This is a thread to tell us your child’s acting background, audition stories and final decision. General information to be included:
Schools Applied to
Prescreens
Acceptances, Rejections, Waitlists
Coach if any
Summer Programs
Final Decision
GO!
(If you need an example check out last year’s thread)
I’ll start it off.
Background: We are from the Chicago suburbs. My S has been very involved in theatre since middle school. There isn’t a PA high school in our immediate area but his HS is 4,000 kids and the acting and especially MT is very competitive and they put on professional level performances. He is in their highly regarded Jazz ensemble and Varsity Chamber choir as well. He has a principal role this spring in their musical. He has also been in many different community theatre productions and has done a professional show. He has been called back several times at prominent Chicago theaters. He has an agent in Chicago and is currently SAG eligible. (We are waiting to pay for SAG until he has a little more material for his reel.)
We decided he would apply to a handful of serious drama programs, several programs where he could do BFA Acting and keep his foot in the door for MT, a couple conservatories and some safeties. S really wanted to be in a city environment rather than a traditional campus. Really wanted a conservatory environment. We made sure to include a few schools closer to home, just in case. But we really felt like it was NYC or bust.
Applied to: Marymount Manhattan, DePaul, The New School for Drama, Rutgers, UArts, CCPA Roosevelt, UNCSA, Juilliard (definitely didn’t expect anything–just to throw the hat in the ring), Otterbein, NYU, Millikin, AADA, Neighborhood Playhouse.
Prescreens: Otterbein, New School (passed)
Accepted to: Marymount Manhattan (BFA Acting w scholarship), UArts (BFA Acting w scholarship), CCPA Roosevelt (BFA Acting w scholarship), Millikin (BFA Acting w scholarship), The New School for Drama (BFA w scholarship), AADA (Acting w scholarship), Neighborhood Playhouse (Acting)
Rejected from: Juilliard, Rutgers, UNCSA, DePaul, Otterbein, NYU
Wait-list: None
Coach @ Acting Studio Chicago
Summer Programs: Actor’s Training Center Wilmette (not widely known, but recognized in the Chicago area)
S started out at AADA audition in early fall and glad he did. The audition went well and it was nice to have an early acceptance (with a scholarship!) in case nothing else worked out. Travelled to Otterbein in December. Had heard they show a preference to students auditioning on campus and we happen to have family in the area. S was kept in the casting pool there until the bitter end. They take such a small number of students. But it wasn’t his favorite anyway because it wasn’t the big city environment that he really wanted.
January rolled around and he auditioned at Millikin. Accepted on the spot that day to BFA Acting w scholarship. Feeling pretty good, we flew to NYC to audition for Marymount Manhattan and Neighborhood Playhouse. S & I both fell in love w NP. The Marymount audition was a long group audition day. We specifically chose to audition on campus to bypass the prescreen. My S did his monologue and they did not work with him, so we weren’t sure what would happen. We really love the faculty there but they do accept a lot of kids so the competition for MainStage performance spots is tough. In the end, he was accepted to both schools and he really loves NYC.
DePaul audition on campus. S felt they barely paid attention to him. Heard afterwards from a reliable source that they were looking for diversity this year so on top of the already low acceptance rate, that was not working in his favor. No callback that day–went home disappointed.
The next 6 schools he auditioned for at Chicago Unifieds. Instead of staying in a hotel and cramming all the auditions into 2-3 days, we opted to drive back and forth from the suburbs. I’m not sure which option would be easier. Rutgers and UNCSA both went really well. Both schools asked for additional material, worked with him, had great interviews. He was really hopeful and excited about both these schools but ultimately, he wasn’t accepted to either. More disappointment. Juilliard–auditors barely paid attention to him. I don’t know if they are looking for specific things on a resume and if they don’t see them, they don’t bother. But since we are paying for the applications, I feel it would only be fair to pay attention! Didn’t really expect anything though–again, just throwing his hat in the ring. NYU–we drove to the wrong W hotel–but luckily had plenty of time to get to the right one. Again, another very positive experience. Auditor worked with him and a great interview. But ultimately not accepted. I guess the odds just weren’t in his favor. UArts also went well as did The New School. These were the last couple auditions and by this time he was pretty worn out by the whole process.
In the midst of all this, he auditioned on campus for CCPA Roosevelt, which went really well. There was a very positive vibe at the audition. We love the amazing dorms and the vintage vibe of the theatre building. I have to say it was one of the first schools he visited and I always pictured him in those dorms…
Final Decision: CCPA @ Roosevelt (with plans to do a summer program at Neighborhood Playhouse)
Best of both worlds! Funny that we thought for sure he would pick NYC but in the end he wound up back in Chicago. We realized that by staying here, he can keep his agent and his amazing vocal coach. He is already making connections in Chicago. There are no travel expenses for our family and with the scholarship, tuition seems reasonable. A couple of girls who he has performed with previously are sophomores in their MT program. He can get a BFA degree and still spend a summer at the conservatory that he loves in NY.
