@emdcollege my daughter faced a similar dilemma last year. Her spring musical dates conflicted with Chicago and LA Unifieds, both of which she planned to attend. It was a hard decision, but ultimately she decided her long term goals were more important and she chose Unifieds. This process really does impact senior year, there is just no getting around that fact. But what I would encourage you to do is get as much done ahead of time this summer as you can. Have her start drafting a personal statement, some essay templates and get those applications going as soon as they open up. Make sure she has her songs and monologues selected and use the summer break to polish them and prepare any prescreen videos. The more she can get done now, the more she will be able to enjoy her senior year. My daughter ended up being in two community theatre shows the summer before her senior year and it definitely put us behind. While I don’t regret her doing the shows because it was great experience, I wish we could have gotten much more done the summer before her senior year.
You might also look into working with Mary Anna Dennard or Dave Clemmons and attending Moonifieds in Dallas in November. But our D missed her senior year straight play to do that. No matter what, it is very difficult to both audition for college and participate in all there is to do senior year. Our D could not audition for all-state choir because of conflicts with Unified dates. Disappointing, but in the long run I think probably made a good decision to choose auditions over shows/choir if there was a conflict. Looking back 4 years later, she has not expressed any regret for choosing auditions over those things.
@theatremom10 @momtojoss It’s called The Red Room as a reference to an infamous youtube video of a production of “Legally Blonde” at the Red Room Studio in Vancouver. It was spoofed recently by SNL, as well. He who makes it, names it. 
@AlexaMT Got it!
@loribelle you can get lists from various threads on the mt board (big list of schools, hidden gems, if you like this school, etc.) And i believe the big list has asterisks that tell you if they require a prescreen.
But what helped me when my D was going through it was to create a Google sheets shared document. Made a tab for reaches, middles, safeties. And each had a column for prescreening y/n and due date, application deadline, whether they were common app (all these should be verified via the individual theatre programs webpage), app submitted y/n, prescreen submitted y/n, tuition (cappex is a super helpful site for that bc it adds tuition, room and board and fees up for you). Later we added things like acceptance y/n, prescreen pass y/n, audition dates, audition location, audition confirmed y/n, program acceptance y/n. It was nice bc my D and husband could also go in to the spreadsheet and add info, and we could check in to make sure steps were being completed and help as needed. There are so many moving parts in this process and you are right to start organizing now!!
Hi. I have been lurking here since the end of my daughter’s freshman year and just signed up. My d is a rising senior and we will be beginning the roller coaster of MT applications/auditions. This is brand new to us. She is number four of five kids but non of the others have been in performing arts. Whole different world. We have been working on finalizing our list of schools, still trying to figure out how to narrow it down. She was bitten by the MT bug when she was about 10 years old and has never looked back. She is a singer first, dancer second and actor last. She has had private voice training since 8th grade, dance when she was younger and started again sophomore year, and she has been in over 30 community theater shows. I have been so thankful for all the great information and insight I have gained from this community and look forward to having some people to weather this storm with. Can’t wait to see where they all end up!
I have a question about when to apply…
I just received my report card for junior year and my GPA dropped slightly and I was wondering if it would still be ok to apply after 1st semester senior year?? (first semester ends in mid-January)
I believe this is too late. You want to get your applications into the schools prior to December 1, if not by the beginning of September. This gives you time to audition. Most schools will not let you audition until you have been admitted into the University. Unless it dropped significantly and is below a 3.0 I would suggest not waiting.
@marysike that’s way too late. It may be fine to apply to the overall university in January (depending on the school) but you may find that all the audition dates are full by then. Try to have everything done by December 1st. In fact many of the theater dept supplements are due by then anyway.
@marymike many schools allow you to audition before you have been academically admitted to the university, but some schools do not… Some schools do not allow you to schedule an audition or actually audition until you have applied to the university… Some schools allow you to audition and then apply to the university… Some admissions decisions are blended between academic and artistic, and some are separate, and some are separate but the artistic or academic can influence the other… etc…
Submit applications in the fall whenever possible, and then have your fall senior year grades sent. 
thanks everybody!
