Commisserate here: Rejections...HS Class of 2008

College Majors Musical Theater Major
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<p>Chellybelly,
My D asks herself (and us) those same questions all the time. I guess if you are someone who casts/audtions people, you have to compare people, but in a performance it is you out there on your own. So if you receive positive comments after a performance, believe them! No one earned them for you. You do seem to have a great attitude none-the-less which will help you mightily in all aspects of your life!</p>

<p>hang in there...BTW, my D got a 'no thanks' from Pace yesterday too. She had wanted to go there, but Oh well...</p>

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<p>snoggie, I am not sure if this will provide any reassurance to you and your D, but I would guess that any number of kids on this list did not get serious about performing until high school. Remember that college BFA programs are there to provide the training they need, and I doubt that many programs expect kids to be "finished products" before they even enter! :) Hang in there, everybody.</p>

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<p>My thanks to everyone who has responded to my kind of question!! Please keep those thoughts coming in. They are so helpful to me, and like the other threads were for ME I am sure your responses are helpful to others as well!!! Gee, do people still talk on the board after May 1st!? :-)</p>

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<p>Yes, they do, believe it or not. :) But it won't really heat back up, conversation-wise, until next fall, when you and me and other "veterans" can come back and try to do our best to help those who are going through it for the first time. I don't know about you, snoggie, but I am looking forward to being the one who can dispense sage and experienced advice, instead of being the one who is still sweating it out with her kidlet! :)</p>

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<p>I can't wait to welcome all of you guys to the "other side"!!! </p>

<p>That said, this angst never truly ends as other situations come up with the kids like casting, summer jobs, grad school, etc. and we go through it a bunch of times!</p>

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<p>Soozie: Is there another website for all of that? (Just kidding.)</p>

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<p>I have to agree and say this site has been so helpful. There were times last fall that I just couldn't come here, too much information. But the last 2 months during auditions, it really helps to read that other people (the kids and parents, too) are going through the same thing.</p>

<p>Makes me feel a little less insane.</p>

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<p>Has anyone heard anything from Wagner? Their threads have been inactive for a while...</p>

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<p>Letsfigureitout.....while I don't post on it, I have fervently been checking a message board on the topic of my older daughter's current specialized admissions process (like you guys are here) and following which dates people got calls or emails and the like. My D doesn't have time to read it and would not post on it either. </p>

<p>The thing is, it can drive you crazy. It is helpful on the one hand but not conclusive. For instance, I would read of acceptance calls from a school on a certain day and she didn't get one and would think, oh, that's over for that school and lo and behold, in several instances, she then got a call a few days later herself with good news. So, you can't conclude that it won't happen to you because it hasn't happened on the same day as someone else. With one school, I think we chalked it up that she wasn't admitted and then she got a call from the head of the program. She now has hit the jackpot with multiple acceptances to top programs beyond her wildest dreams/expectations and is rejoicing, as are we. It is helpful to keep track of the process by reading posts from around the world of others in the same exact process, but at the same time, it can drive you nutty!</p>

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<p>Sad news - the girl who told my S about Wagner received her Thank-You-No-Thank-You letter today. I feel awful for her and her mom. She is an amazing talent - but now is questioning herself completely. It does make my S's waitlist status bittersweet. :/</p>

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<p>Sorry about your friend's bad news, RoraMom! It sometimes seems very, well, random and inexplicable who gets in and who doesn't. My D was commenting the other day how she wished that, just for one day, she could observe the process from inside and hear what the auditors say, how they decide, etc. It would be instructive, that's for sure.
MomsterofM, I think quite a few people feel that way (that this site might provide TMI to absorb at times) but I also cannot fathom what our family would have done without the info we gleaned here. I feel 100% sure that had I not stumbled across CC a few years ago, my D would have gone into the auditions process a lot less prepared. So thank you, everyone! It's not only great to have a place to go to get information, but it's even "greater" to have a place where people can comfort each other and be in community throughout the process. That's something I don't have in real life with other theater parents, unfortunately.</p>

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<p>I agree that the wonderful part of CC is being able to share, as well as learn, among others who are involved in the same thing and that others locally would have no interest or understanding about. I have learned lots on CC and it is also interesting to meet people from all over and learn about their experiences as well. Plus there is a great support system here!</p>

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<p>I could not agree more that without CC my D too would have gone into the audition process a whole lot less prepared. It is truly unbelieveable how many things come into play when getting ready for all of this, and even then you cannot foresee everything. </p>

<p>This forum provides a great platform to share and learn about not only the good, but also the bad. It is also reassuring to see that you are not going through all this alone, and that you can come here to celebrate success as well as vent when necessary.</p>

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<p>Rejected from CCM,Roosevelt,Wright-State,Kent,Ithaca...and still waiting to hear from 2 more schools. Everything happens for a reason and I obviously wasn't meant to go to those schools. BUT I know God has got something great planned for me, his timing is never late!! Everyone who's going through this hang tight!!</p>

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<p>Well said SingerNLmusic...here's to your right place showing itself soon:).</p>

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<p>This is an extremely frustrating process and it does seem very random and selective based on "casting" needs. Yes, there is an abundance of talented kids and limited spots but I guess it all boils down to how a student will fit a specific spot in an ensemble. Is this really true?</p>

<p>So far rejections from Rutgers, NCSA, CMU (most likely) and expecting the similar news from NYU and SUNY Purchase. No emails, invitations or calls is a bad sign I guess.</p>

