that I can just read them again and again when all those doubts creep back up. If she ends up with a gap year, it’s okay. I’m finally coming to terms with that, but I hope that’s not what happens. I am going to try and relax and enjoy the process. :)</p>
<p>I was looking for the “like” button in EmmyBet’s and Glassharmonica’s entries…well said and good points in both.</p>
<p>Hi there! I’m a brand new poster here, although I’ve been soaking up all of this great info for months now. Before I had visited this site, I had no idea what Unifieds were, or the difference between a BA and BFA! Y’all have practically given ME a college education, even though its my S who is the one going to school next year. :)</p>
<p>We got into this game very late. My son only started seriously considering acting as a profession last summer, and he is a senior this year. When I first started visiting this site, I would get sick to my stomach with intimidation. I was clueless about the college admissions process is general, let alone the pursuit of admissions into a BFA in Acting program. Things weren’t so competitive and EXPENSIVE when I went to college. When I started college in 1989, I went to a school in the CSU (CA) system, and the tuition was less than $1000 a semester!! My parents just paid for it outright. (It’s like back in the day before there was such a thing as health insurance and a woman would go to have her baby, and after she and the baby were discharged, her husband would go to the main desk and write the hospital a check for $34…like they had just had dinner at Outback or something! But I digress…my point is that since this particular S is my oldest, this is my first foray into college-land since the 80’s, and since a Walkman and Milli Vanilli’s latest cassette aren’t on most college packing lists, I pretty much had nothing to offer him. THAT’S WHERE YOU GUYS COME IN!! I learned SO much here! Now, I’m kind of a pro at this stuff (well, the term “pro” is relative considering up until last year I was still a card carrying member of the Debbie Gibson Fan Club…after she was on “Celebrity Apprentice”, I burned that card right quick.). Well, that’s just say I know a heck of a lot more than I did in September when I first visited this site.</p>
<p>I should probably post about my S now, but this is already WAY too long…maybe in another post one day. 
(as a matter a fact, I spent so much time writing this that when I went to post it, I had been logged out! Thankfully, that has happened on other forums, and I knew just what to do in order to not lose everything I had written. ;))</p>
<p>JJ</p>
<p>Welcome Callmejj – I can top your tuition story. I started at Wisconsin in 1979 and tuition was under $500 a semester for in state!</p>
<p>Welcome Callmejj! I was right where you were last April. I had found CC three years prior when my older D was going through the process. However, she isn’t a theatre girl, so I was CLUELESS about the artistic process! There is an enormous amount of experience and information here. I feel like I have a good understanding of the entire journey now. I can never thank the wonderful parents and college pros here on this board and the MT board enough. Although my D is tech, the information is all pretty much the same regarding the steps needed to get going on the long road to college acceptance!</p>