<p>Sorry for the typos- I din't spell check!</p>
<p>Rejection is never easy. My daughter who is also a dancer, attends many auditions where they may cut you at anytime in the audition, and it's in front of everyone.</p>
<p>I'm sorry Impalanut about PSU. Sounds like we are in the same place - completed auditions we are waiting to hear about and a couple more to go. My heart goes out to everyone that has posted. I'm not sure if hearing right away is a good thing or a bad thing. At this point I don't even know if I'm looking forward to the announcements starting mid March or dreading it. I do know if we got just ONE acceptance to ANYWHERE at this point it would make the whole ordeal a heck of a lot easier.</p>
<p>Juilliard does the same thing with their auditions: if a kid's name is not on the callback list posted a few hours after their audition, that student knows he or she is not in consideration. Though seeing that one's name is not on the list is certainly a painful moment, it saves a lot of hand-wringing and nervous perspiration later, waiting to check one's status online or to get an envelope in the mail. It's a clean break, so to speak, and the student can just go on to the next audition. Of course, it's easy for me to say: I am not the one auditioning! :) But it <em>is</em> the way of the "real world" and what our kidlets are going to be up against in many an audition situation. (As an aside, I have to say how impressed I am with the way recent college grads of my acquaintance handle all of this. They seem almost nonchalant when they recount how they auditioned at such-and-such a place or for such-and-such a show and did or did not get a callback. They have learned, it seems, to put their "all" into an audition and then not look back. They are always looking forward, and rightly so, because the other way lies insanity, I would think.) Best of luck to everyone's kids and to everyone who is auditioning.</p>
<p>Point Park does the same thing- at least at the on-campus auditions.</p>
<p>As the Class of 08 is beginning to realize, the waiting is the hardest part. The PSU audition process is an accurate reflection of what goes on in the real world. Of course it's difficult and painful to get that rejection, but at least you get it over with quickly! If you went to one of the earlier PSU auditions, failure to get a callback could also inspire you to re-think your audition and possibly improve your performance for the next audition.</p>
<p>When my D auditioned at PSU several years ago, Cary Lipkin gave an informative talk to students and parents before the auditions began. He told the kids "This is a very difficult program to get into. Your chances of getting in are very small, so you might as well just relax and enjoy the process!" I was a bit taken aback at that comment, but my D said it actually did make her feel less nervous.</p>
<p>I think the PSU people did a fabulous job of dispelling auditioners' nerves, insomuch as that is possible in a high stakes situation like this. One thing my D particularly liked it that the lovely woman running the dance audition huddled the kids up before they learned the dance and reminded them that the program is not expecting them to be Broadway-level dancers right <em>now</em>; rather, she encouraged them to just do their personal best and act the heck out of the number they were learning! They all came out with smiles on their faces.</p>
<p>Obviously, it is MUCH better to have an On-Campus audition, but sometimes it is just not possible! My D auditioned at the Unifieds for only one school...Univ. of Oklahoma...and she got a callback. So...we are heading back to OK the beginning of March (she has already auditioned for OCU). </p>
<p>I was reading the info in this thread re the on-campus Penn State, etc. They seem to spend a lot of time with the students on campus (dance/interview, etc.) Without a callback for the students at the Unifieds, how can they possibly compare? From what I understand, Penn State doesn't have a dance audition at the Unifieds, so they only get a few minutes to make a HUGE impression. Do they film those auditions? So...as much as it will cost to fly again to Oklahoma, rent a car, stay 2 nights, I think my D will get a fair chance for her upcoming audition.</p>
<p>Even at an on-campus audition, I can't believe they can make a decision to choose just a few students (out of the hundreds they see) without seeing them more than once! It is such a BIG decision...both for the schools & the students! Heck, they even hold callbacks for children's theater! Guess it would just be too expensive...</p>
<p>PSU <em>does</em> indeed, have a dance audition at Unifieds. At least, they did in New York. (The post before yours, MakTay, was about the dance audition, in fact!) As I said, I was impressed with everyone from Penn State; everyone from the students helping outside the room to the faculty members inside the room made my daughter feel very welcome and as if they were taking their time with her.</p>
<p>I must have been misinformed re the dance audition at the Unifieds...unless it was different in L.A. My friend check it out beforehand and told me that Penn State did not plan a dance audition there; and because her daughter is such a strong dancer, they decided not to audition at the Unifieds.</p>
<p>My daughter auditioned for Penn State at the Chicago Unifieds. There was no dance audition. Upon entering the room for her audition, my daughter greeted the 2 PSU reps in a very polite way and was immediately rebuffed in a very cold, rude manner. She felt very creepy after her audition and said the PSU people were the most unfriendly people that she had ever auditioned for. She has no interest whatsoever in attending that program. Perhaps PSU should work on the image they present to prospective students.</p>
