<p>Yikes! I’ll say it again, yikes! - as this thread is so aptly titled. You can tell it’s that time of year, it’s almost always around this time of year that feisty discussions erupt when pretty much all that’s left to do is the waiting. Most students have finished auditions and it’s quite frustrating to just sit and wait. But, I do appreciate the fact and mentioned already somewhere here that it’s important to have your ducks in a row once all results are known. So I know how productive it is to ask certain questions to gain info that can inform parents’ and kids’ final decisions. Just a tip for those who care, if you find your question getting buried amongst the venting posts, don’t hesitate to private message some folks for quick, immediate replies. Most folks will help as much as possible. It was a worthwhile approach for me back in 06 and ever since. Good luck to you all as you continue to hear!</p>
<p>@broadway95 - Webster has been very generous to our D as well, with a nice academic scholarship, state to state reciprocity (we are in WI), and even a nice little kicker for me being a veteran from a lifetime ago. We just hope that they make her a BFA MT offer.</p>
<p>Other schools offered nothing. Zilch.</p>
<p>You raise an interesting point that we discussed in our house last night - is it crass to ask a school to increase their offer based on other offers that you’ve received? </p>
<p>This is our first college search, so we’re still finding our way.</p>
<p>Not crass. All they can do is say no. And, you won’t be the only one asking. by far.</p>
<p>@cheeseheadmike…from what I have been told and what I have seen with past student, it is much like the negotiations of a business contract. It is totally okay to ask a school to increase the offer. Some here might disagree and I would love to hear from parents who have gone through this before as to what their experience was. I know for our other parents it ended working out in their favor. 
</p>
<p>From my own personal experience as a college student years ago, as well as the experiences of friends with kids currently in college, I absolutely plan on asking D’s top choice college for more $ once all the decisions and financial aid award letters are in! The worst they can do is say no, and very often they end up saying “Yes!”</p>
<p>Yes, do it. Be polite but persistent. It works at least some of the time.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I would not rely on coaches for information like this. Always check with the school directly on such an important issue.</p>
<p>
I view our D as proof that this isn’t true for every family. We were told by department heads at several top MT BFA programs (they saw her at summer programs, YoungArts, regional auditions and Nebraska) that she was a great fit for them, but she instead decided to apply binding ED to Northwestern, which was among the most expensive options on the table. We were all surprised (including her teachers), but trusted her feelings about what she wanted from college. Based on her results to-date it is looking like she made a fantastic choice.</p>
<p>Since 40% of the NU incoming class is admitted ED, I have to think our D isn’t the only one thinking like this.</p>
<p>@JKellynh17 - polite and persistent can be helpful in so many situations. It’s an approach that opens many doors.</p>
<p>MomCares, Northwestern is different but it qualifies in the top school category. LOL.</p>
<p>How would she feel about BFA Podunk as opposed to Michigan, CCM, or CMU if they were all free? I still say the question is meaningless since those are nobody’s choices and BFA Podunk might just turn her down since they are not stupid either and can probably figure out that she won’t be attending which is a whole 'nother question about yield and how it affects admissions.</p>
<p>This really is the time killing thread that happens every year when everyone is stressed and waiting. It Is interesting, though. </p>
<p>I really thought that asking for more wasn’t going to work, but we ended up getting additional talent money. We didn’t know about it until the summer. Sometimes schools have grant money left over when high-aid candidates go to other schools.</p>
<p>@Flossy - haha… point taken! </p>
<p>I guess I meant to say that not everyone is drawn to the same “top” programs based on fit, and that I do think most 18 year old kids may have better intuition about where they will thrive than we parents do.</p>
<p>@Jkellynh17 do you mean you asked for extra money in the spring and didn’t know you’d been given it until summer? Or you didn’t know to ask until summer? Thanks for that tidbit of information! Very interesting!</p>
<p>I asked in the spring before we made our deposit and was given, basically, very little reason to hope. Then in June, my S went into his Fa page and noticed that his grant had been increased substantially. It was a really good day for us. It made a huge difference. </p>
<p>Northwestern is another great program. I would include it has a top program in the same class as CMU,CCM and Michigan</p>
