Congratulations @mtmaybe! Sounds like you landed exactly where you want to be and with a full ride - it can’t get any better than that!
Congratulations! @mtmaybe I love the long, detailed stories. Sometimes the decisions aren’t clear right away and takes a bit to simmer.
@mtmaybe I love your story. I never jump to the end, but I was dying to know what this up and coming mystery school was, and figured that’s where you committed too. Your decision was so well thought out. As a NYer, I know you will be happy. It’s in a lovely, safe area, and close enough to NYC access.
@mtmaybe Congratulations on your decision. Everything is better when it is free! 
@mtmaybe wow is all I can say! Congratulations! I’m a mom from last year and I have to say I’m really regretting not having my daughter apply to LIU. Although I think it really is being talked about a lot more this year than it was last year, and definitely much more than it was the year before when I was doing my research. By the way are you male or female? When the parents post it’s easy to know since we usually say D or S in our post.
Also, for this thread it’s important to list all schools applied to. If someone only posts the schools they were accepted to, it looks like they had a 100% acceptance rate.
Here’s the story of the roller coaster audition season for my S…
Programs Applied to:
Audition: American, Baldwin Wallace, BU, Chapman, CMU, DePaul, Emerson, Ithaca, Juilliard, Otterbein, UMN Guthrie, USC
Non-Audition: Northwestern, Oberlin
Prescreens: Passed all
Accepted to:
Auditioned: BW, Emerson, Otterbein
BA Redirect: Minnesota (couldn’t attend BFA callback), USC
Non-Audition: Northwestern, Oberlin
Rejected from: Chapman, CMU, DePaul, Ithaca, Juilliard
Wait-listed at: BU, American
Coach: MTCA (kind of)
Background/Training:
We are a family full of engineers, accountants and other quiet, analytical types. So we were sometimes at a loss with what to do with our outgoing, funny, utterly fearless S. We encouraged him in athletics and academics, but never really thought to do much in the arts and were completely surprised when he came home in 7th grade with the lead in the school play. Since then he’s been in every production at his small non-PA school, in a mix of leading, supporting and tech roles. No summer intensives, etc.
He told us junior year that he couldn’t imagine his life doing anything but Theatre, so we decided to support his dream. I jumped into reading thousands of posts on CC and making endless spreadsheets. He applied to a few schools with early auditions hoping to get an idea of his chances in this tough field. To our shock he was accepted to all of his first three schools (Emerson, BW, Otterbein).
We went into this thinking he might not get any auditioned acceptances since he was less experienced and I didn’t feel like I could objectively judge his talent level. But when he got those yes’s we started to dream big. He added Juilliard and CMU to the mix (with an expensive extra trip to NYC to audition). And made the mistake of deciding not to do walk-ins or add more schools to the list.
He felt honored and humbled by acceptances at 3 schools many kids dream of, but our visits made it clear that they weren’t right for him. He realized he really wanted a larger traditional campus with very strong academics. Having a highly diverse group of students to put on the type of shows they couldn’t do at his high school was also very important. These 3 programs are wonderful in so many ways - they just were not the right fit.
The next part was incredibly difficult: 7 artistic rejections in a row, then 2 waitlists. After the first results, he never got another auditioned acceptance. I think the rejections would have been easier if those early yes’s hadn’t gotten our hopes so high.
His final two schools to notify were Northwestern and USC and he was accepted to both! We couldn’t make the money work for Northwestern, but USC offered a merit scholarship that was just large enough to make it financially possible.
Helpful people on this board assured me that he would find his place and they were so right. USC checks all the boxes for him - traditional campus in a big city with diverse population and endless opportunities within and outside of theatre. Although he originally was set on a BFA program, I truly believe USC’s BA is the best fit for him.
Many thanks to all of you incredible posters - your kind words meant the world to me in the tough times and cheering on everyone’s wins together was amazing. I can’t wait to hear what your talented kids do next.
Final Decision: USC School of Dramatic Arts!
@Naevia Congratulations!! Wow both of your final two are amazing schools! Extremely hard to get into both. I’m excited for you all. Hope to see him on the Big Screen / Little Screen or hear him working in theatre soon. I’m sure he’s going to be amazing. I’m realizing that many scientist have artistic kids Your roller coaster ride is over.Now to the good stuff.
Yay! USC is awesome! Both my husband and I went there. He will have an amazing time! Congrats @Naevia
Congratulations, @Naevia!
