@laylamom your D has experienced THE most awesome, unpredictable, roller coaster journey! I am positively thrilled for her, and for you.
@shakespearegirl and @laylamom What wonderful stories from you both! Congratulations!!
@laylamom What a beautiful ending to a long, enduring fight! Bravo!
@laylamom - I am totally happy for your D all over again! Just so wonderful that her dream school came through at the very end - not exacty a Cinderella story because she had a bunch of great suitors to choose from but a fairy tale ending nonetheless!
@laylamom - you know how happy we are for you!!!
@laylamom such a cool story! Congrats to your talented daughter!
@laylamom - thanks for sharing your story! I remember the ups & downs you’ve reported over the past few months - followed by the wonderful surprise from UNCSA! You and D have worked hard and it’s lovely to see she is going to a place she will love! Congratulations!
@laylamom That was so pure and inspiring and awesome! Your D had some truly great choices. UNCSA is an amazing program and your D will surely thrive there! Your story really does prove that dreams do come true:) Best wishes to your D and family!
Congrats @laylamom and @shakespearegirl! Fantastic stories and so much to look forward to for both!
You both mentioned early auditions and I definitely second that. Getting an early acceptance can really put you at ease for the rest of audition season. At least that’s what happened for my D. I would also suggest that the early auditions are for schools that you like but aren’t necessarily your top of the list so in case things don’t work our it won’t be soul crushing!
@laylamom - I love your story! I am sitting in my kitchen all crying and choked up. I am a strong believer in guardian angels and I think your loved one is sitting on your shoulder. Your talented D (who is not Layla :)) ) is where she belongs, in the strong conservatory she has dreamed of and work so hard for. Aaahhhhh, I am so happy for you! Also, I agree with everything on your list and your assessment of the kind, supportive, super talented folks at MTCA.
I will try to make a FB page for us. Skirting today’s professional responsibilities so I can play on social media sounds like a good idea. LOL.
What a beautiful thought, @ginaf1102, about her loved one being a guardian angel - now I’m tearing up too!
And “yay!” to you for taking on the Facebook page!!! Thanks so much!
@ginaf1102 @sylvansol @frontrowmama @Atreuh @marg928 @MTmom2017 @CaMom13 @Fergie978 @HopeinMT
@owensfolks @dramamomaCC Thank you so very much.
I feel like we’ve been in battle together on behalf of our hard working, talented and wonderful kids. All of us here- and I apologize if I had a brain glitch and missed anyone.
This board has been beyond helpful and supportive. @ginaf- I hope there’s an angel looking out for my (not Layla-haha) girl. I hope they make sure she finishes her school work 'cuz she is so ready to move on and seems very la-dee-da about it. Senior-Itus big time.
Virtual bear hugs all around…
Congratulations @laylamom! I am a firm believer in guardian angels :-). And senioritis is real FOR SURE! I can barely drag D out of bed for these last few days before senior project LOL!
@ginaf1102 You can probably start that FB page with the MTCA folks you know and we can all add people!
I have one more story to tell (this one will be shorter, I promise!!!) Some of you may remember that I have a son who went through this process as well as my daughter! Here is his story:
S took childhood acting classes along with D, but also played chess, took tae kwon do, played flag football – a “jack of all trades.” He wasn’t laser-focused on one interest like D. In high school, he got more interested in acting. He was one of the “theater kids” and was cast in three plays. When it came time for college, he briefly thought about majoring in theatre. But he got cold feet, thinking about what a struggle the life of an actor is. He decided he should major in something “practical” and “safe”.
So he started college thinking he would go into nursing. But after taking some anatomy classes and pre-nursing prerequisites, he knew it wasn’t for him. So he switched to teaching and took classes in early childhood development, but soon realized that wasn’t a good fit either. He also was unhappy at his current college, and transferred to Brooklyn College near our home.
In sophomore year, he was still exploring different majors, but also took an “Intro to Acting” class as an elective. He hadn’t acted in over two years, and thought it would be fun. He told me that when he went into that class, it hit him like an electric shock: he was “home.” He hadn’t realized just how much he had missed acting. He loved the class and focused on it much more than all his other classes! The teacher told him he had talent and should consider auditioning for a BFA. In spring semester, he took another acting class, loved it even more, and that sealed the deal. He knew he wanted to audition for BFA Acting.
Brooklyn College has a BFA Acting program, so he asked if he could audition, but it was too late for that cycle – the auditions were over. He would have to wait til September and apply then. So he spent the summer working on monologues with the same coach that his sister was using.
Then he thought “As long as I’m doing this, why not cast a wider net?” So he researched other programs. He wanted to stay in the New York area, and he also naively assumed that Brooklyn College would be a “safety” and easy to get into (it cannot be stressed enough: NO AUDITIONED PROGRAM IS A SAFETY!), so his list was very small. He was aiming for Marymount Manhattan or Adelphi (Marymount accepts 33% and Adelphi 25%, so they seemed somewhat attainable), and also threw in some “top” programs (including Juilliard!) because “why not?”
Programs auditioned for: Juilliard, Rutgers, Purchase, Pace, Marymount Manhattan, Adelphi, Montclair, Brooklyn College, AMDA (added later)
Prescreen: Pace (passed)
Acceptances: Brooklyn College, AMDA
Rejections: everywhere else
He auditioned at Marymount in November and thought it went well. He did his monologue, then they worked with him and had him do it a completely different way, which he enjoyed. He had high hopes, but unfortunately was rejected. (That was a tough day: he was rejected the same day his sister was accepted, so I was consoling one while congratulating the other).
