I agree with @toowonderful, there are posts every year on this forum from parents/students who auditioned at 12-15 programs and received ZERO acceptances. There are so many talented applicants that you just never know how things are going to work out. My d commented during the process that at every audition she saw at least 1-2 doppelgangers who looked, sang, and danced just like her, making it obviously a crapshoot for just about every program she auditioned for that wanted a petite, blonde soprano/belt ingenue. It is a really good idea to have one or more non-audition safety schools.
What @bisouu said ^^ :)>-
While a safety school is clearly a wise idea, it really only works if it is a school your child really would be happy attending. In my daughter’s case, there was not a single safety school that met her wishes. Trust me, I tried to sell her - especially on some that were closer to home. But in the end, she was firm and basically decided that if she didn’t get into the program she wanted she would take a gap year. Thankfully she received several good acceptances and actually had choices which was a blessing. So while a safety is best, it’s not for every kid. I would say though without a safety you might want to expand your list - the one thing my daughter did do because of not having a safety is really cast a very wide net which was hard and expensive and exhausting, but the right decision for her in the end.
Applying to at least one non-audition safety school will give you an option that you may be glad that you have come May 1. I completely understand why students would not want to consider such an option while going through the process. My d, like @sopranomtmom’s d, was one of those who would not seriously consider a non-audition program when she was putting her list together. However, at minimal cost and effort, applying to a safety school (and getting admitted) certainly gave me some peace of mind that she would have an option available if she changed her mind (always a possibility with an 18 year-old).
My D opted for a gap year over her safeties (we had several)-and quite frankly, I regret spending the $$ for additional applications, audition fees, sending of test scores, etc. I am not anti-safety; but 17/18 year old kids often change their ideals/vision of a perfect program over the course of their senior year. I wish that she had stuck with her original, ridiculously competitive list-and then we would have been faced with the same quandry: We were told, repeatedly “have a safety”, “love your safety”. Well, apparently, my D didn’t actually love her safeties. She very astutely (IMO) tells people-“I want to be the least talented person in the room”. meaning, she wants opportuniy to be challenged, improve and grow. So-this year: 13 schools. The safety is a BA at one of those schools.
I am really mixed on the safety issue and want to chime in. I understand why the advice is to cast a wide net and make sure you have a safety. I read this forum last spring and I saw how hard it can be. But I really think the most important thing is Know Your Child. My daughter is lovely but also really strong willed and directed. To be honest she really knew what she wanted. She is not difficult but can almost seem that way because she is intense. We were told our list was not big enough and top heavy etc. and we added schools because people said to, and it was throwing money away. If I had sent her to them it would have been like throwing even more money away because she would have left or tried to transfer, etc. We had a non-audition safety which we never even visited and I just think in retrospect, why did we even apply?? She never would have gone. So I think you have to know who you are dealing with. Is your child open to lots of options? Would your child be devastated by not getting in to their top choices? Would they prefer a gap-year or skill building year, rather than going somewhere that isn’t a top choice? There are lots of paths…and I think applying to a ton of schools isn’t really necessary for everyone.
I think to insinuate that those who attend their safeties aren’t talented is a bit presumptuous but then again 17/18 year olds need to see what the real world is all about and realize that an attitude like that may stand in their way when they get into an audition room. Thinking you are better than others can translate to the casting directors as a negative. Be careful. Many people choose to attend their safety even after they are accepted at prestigious BFA schools (my daughter being one of them).
Wait what?? I never said going to a safety made you not as talented. I am sorry if you misunderstood me. I am saying that sometimes a “safety” (which really differs from person to person) just isn’t what a kid wants. Some kids have a list of schools they really want to go to and are focused on that list. Maybe taking a gap/skill building year is the right path for them if it doesn’t work out. I just don’t think piling on the schools is the path for everyone. It just wasn’t for us or for my daughter’s personality. That’s all I was saying. Wow.
I wasn’t referring to your comment @singoutlouise 
@bisouu I wouldn’t presume to speak on behalf of any other posters here, but I really don’t think that sentiment was intended by anyone posting in this discussion. It certainly was not my intent. Honestly, I think this conversation just goes to show there is no one cookie cutter path for every kid. That’s why it is so important to really help your child research, consider and think long and hard about what it is they are seeking in whatever program they end up choosing. It’s all part of the process. But the choice for or against having a safety to me is a lot more about fit then about any kind of reference to talent. As any of us who have gone through the audition process know, all these kids are talented. This process is subjective and capricious. All we can hope is at the end of the day our kids end up in a great program where they grow and thrive. Every family has to get there in the way that works best for their child whether that be an auditioned program, safety, or gap year for further development.
