Well I go between riding my kids _ss about doing things to not giving a crap lol…she’s goes between telling me I’m annoying to the next minute I’m her best friend in this process. It is indeed stressfilled but I’m trying not to get over taken by it. Very difficult however. We did that FAFSA today & it went ok but that whole thing about the order you list the colleges … I didn’t even think about the order, we just plugged them in from memory of ones she applied to already so if they read something into that oh well!
My D has applied to 8 schools at this point & has 6 auditions scheduled and one school is non audition. We are not exceeding 10 schools at this point or at least aren’t planning to. Maybe I’m on that train of " if the market speaks"…
We haven’t actually sent in one audition. She was working on the essay. I guess I will just tell her to send it.m as is. She was going to have her English teacher look at it and she hasn’t yet. I don’t understand what you mean listing colleges in order?
I mean one application… Much less audition! Let me ask you now that I’m panicking what schools are filling up? It’s been a long process working on materials for prescreens , picking colleges, getting headshots made, i thought we were doing fairly well! I guess not… I will have to really press the next few days.
I don’t think owensfolks said they were filling up. Rather that it was a mistake that someone said that to daughter.
Don’t panic. If you have stuff in by end of October or early November you should be ok. We saw CMU, CCM, and U Arts start to fill last year - but not until mid November and often just for specific dates. CCM seemed to fill all spots for the audition season fast and not open more up. but that was the only school I heard of someone losing out on an audition due to no spots being available.
I’m sure each year is a bit different but you probably dont need to worry too much unless it is a very popular school.
Yes, schools ask if you are going to fill out the fafsa. But keep in mind that most schools will advise everyone to fill them out, regardless of need. And as discussed, many schools require that they are filled out to be considered for all merit scholarships. So I don’t think that it is the filling out of the fafsa itself that is the issue. That said, once financial data is sent to a school, they may consider that information. In our case the fafsa showed that we were full pay. So filling out the fafsa just confirmed that to d’s schools. For others it might indicate a lot of need, and sometimes that may be a detriment.
@uskoolfish I didn’t know if my 1st daughter going to college was being penalized because we didn’t fill out FAFSA. So when we vistited colleges with my second daughter I always asked financial aid if they required FAFSA for merit. Every college had a different answer.
Pure merit usually doesn’t require FAFSA because it’s pure Merit. But sometimes some colleges do require FAFSA for pure merit–you can ask each college as Ducky312 says.
Need based merit would require FAFSA because it’s need based.
Here is a quote from CC Ask The Dean, although there are many other sties that give this information: “The good news is that, in most cases, there is no separate application for merit money, there is no FAFSA required, and many merit awards are not based on demonstrated need. BUT … the bad news is that some colleges (admittedly not many) do require the FAFSA for all scholarships, whether need-based or not, so you have to dig around on college Web sites and read all the fine print…”
No, @musicmama123 -The school that allegedly had “few spots left” said that was untrue.
@Ducky312 And the other thing to ask is what happens if there is a drastic change in financial circumstances? Several schools answered that the following year’s fafsa would be what is considered for financial aid…so if there is now need, financial aid might be granted. BUT other schools said that if you did not apply for financial aid at all as a freshman, and are not at all in the system, that you may not be considered for financial aid in subsequent years.
I have been told repeatedly that CCPA does not base artistic scholarships on FAFSA, but I have filled it out all four years because of the work/study which is really useful in terms of career skills and the loans which, maybe we could squeak by without, but why not wait and see and pay them down with whatever money we have left at the end?
Two things, one about FASFA and one about where you all are in the process right now:
–A couple schools explicitly stated what @uskoolfish said above: If the FASFA isn’t filled out each year, aid may not or will not be available if you suddenly need it in subsequent years.
I have heard, though, from a couple admissions people that decisions are sometimes made according to what they think you can bring financially, even in MT, where talent plays a pivotal role. That reeks of classicism and unfairness to me, especially because we are people who needed aid, but I can see the business sense. It is what it is, though, and, if you need aid, indicate that and don’t sweat it. Plenty of people who need aid get accepted to programs that work well for them!