But he picked himself up and focused on the next audition, which was Adelphi. His hopes were raised when he got there and found that he was the only boy auditioning that day! It was 12 girls and him! He thought it went well: they laughed at his comedic monologue, and he had a good conversation with them.
Adelphi does rolling admission, and this was their first audition date, which meant that when they made their decision, he was the ONLY boy who had auditioned so far. He thought he had great odds! But they rejected him. 
That one REALLY hurt, since he knew he was the only boy they had seen. It felt like the equivalent of a girl saying “I wouldn’t date you if you were the last man on earth!”
After those two rejections, I told him to add AMDA to the list, because I got the impression that they take almost everyone. (No offense to anyone who goes to AMDA! The curriculum and training seem solid. They just don’t seem too hard to get into.) So he added AMDA, with a March audition.
But first came all the super-selective schools that he KNEW he didn’t have a chance at: Juilliard, Rutgers, Pace, Purchase. When he had applied to those schools, he had hoped he would get into Marymount or Adelphi, and with that early acceptance in hand, the super-selective auditions would be “just for fun to see what happened.” But since he DIDN’T get an early acceptance, it just became a depressing string of rejections. Then came Montclair, which too was a rejection.
At this point, he was worried that he wouldn’t get in ANYWHERE, and would have no plan for the following year. He was already a junior in college and had completed 60 credits of gen eds, so he did NOT want to take a gap year, or go to a BA program where he would have to take MORE gen eds. Now that he finally KNEW what he wanted to do, he wanted to go into it full steam ahead, with a BFA. But if no one accepted him, he didn’t know what he would do.
Now, instead of thinking of Brooklyn College as a “safety,” he was desperately PRAYING they’d accept him! The morning of his Brooklyn College audition, I was on pins and needles waiting to hear how it went. Then he called me, saying joyfully, “Mom, I got a same-day callback!” I was SO happy!
The callback was done in a group, with movement and theater games. Then they interviewed him. He talked in depth about the program and why he wanted to go there, because he had already taken two acting classes at Brooklyn College, and seen several productions, and his best friend is in the BFA program, so he’s very knowledgeable about it!
He told me that 20 people were at the same-day callback. I did some quick math. Brooklyn College only has two audition days, both on campus. If 20 people were called back on both days, that’s a total of 40 people called back. They aim for a class size of 12. Given the “yield” factor (not everyone accepted will choose to attend that school), it seemed likely that all or most of the called-back students would be accepted.
But after the Adelphi fiasco, we’d learned not to assume anything. There are no guarantees! So we were anxious and praying for an acceptance. Unlike my D, my S was not picky – he just wanted ONE acceptance, so he could go to a BFA program and get acting training!
Then, hallelujah, he got the call from Brooklyn College that he was accepted to the BFA program! He was SO happy and relieved!
He almost cancelled his AMDA audition because he was happy with Brooklyn College. But he went anyway, and was accepted there too. So that was nice, because it meant he had a choice.
FINAL DECISION: Brooklyn College!
It was a no-brainer! Since he’d already completed all his gen eds at Brooklyn College, he’s entering the BFA program as a sophomore and will graduate in three years. Brooklyn College only costs $7,000 per year, so those three years will cost a total of only $21,000. You can’t beat the price! The curriculum looks solid, and he’s already taken two acting classes there as electives, so he knows he likes the teachers.
In contrast, AMDA is very expensive, and it’s not even accredited in New York, so in order to get the degree, he’d have to do two years in New York and then go to LA for the remaining two years. No thanks!
CONCLUSION: I am so relieved that my son found a place and will be able to follow his dream of a BFA Acting program. I also want his story to give hope to others: even kids who DON’T have a lot of training and experience can get into an auditioned BFA program! The key is a) to work hard on your monologues and show in the interview that you’re dedicated and passionate, and b) to seek out programs that AREN’T as competitive (look for ones that don’t go to Unifieds and that only audition on-campus). As always, “balanced list” are the most important words to remember!
@laylamom I can relate to the Seniorits! My D has had it since January. I can’t say I blame her! When you know where you are going, you just want to stop what you are doing and GO!!!
That is so awesome @actorparent1 I had NO idea you were juggling TWO kids going through the audition process this year! That is crazy! You deserve Mom-of-the-year award!!! Glad your son found his “home”!
@actorparent1 Two at a time!! Both so different but you were able to understand their individual needs and desires and see them through to happy ending/new beginnings! Wowowowow. What a wonderful Mom! Seriously- so inspiring…so happy for your son!!
@laylamom - Congratulations to you and your talented D. You really have been an INCREDIBLY supportive voice -both on the boards and with PMs for us— I’m just so so happy that your D got a fairytale ending. Good luck and I hope we keep in touch through the FB site that our social media savvy friends will create.
@actorparent1 - Wow! Great story and so happy for your S. It only takes one- and he got more than that! Bravo! I wonder if he had a harder time in some of the earlier auditions because he was a transfer? Were those auditions for transfer students or for first years and transfers? Adelphi might not have even had a spot for a male (or a male if your S’s “type). Even still, it must have felt terrible to go through that. So glad he landed well!!!
@MomofJ5 Thank you so much. I’m so excited for your son at Syracuse! This is a really special group- feellin’ the love