Just re-read; and no one expressed or implied that choosing a safety expresses lack of talent/drive/chutzpah. My point was that-speaking only for me-I became so myopic, that my D had to have “safe” schools-that I lost my sight of the fact that she simply did not want to go to them. @bisouu- your D has thrived at her safety-and that is fabulous. MY D would have transferred out of hers; causing further expense and stress. No one path is the only way to go-as I stated, this year’s Plan B is a BA at a school that has a BFA. She loves the school enough that she can see herself there, regardless. As big and as safe as a list that we had last year-D could not see herself spending 4 years at any of her acceptances. That has absolutely nothing to do with “thinking you are better” or talent-it has to do with her reasoned, measured self assessment of what she wants to pursue. And of course-she could get 13 nos this year. And if she does-she will persevere.
bisouu I am very confused by what you wrote above. You can PM me if you want to clarify. All I was trying to do was speak up for the maybe some people who have a kid who is very firm and clear about what they want. Maybe there is no point in applying to 15 schools. But then some kids are open to lots of options and possibilities and that is a wonderful thing. They may generate a bigger list. And then some kids have a tight focus and maybe they should stick with it. I don’t know! Everybody’s different. And talented as well!!
*oh wait I just reread the thread - you were referring to owensfolks comment
Apparently I should go to bed!
It’s not a safety if your kid doesn’t want to go there, I agree that an application to such a place isn’t throwing away the application fee. But frankly, applying to 25 BFA schools could be too, if you aren’t really interested in every program- which I have read about here as well. Bottom line advice would be only apply to schools you actually want to attend
@toowonderful positively true.
Guilty as charged…I put some easy non-audition safety apps in that my D would probably never have gone to. Luckily it didn’t come down to that but in hindsight it was a waste of money in some of those cases…
The advice to know your student is tremendously important. To present a somewhat different point of view, I wish that our D had found that non-audition BA MT program that met many of her criteria, including urban proximity, performance opportunities from the beginning, and performance opportunities outside of school earlier in the process. Because of the features and finances of that particular program, she might well have chosen it over some of the BFA schools she applied to. And we could have reduced the money, the paperwork, and most of all her stress over preparing for so many auditions with subtly differing requirements. But I also know we did the best we could with the information we had at the time, and that represented a tremendous amount of research on her and my parts.
As it was, she applied to that BA program in January and visited in February during the week of Unifieds, and left feeling that it was a good alternative for her, which I think eased her mind as the letters (including 3 BFA acceptances) arrived.
I also want to mention that, grateful as I am for all we learned from CC, sometimes it’s hard (at least it has been for me) not to envy those families who could afford for their student to travel more than we could, take more time off, invest in more coaching, attend more summer programs or apply to more schools. Every family and student has a different set of resources available, and I appreciate everyone who shared on CC that helped us allocate ours in a productive way.
Knowing your own child is very important. A major criteria for my D was academics. She would have opted for outside training to supplement a weaker theater/ music program vs. a school that did not offer a certain level academics. In the end she went to NYU and got both, but she would have chosen Barnard over Muhlenberg or American even though their performance majors are stronger. She was considering Barnard with a major in theatre or English. She would have taken supplemental lessons classes in NYC–certainly an expensive option, but one that others have pursued as well. There are so many paths that one can pursue and not one that is right for all.
@marysike as another poster mentioned, there is a new recruitment coordinator for Molloy’s CAP21 theatre program, Rebecca Overton. I’m DM-ing you her contact info - I’d say reach out, it can’t hurt. Their website says “Once academically admitted by Molloy College, students will then be required to audition” and they accept common app. D auditioned for them at Chicago unifieds last year, but I know that it was the campus visit after acceptance that clinched it for her.
My first two were accepted into their safety schools and BOTH said they’d rather take a gap year than attend! Luckily, they got other acceptances but they were careful when choosing safeties but the process changed their thinking. I’m having D2 really think about the type of program she would accept as a safety but still worry - if it comes down to it - she’d want to take a gap year.
I think comparing yourself to others in any program and deciding who is more or less talented is missing what is really important about finding a good fit. The question should be, " What can the school offer me in terms of my development as an actor, singer, and dancer? & Would I be happy attending this school?"
One of my favorite quotes:
Comparison kills creativity and joy!