Cogratulations to all who have made your final decisions. Exciting times ahead!!
Great summary @stagedoormama. Congrats to you and your daughter!
@stagedoormama - Soooooo happy to see your story! CCU- here we come!
I love these stories! Congrats to all who have committed so far!!! It is a huge relief, isn’t it???
^^^ Yes!! I feel like we should be handed a medal at the finish line, or a martini…or a nice bottle of cabernet. Instead, we get a tuition bill!
Congrats!!! @stagedoormama
Our story is one that begins with denial and ends with joy, with a good mix of heartbreak and discovery along the way. Having already “lost” our exceptionally bright, high-scoring, entrepreneurial daughter to a performance major, we (especially my husband) were determined not to let our son meander down the same path. He had been involved on the theatre-sidelines from about age 10 as he tagged along to his sister’s activities, filling out the ensemble in her shows. He’d always been musical—piano from an early age and guitar in elementary and middle schools—but he also had a strong math gene. Ignoring the signs, we enrolled him for summer camps in sports, outdoorsy stuff, and engineering. Still, he must have been drinking his sister’s theatre Kool-Aid, as one of her directors suggested he take voice lessons at around age 11. What could it hurt? Ha, ha. Other than excelling in math, he was still fairly directionless in middle school and early high school and we continued to think in terms of science/engineering career options. Overlooked in high school casting, he found other opportunities outside school— small roles in professional shows, plus a few community musicals. He also focused like a demon on piano and guitar, joining a garage band, on and off. His classically trained voice teacher was not best pleased with that, but helped him pick rock vocal pieces while continuing with legit training. Come junior year, we were suggesting engineering programs for him and he was … . . . strangely silent. He and I took a college road trip and, as well as checking out engineering/computer science, he insisted on including a couple of schools known for musical theatre. By this point, I had guessed where we may be heading, but my husband kept his head firmly buried in the sand, muttering odd noises like “career”, “support a family”, “only son”, etc. On a not-so-unintentional side trip to a tiny out-of-the-way college in Ohio, my son and I both felt the gravitational pull to MT. I’m the first to admit I lost my heart in Berea. We spent time in classes and chatted to faculty/students and, to my surprise, my city-boy son decided four years in a busy, intense program in the middle of nowhere was what he wanted. On the way home, like a couple of undercover spies, we plotted strategy to get dad on board. Never a dancer, my son started taking ballet in a neighboring town—in a beginner class with an 8-year-old ice skater. He went through some serious ups and downs with his vocals, trying to figure out the rock sound he preferred and the legit sound he needed for auditions. While continuing with our regular voice teacher, he also took monthly (very costly) lessons with a second teacher who is a regional theatre director and hears thousands of auditions each year. Not sure if that was wise, but it did broaden his rep. He also met a few times with a theatre director/actor/agent who helped him pick and practice monologues. None of our team had a lot of college-app experience or in-depth knowledge of programs, and our son’s large public high school was not a lot of help (maybe 5 theatre majors over the previous 5 years). We did not do any summer programs, partly due to our long denial and partly due to cost. Nor did we hire a coaching service. I thought I knew a few things—ha, ha—after steering my daughter through a similarly befuddling process as a VP major. I now realize I knew virtually nothing. In choosing schools, I was a sucker for the big names without fully investigating cost or likelihood of scholarship. I thought I was picking some lesser-known hidden gems, but now know how overwhelmingly popular those programs are. I thought that having a talented, somewhat trained boy would make a difference—not realizing there were many more just like him (there’s the denial again). We had a tough time picking and recording prescreen materials. First voice teacher wanted solid legit; son wanted rock vocals; second voice teacher wanted unusual pieces to make him stand out (as she sees thousands of auditionees a year). I was stumped and admit to taking some advise from CC that I maybe shouldn’t have—I read a lot about the increasing popularity pop rock in MT and went along with my son going down that route. To contrast, we also picked a pre-Golden Age jazz piece. Wrong choices, as our prescreen results show. Son was accepted academically by every school, some with nice merit scholarships. Before auditions, we changed both songs and one monologue. So, our list:
Prescreen: Ithaca and Michigan (passed for Acting), Otterbein (passed for MT), Syracuse (fail), Shenandoah (fail—shocked at this, since this school talks up pop-rock)
Campus auditions: Otterbein, Baldwin-Wallace (be still, my beating heart), CCPA, Wright State, Drake
Unifieds: Ball State, Ithaca (Acting), Michigan (Acting), Montclair, Webster, CMU, CCM, MSM
Walk-in: Point Park
Cancelled audition: Stephen’s Point
Our first rejection was HARD—Baldwin-Wallace, which we had thought was “the one,” sent a quick “thanks-but-no-thanks”. First loves are always the worst break-ups. After Unifieds came a depressing string of rejections—Ithaca, CCM, MSM, Michigan, and Webster. I started plotting out my son’s gap year and responded with icy coldness at my husband’s suggestion that the market and spoken and he should change majors. But hope springs eternal—this time, in the form of waitlist acceptances from Wright State and Otterbein (both strong favorites throughout the process). Soon, the sky brightened with acceptances from CCPA and—surprise, our only Unifieds walk-in—Point Park. Soon came acceptances from Ball State (re-direct to BA) and Drake, so ours was a much happier household. Still no reply from Montclair….but we don’t care.