It was a crazy emotional rollercoaster ride, but the final decision feels smart and comfortable and right. Best wishes to everyone–it takes a lot of courage to go through this process and as competitive as we think it is going in, I believe in reality it is even more competitive than we imagine it to be.
Congrats to you and your son! He’s going to have an amazing time at CCPA. sorry we won’t overlap as CCPA moms, but I know you and (more importantly) he will find your people.
Congrats to your son! Looking forward to adding our story here once we make a decision!
Congratulations @remartin67 ! What a great story, wonderful wishes for you and your son as he continues his journey! And lucky you to still have him close to home!
@remartin67 - I just finished responding to your message and now read this - congratulations on the decision! I’m so happy for you that you are done! (My D will sure be happy that one less person accepted their Marymount offer, even though they said they’re not expecting to take from their waitlist at all last year!)
I’m sure your son will be very happy at Roosevelt! I also took a look at the Neighborhood Playhouse Summer progarm and it looks great, too. All the best!
Woohoo @remartin67! Wonderful news and he had some great options. Sounds like a perfect fit for him. Congrats
@remartin67 : congrats on all your great choices! Chicago is supposed to be a great theater town.
Now that we finally wrote that deposit check, I’m ready to share our experience. My S started out worried that the chances of getting into any of these schools is so small, so he chose 13 audition programs and 4 academic applications (he’s an honors student with combined ACT 34 so he has a good record.) We did not hire a college counselor and did all the research ourselves (shared).
S performed both in his HS productions and local community theatre. Summers he did Frenchwoods Performing Arts camp, Stella Adler (NYC) and CMU drama (Pittsburg).
We did hire a monologue coach from the Shakespeare theater of NJ, but we chose the monologues ourselves. He has a regular local vocal coach.
Audition applications: NYU, Fordham, BU, UNH, UNCSA, Rutgers, UMich, UCLA, USC, CMU, Penn State, Juilliard (why not? ;), Syracuse
Academic applications (he submitted an optional artistic portfolio to all): UVA, UNC, American, Northeastern
The only school with a prescreen was Penn State. They had THE WORST application process. After completing 500 word essay, multiple short questions, prescreen video, downloaded all material and paid fee, the site came up with a requirement for acting students only to write a 3-5 page REASEARCH PAPER that must include three non-internet sources on an artist that inspired him. Well he dropped that school right there. I can’t imagine who has time for that in the middle of all the applications. Plus, you have to audition on campus so it was too much time commitment.
Results:
Accepted: UNH, NYU, BU, + AU, UNC, Northeastern
Waitlisted: Syracuse, U Mich
Rejected: Rutgers, Fordham, UNCSA, CMU, Juilliard , USC, UCLA, + UVA
S had a few disappointing weeks but ended strong with BU, NYU and UNC as top choices. Ultimately, he liked BUs program the best. NYU of course offers a lot being in NYU but it is such a big program compared to BU he felt he would get more focus and attention at BU. Plus he preferred the campus environment there. Loves UNC, but it’s not the same caliber drama dept. he didn’t want to pursue the waitlist spots…felt he’d rather go “where I’m really wanted.”
@LuvsLabs I’m wondering what happened with your D. I saw your posts elsewhere and it appeared she did not get into any of her choices, have you come out somewhere better since then? I’ve been hoping things work out for her…
@Momw3boys congrats! BU is fabulous.
@Momw3boys I know what you mean about Penn State! My D took out 5 library books about Oscar Wilde, got through a good amount of one of them and put Post-It Notes all over it…then she just said “forget this I can’t do it!”. It was way too much to ask of a kid in my opinion!
@marg928 not to hijack this thread on that topic, but I would be interested to know how many dropped the Penn State application at that point. My S had many friends who did the same. Wondering how many kids actually did it.
I am reposting here after posting on MT Final decision thread because I follow both boards and my D applied to acting and MT departments:
Our story is not quite as exciting as the others but I will share so people can see a “different” (read, didn’t apply to 20 schools or to all the “top” schools) route to MT BFA. D has been involved in theatre since age 6 doing community and regional theatre. Private voice lessons (new teacher who was wonderfully helpful over the past year and a half), a little dance (mostly tap and basic MT style), lots of acting classes at local theatres and private masters classes with a local coach, summers were spent doing local shows and volunteering with youth productions (stage managing, asst. directing). She also does forensics in school (not science type forensics, drama type forensics) and was a varsity track athlete who went to state 3 years in a row. (we always preached diversity in her endeavors). 3.97 GPA.
When it came time to choose where she would apply, we took into consideration the fact that we did not want her to have any debt coming out of college with a theatre degree and we would love for her to be closer to home. She chose to apply to:
Lipscomb University (auditioned in October-accepted on the spot)
Belmont University (auditioned in October-accepted 2 days later)
SCAD
IUP
Austin Peay State University
Western Carolina University (decided in Feb to add)
and her dream school, UNCSA.
She was accepted academically to all.
She was accepted artistically to the MT BFA at Lipscomb and the Theatre BFA at Belmont and the Performing Arts program at SCAD.
Didn’t audition at IUP(decided not to)
Didn’t audition at Austin Peay (safety and chose to not audition after other acceptances)
Rejected from UNCSA.
