<p>Finally finished notifying schools my S#1 & S#2 won’t be attending, so ready to post to this background thread. It’s a lengthy post, but wanted to share some lessons gleaned from our “long and winding road” process of college auditions:</p>
<p>Son #1</p>
<p>Prescreen Applicant: Texas State, Michigan (Invited to both for on-campus callbacks)</p>
<p>Applied to (16): Texas State, Michigan, Rider, Hartt, Pace, Point Park, U. Arts, Carnegie Mellon, CCM, Emerson, NYU Tisch, USC, Muhlenberg<em>, Eugene Lang</em>, Cal State Northridge<em>, Drew</em></p>
<p>Accepted to: Rider BFA MT, Hartt BFA MT, Pace BFA MT, Pt. Park BFA Acting, U. Arts BFA MT, Emerson BFA MT, NYU Tisch NSB MT BFA, USC BA Acting, Eugene Lang<em>, CSUN</em>, Drew<em>, Muhlenberg</em>,</p>
<p>Rejected from: Texas State, Michigan, Carnegie Mellon, CCM</p>
<p>Waitlisted at: N/A</p>
<p>Final Decision: Pace BFA MT</p>
<ul>
<li>Non-audition “safety” schools</li>
</ul>
<p>Son #2</p>
<p>Prescreen Applicant: Texas State, Michigan (Invited to Michigan for on-campus callback)</p>
<p>Applied to (16): Emerson, Michigan, Hartt, Rider, Pace, Point Park, U. Arts, Carnegie Mellon, The Boston Conservatory, CCM, USC, NYU Tisch, Eugene Lang<em>, CSUN</em>, Drew<em>, Muhlenberg</em> </p>
<p>Accepted to: NYU Tisch NSB MT BFA, Hartt BFA MT, U. Arts BFA MT, Rider BFA MT, Emerson BA Acting, USC BA Acting, Eugene Lang<em>, CSUN</em>, Drew<em>, Muhlenberg</em></p>
<p>Rejected from: Michigan, Carnegie Mellon, CCM, Pace, BoCo</p>
<p>Waitlisted at: Point Park U BFA MT</p>
<p>Final Decision: Rider BFA MT</p>
<ul>
<li>Non-audition “safety” schools</li>
</ul>
<p>Background: </p>
<p>Met with college audition coach early in the process to ascertain the likelihood of success for identical twins auditioning for MT at the same schools. Agreed that odds were already stacked against most kids, and that being ID twins would only add to the difficulty in gaining acceptance—especially at schools where “type” plays into admission decisions. (Wanted to make SURE boys understood the odds they faced.)</p>
<p>Our fears were confirmed early on when S1 & S2 participated in several master classes with experts including college reps who reiterated the need for the boys to differentiate themselves. Since we weren’t going to force the boys to split up their lists of dream schools, we focused instead on clearly defining who each boy was and selected appropriate headshots, monologues and song repertoire.</p>
<p><strong>Stroke of luck #1: We had visited both Rider and Hartt the prior spring and knew they would be on the boys’ list of schools where they’d audition. Both schools had auditions in early December. We made a special East Coast trip from CA to do these auditions the same weekend. Not only did this secure two key acceptances early in the process (one of which is S#2’s final choice!), but it spread the boys’ auditions out over several months. [As it turns out, S#2 was sick for part of Unifieds, so, thankfully, he got a couple top schools done early.] Interestingly, both boys were accepted at both these schools – something I’m not sure would have happened later in the audition season when auditors had seen hundreds of students.</strong></p>
<p>Lesson: If finances allow, get a couple schools done early in the season – it’s a good hedge against illness later on and may help boost your confidence to get a few auditions under your belt.</p>
<p>Early in the game, there were tough times at the house when S#1 was invited to audition at Texas State and S2 wasn’t. S1 fell in love with the program and was heartbroken to be rejected the next day. (But at least Tx State didn’t drag it out!) </p>
<p>Boys did Michigan audition on-campus, then Carnegie, U. Arts and Point Park at Chicago Unifieds. The rest of their auditions were completed in Los Angeles. The schedule was brutal and as mentioned, poor S2 succumbed to a horrible cold by the final stretch. It affected his auditions for BoCo and NYU, but the auditors were nice enough to request online video submissions of his songs. Ultimately S#2 was admitted to NYU for Tisch NSB MT, so the video submission didn’t hurt his chances.</p>
<p><strong>Stroke of luck #2: Thankfully we had the boys’ songs on video. Because of the prescreen requirements for Tx. State and Michigan, we had good recordings of 16- and 32-bar cuts. S2 was able to reuse these videos when he was sick at LA Unifieds. He was able to email them to the auditors on the spot.</strong> </p>
<p>Lesson: Get your audition pieces on video – you never know when they’ll come in handy!</p>