So, to make a long story a little bit shorter, we took our second road trip to see accepted/waitlist schools. We didn’t make it to Wright State, as my son felt he had a pretty good understanding of that one. Final decision—our surprise walk-in school, Point Park University! My son loved everything about his visit, and I was thoroughly impressed by the huge amount of investment the school is making in the performing arts. I was also bowled over by the scholarship offer. (Confession here—I dug back in CC and found some strong negatives about the program, but all this was cleared up during our visit. The program has been restructured and streamlined, has an amazing faculty, and exceptionally good facilities—with a new downtown theatre building just breaking ground.) I’ve always like Pittsburgh and my son loves the idea of a city school.
There is a slim chance that, if my son is chosen from the wait list, he will still consider Wright State (we both loved that program), but right now, he is enjoying a very happy ending to a wild and bumpy ride! I have many “lessons learned” to share at some point, but right now we are celebrating! Good luck to everyone—and keep adding your stories!
So glad your story has a happy ending @Claire74! Good luck to your son at Point Park.
Like Tahuna, our journey may be a little different but I hope it is still helpful.
My D was looking for MT program with strong academics, true campus (unfortunately that eliminated all NYC schools near our home) , possibility of double major or minor, strong dance component, Honors program, east coast. Focused on BA’s mostly for the academics but if the BFA program met our MT philosophy and academic rigor we left it on the list. She did not apply to top tier schools or do any Unifieds. We tried to be realistic not just about chance of getting in but also in being able to be noticed and get cast while in school. We know she is not as strong vocally as others and its ok, her acting and dance are her strengths but something we need to recognize before auditioning…
This is my 3rd college bound & 2nd one headed for the arts so I pretty much had the college search thing down as well as all the categories she shld be considering. Visiting schools with her siblings really helped when it came her turn to know what she wanted. I found it helpful with each child, to keep the list reasonable size, to include only the schools that they would really want to attend and be happy at and that fit our financial decisions.My D was one those kids who were just too stressed during junior year to really think about schools, she didn’t really want to talk about college, I was figuring maybe she should stay home and do a community college if she was not ready to think about it. I kept doing research anyway on the sidelines. Once school ended she started at least reading about the schools I had researched, then as her friends started to really talk about programs she would come home from the theater and ask about a program or school. So if your junior is not ready just wait till school ends, the stress of junior year may be too much.
CC really helped me know what to expect MT wise, my other artist is a dancer so the audition process although similar is less involved bc it is just based on dance.
Training:
Voice:formal lessons: 4 years
Acting: only in monologue prep for auditions, this was important bc she had not done any straight acting plays only musicals
Dance: since age 3, every area
Camps: Her Community Theater every summer as performer,asst. choreographer & counselor, One with Broadway Workshop (NYC) and a couple of workshops with Camp Broadway Kids (NYC) , including a performance at Carnegie Hall and a trip to the Tonys a couple of years ago
Musicals since 4th grade, but once in high school she chose to only perform in Community Theater not her hs productions.
Coach: MTCA- we tried to do most sessions in person but some were Skype-very helpful in both monologue & song selection. As I said above, monologue selection and acting coaching was key for us since she had not done any straight acting. It was wonderful to see that this was a real strong skill for her, gave her much needed confidence in this area. Did not really need their help in college selection bc we had already narrowed our list and knew we were not shooting for the top schools they recommend. Although the coaching was helpful for us, it was expensive and I would advise if a student has anyone they trust to assist them with songs and monologues, go that route instead, we did not have someone hence the coaching.
We visited every school, some more than once.
The list was very small, 6 in total:
Applied-
- Muhlenberg College- BA MT audition is for scholarship only - Accepted w/scholarship
- James Madison University- BA MT auditioned both for Theater & MT- accepted Theater, wait listed MT
- University of Tampa- BFA MT -accepted w/scholarship into BFA MT
- Catholic University- BM MT-accepted academically w/scholarship,cancelled audition after UT & JMU admission
- Florida Southern College- BFA MT accepted w/scholarship- cancelled audition after UT & JMU admission
- Christopher Newport University- BA MT audition is for scholarship only- accepted
Came down to her favorite two , she loved both campuses, faculty and programs equally. So then looked at other factors:
- Money- Tampa,large merit & talent scholarship, the cost is almost less than half of the other school
- D has 19 college credits,Tampa will accept all not just as electives but to cover core as well,that is a huge thing to ask if you are going in with credits.
