I figured we’d end up with about 8-10 at the most next yr. we’ll see I guess. I just think logistically isn’t that hard to audition at so many schools? How are u fitting it in with your kid having rehearsals at school and other obligations? My D attends an arts high school and i can barely get her into the dentist most of the time! I know a lot of that is Unifieds but for the others…
My d applied to 17 schools total – 2 were non-audition BA programs. She did 11 auditions at Chicago Unifieds, 3 local auditions, and one skype audition. In hindsight she applied to too many programs, but while we were in the thick of it we had no idea so we just did it! She got really burned out at Unifieds. She auditioned for her first choice school locally about 2 weeks before going to Chicago. Luckily she got it! It was an intense year to say the least!
Yes, opinions DO vary. And this has been discussed here many times. My D applied 10 years ago and she applied to 8 schools (all BFA in MT). If she were applying today, I’d likely suggest she apply to 10 schools. I think most applicants need 10-12 schools, and it varies due to many circumstances and so I don’t think there is a magic number that fits all situations. That said, I rarely have seen any need to have over 14. Many MT applicants I know today apply to about 10 to 14, whereby it used to be more like 8 to 12.
We started with 8, but added 4 local schools a couple of weeks ago. We will stick to 12, for sure. The 8 original schools all have reputable MT programs. The 4 new schools have less reputable programs, but still decent.
That being said, there is ONE school that my daughter is in love with. And honestly, after talking with her about what she wants and looking at all of the programs out there, it’s the only one that appears to have everything that’s on her list.
I know she would be fine if she had to compromise on her list, she is very resilient. However, as her mother I want her to get her #1 choice, but I also know how competitive the MT world is. There is a lot of talent out there! And my daughter too is a very typical type: small, brown eyes, brown hair, legit soprano. I am both terrified and excited for her to begin auditions.
I think you will find those who had choices, especially those who got in one of their top choices, will be more likely to say they didn’t need to apply to a large number of schools. What is often underrepresented here on CC are those who did not get into many (or sometimes any) schools. This happens much more frequently than you might realize. For those with few or no choices, they typically wish they had applied to more schools or they scramble in the end to find programs still available to audition for late in the game.
I think the other point already made which bears repeating is something @kategrizz mentioned - your S or D’s idea of what they want in a school or program will often change throughout their senior year. Sometimes they finally meet the people at their top choice school and realize they like the people at another program better and all of a sudden top choice school is no longer in contention. Or maybe you travel to a school that’s far away and realize you would rather be somewhere closer to home. Or sometimes you plain don’t get accepted. There are all sorts of things that happen to make your final list of choices what it is. The key is you want to have choices in the end. The wider the net you cast, hopefully the more flexibility you have when making final decisions. So I’m all for having a diverse list that covers all the bases and applying to as many schools as you have time and resources to do. Unifieds definitely helps with getting a lot of auditions done in one location.
Our number is closer to 20…crazy but we are playing the odds.
“Another question I’d also have for the kids already in college who have applied to so many would be–if you (or your student) prioritized all the schools he/she applied to, what number on the list is the school your child ultimately attended? If not his/her #1 school, why did you student choose the college that he/she chose? Did he/she choose the highest school on the list that he/she was accepted to? Or were there other factors (money, distance, type of program/campus)?” (sorry, don’t know how to do the gray quote thingy…)
My kid is a junior at Montclair. She auditioned at 11 schools, accepted at 6. Where was Montclair on that original list? Take heed, my friends: it was Number 11!!! Why? Because there was hardly anything on CC about it, we hadn’t visited, and didn’t know any faculty or anyone who went there. My kid based her list on #1 geography, #2 faculty she had met at various programs she had attended, and #3 everything else (hearsay, vibe from a visit, knew someone, reputation, etc). No one was more surprised than she was when we visited the school after she was accepted and it quickly rose to the top.
sigh. I agree, cast as wide a net as you can afford that meets your child’s non-negotiable criteria, whatever that is. Choose the tippy top criteria, cross out all the programs that don’t meet that, then look at the list. If it is still too long, go to criteria #2. Cross out and repeat until the list is one you can manage. For us, we only had to do this exercise once, because only 12 schools met her #1 non-negotiable criteria. #12 came off the list (and she never auditioned) when she got an early admit to one that at that point was somewhere on the middle of the list. So I’ll add to the chorus of: no matter how much your kid THINKS they know what they want, no matter how much research you’ve done (I had been on CC since my daughter’s freshman year in high school), be prepared for everything to turn inside out and upside down during the process. And here is where I will also put in my plug for at least a few coaching sessions with someone like Ellen or Moo who really knows this stuff, because they will tell you if your list is too short or all wrong or even unnecessarily long.
