<p>First off- Congrats tracyvp! To foukids mom-my daughter has been a musical theatre major at a performing arts school but she chose to do a straight acting program at Northern Illinois. She only auditioned for one MT program- Penn State. She got waitlisted but was more than thrilled that she wasn’t rejected. She has been a dancer since she was 5, used to be a competitive gymnast and still tumbles, and has been taking private voice since she was 12. She felt like she could get dance and voice training on the side (her college also has a BFA Dance and BM Music). She just really wanted to focus on acting. I suspect your daughter will have a similar experience at NYU. My son loves it there but my daughter didn’t want the double debt for the family- believe me- it would have been a whopper! (and she wanted the full college experience- like a football program) Atlantic is a great studio and I believe your daughter can’t go wrong with her acting decision at NYU as she will also have exposure to so many good dance and voice instructors in the city. I know at my son’s dorm, there’s a Capezio dance studio right across the street Congrats!</p>
<p>Updating my post #39 <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14224353-post39.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14224353-post39.html</a></p>
<p>S#2 got off WL at PPU and was accepted for MT. Keeping track of these things is important when you have twins. 
At this point, the acceptance is moot, since S#2 has already committed at Rider, but he was happy to hear from them. He’ll be declining right away. Knowing the situation with WLs at PPU, I hope this signals some movement for those waiting to hear from them.</p>
<p>My daughter auditioned at 14 schools last year. She received 14 rejections. She was the big fish in her urban pond, trained by incredible professionals. The lead in both local and school productions, she won theater honors in school, state awards and a merit winner at Young Arts. Still, she was rejected by every MT program. This was not for lack of talent, nor lack of coaching. This was just an odd turn of events that left us confused. She ended up at a BA Theater program and minored in music. This year she auditioned for 6 programs. Though making it through pre-screens and getting many compliments she received 4 rejections and a 1 wait list. FINALLY, her last letter, her last school, her last option, came back a yes.</p>
<p>The moral of the story is, 20th time is the charm. Do not give up, do not take no for an answer, and do not let all the rejections get you down.</p>
<p>Final Decision: Western Carolina University BFA MT</p>
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<p>Congratulations to your D, and thanks for that great reminder that steady training and persistence produce results! As an extreme case, I know an MT who didn’t start getting steady work until she reached her 60s! Turns out she was born to be an older character actress. ;-d</p>
<p>sweetpea88… congrats to your daughter and to you!!!</p>
<p>Congrats, Sweetpea! It’s stories like this that make people like us apply to 20 schools! It’s just CRAZY! I’m so glad it worked out for her and we can’t wait to hear fabulous updates about what a wonderful time she’s having!</p>
<p>Thank you everyone!! CC helped so much and Mommafrog was a godsend!! I have a year off, then my 2nd daughter starts this all over again. Ugh!</p>
<p>Aw, shucks, sweetpea88…just paying it forward. CONGRATULATIONS to your perseverent d. I continue to be impressed by her tenacity (and her mother’s intestinal fortitude). To all in the brave, victorious Class of 2016, hooray! Now, go set the world on fire!</p>
<p>Enjoying the love in these last several posts! Congrats : )</p>
<p>Applied to: Elon, University if Indiana, University of Arizona, Penn State, University of Alabama, University of Oklahoma, Texas State University, Carnegie Mellon, Pace, Ithaca, Montclair State University, University of Michigan, CCM, University of Hartford, UCLA</p>
<p>Accepted to: University of Arizona, University of Alabama, University of Oklahoma, Texas State University, Carnegie Mellon, Montclair State University, University of Michigan, University of Hartford, UCLA</p>
<p>Withdrew Application from: Pace, Ithaca and Elon (did not audition at these schools, D decided that she wanted a larger university)</p>
<p>Rejected from: Penn State, CCM</p>
<p>Waitlisted at: Texas State (but was accepted pretty quickly), University of Indiana (we still haven’t heard anything from them!), Carnegie Mellon (offered priority waitlist, but D had decided not to pursue)</p>
<p>Final Decision: Texas State University</p>
<p>My daughter had to make some tough decisions, and weighed out all the pros and cons of her top choices. Eventually she narrowed it down to UCLA, University of Oklahoma, University of Michigan and Texas State University. UCLA was eliminated because it was a BA program and too close (2.5 hrs away) to home. Paul Christman (OU) and Brent Wagner (UMICH) were wonderful and both of those schools have powerful reputations, but Kaitlin Hopkins at TXSU won her over. Although she received some surprisingly good scholarship offers, the over-all cost for TXSU was the best for our budget. The other draw to Texas State University is that we have a lot of immediate family in the Austin-San Marcos area, so our southern California girl will have relatives that can come see her perform!</p>
<p>If we ever had to do it over (which we don’t, thank goodness!), I think that we would research the schools a little more, and also explore what my daughter really wanted. Eventually she came to realize that she did not want a small school or conservatory, and that she wanted a medium to large university with a BFA program. We would have explored cost of attendance a little more. And we definately would have included some non-audition schools.</p>