- Fully in the MT program
- Tampa is a true campus but in a city so a lot of internship and activities which she wanted.
- In the Honors program at Tampa
- We have a relative in Tampa so she felt like if she was homesick her aunt is there for her.
Decision; University of Tampa! Go Spartans!
Bottom line is she said she feels very wanted by Tampa and very rewarded for all her hard work in high school, by the Honors program and the scholarships. I hope this helps somehow. because so many on here have been so helpful to me. 
Honestly didnt think I would have much to offer so am surprised by the length of my post! lol!
@HappyDancer98 YAAAAAYYY!!! I’m so happy for your daughter, and I’m sure your whole family is cheering that she will be near enough to visit. What a blessing!! So exciting!
@joyfulmama, What a great story–and how smart you and your daughter were in knowing what you wanted from the outset!
Congratulations, everyone, for the acceptances, decisions, and making it through! It’s interesting to read everyone’s different backgrounds, journeys, and thoughts. Ice cream/donuts/chocolate/wine for all!
I’m looking forward to reading more!
@claire74 Thank you!! 3rd kid has its advantages! lol! So happy for you & your son too! My older D, the dancer, was supposed to head to Point Park back in '11 as her college spot. We loved the faculty and city too. Two weeks before going she signed with an agent and we deferred her spot there for a year, after booking a tour, we had to let her spot go,but it is a great school and your son will be very happy!
Well my DD just left for a trip to Austria and the Czech Republic with her choir, so I’m not sending in any deposits until she’s back, but she’s made up her mind for sure so I might as well bite the bullet and post this now:
Like @claire74 our journey began with a lot of denial and delusions and ended, thankfully, happily.
Training: lots. Performed on stage since age six. Community theater first, then a few top-notch regional productions, then a lead role in a national tour. Acting classes in NYC with several reputable teachers, voice lessons since age 10, competition dance team until it got too much with the MT stuff. Two summer programs, CMU and Pace. Professional coaching for college auditions from one of the places mentioned numerous times on this board, a mix of Skype and in-person sessions that culminated in a weekend-long mock audition workshop.
School list: Pace, Montclair, Ithaca, CMU, CCM, Roosevelt, Wagner, Webster, Point Park, Marymount Manhattan, Muhlenberg, Syracuse, Hartt, West Conn, Rider, U of Arts, OCU, Hofstra
Prescreens: passed three for all Pace BFA programs, Ithaca MT; failed Syracuse and Wagner (academic, yet they admitted her and suggested she do another one of their theater programs - not)
Academic admits: all schools that did academic separate from artistic
Artistic admits: OCU (BFA Acting, BA Music), Marymount Manhattan (BA Theater Performance with MT minor), Hofstra (early admit into MT minor), Muhlenberg (artistic scholarship), Point Park (BFA MT)
Withdrew before audition: U of Arts, West Conn, Rider
Big fat rejection: everywhere else
I think this process was harder on me than on my daughter, except for the Pace rejection (her number one choice), which, of course, came opening night of her high school musical, in which she was playing the lead (Mary Poppins, same show she toured in, ironically). Lots of ugly crying for that one, but you wouldn’t have known it to see her on stage that night, and she took the other rejections in stride.
Looking at her five choices, she was easily able to dismiss OCU (not the MT program she wanted), Hofstra (even with a nice scholarship, hella expensive and you have to audition for the BFA sophomore year) and Muhlenberg (like hardly any scholarship, also hella expensive and not the BFA she really wanted). Which left Marymount Manhattan and Point Park.
Marymount had the advantage of being in NYC, and her agent telling her she’d send her on auditions if she was in the city. But, in the end, she felt Point Park was the better training ground for her. More of a traditional campus atmosphere, smaller incoming class size, strong dance training, students she felt she connected with in person and on line, a showcase for all seniors now (that’s new, I guess, before you had to audition), new dance studios and a new theater, and the city of Pittsburgh, which she loved during her six weeks at CMU. So, in the end, like @clarie74’s son, my daughter will be heading to Point Park in the fall, class of 2020 BFA MT!
Yeah! @CTDramaMom. Our kids will rock that program!
@claire74 hoping we get to meet in person! And congrats to everyone on reaching the end of this crazy journey.
@claire74 Loved your sons story!! Thank you for sharing! I wish ya’ll the very best!!
@CTDramaMom. Thanks–sent you a pm.