<p>Perhaps there is a reason that is not clear to the auditoner at the time why there is a "fit" bw school and student for each and every school and auditioner. There seems to be disgruntled kids and parents this year (and I have been a lurker and poster for 4 years now) on a lot of threads (CCM for example is crazy right now) and from my perspective a year out "And this too shall pass". ;') It does not do much good to bash any auditor or program, and you never know who might know who you are and who they know and so on. As well as being a "soft place to land" for your own children, I would suggest that at this tense, emotional, and volatile time that everyone take a deep breath. BREATHE. We Parents must be a soft place to land for everyone's children. This kitchen is very HOT and will be for the life of the career of EVERY MT student. This is a good time to figure out if you can withstand the heat or not.. And how many of you LOVED every one of your hs or college professors? Not me! Just as our kids will most likely run into directors, choreographers, and fellow workers who will drive them crazy- perhaps everyone should consider that personal feelings that turn into negative diatribes (I am not saying you are not entitled to voice your opinion) need to be left at the door and professional attitudes and common sense need to prevail here. As I have said before, MY wish for each of you and your children is that they end up with ONE school they will love training at, since they can only go to one in the end.</p>
<p>Amen, ttmom. Well said.</p>
<p>Brava, ttmom.</p>
<p>TTmom - although I 100% agree with everything you say, I also feel that those who are upset, should be allowed to vent if they chose and do so at their own risk. Granted at times people go way overboard, but then again not everyone is cut from the same slab. </p>
<p>I think most of us on this forum who have been around "lurking and posting" for quite some time, know to interprete these posts, and those who are new can see & read the heated discussions, and still draw their own conclusions. My D for example really did not want to have any part of CC; she did her own research about the schools she applied to, talked to faculty, students in the program and alumnae, and was far from influenced by anything CC. </p>
<p>For me CC gave me invaluable insight into how competitive things would be, and as a 'non performer' it helped me prepare to say/ask 'the right things', and enjoy this adventure with my D, as I understood the process better myself.</p>
<p>And for everyone who is following these threads, ttmom sums it up well, BREATHE :)!</p>
<p>With all due respect and with appreciation to all who are posting on this thread, this is the REJECTION thread after all. Please understand for those of us who are going through this for the very first time that most of us are hardly disgruntled. We all know how selective and competitive this process is and we all know if our kids are fortunate enough to get into one and actually have a career, these college auditions are "nuthin" compared to the real world.</p>
<p>I would venture to say that for all of the parents who are in these shoes, that we are greatly disappointed, not disgruntled, when our kids get a rejection letter or are eliminated by a preliminary cut. And for goodness sakes, if we can't commiserate on the rejection thread without fear of being "found out" by I don't know who (I don't know a single person in this particular cyberspace which is why I feel free to vent), then where can we go? I'm certainly not going to act this way in public!! These boards are a wonderful outlet for us. </p>
<p>I would say the rejection thread of all places is the one place we can just get some slight relief while we are getting in some cases disappointing news and while we wait for the March letters to come to our kids. It's very hard not to get caught up in it all. I wish I could remove myself and not think about it but I just can't. I'm sucked into it all -- and in a few short months, it will all be behind us and we will most likely look back at ourselves and laugh.</p>
<p>Just my two cents. I think the majority of us are acting like grownups.</p>
<p>With a name like MomOfAPrincess I figured I had already been found out. She was the only one I saw at auditions wearing a tiara.</p>
<p>MomOfAPrincess - way to lighten things up a bit! May be you can send a broadcast to all those auditioning to wear tiara's this year, should make for interesting conversation :).</p>
<p>NewbieMTMom - I thought your "thread for stressed parents" was a brilliant idea, lots of entertaining stories there that most of us can relate to. </p>
<p>Back to this discussion, like I said in my previous post, I am one of those that feels people should be allowed to vent and post whatever they want. I will explain my comment about at "their own risk" a bit more, and I think this is also what ttmom alludes to.</p>
<p>Sometimes parents go quite over the top and include for example something like 'I sure hope that this or that will not be the case this weekend at such and such college". It will be especially easy to figure out who they are after reading a few of their other posts (may be they have talked about their petite brunette D, or where they are from). </p>
<p>There are not only parents that read this board, and although I don't know of anyone who has received a rejection due to their parent's behavior :), I do feel that this should make one pause and think a bit. Share disappointment about an experience? Absolutely, but I think we can all agree that this should not necessarily go hand in hand with profanities, personal attacks or random accusations that can lead to people drawing the wrong conclusion about your character or intentions, which may in turn reflect negatively upon your own child.</p>
<p>Ha Ha! Good one!!! Keep up the humor...it certainly will help!!!</p>
<p>Actually, I find the posters on this board to be VERY encouraging and caring for one another. On the other hand, I think it is good to have a place to "vent" if one needs to, or to just share disappointments without always feeling as though the post needs to end on a "sunshiny" note. My close friends & relatives do NOT understand the pressure on the kids & parents re these auditions...none of them understands why we are flying all over the country to audition for programs that are SO difficult to get into. I DON'T want to hear just the happy stuff; I want to know how it is truly going for others. Just my 2 cents before I head out to the mailbox and hold my breath while I shuffle through the junk and then try to put the envelope up to the light to see what it says...:)</p>