Well, this is my first post. I have been stalking CC for over a year and have developed such an appreciation for all that is discussed on these boards. My S is a rising senior and attends HS in the SF bay area. He has been in theater since he was 6 and it has been the cornerstone of his childhood. He is my oldest of 3 and I am an absolute newbie with the acting admissions process. We are working with a college counselor/college agent and it is bringing me some relief as she has given us a great timeline of ALL that needs to be done! He is currently in an amazing program called Summer University Theater Experience in San Francisco that is run through Susan Mascall. Each day he is working with an auditor from a different school and the overall experience seems invaluable. He will leave on July 7th for California State Summer School for the Arts/CSSSA which is a 4 week program held at CalArts. He can’t wait to get there although I am feeling anxious with him being away for the first time. I look forward to hearing about all the different journeys our families are embarking on! It is going to be a very crazy next 10 months!
Hi everyone - I happened to come across CC about a year ago and have been checking in and out as time allowed. My D is now a rising senior and I am sure I will be spending a lot of time on these boards. There is so much helpful information out here. I so appreciate everyone’s willingness to share their experiences. My D has had a love of theatre and dance since she was 3. She has been in dance classes taking all genres of dance since age 3 and dancing competitively since she was 9. She had danced in various ballet productions including the part of Clara in the Nutcracker when she was 12. She loves dance with tap, hip hop and jazz being her favorites. She attends a non PA High School that is lucky enough to have a fabulous drama coach that puts on a straight show and Musical each school year. She has had the same drama coach since she was in 3rd grade having had lead roles as well as other roles. She also helps out with the local elementary and middle school musicals with choreography and stage management. She has only had formal voice lessons for the past 1 1/2 years but I certainly can tell the difference. She is also very active in our local community theatre and is currently playing the part of Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz”. She has been playing the flute since 6th grade and is the Color Guard Captain of her HS Marching Band. She also is in the Concert Choir at her HS. Academically she has done very well, but neither of us are happy with the SAT score she recently had so she is retaking in August. Musical Theater is the only thing that she has wanted to go to college for since she was very young. She loves the stage. I have tried over the years to sway her this way and that but about two years ago finally decided that this is her true passion and I was not going to stand in her way. I would support her and help her in any way that I can to help her in this pursuit. For the past two years she has attended a two week summer camp at AMDA and really enjoyed it. She has looked at other camps but unfortunately they always seemed to interfere with band camp. I have recently been in contact with MTCA to help us through this whole process and we are both very excited to work with them and get their guidance. I know this is going to be a crazy year ahead and but we are ready to get on this roller coaster and have the ride of our lives.
My S just finished this process and his advice is: “the best thing you can do is prepare over summer, get comfortable with the idea of dance calls by taking some private dance lessons and having good looking dance gear that shows off your lines, research MT programs to get a good range of schools, look interesting songwriters like Carner and Gregor, get the best 16 bar cut ever, and make money so that you can pay for the audition season.” He went to a non-performing arts high school with a great drama and choir program and landed some great offers with decent scholarships. He used My College Audition as a coach the summer before his senior year, and it was great for monologue and song selection as well as school selection, particularly because we didn’t know what we were doing. He is didn’t really use them for tweaking the songs or monologues as he’s a pretty self-directed (except or Shakespeare tutorial class bc that was priceless). As for dance heavy schools: I would add Point Park to the strong dance school list. I would also look into Emerson and Ball State since their dance calls (according to my son’s friends) were unbelievably challenging (kids stumbled out of Emerson dance call looking like death, so that’s a big clue) and difficult dance calls (Rider, PPU and BoCo) were markers for good dance schools. As for time to apply, this summer should be spent filling out the common application, hiring a coach or doing it your self for song, monologue and school selection. Also, get a spread sheet going with requirements and deadlines. Get in contact with your high school to find out what you need to do to get applications out with recommendations in a timely fashion. Contact your recommenders. By August, you should have completed essay, a good mix of colleges, a spreadsheet with deadlines and requirements, 32 and 16 bar cuts of two contrasting songs, one pre-1965ish and one contemporary, with recorded accompaniment uploaded on phone or computer, a comedic and dramatic monologue, a Shakespeare era monologue for certain schools and a post war monologue for certain schools. Common Application should be completed by mid-September. Individual applications should be completed September through December. Requests for auditions should be made as early as possible as some schools no longer have audition slots after December. Best of luck to kids and parents of 2022. It is a very demanding and difficult year for sure. Using the summer to get prepared definitely helps a ton. Break a leg everyone!
