<p>^^Soozie, I wrote that very thing in a PM to monkey13 earlier. It would be so wonderful if schools were more consistent both within their own admissions methods and between schools as well. My ideal scenario would be universal prescreens (I’m a convert), similar if not identical audition protocols, and a uniform notification date and process. As things are now, I feel like the schools are “playing” us as much as we, admittedly, are trying to play them! It makes sense but is so frustrating.</p>
<p>Times…I think the same. In fact, when my non-MT daughter applied to college, all her colleges notified the entire RD (regular decision) applicant pool at one time. Also, most schools did it around the same date too and so she heard from most schools on April 1 or one of the last days of March. </p>
<p>That was true of a few of my MT daughter’s schools such as NYU/Tisch, BOCO, CMU, Emerson…but unfortunately, many had these convoluted processes that just add to the stress that already exists in this process!</p>
<p>I agree, Times3! I am a prescreen convert, too. My D had five prescreens and passed four. At first, we were upset by the one prescreen rejection, but then we realized it was a blessing in disguise. So much better to know before the expense and worry of auditions that you are not the school’s type, or not a good fit. And, conversely, it is also nice to know that you have a chance at these other schools that passed you. They must have seen something that they liked…</p>
<p>I know we’re going off topic here, but since I’m the OP, I say let’s go for it. One thing that has really struck me about these auditions is how very different the schools run them. I have to say, I cannot figure out how the kids can have different adjudicators (panels running simultaneously, or different adjudicators on different days) and get a consistent (fair?) answer. The schools say that they have very specific rubrics, or they have been doing this for so long that they all know what the school as a whole is looking for, but it still seems like a difficult and inherently skewed way to audition people. The example that comes to mind is the one school where there were two concurrent panels running, and in one room, ALL the kids had an awful experience (adjudicators never looked up, didn’t ask question, didn’t look at them), and ALL the kids in the second room were given adjustments, engaged in conversation, etc. </p>
<p>So, not only are there significant differences in how the kids learn of the decisions, but also how the auditions themselves are run. In my perfect MT world, there would be a prescreen (of more than 16 bars, thank you…maybe 32 bars of an upbeat, 16 of a ballad?), and then for those that pass the prescreen, an audition conducted by the same panel (and if the panel cannot make it, the auditions can be videotaped for them). Kids that don’t make it are told as soon as possible (within a week?). Kids that are definite yeses are also told within a week. And the maybe pile can be told just that…maybe, but we want to see everyone else first. Why would this be so difficult? </p>
<p>BTW, one of the reasons I really liked the CCM audition was that Professors Berg and Lala were in EVERY portion of the audition. They sat in on the dance audition, and they were there for monologues and singing. My D may have very little chance of getting into their wonderful program, but at least we are confident that the decisions will be consistent. </p>
<p>This next comment will cause a lot of controversy, but I’m gonna say it anyway. I wonder…if you look at what many people consider the top 3 programs (NOTE that I said “many people”…I am NOT saying that these are definitely the top 3 programs. But they are undoubtedly 3 very, very good programs): CMU, CCM and UMich, all of them have the same adjudicators looking at the students, and the head of the program always watches them. Is there a correlation? I don’t know the answer to that question. But, I do know that if I were the head of a MT program, I would conduct my auditions that way. There may very well be other programs that do the same thing…Penn State maybe? I’m sure there are many more. But in our list of schools, these 3 were the exception, not the rule.</p>
<p>Okay, bring on the angry comments! :)</p>
<p>At CMU, my D’s experience was not exactly like that. There were different rooms with different adjudicators. My daughter happened to get Barbara, the head of the program, as hers. But there was an unspoken/unofficial process that if they were considering you, they then pass you onto the other adjudicator and you do your pieces again for that person. So, in my D’s case, she was passed around to different faculty to redo her songs and also to redo her monologues. She also did four monologues and they worked with her, and also was vocalized and worked with at the piano on songs. My understanding is that if you are not passed around among the faculty at the CMU audition, you likely are not being considered. My D made it to the “priority wait list” at that school. </p>
<p>I still like it when all the decisions come at ONCE from a school after all auditions are completed. </p>
<p>BTW, You asked about Penn State, and when my D auditioned there some years ago, the vocal and acting part of the audition were in two different rooms with different faculty in each room. If you made it to callbacks, then you redid your songs and monologues for all the adjudicators at that time. The dance audition was likely observed by the whole panel. My D got in there and did an on campus audition. </p>
<p>(I don’t see ANYTHING wrong with your post!!!)</p>
<p>Soozievt, I gather your daughter auditioned for CMU on campus? Either it wasn’t run that way at Unifieds in NY, or my son was a clear and obvious “deny” (he didn’t get that impression) because he only auditioned for one person.</p>
