@Bunny308 - I have no idea. We had no idea they were sending emails or making calls. We had only heard decisions would come out 4/1 so weren’t expecting anything until then.
@DivaStageMom - final word about NU vs. BU, I think it should come down to what’s less painful. The sub-zero January breeze coming off Lake Michigan that knocks you off your bike on the way to class…or the sub-zero January breeze coming off the Charles River that knocks you off your bike on the way to class. It’s a tough call 
@DivaStageMom From what I’ve read, I don’t think your acceptance percentages are quite right regarding NU. The 8% rate for NU is for the entire university, not the theatre acceptances. Comparing CCM’s acceptance rate doesn’t apply as that is MT only. Almost all of the MT audition school acceptance rates for the MT programs are between 1-3%, but the school acceptances range from 40-97%. NU is probably the most selective university, but not necessarily for theatre since they take 150.
Anybody have experience in negotiating financial aid?
@Jasklo – every school my D has gotten into, we’ve appealed the initial FA offer…and gotten more money every time. Now, it’s not MUCH more, but as long as you have favorable comps, it helps out quite a bit:
Most schools prefer you use this tool in a formal letter to help make your case. The admissions person is actually appreciative of this, and helps make their job easier in being your advocate:
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/financial-aid-awards/compare-aid-calculator
Now, we haven’t tried this at places like CMU or Michigan (which is where I think your kid is looking at going), so I can’t speak to it’s effectiveness. Regardless of benefit awarded though, I imagine its a similar process.
BTW – for what it’s worth. At the CMU program last summer, one of the FT Acting professors told my D’s class to ‘never take the first offer…even if it’s from here.’ So, they expect you to negotiate. As long as you demonstrate viable alternatives (or need if that’s a thing), then you can always get at least a bit more than the initial offer
@SavsMom – are you sure that’s right about NU? I haven’t researched their theater acceptance guidelines, but was under the impression that the theater majors went through the exact same admission process as all other NU undergraduate majors. (i.e. that the first ~150 people who check ‘Theater’ as their major, and are admitted on traditional merits, are accepted into the program. Most are ED) – could be wrong. Wasn’t my area and we didn’t apply there.
However, I WILL say the above WOULD be consistent with how NU thinks about education. NU’s approach to undergraduate education is focused more on breadth vs. depth, like most of the Ivy league schools. They emphasize a strong well rounded approach to liberal arts education, versus training for a certain area. (e.g. there aren’t many undergraduate professional tracks. There is no undergraduate business major, etc. There is no BFA). This is a stark contrast to places like NYU, Michigan, or Carnegie Mellon, where dual admission into departments as an undergraduate is more emphasized (and like BFA-MT programs everywhere)
Seriously – go to the web site. It says:
Graduate = 4 MFA options
Undergraduate = Major or Minor in Theatre + MT Certificate
That’s why NU puts so much emphasis and concentration on their graduate programs for ‘focus’ vs. undergraduates where they emphasize broader education. In terms of graduate programs, they are near the top across most disciplines.
– GREAT NU graduate programs (Top 20) – Theater, Engineering, Medical
– ELITE NU graduate programs (Top 10) – Law, Music
– WORLD CLASS NU graduate programs (Top 5) – Business, Journalism
You’re in the home stretch! Keep the notifications info coming here on this thread.
@SavsMom - That was my point that I guess I didn’t make that well. My d is smart - she is in all honors classes - and her friends also do well in school. Her BF got a perfect score on his ACT he is going to Colgate, another very good friend - perfect SAT, 4.7 GPA she is going to Georgetown. They are both obsessed with school selectivity - yet they fail to realize that all the programs D applied to were actually a lot MORE selective than Colgate or Georgetown or NU. Like Texas State is a very average academic school - but had she gotten into the MT program - that would have been the equivalent to getting into Harvard! But people outside this process don’t get this. She does, and now that a day has passed she is tuning these voices out.
I think @StanfordAI2019 mentioned that more than likely her acceptance to the BU BFA program was more selective than the NU acceptance - because let’s face it, she was only competing against other smart theater majors for grades at NU - she wasn’t competing against the general pool of applicants… And there is no audition - so… we get this, others don’t
But I think @soozievt - put this selectivity thing in perspective - at the end of the day this is a highly selective process and on both ends and she needs to follow her heart - she left the BU audition literally crying on the walk back to the hotel - she wanted this so badly she was overcome with emotion - we both sat and cried after she got her acceptance - there was a visceral emotional reaction all along the way to that program, school, the head of the department McCaela Donovan etc… she didn’t feel that anywhere else. So we are feeling more confident its the right choice.
@StanfordAI2019 and @Jasklo - I think this is going to be the hardest year to ask for more money - but @Jasklo if anyone has a chance you do - your D made some amazing programs and I am sure all the schools would love to have her accept - so good luck!!
I applaud @DivaStageMom for letting her daughter’s assessment of fit override the “noise” / people’s obsession with rankings. These students can get great educations at a number of institutions, so where the student feels they will best thrive is a very important component for all appliacants
It’s amazing how people get caught up in the rankings when trying to make a decision based on fit.
@DivaStageMom I am so happy for your D! It is great that she found a place that she really loved. I would go with it. It sounds like it was meant to be for her. We are struggling now because my D did not have that moment with the options she has. She is narrowing things down now but feels confused and unsure. It is going to be tough if we are not able to visit any of them before acceptance day. I have a feeling it is going to be a long April…
Thanks @DivaStageMom and @StanfordAI2019. Spread on financial aid is literally over $100,000. Crazy.
