@sopranomtmom I would like to click the LOVE button!! Thanks so much for your post! I believe that doing what you love is one of the most important things in life and I’m so glad my daughter is going to go for it!
Just had to smile at a memory prompted by your post @artskids. My D would lecture anyone who said anything REMOTELY negative about the number of applications she submitted! I’m sure most of them lived to regret making the comment after being read the riot act and receiving a crash course in how MT college auditions work and why Broadway is not the only place to make a living in the field.
We actually found out after the fact that some of the application materials that were supposed to be sent in by her counselor were never sent in. Even after many requests, reminders and badgering, as well as a conversation at the beginning of her senior year warning the counselor about the number of apps. We only know this because luckily where she ended up attending they accepted her without having her transcripts. They requested them at some point after she had been accepted. God (and the counselor) only knows what else never made it out to the schools. Not all of the colleges have a portal where you can check what they have and have not received.
Because of all the comments I have just called my son’s high school to confirm they are working on sending out all of the transcripts (11) so far. We are lucky they are not complaining, yet. I think we are so far ahead of the regular kids requests that we got lucky. Thanks for the push.
If your student’s school uses Naviance or something like it, be sure and take full advantage of its capabilities to track the progress of your school’s guidance counselor submissions in support of applications. If counselors use these systems correctly, then you can log in and see in real-time what has been submitted and what has not for every program your student applies to. Of course, your student has to begin the process by entering each school into the system as they apply.
Thank you @sopranomtmom My point exactly!
It’s been tough at times to watch my daughter go down this path so unfamiliar to me. I don’t have a degree in the performing arts. So I’ve always told my daughter that I can only lend that perspective to her decision making (i.e. what I know). I’ve never tried to influence her decision, but I’ve tried to “keep it real” by discussing the difficulty of the profession, and making a living in it; something of which she seemed to always be aware. To help my daughter have a BALANCED view of her chosen field, and to SUPPORT her in her choice has been my goal as her parent. The INSPIRATION came from the many dance, voice, and drama instructors she’s had. The DRIVE and work ethic are hers.
As long as she gives it her best, and has no regrets, I’ll be satisfied. If she is ultimately happy, I’ll be ecstatic.
I’m so overwhelmed by this process I can only imagine how my daughter is feeling. We have lists and spreadsheets and folders and we still feel unorganized. She hasn’t been able to hit send yet since her English teacher “has to sign off” on her essay and her counselor keeps telling her that the kids applying ED or EA have first priority. I am trying so hard to not pick up the phone and start being a PITA. I have talked to him about the fact that she has to set up audition dates and he still doesn’t really understand what we are doing. I am hitting panic mode and trying so hard to not let my daughter see it. This process is not for the faint of heart.
@emdcollege - the school may “want” the english teacher to sign off on the essay, but can they require it? Las year I one of my students submitted her completed common app on Aug 1st. (I was one of her recommenders, and I got the request at 9:30 am - cracked me up)
I’m not entirely sure of the actual process with it all going through Naviance and Common App but the school uses the essay as an English grade so she has to submit it and it feels as though my daughter cannot put the essay in until they give it back to her. She is such a rule follower and will not go against what they are telling her. 100 years ago when we applied to college we gave the counselor a list of the schools we had sent our applications to. They just sent transcripts. I know the online apps are easier in the long run but there is something to be said for filling out the app, writing the essay and just mailing it in. I feel like there are too many fingers in the pie with it all going through the school.
@emdcollege that sounds like a awkward situation. It seems to me that if she is keeping your daughter’s essay pending approval and/or grade, that hopefully she approves and understands the process. That said, I am not sure you can complete the common app without the essay. It is an upload to the application. Sorry to hear you are at their direction. My heart goes out to your daughter.
I second @EmsDad on using Naviance to your advantage . You can see when the counselor sends stuff like the transcript . Once you have all your schools in there it’s quite helpful plus you can see what’s getting done so as not to be a nag… NOW that being said… @emdcollege I’m not sure why your daughter has to wait for someone to sign off on an essay ? That’s she’s submitting for college apps? Um no lol I’d just put that essay into common app and submit it! Doesn’t she have another copy of it ? I mean not to be whatever but time is a ticking and last year we were in the same place you are now and legit you will have to ride people’s butts . No joke. I’m never sure why the school thinks it is in charge of your college applications. That is your daughters business ya know? I mean yes they need to submit transcripts and the teachers need to do their recommendations but what you do with college apps is your business. You certainly don’t need permission to send in an essay. if it needs proofread you can do that yourself. I cannot even remember my daughter’s essay now lol like it’s such a low priority for MT admissions at most schools. Maybe it plays a factor at schools with a strict academic requirement but …
I had to be a bit assertive with the counselor last yr. not mean just bring her up to speed on the MT crazy train & really remind her what was needed as did my D. Between the two of us we got her on board finally & she is much more versed in it this year if she encounters another mt major. ( she was new to the school last year). I will tell you I didn’t forget about all she did for us at the end of the year either and she received a nice gift from us at the end of the year with a note of thanks.