<p>All along, there was debate about whether my boys would go to college together or apart. Honestly, I think the competitive nature of this audition season sealed the deal. By the end of the road, they were sick of auditioning against each other – not in a mean way, though. They are both such kind and supportive people they would NEVER say that, but it was terribly emotional if one son got into a MT program and the other didn’t. (And yes, this happened to each S at different MT programs/campuses; no rhyme or reason.) They know they’ll be auditioning together or against each other professionally FOREVER so this is their chance for four years to really differentiate each other and to widen their individual networks.</p>
<p>In the end, just as the universe is set up for such things, the boys naturally fell into where they were meant to be. S#1, who loved Amy Rogers the first minute he met her and who has a heart and a voice for “new” rock musicals, will end up at Pace in the BFA MT program. S#2, who was the one to first discover Rider when he went on his school’s East Coast College tour during sophomore year, will be part of the new BFA MT program at Rider’s Westminster College of the Arts. A well-rounded singer-actor-dancer, he looks forward to really ramping up his dance as a student of Robin Lewis.</p>
<p>While mom and dad worry about them separating not only from us, but from each other, they’ll no doubt flourish, each in his own special place and only 60 miles from each other. </p>
<p>Both boys received merit scholarships – something of utmost importance to us, since we discussed with them, quite candidly up front, that we did not want them to attend schools that would require them to take on student loans. (Both mom and dad speak from experience, since we had our own student loans to pay off for many years.) Since we don’t qualify for need-based aid but live in an expensive city, we established their budget early on – defining how much we expected them to pay out of their college savings accounts and how much additionally we could pay each year. Thankfully their generous scholarships will make this possible without them incurring debt. </p>
<p><strong>Stroke of luck #3: Over the years I would cajole my boys about taking AP Calc AB when they really wanted to go to “singing-acting-dancing college,” but in the end, their diligent and rigorous academics were what brought in the merit scholarships and ultimately allowed them to go to these BFA programs.</strong></p>
<p>LESSON: Yes, grades, test scores and academic rigor are important when it comes to raking in the merit scholarships.</p>
<p>A final note about Rider: This is a new BFA program and one that we’ve been watching for a few years now. We are lucky to have a high school drama director who is connected to several of the teaching professionals at Rider. It is funny how you get “signs” about certain life decisions, but I’ll say that all signs have been pointing one or both of my boys toward Rider for the past three years. The addition of Robin Lewis to the faculty this past year helped really make the case for this program. We’re thrilled that S#2 has chosen to be a part of this burgeoning new BFA that we’re sure will be THE hot new program to watch.</p>
<p>**Stroke of luck #4: While we let the boys apply to and audition for several schools that would have been “financial reaches” for our family, it was interesting to see the luster fade on some of the “big ticket” schools as the season dragged on. I don’t know if our constant hammering home about “seeing beyond the brand name” got through to them, or if they just chose to look deeper and really make the connections to the people and places where they had the best FIT, but they ultimately made savvy choices that won’t break the bank for our family. And they were still able to say they “got in” to some of the big name schools.</p>
<p>To those coming up into senior year: This is an emotional, stressful process. If you are lucky to have parents to support and help you through it, work together and try to keep your sanity. And if you’re doing it on your own, read these boards and try to glean as much as you can from everyone’s experience here. </p>
<p>Parents: In some ways, it is worse than you can imagine, and in more ways, it will bring you closer to your children than ever. Try to enjoy the ride – it is a time you will never forget!</p>
<p>To all of you: remember that this is your passion. At the end of the day, you have to LOVE it. Even if the worst possible scenario plays out and you don’t get in anywhere, no one can take your dream away. </p>
<p>Throughout this process, I reminded my kids that at the schools where perhaps 12 kids were accepted, there would be something like 782 super-talented kids getting “bad” news – most of whom had the leads in their school and community musicals, some of whom had already worked professionally, and many of whom also had amazing grades and test scores. There is SO MUCH talent out there you cannot even believe it. And this major is more popular than ever. So have a balanced group of schools on your list including non-audition safeties! And just know that in the end, everything is going to be OK! Break a leg!</p>