<p>In the beginning of this process: Originally wanted programs where primary focus was acting and where auditioning for straight plays was required. Her current resume is about half MT and half straight plays, so she originally thought doing straight plays in college was a deal breaker. We kept some of the top MTs school on the list though just for the hell of it even if they didn’t meet this criteria, especially if we hadn’t visited them. D WILTS in intense heat and humidity so in order to keep list somewhat manageable we took out some whole areas of the country. Tried to be realistic about her academic qualifications and only kept one, maybe two where we thought academics could be an issue (she’s not a great test taker). Also, preferred smaller to mid size schools vs. huge universities. Didn’t stick hard and fast to this, but it was one factor. Was leaning towards more of a full college experience, vs. a conservatory, but was open to both. Didn’t want a program with a set number cut program, and because wanted an acting based program, took off all BM’s off the list.</p>
<p>Initially applied to: CMU, Otterbein, Point Park, University of the Arts, CCM, Northern Colorado, Hartt, Syracuse, Ithaca, NYU (everywhere possible, asked to be considered for Acting as well as MT). Also applied to North Carolina School of the Arts BFA acting program, Muhlenberg BA Acting (can get MT focus), and Drew BA Theatre as a true safety.</p>
<p>Auditioned on Campus and Early: Point Park, University of the Arts, and Muhlenberg (for talent scholarship)</p>
<p>Cancelled audition: Hartt, Northern Colorado</p>
<p>Added Walk-in Audition at Unifieds: Penn State</p>
<p>Auditioned at LA Unifieds: Otterbein, Penn State, CCM, Syracuse, Ithaca, CMU, NYU, North Carolina School of the Arts</p>
<p>Accepted to: Drew, Muhlenberg, Point Park MT, Point Park Acting, University of the Arts, Ithaca, CCM</p>
<p>Rejected from: Penn State, Otterbein, CMU, Syracuse MT, North Carolina School of the Arts</p>
<p>Waitlisted at: Syracuse Acting, NYU Tisch</p>
<p>**Final Decision: **CCM</p>
<p>**Lessons Learned:**Think about what you want, do your research, but keep an open mind. CCM initially didn’t appeal to my D. We didn’t even visit it Junior year - in fact drove right by it. The only reason she kept it on the list was because I insisted based on its reputation in the industry; I knew test scores wouldn’t be an issue; and also because we hadn’t visited so I knew she didn’t KNOW she didn’t like it first hand. I think part of her initial negative feelings about it were because of some of the, perhaps outdated, rumors we had heard about it, and because of her, at one time hard fast rule, that she must be able to do straight plays in college, and most importantly I think, because of the rumors she had heard, she never imagined that her 5’3", curvy, quirky, acting first based performer self would ever get in there. Imagine the shock!</p>
<p>Second lesson learned - wish we had been able to go to two unifieds, or lived on the east coast and could have done more on campus auditions. Because we are on west coast, and my husband has a crazy travel schedule and we have another child at home we put the majority and all the big stakes eggs in one LA Unifieds basket. This ended up being terrifying as she got a bad head/chest cold a few days before the weekend started. And, because LA unifieds are at the end of the audition season, I was not able to reschedule them. Trying frantically to find an ENT in LA as we drove up(we live in San Diego) on Wednesday with her first Unified audition on Thursday was not a comforting experience. Went into first couple of auditions not being able to belt the high notes (her strong point) and made a spur of the moment song change for these first couple of auditions until the steroids kicked in. Four days of steaming, netti-potting, and trying to take the food and antibiotics at the right time so she didn’t get nauseous was not fun! Only comforting thought at this point was that she did have two acceptances under her belt from her early on campus auditions - this was a really good decision to do a couple of rolling admissions early. I don’t think it’s a complete coincidence that her two acceptances from unifieds were auditions that were in the afternoon (cold worse in the morning & harder to warm up) and a couple of days into the steroids to reduce vocal inflammation. </p>
<p>Third Lesson - I knew that we couldn’t predict where she’d get accepted, but still the reality of how random it really is when you see it in person is something else. In hindsight, I would not have ruled out whole sections of the country because to date she doesn’t do well in the heat. Also, I thought we had a rather large list to start out with, and now I’d probably add a couple. It all worked out, but if I had to do it again, I’d add Texas State and Florida State to the list.</p>
<p>Final observation - although it was not planned, we were both glad in the end that hadn’t realized how much she’d love CCM (we visited earlier this month for first time). It was great to visit schools early to overall get an idea of what things she liked and didn’t like, and it allowed us to take off a number of schools that she definitely didn’t like which added some others on the list. But, in the end, she is so glad she went into the CCM audition without any extra nerves or expectations. In fact, after the audition, she was worried when they asked her about why she wanted to go to CCM that she didn’t gush enough or seem overly enthusiastic - she couldn’t say she had visited, or even researched a lot, etc.</p>
<p>If either of us had to put money down last year as to where she’d end up - we’d both be poorer now! It’s such a joy to see her so excited about this next step! And, this site has been so incredibly helpful for me in so many ways. Both my D and my husband think I’ve been a bit crazy - but here - I felt like I was in good company!</p>
<p>Definitely! We MT parents are nothing short of crazy here on CC : )
Good Luck to your D blueskies1108.</p>
<p>^^Where’s that darned “Like” button???</p>
<p>Not crazy. We did the same thing. D looked at schools, was recruited by some, and said she would not apply to any school she would not attend. The list was very short NYU.