This was so true for us! D started auditions and applications junior year (including early acceptances from regional and Nebraska Thespian auditions) and had everything scheduled for many additional BFA auditions when her priorities shifted and 3 BAs (Northwestern, Yale and Brown) jumped to the top of her list, so she applied binding ED at NU. Thank goodness her original list was diverse enough to allow for her change in priorities.
Good luck to everyone in the midst of a crazy senior year!
We have 3 tiers that he and his audition coach worked out. Some in my opinions will be no gos. And were in L.A, so he’s applying to one UC School with a BFA MT program but it’s not really his choice!
I think what is more important than the quantity of schools on the list to insure options, is the actual make up of the list and it being an appropriate list for that candidate (and not simply finding MT schools they like but trying to match up their academic odds at those schools and even though HIGHLY subjective, their artistic odds…are they competitive to be considered at such schools, etc.) and then a BALANCED list. I think the right list is the one that is right for that candidate. I don’t truly think someone needs more than 14 schools (and many don’t need that many). I think if a student is entirely shut out of all 14 schools on their list, than the list was not the right list for that candidate, nor is it balanced enough. Yes, we know the odds are VERY difficult for BFA in MT programs, but one person’s list is not right for another person’s list. I see too many people who simply build a list of MT schools and I think they need to look at their academic and artistic odds (the latter is very rough and not accurate of course) for the schools on their list and have a range of odds on the list. List building is one of the most important aspects of the entire admissions process. Every kid’s list should differ from the next kid.
I think having a non audition safety school (both academically and finnicially) that you love is really helpful. I have this one school that is non audition that I really like, not nearly as much as some of the Audition programs I am auditioning for but having this safety school allows me to not have to audition for so many programs since I don’t have the time or money to do that. Of course, finding a non audition true safety school that you love is challenging and I still have anxiety at night occasionally about how I’ve built my list and this whole process in general but safeties seem to take a load off.
Mine ended up at her safety…even after getting into a well respected BFA…go figure… My mantra…LOVE YOUR SAFETY
Your child should not be completely closed out if they have a safety on their list. A lot of thought should go into choosing one’s sure bet schools. I advocate for two safety schools so that the applicant has options in the end.
Is it wrong to make my daughter drop one or add one because I just realized her safety makes lucky #13?!?!
1 BA Theater, 2 BM MT, 9 BFA MT and a safety. Even though my D has spent quite a bit of time researching, attended three summer intensives, a master class and 5 campus visits, she still feels like her list is just names on paper some days. I applied to three schools and changed my major twice - so much to try and figure out for these teenagers! What a process…exciting, but exhausting. That crystal ball sure would be nice! Celebrate all the little victories along the way…we certainly will.
We’re finding even more essays needed once we look at Acceptd! So much to do!!!
The order of priority on your S/D"s list WILL change over the course of applying and the audition process. My S applied to 11 schools. He originally was going to apply to 12, but never got around to completing the last, very “different” prescreen for the 12th school.
After seeing his sisters college, with a bucolic country campus, my S decided he wanted a rural school with a beautiful campus, too; in addition to a school with a strong program. Living not far from NYC my son grew up frequently going into the city for auditions, classes, workshops, and internships, as well as doing some professional work, so he decided he wanted to be far, far away from the city…knowing that he would return in 4 years. He applied to only one urban program, UArts, ( and mostly because I liked that school). He did not apply to any schools in NYC, Boston, or Pittsburgh. None…even though I urged him to… And he applied to only a few so called “top tier” programs. The schools “reputation” was important, but he just wanted that countryside setting. However, over the course of last winter during the whole audition process, his priorities began to change. After auditioning at some of the schools, and seeing some of their productions, meeting with and talking with current students and professors my son’s “short list” evolved and changed rather dramatically. My son was offered spots in seven programs…In the end he ended up choosing the program closest to NYC (Montclair) because he was so impressed by the professional demeanor of the department head (Clay James) and he was equally impressed by the level of talent he saw in one of their productions. And he did like the campus…even though it’s more suburban than rural.
