<p>Re: OCU</p>
<p>D received her acceptance letter today from OCU for Musical Theater. We are relieved to have an early acceptance...and thrilled that it is with such a strong music-based program. It's time to celebrate!</p>
<p>Wahoo for Musicalthtrmom's daughter! What a happy outcome and this early in the process! Congratulations. She has a place to go and can be less stressed with the rest of her process. Happy for you.</p>
<p>After getting into Emerson, Jake has decided to cancel auditions for Ithaca and Syracuse. He still has auditions scheduled for NYU, CMU, CCU, Boston Conservatory, and Michigan. </p>
<p>He's hearing good things about Emerson which is helping to narrow down the possibilities.</p>
<p>OCU Letter</p>
<p>D received the letter accepting her for Theatre performance at OCU; that's not what she wanted. She has sent e-mail to the school to ask whether that means she was rejected by MT. One of her friends got that same letter and is also confused.</p>
<p>Congratulations to MusicalThtrmom's D - - I'm still sure my D will have a good fit somewhere if we can just wait it out until February. Have good holidays - - and be safe everyone.</p>
<p>Hoofermom...
Did your D indicate at the auditions at OCU that she was auditioning for both Theatre AND Musical Theatre? I know my D auditioned for both Vocal Performance and Musical Theater. She was accepted to Musical Theater...but no mention in the acceptance letter of Vocal Performance. We assume that is because she was asked during her audition which she preferred, VP or MT and she answered MT. She is thrilled as she sees VP as her backup and truly wanted MT. Could the circumstances be similar in your case? Just trying to help solve the mystery! Hope I'm not confusing the issue!</p>
<p>Thanks for the good wishes all....D is starting out her holiday break (which begins tonight!) on a grand note with this news!</p>
<p>Musicalthtrmom . . .
Definitely not. She filled out the same forms and auditioned with the same folks. I know that some other schools let you know that you can indicate a preference but that they will place you where they think you fit best. We never heard anything like this from OCU, and no one at the school ever asked her if she was interested in a BA in Theatre Performance. Thanks for thinking of this possibility, but I think we are going to have to get the school to let us know what's going on. If I hear, I'll let you know.</p>
<p>my d also received acceptance as theater performance major at ocu. i finally called our admissions counselor today and told him we were leaving tomorrow and needed to know something. he checked a list and said she was not accepted into the mt program. that may not mean anything at all to you others. we still have not received a letter of any kind regarding mt. and no, we did not audition for anything except mt. however, dr. herendeen did tell d that he was also looking at students for the theatre department and would be passing some names on to them. we are going to audition again and hope to still get in to the music department. but, i guess as long as you get the training you need, the degree letters don't matter too much. jamie</p>
<p>S received 2 separate letters from OCU: one from the Theater Dept. granting admission into Theater, and one from the Music Dept., granting admission into the BA Program in Music, but not into MT. He had indicated he was auditioning for MT. Rather than saying they had many qualified applicants and could not take all of them, the wording was "At this time, we did not feel that your vocal audition demonstrated the necessary level of ability to be admitted into the Bachelor of Music in Musical Theatre degree." He's in all-state choir, and two other people we know received the same wording, so that apprently was their form letter wording I was disappointed to see that wording from a school that prides itself and brags about caring about its students.</p>
<p>S received his OCU letter accepting him into Musical Theatre as did his friend who traveled with us.
Congratulations to all others who were accepted and to those who have confusion about programs, I hope the school helps you figure it out soon.
We are very happy at our house!</p>
<p>Cato, I agree with you on the wording....your phrasing is much more diplomatic than the one in the letter. </p>
<p>With many programs, not only is your wording more diplomatic but when they accept so few, it is true that SOME who do not get in were "talented enough" but there simply are not enough slots. You only have to look at Ivy League admissions to see another side to that tale.</p>
<p>regarding these acceptance letters, no one has mentioned scholarship money. have your letters included scholarship offers, or is it just assumed that if you get accepted, you get scholarship amounts?</p>
<p>At OCU, our letters offered some scholarship money for Theater, none for BA Music. Not accepted into MT.</p>
<p>Now I'm getting confused! My d received a phonecall from OCU last Friday congratulating her on her acceptance to the School of Music...but no particular degree program was mentioned and we haven't received ANYTHING in the mail. Am I just being paranoid, or should we start to worry? Her admissions counselor who called told her that she would be receiving a letter in the "next week or so explaining if you are getting scholarship money etc." She did say School of Music, which we just assumed meant she got in MT...I don't think she auditioned for any other program. And we haven't received anything fromt he theatre department. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>lexasmom
you will probably get a letter today. i was told they went out last friday. even though you received a call, your letter should be right in with the rest of them unless there was something unusual about your situation. i sure thought everyone would get them monday and some did. but it seems some are still arriving. we did get a letter from theater monday but nothing yet from music. surely today.........jamie</p>
<p>I am definitely looking for the letter today especially after so many postings about it yesterday. Unfortunately our mail doesn't run til late afternoon. We feel stupid that we didn't ask her admissions counselor what degree program she was accepted to ( I didn't think she was applying to anything but MT)...do you think she would have called so excitedly to congratulate her if it weren't what my d applied for? I certainly hope not! This would be a devastating blow! Anyway, keep those fingers crossed today! And keep us posted.</p>
<p>Lexasmomkbj,
Can you call the admissions counselor this morning, or all they all gone for the holiday? Also remember that the mail is taking longer at Christmas time. David got his Christmas card from OCU a day later than his friend did and we live in the same zip code.