D is graduating from Tisch/Playwrights/NMTC in 3 years. It has been a wonderful experience, she danced in Cuba, Acted in Italy and did Art in Puerto Rico. We are cannot wait to see what is next for her. We hope a big breath to enjoy all she has accomplished. I cannot imagine the stress of the parents with multiple applications and hope that all who are waiting for that deadline tonight/tomorrow to make a choice are happy with their decisions and have a wonderful time enjoying the next few months preparing for college. Best Wishes Class of 2016!</p>
<p>Congratulations to all who have made your final decisions this year, and thanks for sharing your stories here.</p>
<p>Best of luck to those still on Wait Lists, and hope to hear from you when the dust settles!</p>
<p>I’m kind of surprised. I sort of expected a flurry of activity yesterday and today as people sent in their deposits. I guess a lot of people moved on after they made their decision and forgot to come back and post. Hope to still hear from more folks. Reading these background stories has been so inspirational!</p>
<p>Hey Everyone!</p>
<p>I’m a bit short on time so I’m going to give you the shortened version.</p>
<p>Accepted to: Muhlenberg (BA MT), Long Island University (BFA Theatre Performance: Concentration in MT), Ohio Northern (BFA MT), SUNY Fredonia (BFA MT)</p>
<p>What it actually came down to after visiting and evaluating the programs: Ohio Northern and SUNY Fredonia</p>
<p>Final Decision : SUNY FREDONIA!!!</p>
<p>Background: So I visited all four schools I was accepted to. I ruled out Muhlenberg because, although I liked the campus and teachers, I was pretty set on a BFA, plus I had my reservations about getting a lot of individual attention with 100 new students majoring in Theatre each year. I loved LIU’s campus and acting program, but felt that the MT concentration was too new and underdeveloped for me to feel comfortable with the training (but trust me when I say that the acting program there is amazing). So that left ONU and SUNY Fredonia. I absolutely loved the department heads and individual attention at ONU, but what really sold me on Fredonia was sitting in on the classes. Both schools had me sit in on their version of a Voice and Speech class. ONU, was very monologue based with the focus being on body movement, breath ect., while Fredonia was working on their Final, which was a show of just movement to be performed at a local opera house; the clarity in which they were able to tell stories only through movement really amazed me. The other thing that really sold me on Fredonia was the solid acting training. the MT’s and acting majors take all the same classes, with the exception of MT’s taking something like 3-5 classes specifically on MT. Furthermore, I’m going to be able to audition for a dance minor at the beginning of sophomore year, so with that I’m hoping to make some major improvement in my dance skills over the next few years! I can’t wait the hear from all the other accepted students out there :)</p>
<p>This is an update to post #57. </p>
<p>You know how I said that I didn’t know if the decision was well and truly “final?” We had been really hoping that D would get into TSU off the wait list. But Kaitlin Hopkins sent a very kind email letter her know that they had finalized their class and very likely would not be admitting anyone else off the wait list.</p>
<p>That was when we decided to go ahead and announce Pace as her final decision. We really never in a million years thought she would get into Otterbein, when they only admit 4 girls for MT. But that happened, and she decided to go ahead and visit.</p>
<p>After she came back, she took several days and evaluated the two schools side by side in light of her own strengths, weaknesses and personality traits, and as much as it pained her to admit it, even though Pace had always been her number one choice, it became clear that for HER, Otterbein was going to be a better fit. It about broke her heart to let Pace go AGAIN, but today she finally was able to reach Amy Rogers to let her know, and she committed to Otterbein.</p>
<p>So I guess in my heart I always suspected that maybe the decision wasn’t truly “final,” which is why I was so reluctant to post it in the first place! But as it turns out I’m glad I did because future students and parents can learn a lot from all of our journeys, even the ones that don’t necessarily go in a straight line!</p>
<p>Tracy, I had noticed that you mentioned on another post that your daughter had visited Otterbein, so I’d been wondering if she would change her mind. My son LOVES that school–we’ve visited twice and seen a mainstage show and a music-department production of “Pinafore”–so wonderful! The people we’ve met there were fantastic. Congratulations to your daughter, and I hope Otterbein’s everything she’s hoping for–it really is all about fit, and she’s heading to a great place next year. :)</p>
<p>Applied to: Hartt (BFA MT), Roosevelt (BFA MT), CCM (BFA MT), U of Oklahoma (BFA MT), Boston Conservatory (BFA MT), U Northern Colorado (BA MT), Point Park (BFA MT)
Accepted to: Hartt, Roosevelt, Boston Conservatory, UNC, Point Park
Rejected from: CCM & U of Oklahoma
Waitlisted at: None
Final Decision: Boston Conservatory</p>