Fabulous @Naevia! It sounds like he has brains and talent for days and he’s definitely going to thrive at USC. Congratulations to your S.
That’s awesome, @Naevia Congratulations!! I don’t see a lot about USC BA or BFA on these boards, so hopefully you’ll report back after he’s settled! This is one of my daughter’s top choices.
Congrats, @Naevia ! That was a roller coaster journey, for sure. With an awesome, happy ending. Love it!
Programs Applied to: Baldwin Wallace (MT), Boston University, Carnegie, CCM (MT), CCPA (MT), Elon, Emerson (MT), Montclair (MT – did not complete audition), Pace (MT), Penn State (MT), Point Park (MT), Texas State (MT), UMinn Guthrie, Michigan, Western Michigan (MT), Wright State (MT), SUNY Purchase (walk in), UNCSA, Muhlenberg
Prescreens: Passed all with prescreens except Elon and Michigan
Accepted to: Boston University, Guthrie, SUNY Purchase, Western Michigan, Muhlenberg
Wait-listed at: Baldwin Wallace (released), Carnegie, CCPA, Texas State (released), Penn State (released), Guthrie (accepted), SUNY Purchase (accepted), Wright State
Coach: MTCA ala carte. If she had to do it again, she would have started with MTCA earlier in the process and used more services
Background/Training: Competitive gymnastics - 10 years, private voice – 4 years; ½ day junior and senior year in a PA HS program
Summer Programs: Stagedoor Manor – 1 year; Carnegie Mellon – 6 weeks between junior and senior year.
This year was positively brutal! Since this was my third child to go through this process, I knew “what was coming next” and it made for an inordinately stressful year. Adding to the stress - my oldest is a senior MT and going through his final year – final recital, showcase, looking for work and an apartment in NY at the same time.
D started with a very strong interest in MT schools. She is a solid actor, dancer, singer but doesn’t necessarily stand out in a single discipline. As she was planning her list and schedule and started visiting schools, she added straight acting programs.
The summer at Carnegie was wonderful but, in my opinion, put her behind. She had two weeks between the program and the start of school (where she went straight into auditions and rehearsals for Fall shows). With so many of the programs prescreening, the process is really backed up into the summer.
She got her applications completed and her preliminary “package” done by October so I pushed hard for her to do an early fall audition. She was able to schedule Wright State and what an eye-opener it was. She bombed (her words). She learned one of her cuts just didn’t work well and it was the first time she was lined up outside a room where everyone looked and sounded incredible (again, her words). I don’t think she appreciated the depth of talent, the level of competition or the level of preparedness she would face. The early audition woke her up!
She was much more prepared for the rest of the season! She re-worked her pieces a bit, added two more songs and a few more monologues. As she worked her way through auditions, she got some early waitlists and early rejections but no early acceptances. I think the words “gap year” came up more than a few times in our house!
She ended up with some heartbreaking rejections, wonderful acceptances, and waitlists. At the end of the day, she wanted a very strong acting program but could not give up singing and dancing. We deposited at Boston University and she intends to pursue the Musical Theater Concentration and to take dance classes outside of the program. She released other acceptances and WL (except for CMU – hanging on for a miracle!). She is thrilled; I am happy that she will be a quick train ride from her brother and sister in NY! Here’s hoping her 14-year old sister chooses engineering. It was wonderful reading all your stories and developing friendships in cyberspace. I look forward to the 2022 Parent FB page!
Final Decision: Boston University
YAY, @artskids!!! BU is amazing. Congrats to your talented, lovely D!!!
Thank you @owensfolks! Can’t wait to keep hearing about your D. Keep posting!
@mtmaybe…Not that is was a coincidence, but my D passed on LIU Post MT and had a full tuition scholarship. I hope you received what she had and it will be a wonderful place for you.
@mtmaybe…Not that is was a coincidence, but my D passed on LIU Post MT and had a full tuition scholarship. I hope you received what she had and it will be a wonderful place for you.
@artskids great story…great ending! I also have a 14 yo and after one majoring in dance and the other in theater I’ve been encouraging her to become a dentist!
@Naevia- Congratulations!!! USC is on my S’s short list. We LOVED SDA day. It’s such a great place. Sadly we didn’t get merit money there, so not sure what my S will do…(have until Tuesday!)
@artskids - wow! Your D had quite the audition season. Yes- have your next one go into the sciences. Congratulations on choosing BU! My S loved that school.