As far as scholarships, both boys here got scholastic money, but only J (friend of S) got money from the music department.</p>
<p>First I better clarify I am not a parent or student. I am a casting agent who is on bed rest and bored (and please excuse on drugs for pain). My nieces friend was just admitted to a number of MT programs, which is no surprise to me. I saw him in a seventh grade play with my niece and told my sister I would like to sign that kid someday. Since his choices of schools to audition were interesting I asked my sister how he had come up with his list. He told her he got much of his info from this CC list.</p>
<p>I do not represent kids; I leave that up to my partner; I am a little too blunt and a lot too impatient for stage parents but I thought I might be of help clarifying what some of these schools may be trying to do.</p>
<p>First let me tell you why I am going to sign this kid someday. When he is on the stage, whether he is in the action or not you can not help looking at him. When he sings, I heard him last year in a school production, you get chills, even an old broad like me. He is wonderful to look at and in that golden zone of between 511 and 64.</p>
<p>I got a chuckle from a number of postings. One reminded me of something that happened to my partner about five years ago that only affirmed why I dont represent any one still living with Mom and Dad. She sent a kid out for a commercial for a national salon chain. When they sat the kid down for the haircut they found lice. The mother was incensed. How he could have lice, she said to my partner, he goes to a private school. </p>
<p>So folks it doesnt matter if your kid is all state choir or had the lead in every play in high school. Many of my best clients never even acted until college. I know this young man didnt even make the top choir until his junior year. I am betting it was because he did not learn to make his voice blend until then. High school choir directors are notorious for not liking distinctive solo type voices; something Broadway loves.</p>
<p>What I am betting is happening at these schools is that they are seeing more and more talented kids. Your kid may be very talented. But perhaps their voice hasnt come into its own, they want you in their program because they see promise, but they have other kids who have the entire package. Voice, dance, acting and dont fool yourselves looks.
They know they will make some errors with the kids they admit to MT and they figure you are their safety valve. If you like the school, go and work very hard. I see some very physically gifted people fail because they didnt understand that hard work is important.</p>
<p>Lastly, I am betting that these schools send out their acceptance/rejection letters just before the winter break in hopes that you will have a few weeks to cool down before you can get a hold of them. Ive been in this business for 30 years and I can usually tell in a minute or two if someone has that it factor. I am betting they are looking for the true stars first and then the ensemble, but being in the ensemble isnt bad.</p>
<p>Hope this helps some of you - be excited for you kid, encourage them to work hard and realize your being angry is harder on them then what the college letter says.</p>
<p>Thanks for the posting EE,
It's interesting to hear from a different perspective. I agree with you wholeheartedly that what schools are looking for is the "It" factor...and for various schools that could mean different things. As a side note, this CC Board has been such a help to all prospective MT parents and students and I believe that is what helps us all make it through this rigorous process. I would also venture to say that none of the parents who have posted (that I know of) would ever be angry with their child for not getting into a program...the children are hard enough on themselves! I think that this college process is just a preview of their chosen career paths...and those who persevere despite rejection, etc. will be the successful ones!</p>
<p>Thanks for posting, EEE. It's always great to hear from someone with another perspective. As the father of a son who will never be in the "golden zone" of between 5'11 and 6'4, how big of a problem is this (he is currently 5'8 at 16)? Just wondering about your perspective, or those of any others, on this topic. Thanks and happy holidays to you and all.</p>
<p>Vocaldad</p>
<p>We got the letter...finally!!!!! I know we had the phonecall but after all the recent discussion on this board, I needed to see it in writing. No talent scholarship money, but my D got an amazing academic scholarship. Now we can truly rest easy for the holidays!</p>