Wanted to get this started so we can all keep track of where everyone is auditioning for, how their audition went and the results of everyone’s auditions.
So I’ll start- My D is auditioning/auditioned for:
-Fordham/Ailey - waiting for prescreen results
-NYU Tisch - 12/14
-Juilliard - 3/3
-Pace - waiting for prescreen results
-Marymount - 1/25
-Michigan - Hoping for 11/22
-Montclair - Dancewave
-Adelphi - Dancewave
-Sacred Heart (company and dance minor not BFA) - Dancewave
-Rutgers - Dancewave
-Point Park - Dancewave
-UArts - Dancewave
So far shes been accepted into Sacred Heart’s advanced dance company. We’re still waiting to hear back from the rest.
Also, if anyone who has already been through the process has any insight/advice on the process and could let us know a little about their experience with particular schools/auditions that would be very helpful.
Of the schools listed above, we did regional tour auditions for Fordham/Ailey and Julliard in Jan 2018. Julliard was very large (no prescreen) and very aggressively cut, IIRC in four stages from 100+ to ~50 to ~25 to ~10 and then only a couple of those last 10 were told they would be under further consideration at the end (but that didn’t mean they were in). My D treated it as just a fun experience, without any expectation of being selected, and was really pleased to get through two rounds of cuts (but I think the solos were the last stage, she didn’t do hers, which was good since she hadn’t expected to get that far anyway). Fordham wasn’t so large (presumably due to the prescreen), I think a few dozen, and I don’t think was cut during the day, that went well (obviously since she was offered a place). The academic merit aid was pretty decent (there was no dance specific merit aid offered), something like 75% off tuition, but the costs of NY still made it pretty expensive, and she went elsewhere for a ballet specific program (two of her friends at the same audition were also offered places, one went and the other didn’t). I think Julliard had pointe in the audition whereas Fordham didn’t, but I’m not sure about all the details of the Fordham audition.
Based on your list, I’ve only had experience with Juilliard- DD auditioned for Juilliard on its NYC campus in March 2018. She had already committed to Purchase by the time of the audition so it was more for the experience, as Twoin18 says. There were easily 100+ dancers there. The first cut was ballet and it was the largest cut (more than half of the dancers). Lots of ballet dancers were cut, so we knew Juilliard was not looking specifically for ballerinas, per se. There was no pointe at this audition. After modern, more cuts were made and it was probably down to about 25-30 dancers. My daughter was cut after solos (the third cut). She was very grateful to make it that far and to perform her solo. After solos, there was coaching/improv and the interviews. My DD’s classmate made it to interviews (the very end), but ultimately did not get in. While my daughter was in the audition, my husband and I attended a session on what it’s like to attend Juilliard, hosted by 5 current students. There are also sessions on financial aid and tours for waiting parents.
@gmfalv She’s now a sophomore at Utah (ballet BFA). Also got into UT Austin (OOS tuition waiver + $1K per year merit), Oklahoma (modern, but unfortunately not ballet, $11K per year scholarship), UCSB ($6K Regents), UCI ($2.5K Regents). Waitlisted at Chapman, rejected at Indiana, Butler, Julliard, USC. Also academic acceptances at UCB and UCLA (she didn’t like their dance programs, but is a very strong student - 4.0 UW/35 ACT/NM Commended/9 APs with 8 5s).
She had been dancing at the same studio since the age of 4 (mostly ballet), I think 5 years of pointe, 3 years of competition, something like 20-25 hours per week during high school and three summer intensives (Interlochen, UNCSA and Indiana).
@Twoin18 ok great thank you for your input! What made her choose Utah over Fordham?
My D has moved around studio wise-- went to a competition studio from age 3-12, then at age 12 started continued at her competition studio but went to a ballet school as well about 20 hours a week, really immersed herself. Then about a year and a half ago switched to a completely new studio (competition and ballet) and is there about 25-27 hours a week. Shes done three formal summer intensives (Ailey, ABT, and Complexions) and three local summer intensives.
@gmfalv just for the sake of compare and contrast, my daughter was interested in as much ballet as possible. She was open to exploring other genres but did not want them to be evenly distributed. She wanted ballet to be her primary focus. She auditioned at Butler, Oklahoma, Utah, Towson, and Cal State Long Beach. She had applications in at 5 other non-audition schools with dance programs that looked like they might be ok if she didn’t get into any of her audition-based schools or were at least near good training that she could take part in outside of school. She also had one school that would have meant no ballet at all, but she liked the school. In terms of her background: she trained at a ballet-focused studio starting at age 5, never did competitions of any sort, had about 6-7 years of pointe training by the time college auditions started, and went away to summer programs for 5-6 weeks each summer starting at 14.