<p>It really does seem odd, the way the auditions are run. I have to remind myself what my son’s acting coach says – that when he’s auditioning a show he’s directing, he can tell within the first 30 seconds if he might want to cast a person or not.</p>
<p>Back to the subject of Ithaca, my son and I are in a flurry of second guessing now about his audition. Ithaca is the only school where he auditioned for MT, everywhere else was just for acting. He decided to do this because it gave him a chance to sing, he wouldn’t have to dance, and the acting part of the audition was the same for everyone. Because he’s a very strong singer and a bass, we thought, “What the heck, it might make you more attractive as an acting candidate.” We’ve been told that many students who apply to both programs are admitted to acting rather than to MT, and that it’s easier to switch from MT to acting than vice versa. So, was that a mistake? It wouldn’t matter except that Ithaca is one of his top two choices – the school seems like a good “fit” for him.</p>
<p>I disagree on the prescreens. My D hated doing prescreens. She likes to perform for real live humans. I’m guessing that prescreens are a YMMV thing.</p>
<p>My D also decided recently to ask to be considered for acting as well as MT. Her coach says that she is an actor who sings and dances… At least right now. Unifieds showed her that acting really is her strength and got good feedback from many schools on her material.</p>
<p>^^SO much of this really is “ymmv,” right? I didn’t expect to be a fan of the prescreen, but in the final analysis, my son liked (a) the ability to re-do the monologues till he liked what he saw on the video, and (b) the knowledge that when he arrived at the audition, he had already made the first cut…as opposed to a system like, say, DePaul or UArts uses, where on-the-spot callbacks are announced. With the prescreen, if you don’t make the cut, at least you find out in private! But yes, there are so many variations on the process, and everyone has different preferences. Perhaps that’s why the schools DO all do things differently…</p>
<p>I have heard the pass along, and it seems they have cut that this year. As no one seemed to see multiple people for their monologues. There was only one singing room at Unifieds so maybe this is why the process was different. I did sing four songs for the singing part but was not passed on to any other room.</p>
<p>Hi folks,
Do we know how those accepted at Ithaca are notified? Some time today, my S audition (Jan 26) moved over from the “What we need” to the “What we have” column on the MyIthaca website.</p>
<p>Also, at Chicago Unifieds we do know of one young man who had multiple people hear his monologue at CMU (not my S, however).</p>
<p>STRESSFUL!!! You bet!!!</p>
<p>There are a bunch of posts on these various theatre boards saying that whether you get passed along or whether your monologues get reworked at CMU auditions does not necessarily indicate anything. There was one post that I recall which said that of the freshman class at CMU, every person had had a different audition experience; some were passed along, some were not, some had their monologues reworked, some did not. I think basically we just can’t figure it out, although we probably all are going crazy trying.</p>
<p>@fourkorz, the audition is moved to the “what we have” column when the theatre department has passed along its decision to the admissions office.</p>
<p>@kadieblue and jagminor, you may want to post your CMU-specific comments on the CMU board rather than the one for Ithaca. Granted, this thread has broadened its scope, but most of us are checking it for Ithaca updates. Good luck! :)</p>
<p>I know this is the Ithaca thread, but just to answer prodesse, yes, my D auditioned for CMU on campus and this was back in Feb. 2005, though similar stories abound since then. </p>
<p>It is always tempting to analyze auditions but often, they simply are not analyzable. For example, at Ithaca, the panel did not ask my D anything or talk to her. Yet, she got in (a couple of weeks after her late Jan. audition). At other schools, she got to work with them more. So, it just really differs from school to school and even within a school. You could drive yourself crazy trying to figure it out!</p>
<p>fourkorz, same for my S – his audition audition moved over to “what we have” today. Hope that means we’ll be hearing something soon! Best of luck to your S!</p>
<p>Thanks, MomofaMTson! Best of luck to yours as well. Did you audition on 1/26 too?</p>
<p>He auditioned on 1/19. Maybe they are looking at all the boys today? </p>
<p>Please post if you hear anything and I’ll do the same. Fingers crossed! :)</p>
<p>I know this is Ithaca, but just want to clarify the above comment. UArts DOES have a prescreen, but it’s optional, which I really think is the best way to do it, and gives the student the best advantage. For the person who likes to do the video until it’s perfect, OR who doesn’t want to travel unnecessarily, the prescreen is a benefit. For the people who utterly homicidally hate prescreens (like us), you can skip it and go straight to the live audition. (And btw UArts also has callbacks at the live audition)…but my guess is that prescreens were created to help the schools, NOT the kids auditioning, which is why more schools don’t make it optional :(.</p>
<p>FYI - for those waiting to hear from Ithaca, I called their admissions department to ask how they do notifications - snail mail. At least I can stop checking the MyIthaca website and emails!</p>
<p>Great to know, fourkorz! Thanks!</p>
<p>My D just got her acceptance today! So happy. For those of you who want to know, it’s for MT, we got a big envelope in the mail today, and her myIthaca account says “Accepted” as of today. She auditioned 1/19 and her “Audition” switched over to “What we Have” about 5 days after she auditioned. We are so very, very happy! Break legs to all!</p>
<p>Congratulations to Monkey13’s D! Is Ithaca a top choice for her?</p>