Wait listed at Western Carolina
When our child chooses a place to call home away from home for 4 years, we as parents can only hope that they will be surrounded by others who will nurture their growth and their soul, people who will help them find the “why” of what they want to do of the rest of their life, we have been lucky enough to find that exact place-Lipscomb University in Nashville TN! These people have been over the top excited about our daughter since she auditioned there last Fall! When she told the department yesterday that she was accepting their offer, the professor actually squealed in delight-there is nothing like the feeling of knowing that you are wanted and that was how our daughter felt yesterday and every day that she has had communication with Lipscomb. I know they will help her grow as a performer and as a person and I will feel content knowing that the environment she will be living in will be fun and full of happy people (every time we have visited, the campus is full of smiling, joyful students). They will prepare her to go out into the world and not only do well but to do good!
I hope everyone who has been on this crazy journey can find their home away from home that they can be happy at! We are so thrilled to have a decision and even more thrilled to know for sure that it is the right decision!
GO BISONS!!!
@CMB625 congratulations! Your post made me smile. Love love love how excited the school is to have your daughter join them. Please keep us updated as she goes through their program. Always good to hear about schools from actual students/parents.
Congratulations! My S is choosing between USC BA vs Tisch BFA and he’s a west coast kid, he’s visited Tisch but obviously these are two different programs in almost every way. Waiting for studio assignment, but it is really a toss up at this point. His background similar to your S. We know this is his first step and he will continue to train well after his college experience, so it is hard to advise him and it will be his decision. That said, I am concerned about what you say NYU being a large program. USC seems quite intimate housed on a university campus from our visits there.
@CalBear87 - don’t worry about class size at Tisch. Different studios take different numbers - but kids are in cohorts of 12-15 so there is PLENTY of individual attention. (or as my D has put it - no where to hide…) And each studio has their own shows - so lots of chances to perform - in my D’s studio (Adler) there is guaranteed casting from sophomore year on (Tisch doesn’t allow freshmen to audition). Now as the the West Coast vs NYC question… you’re on your own 
Thanks, very helpful. Ultimately his decision but family friends in theater and film are weighing in on both sides. His HS has had several alumni at both as well. Happy and proud he’s got great choices.
@CalBear87 Your S has two amazing choices and will have great opportunities wherever he chooses to go but I want to reiterate what @toowonderful said about class sizes in Tisch. The number of students accepted are divided between the studios and then into separate groups within those studios, so in the end the students are working with the same student:teacher ratio as in the smaller BFA programs. What is nice about Tisch is that the studio model allows them to change studios after their 2 years of primary training so that they can experience other forms of training or change their focus from theater to film and tv.
Congrats everyone!
I’ve been researching schools since I started high school. My mom told me I could apply to a maximum of 10, so I made the (very stupid) decision to only apply to top programs. In the end, I applied to 7 audition schools, and two competitive academic admits. My thinking was that if I didn’t get in anywhere, I’d take a gap year and reapply. Luckily, it worked out for me, but it added an enormous amount of stress and self doubt to the (already brutal) process. I would definitely not encourage anyone to do it the way I did (no real backups). Although, who knows, maybe it made me subconsciously perform better?
I did NYC unifieds, and it was all together a really positive experience. My two favorite auditions were CMU and Minnesota. I felt like they took the time to speak to me and really get to know me as a person.
Thanks to everyone on here for being so supportive and helpful throughout this whole process!
Schools Applied to: Vassar, Northwestern, Rutgers Mason Gross, UMN/Guthrie, DePaul, UNCSA, Boston University, Carnegie Mellon, NYU
Prescreens: none
Callbacks: Minnesota, Rutgers
Acceptances: UMN/Guthrie, NYU Tisch, Vassar, Northwestern
Waitlists: Rutgers MGSA (BFA acting), DePaul (BFA Acting), Carnegie Mellon (BFA Acting)
Rejections: UNCSA, Boston University
Coach: None. My teacher at school watched some of my monologues but I chose and rehearsed everything on my own.
Final Decision: UMN/Guthrie BFA Actor Training Program!!
I debated staying on the CMU waitlist for a long time, but they make you choose to be priority, in which case you have to put in an $800 deposit as soon as you get off the waitlist. In the end, I didn’t want the extra stress of waiting until mid May, and losing my deposit at Minnesota. I received the National Gold Scholarship which gives me in-state tuition at Minnesota, which is awesome and definitely made my decision easier. I also think the Guthrie program is amazing and really wanted to go!!
@CalBear87 , this isn’t specific only to NYU (although I know your son is deciding between NYU and another), but I wouldn’t worry about class size in any of the programs unless studio classes are large (which isn’t the case in any of the programs I’ve researched or heard about). First, individual attention is definitely still possible (and I’d even say the norm across programs) within the small studio and course sizes. Second, the larger general class means more connections and more social choices, both positives. Third, casting is more like real life, and, even if one isn’t cast in a mainstage show, there are other opportunities. Plus, gaining experience in creating one’s own’s experiences (which one might be motivated to do even more if not cast) at this point is invaluable.