So far he is very happy with the program he picked. And he likes the idea of still being able to audition in the city if he wants…
However…it did take FOUR solid months of traveling and auditioning all over the place before he realized that he didn’t want to be so far away after all, lol. It was definitely an evolving process!! So be prepared! Sometimes something that looks one way from afar can end up appearing very different when examined closely.
My D had a list of 16, which turned into 18 because of 3 walk-ins and 1 cancelled audition at the end. The ones on her list, and also 1 or 2 walk-ins, genuinely did interest her. More importantly, she could see herself at each even though there were obviously differences in details. I remember researching schools with her and often exclaiming/hearing her exclaim, “I could see you/me here!” The actual MT program (details of training and environment within the program) was the most important factor to her, and the programs at each turned out to be pretty similar–not identical, of course, but in the ballpark. Where the net was cast wide was in location (in terms of distance, urban/suburban–not rural for her, specific location), size of school (although only 1 was huge–she really wanted small/medium, but she loved the program so decided it might be worth the size), and cost, including anticipated/hoped for scholarships. For us, the latter was important, and we wanted to have comparisons; it’s an unknown, really, until the end of the process.
D tried hard to not have tiers within her list. She refused to visit all but 2 (1 she visited sophomore year just because a friend was taking a course there and she tagged along and took a tour, and another where D took dual enrollment courses and saw shows but never officially visited for MT) because she didn’t want to fall in love with 1 or 2. Did she end up with favorites? Did a couple end up turning her off? Yes and yes, but not until after auditions, and, even then, she tried to keep an open mind about them until after all acceptances were in. She did basically dismiss her safety school after getting her first auditioned acceptance in November; a couple things had turned her off after applying. I think we could have done a better job with the safety school because she never really loved it, and I knew she’d have a hard time at first if she didn’t get in anywhere else, but she really did try to keep an open mind during this process after determining what types of program would fit her best. I have to say that the program she ended up choosing seems to be the perfect fit for her; she did a great job focusing on personal fit throughout the process. It is great to be accepted to 1 auditioned program (or reach non-auditioned), but I’m glad she was blessed with choices in the end, and I think the number of schools to which she auditioned gave her a better chance to have those choices.
Has anyone received positive prescreen news yet, and from which schools?
@myloves My son also only applied to schools he liked and thought would be a good fit. Together we made a spreadsheet of possible schools, and over the course of his junior year we crossed off over half from the spreadsheets. Many of those were simply city schools. He also wanted a program with a top notch dance program, had a conservatory style, and had a partnership with a regional theater and/or easy access to one. We also kept in mind finances, and whether there was a high attrition rate at the school (a cut or semi-cut program).
There was 1 or 2 “top tier” schools he kept on the list…only because they fit his criteria and he wanted to see if he could get in…and not because he was madly in love with them. He only visited a few of the schools during his junior year and over the summer. I think visiting those schools did help. However most visits were during the audition process.
My son is a strong tap dancer…after all the auditions were done the programs that were his favorites were all schools that tested his tap skills during the audition process…and though several programs had dance auditions…only a few did any tap.
We had seen UARTs early in the process (we were passing through) and he was impressed by the dance department, and got to observe a stage combat class. When we went on the tour we saw their beautiful theater…and there was a percussion class going on the stage-improv percussion on 5 gallon buckets. Very “artsy.” He could easily see himself there even though it was in an Urban setting. He ended up auditioning at UArts in December, and got his acceptance notice (with scholarship) 2 weeks later…so even though it was an urban school it stayed relatively high on his list,
I often wondered if he had taken the time to visit some of the other urban schools if he would have applied to more of them. Living outside of NYC he could have easily visited some NYC schools…but he dug his heels on not wanting to live in a concrete jungle while going to school, knowing that he would return after.
But, yes, even though I encouraged UArts, it was because my son DID like it there when he visited…even though it was a city school.
In the end there were even a couple of schools that he applied, and was accepted to, that he never got a chance to visit…because they were far away and difficult/expensive to travel to, and he already had multiple acceptances…
Cont:
Yes, priorities do change during this. In the end my son also was also blessed with choices. And he ended up choosing the program being the closest to NYC, after all. So my advice is to keep an open mind…all the way up to the end. Both the parents and the kids. This is a very intense and emotional process. And like all the programs you apply to…but don’t fall in love with any of them.