Also recommenders may take a while to fill out their portion on common app . Plus if the school doesn’t take common app then you’ll have to play the email or even hard copy game with letters of rec.
Whew this is giving me wicked flashbacks… 
@emdcollege my daughter is taking AP English and one of their first assignements was to write and turn in their college essays. My daughter had already academically applied to schools in August the week before school started. She just printed out her essay and turned it in- (even though it had already been submitted) they worked with peers for revisions and critiques. She did receive some good suggestions actually… but we just decided “oh well” what’s done is done and her apps are in! There is no turning back. I honestly didn’t know that the essay would be a part of the English class so we could have delayed the apps and probably had a “slightly” better finished piece but I am also trying to just not look back - and I definitely don’t regret having apps in early! We have scheduled about half of the school auditions already but now we need to finish the prescreens for the remaining schools. That is the next big hurdle to cross. It is really stressful. The only part we filmed was a dance video and a friend of ours who is an MT BFA grad looked at it and said it wasn’t quite what it should be and could we redo that? My daughter looked like she was almost holding back tears- and does NOT want to re-do it. I wish we knew how polished this has to be?! And will she get thru the prescreen with great vocals, strong monologue and an “ok” dance video? I just have NO IDEA> On a happy note- We have gotten one academic acceptance already to a rolling admission school. YAY! Hang in there everyone!
@savedrama4momma is your daughter a dancer or a vocalist that moves? I really think the quality of your dance prescreen might depend on the schools you are applying to. A quality dance prescreen will give you a leg up if she is a trained dancer otherwise it might be ok
@Ducky312 She is a vocalist that moves. Voice is her strength and she has been trying to take some basic dance classes and playing catch up in high school. She can pull off choreoraphy in shows etc but is not an advanced dancer by any means. Do you think strong vocal / monologues for prescreens and an ok little dance sequence might be what she needs for a lot of the programs?
@savedrama4momma exactly what the mtbfa person not like about your dd prescreen? What did she do as dance sequence?
@emdcollege - I heartily second what @theaterwork said - I would feel free to begin submitting applications and essays without waiting for the English teacher to review it. It is highly likely that your d is going to have to complete additional essay prompts anyway for various schools, so why wait for feedback on one basic essay? Not only that, but prompts vary from school to school, so it is likely that the essay will undergo several and even many revisions along the way. Also, you are also likely to have to submit essays outside the Common App (not all schools use the Common App, and some MT programs require a specific departmental essay submission), so there is absolutely nothing to wait on, IMHO.
As the process unfolded for my d, she ended up with a library of about 6-7 paragraphs that she cut-and-pasted to fit all of her essay prompts. No one essay contained all the paragraphs. She sometimes had to add a little or modify some sentences and the core of all of her essays came from the same set of paragraphs, but not from one, single, all-encompassing essay. There was the “Leadership” paragraph, the “Artistic Me” paragraph, the “Volunteering/EC” paragraph, the “Career Goals” paragraph, the “My View of Theatre and Society” paragraph, etc. She was academically admitted everywhere.
@savedrama4momma My S is a singer who moves, and I am pretty sure that his dancing was what led to Nos on prescreens (although to be fair, he passed 2, and did not pass 1). If you can get specific feedback from the person who indicated it could be improved, it might be worth redoing.
And yes, @emdcollege, send in the apps and schedule the auditions. You don’t want the auditions to be filled up - and it happens.
@efr9598 and @Ducky312 Thank you for the feedback. Her friend helped with the choreography to a very cute song that is an upbeat and jazzy version of a classic. It does include all of the “elements” that some schools (like Temple) listed as recommended to include. The main feedback we got is that the angle where I stood wasn’t the best choice as I videoed. There are a couple times where I had to turn my body to “follow” her when I was recording as she moved across the floor- so I am too close for a brief moment here and there. She suggested we turn the routine and place the person filming it further away to better see the whole piece at a distance. Also - her hands could have been “stronger” for some of the moves to make it look cleaner and pop more if that makes sense. When the music ended she didn’t hold the ending pose- again - could have “popped” more at the end. She said it wasn’t horribel and we could keep it as is if she really doesn’t want to re-do. I agreed with all of the feedback for sure- but finding a free time at a dance studio is a huge challenge for us- we are in the thick of things with her school fall musical and she is really overwhelmingly busy. We have a date to film the other portions of the prescreens- but she doesn’t wan to redo the dance- which I can’t really blame her on. We filmed it in August and she said she doesn’t even totally remember it LOL- we are just totally SO BUSY. Hopefully it isn’t the “thing” that causes us to miss out on getting thru that prescreen. Her vocals are really strong and she got VERY high praises at her early auditions for her songs and one of the monologues. prayng it all works out. This is so much to juggle.
@savedrama4momma. Here is a suggestion. I filmed nothing for my daughter. Can her vocal teacher, dance teacher, her friends or the BFA MT major help her film the prescreens? I have to say I was grateful for everything I didn’t have to do with the process. I only advised on scheduling auditions and booked hotels. Every family works the way that works best for them. Take a deep breath!