I have been lurking here for about two years and now it’s time to jump in. My D is is passionate about musical theater and is excited about the audition season. To save money for a coach, we decided to forego a summer program this year. She has attended a local Broadway intensive for two of the last three years. She has been active in school and community theater for 8 years; has had private vocal training for 5 years, and has had dance training for 2 years. She had a rough experience with a dance instructor when she was young that turned her completely off dance. She only took it up again when she realized how important it would be for her career. Our public high school has an outstanding drama department and a perfectly adequate choral department. She is a very good student and an officer in the Thespians.
Although she loves the idea of training in New York, we are focusing primarily on schools in the Midwest that have strong reputation on acting, and specifically acting for the screen. Although she dreams of Broadway, she knows that she needs to hone skills that fit the current employment environment. We are seeking a coach for the following reasons: She has several audition songs prepared, but we will be seeking advice on proper cuts. She needs monologue material. She also needs to understand the interview process. We have about dozen schools selected for application, but we will probably seek input on those choices as well.
I’m looking forward to going through this with her, and with all of you, too. Best wishes.
My daughter graduated last year with a psychology major and it was much easier to establish a budget and help direct her to schools that provided a great education. This is a completely different experience! My DS is a rising senior who has participated in musical theatre since middle school. I would say that he a strong double threat with very little dance experience. He is going to look at schools with Acting programs as well as musical theatre. I have pretty much resigned myself to looking at schools all over the country. Lurking on this board for the last six months helped me get to that point so thanks to all that came before this class of '22. My son is bright but not necessarily academic so I am apprehensive that there won’t be much coming in the way of merit aid although he had good SAT scores so you never know. OK maybe I’ll stop this brain dump of all of the things that wake me up at 2 am before I frighten everyone off! I AM really excited to see what the next year brings and learn and share what I learn along the way!
Looking forward to learning from you all as my daughter and I navigate this process! She is a rising senior and passionately hopeful that she can pursue a BFA in MT. So glad I can have this forum as a resource! She is my oldest so the whole thing is new to us! She is attending Baldwin Wallace summer conservatory starting this Thursday. We have a good list of schools and have visited a few- trying to focus on prep for auditons through out the month of August. We are looking at mostly East coast schools in NY, VA, NJ, OH, CT and PA. I am nervous but excited! She is a singer first for sure… she can defintely keep up in dance numbers in musicals she has been in, and takes some classes, but is probably NOT looking for a school who’s program is extremely dance heavy. She is very drawn to the conservatory style schools with a serious focus in voice/ and the more well rounded programs that have classes in the leadership aspects of the business of acting/ arts management/ technical classes in additon to the performance classes. Dance and Acting are two areas she loves but I would say voice is her strongest asset and passion. She is academically strong- both her GPA and SAT’s- so we are PRAYING that translates to some merit based $. (Please Lord) I am so nervous about the audition process yet really excited for her too. It seems so intimidating HOWEVER I am choosing to keep the faith that there WILL BE a fit for her on that list where she can grow and thrive. No one with such a love, joy and passion for something should be denied pursuing it!! I really can’t wait to see where all these kids end up!
Someone better start an offers thread for class of 2022! I hear, unbelievably, that three offers (2 boys & 1 girl) have already gone out (and I believe accepted) at the conclusion of a certain summer program…
Hi everyone! I’ve been lurking here for the past year and I’m so excited it’s my time to audition!
I am a rising senior and I would have to say my strengths are acting/singing/dancing. I’ve been in theatre since I was 7 or 8 but it wasn’t until I was 13 that it really hit me how much I loved it! I currently attend a PA HS as a theatre major. My family can’t afford any of the summer intensives, but I was able to attend college auditions at the International Thespian Festival, so hopefully that will help me in getting my name out there to the schools.
I do have a few questions if someone wouldn’t mind answering! My first is the Facebook group: how can I join that? I’d be really interested in connecting with other people before the auditions. Secondly, how dire is it to get an audition or acting coach? I’m a bit concerned about the value, I guess. If I struggle picking out music and monologues should I definitely get one?
Thank you so much! CC has been super helpful over the past year and I’m excited to finally get to participate!
@addicted2MT Would you mind sharing what summer program? My daughter is heading to one at the end of July for the first time. We went back and forth over several different ones so I’m interested to know if it is one we crossed off our list.