–This time was probably my least favorite of the process–besides hearing rejections–although I determinedly did not show that to my D or even really admit it to myself at the time. Trying to finish everything felt overwhelming to my D and me. D is hugely self-motivated, but even she had to be reminded and even nagged sometimes because she reached a point where she felt bogged down. We had a self-imposed deadline for all apps and prescreens, but, for various reasons, we didn’t meet that deadline. We were organized and had spent hours preparing, too, but that still happened. And it was okay! It all worked out, and it will work out for you, too. Take deep breaths, try to do a little bit with it almost every day (with some needed breaks, of course), and try to enjoy it. This part will be over before you know it. In fact, I vividly remember quietly (and hopefully not noticed by others) bursting into tears as D walked into one iconic-for-her audition because I couldn’t believe that we were actually there–that this was actually happening after all those years of preparing and dreaming, after those months of intense research, applying, and work to get to that point. Keep positively plugging away!
As far as audition spots filling up quickly, I would recommend you prioritize submitting applications in order by the schools you most want to audition for or for which you have no flexibility on when you can audition for them. That way you can get those audition dates confirmed first, then schedule your remaining auditions around them. The issue with scheduling is 2-fold, one is making sure audition spots are available. But equally as important is making sure audition spots which you can fit in to your schedule are available. D’s year, the spots that filled up the most quickly on our list were Chicago Unified auditions for CMU and CCM.
I’m concerned that some of you feel that if you apply and audition for 13 schools and don’t get in that that means the market has spoken and your child is not talented and shouldn’t continue to pursue their passion (if it is a passion). My D didn’t get into any BFA (she finally got into one off of a waitlist) but ended up going the BA route instead. Currently she is working a ton in MainStage productions, community theatre and will probably have her equity card within a year of graduation. (next year). Don’t let not getting into a BFA program define your child’s talent or passion for this field. 
Idk how you know when “the market has spoken” - but I don’t think it’s necessarily when you are 18. @Jkellynh17 posted a link to a great article http://www.gq.com/story/unexpected-sarah-Paulson
I actually agree to that. There many other paths to being a performer and an artist. Maybe just this is not the path now…but many, many performers have amazing careered without bfa’s!
I completely agree, @bisouu . The summer before D’s senior year, two people D took lessons from who are involved in great programs warned us that they had seen a few highly talented people fall threw the cracks in this process (not get in anywhere), and a couple of those go on to great success in the field, so take it all with a large grain of salt.
@bisouu I agree! I’m not expressing or implying that if D doesn’t get into any of the 13 that she’s going to throw in the MT towel (although, she may indeed choose to): Redirect to Acting, Gap year, apply for transfer, BA, major in something else and still audition for shows…all possibilities. My husband and my philosophy is that if she wants it, she should try.That if she doesn’t try, the answer is 100% no I was merely offering a tempered perspective to the ‘casting a wide net’ philosophy (and 13 audition BFAs is still a pretty wide net): Her 16 had her overtaxed application-wise; and questioning if she really and truly would be happy at any of them. Her 13 has her hopeful and optimistic-and removes 3 schools that really weren’t a match in terms of what she desires.
Yay @owensfolks my D was one of the unfortunates who go in nowhere… so it was quite disheartening. Glad your D is aware of the challenges.
Hi All - D is almost done with her application to Wright MT & wants to submit it. When she is on the “Select Major of Interest”, there are options for Acting, Dance, Theatre Studies, etc. but not for Musical Theatre. Can any CC’ers please advise at this hour?
My D and I have the same question! So answers are appreciated here as well. Some schools seem to put MT squarely in music, others theatre. Trying to decide based on website isn’t always as clear as one might think. D is DONE with essays and applications (yay!) - we’re currently going through each application prior to hitting submit. It feels really good to have one thing out of the way… Gives me more time to worry about the next step. Is it typical at this juncture for the patent(s) to feel slightly queasy about the expected talent level of their child?? I’ve always tried really hard to be realistic but currently having a crisis of confidence. Really- how fabulous are they expected/supposed to be at 17/18??