<p>If wanting to major in dance, do you do regular college visits, then decide where to audition, or do you do your college visit and audition all in one?
Thanks!</p>
<p>I would go and visit first. Just because you think it might be your dream dance school, you may get there and go yuck! It will save you the stress of an audition.</p>
<p>I think I might do them at the same time, especially if you have to travel a long distance. You could treat the auditions at the schools you don’t like as dress rehearsals for those you do. (But I don’t really know as my daughters did not apply to schools that required auditions.)</p>
<p>We did both. We did some college visits junior and sophomore year that included some of the schools our student was considering auditioning for. Some of them were crossed off the list. Senior year our dancer made a list of schools where she wanted to audition, some of which she had previously seen, others not. She then auditioned in the most economical way possible, including doing some in our city and not visiting the campus at all. Once she had her acceptances, she visited some that she hadn’t seen. I will suggest, that if you have not previously visited, that you take time to see the school while there for the audition. Take the tour. See a performance if possible. Don’t let the crush of senior year commitments at home force you to rush the visits and shortchange the student’s opportunity to fully see the school. It’s easy to feel like you have to get there at the last minute and rush home for whatever performance or rehearsal or whatever is waiting at home, but remember that this is the main thing your dancer is doing this year, and give it the time it deserves for careful consideration. that is what I would do differently–I would spend more time and let some of the home stuff go. Your mileage may vary.</p>
<p>Tour what you can first, if possible, even if it’s a few years in advance. We managed two tours last summer while visiting New York. It was a great way to find out about the college and get info on all the application requirements, plus getting us excited about where to apply. Now with the applications behind us, we are managing to tour our last college during an upcoming trip to another city for an audition. So, I guess we ended up doing a bit of both. </p>
<p>My daughter was more inspired about the entire process (applications and auditions) after having done a tour on a previous trip, so I would highly recommend it on that basis alone.</p>
<p>thanks so much for you input! Sounds like maybe a little of both, but definitely time to get started!</p>