<p>I do not have an MT kid so this is purely out of curiosity…what makes U of M a top school? I have heard of CMU only because a former student of mine went there and was Glinda on Broadway. But why U of M…</p>
<p>There are so many ways to measure success in any given field - not just the performing arts. If you measure success for your child in so limited a way as to essentially “fail” anyone who never appears on Broadway, then this is a ridiculous major. However, if you measure success by permitting your kid to pursue their passion and trusting that they will find their way (just like all of us do), then we have many winners in this scenario. I would also point out that the high unemployment usually mentioned in these threads doesn’t seem to bear out given recent peer-reviewed articles in higher-ed journals. A Georgetown University study recently shows that theatre majors have HALF the unemployment rate of the tech sector right now…and a comprehensive study was published a couple of years ago that followed performing arts majors for ten years and found the majority of them still working within their chosen field. I vote for happy young adults who have the support of their parents to follow their gifts - no matter what school or job is the final destination. </p>
<p>@neuroticstagedad I wish for your D what I wish for every other CC MT’er – that at the end of the road they have great acceptances and great choices that are financially feasible for their families. However you chose to rank your D’s ultimate choices and make your final decision comes down to big things (program repuation, financial aid/scholarship offers, faculty, even…yes…alumni on Broadway) and little things (geography, climate, family ties to a school, distance from home, friends, urban vs rural, dorms). But let’s all remember that every family here will not have the same set of schools from which to choose and that one person’s excitement over a CMU/CCM/Michigan acceptance is just as wonderful as another’s excitement over a Rider/Ohio Northern/Coastal Carolina acceptance. </p>
<p>I really believe we all have to support each other here and not make it all about school ranking and “I’ve heard things about this school or that school” or “I cannot imagine anyone picking this school over that school.” Every family is different. And a kid who isn’t one of the handful admitted to Michigan or CMU shouldn’t start out their college life feeling like a failure (a couple years into the game I know those rejections can still sting for our kids. It’s a crazy way to have to get into college), nor should a kid who has to pick a newer/smaller program because the money doesn’t pan out at the big-name school.</p>
<p>Lastly, keep in mind that all of our kids will all be out and about in NYC or Hollywood or elsewhere in the job market as part of the new musical theatre and acting scene – who knows who will meet working at a bar or a coffee shop? They will all come up together, possibly write/create new work together and even hire or cast each other. Yes – new work is the way our kids will likely get their first performing opportunities, so put the good karma out there, since it can just as easily be a Michigan grad or a Pace grad or a Otterbein grad or a TSU grad or a Ohio Northern grad (and so on and so on) or someone who didn’t go to BFA program, who puts together a cabaret night, or a Funny or Die video, writes a play, or composes a new musical for a workshop that your kids will use as a springboard. </p>
<p>My kids are the perfect example. They go to two different programs – both on the newer side – at which they mix with some of the same professionals and some different ones. They have developed crossover friends from a wide range of BFA MT programs from their summer stock work. They have learned to network. While their opportunities haven’t been exactly the same, but they have been equally interesting and rewarding – and whenever they have been willing to collaborate with their peers and think outside the box to CREATE their own opportunities, even better opportunities have emerged. </p>
<p>So I guess I’m the contrarian here (although this thread has gotten long, so I don’t even know.). Our family definitely had to prioritize finances into our final decision; and here at end of sophomore year, I’m not at all worried about my sons’ abilities to “get in the room” because they’re already putting themselves out there, getting summer stock credits, networking, doing new work to get into showcases and cabarets and meeting young writers and composers. I don’t know how much I understood this part of the scene a few years ago, but I see now how these early networking choices can lead to big big things. (My mind goes to Lin-Manuel Miranda writing the first draft of “In the Heights” as a sophomore at Wesleyan – who knows where things may lead?) Wishing you all good things. </p>
<p>=D> @MTTwinsinCA you always say it better than I ever could!</p>
<p>Yes the world is tough enough for all of us…not just MT majors LOL. Let’s build each other up and encourage…this was the site that got me through last year and I know many people look to this for a support network. </p>