@modanbsmt001 - I know, with the exception of NU - we were so fortunate that all of D’s acceptances came from schools she visited - but I am so stressed for everyone on this thread that is making a school choice with a group of school’s sight unseen.
@ElizaDoolittle started a thread where people gave campus and vibe descriptions - I kind of lost touch with it after I gave my campus descriptions - but maybe if she’s out there she would re-share the posts - some were on one post and some were separate.
Here you go:
There’s also a separate post for Western Connecticut.
@modanbsmt001 my S did not have “the moment” at any school/audition either…he had heard about others having it, but he admitted to me the other day, as much as he was waiting for it, he just never had it. He also never had a “ranking” of the schools he would like to attend, or even a top 1 or 2 during the audition season. Fast forward to all results now being in, he has 4 great options and is comparing the typical things like curriculum, campus, location, dorms, etc…and there is 1 that he has zero negatives about; the other 3 only have very minor “strikes” against them, but ironically enough even though he never announced a number 1 school - the school that has zero negatives is the one school that on the walk back to the hotel after the audition, he couldn’t stop talking about. So I guess my point it, I think not having the “moment” may just be in his personality makeup, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t discover where he belongs after looking back and seeing things now side by side! Good luck!!
@DivaStageMom I think you’ve got to let this “what others think” about Northwestern go. It doesn’t matter what others think. If your daughter wants to be in Musical Theater, then she needs to go to the best school for Musical Theater. But even if she thinks she might decide that MT is not for her, then at the end of the day, having to make a choice between BU and NU is a pretty good thing. When she is out and wants a job, it’s not like they’re going to say “oh, you only went to BU… we would have hired you if you had gone to Northwestern.”
A less prestigious example: My HS senior daughter got into UTexas and Texas A&M engineering. UT is very difficult to get into… TAMU is too, but less so. They are both top 15 engineering schools in the US. Even though UTexas is more prestigious, she is almost certainly going to choose TAMU. She just feels more comfortable there. Plus she got into honors at TAMU, more (although not much) scholarship money, too. TAMU wants her. UT thinks that they don’t have to compete for her. At the end of the day, both schools end up with near 100% job placement, so she’ll be fine.
It’s splitting hairs, but may be important to point out. I don’t think @DivaStageMom is necessarily saying that she and her D are putting weight into what ‘others think’ when it comes to making her college decision.
I think she’s using that outside perspective as a proxy, or indicator, that maybe they know something she doesn’t. Thus, when she’s asking us what we think between the two schools, the only way to simply ask via the written word is to inquire “which one would we choose?” – thereby revealing our own knowledge and perspective about the schools that she can take into account.
Challenge is that this discourse is more effective verbally versus written, so I think that nuance gets lost.
See…couldn’t even express that sentiment succinctly…but hopefully that makes sense.
@DivaStageMom I am going to weigh in on the NU/BU struggle. The bottom line is simple for our family. M S is picking a college based on where he feels home (supported, loved, wanted, challenged…etc.) Not the name on the building. I stole the following from somewhere two weeks ago but it changed his perspective.
*MOST people that have had successful careers on Broadway did not go to Carnegie Mellon.
*MOST people that have won Tony awards did not go to University of Michigan.
*MOST people that we hear on Original Broadway Cast Recordings did not go to Baldwin Wallace.
*Most people who are now working on National Tours did not go to CCM.
The name on the building has much less to do with your success as what YOU do when you’re in that building. Your path is carved out by YOU, not the name on your diploma.
Having a famous Alumnus like Kristin Chenoweth put OKCU on the map for Musical Theatre. Wherever you go, you should strive to be your school’s Kristin Chenoweth, because you CAN!
That is my 2 cents. BTW…great choices to have!
@TexasMTDad @StanfordAI2019 @TheatreDad69
Thank you so much for all the advice - I am very appreciative of all the time spent on my “dilemma” - if you can call it that.
as @StanfordAI2019 said it very well - It’s not so much we care about what people think - as much as is what they think - away from this crazy MT world - making sense? BU is a good school - NU is a top 10 school in the country - it’s higher ranking than some Ivy’s, so while I believe my D will follow her heart and go to BU - there is a voice inside of me thinking - she just got into NU - and I am NUTS!!! Has this entire process made me lose my mind?? And so maybe what these other voices are saying is true. It isn’t the dominant voice in my head - but its there.
She has some time to withdraw from NU - we will leave it out there for a while in case something changes her mind.
Thank you 
@theatrekidmom I think your S and my D may have very similar personalities. She went into this trying not to get too connected with any school since she knew the odds. She spread a wide net and has options. We have been working on the pros and cons of her options. We are still waiting to hear from a few so I am hoping by next week we will know the status of all of her options and can get closer to the final choices. She is on the WL for her top choice so we will likely wait it out and see what happens with that. I am glad we are not the only ones struggling with all of this!
@DivaStageMom - the only other thing not mentioned that you may want to consider- especially if D still has a “‘MT or Bust” mindset for her career- perhaps ask how many kids audition for vs how many are accepted in to the MT training program after Freshman year. If the math is more in D’s favor that she will get MT training at NU, that might tip the scales a bit. If they are the same, then it makes sense to take the chance of not getting MT training at a school and with faculty that she feels a strong connected to.