I’m spending a crazy amount of time looking at the requirements of the schools my daughter has expressed interest in, and some schools have a line that say, “Although it is recommended that you audition in person, either on campus or at Unifieds, we will consider online audition submissions through Acceptd.” Has anyone ever done this and had success? (I’m specifically thinking of West Coast schools as we are in the southeast.)
I think it happens–but rarely. I attend Viterbo University, and the year that I auditioned (Jan 2014) was the year of the polar vortex. All flights out of the Midwest were grounded, and so though I got to audition at NY Unifieds, it wasn’t for faculty–it was only for an alum of the program who was meant to be working the desk. On her recommendation, and on the strength of my pre-screen video, I was put on the waitlist and ultimately accepted in late April. In hindsight, I consider my prescreen to be a “video audition” (although I had a lot of help, and you had better believe I wrote that alum a nice card!).
I think this is a great thread and am curious to see what everyone says
My D was accepted to UArts BFA MT via video audition. She did not choose to attend, but was very pleased to be accepted via video and with a decent scholarship.
Yes it can happen. But I think the odds are probably less favorable than an in-person audition. I would not recommend it for your top choice schools. But it can be a way to audition for schools you could otherwise not audition for due to distance, cost or time. There can be an advantage – you can tape and re-tape until you are happy with your performance, unlike the in person audition where you get one shot.
My daughter was accepted to U of Tampa and Millikan BFA with video auditions. She also received very high merit money at Columbia College and Muhlenberg with video auditions.
Did any schools do a follow up Skype interview before making the offer like they do at Tisch?
My D got into Florida Southern College BFA MT program by video submission, with a scholarship. My D ultimately chose another school.
I know a girl who got into Marymount via video submission. She’s going there in the fall despite never visiting the school.
My daughter was accepted to Marymount Manhattan with a scholarship via video submission - this was 2 years ago. She chose to attend another school.
D was accepted via video audition to U of Memphis BFA MT but ultimately did not choose that school.
D was accepted into a MT BFA program off a video audition last year. She did not chose that school but it does happen,
Maybe I am old fashion but it seems surprising to me that they make offers without even an online interview.
Yes, I was accepted to 2 BFA programs through video auditions. It’s a good option for a school that isn’t your tops choice, but one that you’re still interested in that you would like to keep in your back pocket.
My D was accepted to Hartt via video audition last year, but chose to not attend.
My D was accepted to LIU via video. they asked for a Skype follow up interview first. She actually got a really nice scholarship as well. She ended up going elsewhere but had a great experience with LIU.
This info. is really good to know because looking at how many schools my S will have to audition at, there are not enough weekends or unified time slots. We are just starting to look at Fall/Winter commitments and schools he wants to apply to. Without some video auditions, not sure how auditioning for 14-20 colleges is feasible!
Three years ago my d got into New School Drama, early action with a big merit scholarship, through a live skype audition. Although she ended up elsewhere, it made for a nice feeling of getting in somewhere, before unifieds.
@songbird17 15+ is definitely possible if you go to two unifieds and visit a few before unifieds and a few after unifieds. The real issue is telling your kid that the audition schedule trumps being in performances (and school) senior year. My son auditioned on campus at BW, JMU, Muhlenberg, and auditioned for 5 in NYC (one on Friday before auditions) and including walk-ins, 5 in Chicago. He definitely could have auditioned for a few more schools in Chicago if he didn’t have performance conflicts in his schedule. The key is to schedule auditions as early as possible. So many kids could not audition for Hartt and BW because they waited until December to schedule auditions. Two auditions per day at unifieds is the maximum and often you’ll have to work with schools to go to a dance audition on a different day than the vocal/monologue audition.
@MomofMTBoy Thanks for your response! We are kicking around the idea of going to NYC Unifieds in addition to chicago. Did your son get multiple MT offers? Where did he end up and is he happy? Truly appreciate the info!
@songbird17 we are a family that ended up doing Unifieds both in New York and Chicago and then driving to Michigan as it was the only audition spot we could get. We definitely did not start early enough even though we thought we were very on top of things. Complications arose with scheduling and we couldn’t even get a spot for BW. And my daughter only had 11 auditions! One things I do recommend, even though I know not everyone will agree with me - is to take a break from school commitments. My daughter did not do her senior musical and she dialed back on everything in order to devote herself to the audition season. We feel it was a really smart move - she was not exhausted and she did not get sick and even though she was not in a musical last year - she had a lead at her university this year which more than made up for it. Dedicate yourself to this season and enjoy all your time with your boy!!! It’s so special - embrace it - the audition season can be a wonderful experience.