None of the schools on your D’s list were on my D’s list. She was also uninterested in staying in California in general (though she was surprised by how much she enjoyed the CSULB audition) and consequently didn’t apply to any UCs. She’s also at Utah now, with Twoin18’s D, and she’s very happy there: ballet technique 5 days a week, pointe 3 days a week, plus all the other dance classes that are part of the BFA. She’s been able to perform in three productions so far and is cast in the fall production coming up.
She’d had her heart set on Butler and was crushed by their rejection (particularly by the way it was worded, but rejections are just a bummer almost 100% of the time) and had she been able to re-audition when they came to CA she would have I think, but she was out of the country at the time if memory serves me. Now in hindsight, she sees that Utah is a great fit for her and she’s actually glad she’s there and not at Butler. She’s getting opportunities and mentoring at Utah she didn’t even know she wanted but now that she’s had them she sees how gratifying they have been.
@mom2adancer thank you for your response! glad your daughter is happy at Utah, I’ve heard great things about the program. We live in NY and my D wants to stay closer to home and isn’t applying to any schools further then Michigan.
My D loves ballet- but has issues with her hips and knees, so we know long term a ballet career and a school that requires pointe 3x a week won’t work for her. She has also always trained in all styles of dance and enjoys them just as much as ballet. That’s why shes applied to more modern based programs. Also why she loves Ailey is that they have very good ballet training, even though its a more modern/contemporary based program- so she can get the best of both worlds.
@gmfalv She wanted a classical ballet focused program like @mom2adancer ‘s D and that was the best ballet program she got into. Also she wasn’t thrilled by the idea of being in NY, she prefers the outdoors (skiing, backpacking, etc) which Utah is amazing for. And her (full ride) scholarship was great but not the deciding factor, though Fordham was definitely the most expensive school on her list even after a $37K per year scholarship.
@Twoin18 yes i know the cost of fordham is hard to get over. Utah is definitely beautiful, I’m glad your D is having a great time and loving the program!
Of the schools on your list, my DD auditioned at the following last year:
NYU: auditioned in Chicago and was not accepted. There were about 30-35 kids at the audition and they kept about 10 for solos.
Montclair: auditioned at Dancewave and got an e-mail to audition on campus. There were about 60 kids in the on-campus audition in January and they kept about 30 for solos/interviews. She was accepted to the BFA program
Rutgers: auditioned at Dancewave and got an e-mail to audition on campus. There were about 60 kids at that audition as well. No cuts were made, and no solos. She decided that wasn’t the program/school for her so she never finished the application.
Point Park: auditioned at Dancewave and accepted with scholarship.
Sacred Heart: auditioned at Dancewave and accepted.
Adelphi: auditioned at Dancewave and accepted with scholarship.
Good luck to all of you and your dancers as you go through this process!!
@MomL98 wow that’s great for your D - lots of acceptances. We’re waiting for the results of our auditions from Dancewave. Do you remember how long it was before you heard back?
My DS has not yet started live auditions. We are in the process of taking photos and shooting videos for the prescreening for a couple of the schools:
–Will be turning in prescreening soon–
-Fordham/Ailey - if passes prescreen, then SD 2/1/20
-Pace - if passes prescreen, then LA 1/31/20
-USC
-UCLA
-Chapman
-UCSB - video audition will be sent soon
–Live auditions–
-UCI - looking for 1/18/20
-CSUF - 1/25/20
-CSULB - 2/21/20 (seems late in the process but hey what are you gonna do.
-SD State - 2/2/20
Very heavy west coast school wise. DS wants to stay close to home.
@NevrMynd51 yes we are also waiting to hear back about audition datess for Fordham and Pace. We don’t have any of the other schools on our list as my D wants to stay on the east coast close to home - seems we have an opposite list lol.
My D also auditioned at dance wave last weekend and as of now we have only heard from Rowan with an acceptance . How long does it take for all the schools to send out results .
My D was also at dancewave. We have heard from the studio school scared heart and George mason all with acceptance… Hopefully this week brings more responses!!
My D just did the University of Oklahoma audition 10/14. There were 2 different ballet auditions and 1 modern audition. About 35 in each ballet audition and same in the modern one. 2 weeks until results with the ability to ask what needs improvement and audition again if they are not asked into the program the first time. Upcoming she has Butler, Utah, and finishing up prescreen videos for IU and Cincinnati.