<p>Unfortunately for my son, many of these schools probably have limited amounts of Jake Gyllenhaal or Dylan Mcdermott type spots he would have been considered for.</p>

<p>So far rejections from Rutgers, NCSA, CMU (most likely) and expecting the same news from NYU and SUNY Purchase. Unfortunately, he has a short list.</p>

<p>I don't want to sound like sour grapes but it is disheartening when we witness the level of talent a child or daughter has and say; "why wouldn't they want a student like that?" </p>

<p>We were aware but probably not as well prepared I guess for the reality of the extreme selectivity of many of these top theatre schools. </p>

<p>Regardless of the outcome of this process, I will always will be a PROUD DAD. </p>

<p>(I am not bragging) but my son was selected for the cast of every production at a one of the nation's highest profile HS of Arts including the lead role in a major productioncof one of the great American classics. The school and students are fortunate to have some very talented and qualified teachers. He recently won a state Thespian Scholarship along with several Cappies. In addition to acting, he was the lead singer of a band that performed at Van's Warped Tour. All of this in the last few years. </p>

<p>We are looking towards the possibilty that he may not attend college in the fall. Instead, he may go straight to NYC and enroll in an acting conservatory. He is focused and determined to learn and work. </p>

<p>As a typical theatre parent I filter through the good news about his fellow classmates that plan to attend CMU Drama, NYU/Tisch and Julliard (2 were selected for dance). I see the endless list of acceptances on the CC boards and have to admit as a lurker, I still feel left out. I feel bad for my son who has worked so hard over the past several years to get to this point. </p>

<p>I ask myself, were his auditions at the unifieds not good enough? Was his cold noticable? Were his SAT scores too low? Should he have auditioned on campus?</p>

<p>Everyday around noon for the past several weeks my wife and I look at each other and begin our ritualistic "did WE get into any schools today?" as we stare at the mailbox, we are reminded that this is not about us. It's not about our egos. I'm not certain if that's always true. </p>

<p>Soon the anxiety and angst will be over. Decisions will be made. Plans will begin to fall into place. Ordinary junk mail will once again become ordinary junk mail. The "Congratulations" postcard that announces a FREE Cruise rather than an invitation to "attend our school" will be tossed into the recycle bin without a second glance.</p>

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<p>Rejection letter number 5 came in the mail today. I really hope I get some good new mail soon. Otherwise, I'm going to be looking at some worst case scenarios and figuring out what I can do to transfer.</p>

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<p>Proud Dad, it took a lot of guts to write that post...you gave words to the ache in a lot of hearts. My D's dad and I have had many discussions about the same issues. </p>

<p>What do I want for my D, really? Short term, I want her to go to a great MT school, in large part because it is her passion (and in a much smaller part because I have delayed remarrying until she graduates, and my wedding is 3 months from today). But in the end, I want her to be happy...confident...generous...content. And what college is going to assure that? My heart breaks with each "no thank you" she gets, but this disappointment can't change who she is or who I hope she will become. This process is part of growing up. She is a great kid with loads of talent...she will do what she loves SOMEWHERE, no matter where she goes to college. </p>

<p>If we had it to do over again, we (parents) would have taken soozievt's advice and expanded our D's list to include more second-tier schools and a couple of BA programs. We would have had our D apply to schools where she would have been geographically desirable. We would have auditioned on campus instead of Unifieds. (I know many kids get picked at Unifieds but our experience was not good and what we saw happen to other kids was unconscionable.) We would have gotten her a vocal audition coach to help her pick 16 to 32 bars she could kill with. </p>

<p>BUT...more schools mean more essays, and given our D's heavy academic load, she just got fried and couldn't write another one. She knew the schools she wanted to apply to, and she would not even countenance the addition of BA programs. We put her in charge of researching, applying, and scheduling because she needs to be invested in this thing. As parents, we wrote checks and booked hotels, bought dresses and head shots, sprayed stinky dance shoes with Febreze, and tried to make her eat and drink. </p>

<p>Kids are resilient. They will survive this. I'm not so sure about us!</p>

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<p>I believe what Singer said. Skid I think we will all survive - parents and kids because in the end it will all work out the way it is suppose to. We just think we know what is best for us and what we should do. Eventually with time we'll realize if this didn't happen and take us here then that wouldn't have happened. It's all just hindsight we don't have now. </p>

<p>Many many - the majority even - talented young adults are being sent letters of non-admittance to these schools. Don't be so hard on yourself and keep believing in you.</p>

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<p>ProudDad -- Never doubt that your S is very talented. There is no way he could have achieved what he has without being talented. He is an amazing young man and something positive is headed your way. You still have 2 schools left and you can't assume they will both be rejections. You just need one acceptance!</p>

<p>If the worst case scenario happens and he is not accepted into these last two schools, then he, along with you and your wife, will search for an alternative path. And there are many alternative paths that lead to success. While my D was in high rejection mode only two weeks ago, her voice teacher kept giving us the same message. There are so many stories of students who didn't take the "selective schools" route and somehow either made it in as a transfer or found another route which included a LOT of performing in a "less selective" school or track.</p>

<p>Bottom line, in my opinion, is to try not to lose sight of the talent you, your wife and many others see in him. Hang on ... and his talent and determination will indeed win out in the end. This is a gut-wrenching process for us as parents and it is VERY discouraging at times ... but I can tell that your faith and love for your son will be exactly what gets all of you through this and with positive results!</p>