Well after finally committing yesterday, my college audition journey has come to a close, and boy was it a wild ride. When I decided I wanted to apply for a BFA in Musical Theatre, I realized I had to buckle down and do a lot of research and prep (finding contemporary songs as a baritone was like locating the lost city of Atlantis). My parents decided that I would organize all my auditions, applications and trips by myself and come to them when I needed to pay for something (application fee, audition fee, hotel reservation etc). This is mostly because they were reluctant to let me pursue MT to begin with because of the competitive nature of the business but I didn’t care because this is what I love to do. So I struck a deal with them. If I got into a BFA MT program and it was affordable, I could go. If I didn’t, I would give up MT and find a more “practical” major. I admit this did nothing but stoke my fire and I decided to go full throttle and give this everything I had. I’d loved theatre since I was 8 and moved here from Cameroon but it wasn’t until when I was 14 and in 8th grade that I started performing and even up till now I’ve only ever done school productions. I found a great support system here on CC in the form of @IfYouOnlyKnew whose son had just completed the process and she was very helpful. Also with my voice and acting teachers over the years cheering me on I was ready to do this. Now w/o further ado:
Training
Voice: 4 Years (convinced my parents it would look on a college resume)
Acting: 4 years in my high school theatre class.
Dance:None at all (unless you count show choir moves. I jazz hand like a pro lol)
So I decided to organize all my auditions at NY Unifieds and auditioned for 5 schools. My goal here was this as painless as possible for my parents so I couldn’t audition for as many programs as I wanted to but this also helped me since I concentrated on schools that I could definitely see myself going.
The schools I chose were: Ithaca, Point Park, CCM, Roosevelt CCPA(Voice Emphasis), and Montclair.
Prescreens: Passed for MT at Ithaca
Academic Admits: All schools that did Academic Separate from Artistic
Artistic Admits: Point Park, Roosevelt CCPA, Montclair
Rejections: CCM, Ithaca
My auditions occurred during The Great Unifieds Blizzard of 2016 which as you can guess was not pleasant in the least. My mom and I made the wise decision of arriving in New York and early and I had insisted that we stay at the New Yorker which could not have been more of a blessing for us. First audition was that Saturday and for Point Park. After I auditioned, I was given very encouraging feedback by my auditor who questioned as to why I auditioned for Point Park and I explained how my how my school director had recommended the program to me since she was an alumni and upon further research I was thoroughly impressed. After that I was ready to spend for the rest of my auditions that day. Ithaca was next and this is where it gets interesting. I did not realize they had their auditions at NOLA studios instead of Pearl which meant we had to take the subway over. We quickly figured out the New York subway system and got there as fast as we could. Not fast enough however as I saw that it was almost time for my Roosevelt audition and I hadn’t even gotten started on my Ithaca audition. So after asking the auditors to go first and them graciously granting me that request, I sent an email to Roosevelt and went in for my Ithaca audition. The cold dry air must have really affected me because I cracked during one of my songs. I didn’t have time to think about this however because I had to run to my Roosevelt audition. However there were no subways or cabs to be found. Without missing a beat, I started the 45 min walk from NOLA to Pearl Studios during the worst part of the blizzard. My mother was especially astounded because as she said she “had never see me so determined about anything in her life”. After persevering through the cold I showed up at Pearl covered with snow and must have been quite a sight. After taking my winter coat off and grabbing my songbook and headshot I headed straight into my Roosevelt audition, completely disregarding warming up or recovering from 45 min spent in the cold. The audition went amazingly well however with no problems at all. I missed my Point Park dance call however and had to reschedule it to the next day. Day 2 of auditions I woke up and I found my throat to be full of mucus and my CCM audition was in 2hrs. I tried to down as much water as I could before and headed to my dance call which proved to be extremely difficult. ( I could only do the first 2 steps). During the singing/acting part of my audition my voice cracked again (no dour the snowstorm finally catching up with me). I shrugged it off and headed to final audition for Montclair which went off with no hiccups (thankfully). I headed back to Maryland with mixed to happy emotions about my work and anxiously awaited results. My first one came from CCM, a rejection. No surprise there considering how my audition went. This was followed two weeks later by an acceptance to Montclair and I was full of joy. No matter what happened I was going to major in Musical Theatre! My mother had talked to my dad about all my audition journey and with them being impressed with my passion, they had both turned over a new leaf. Roosevelt’s acceptance came next and I was on Cloud 9. NOW I HAD OPTIONS! I was brought down a little by Ithaca’s rejection but I recovered pretty quickly as I was grateful to have even passed the prescreen. My last decision came from Point Park and it was an acceptance. I could not stop jumping for joy that day and I told my acting teacher and she herself could not stop beaming. After the financial packages came from my acceptances, my decision was clear. As of yesterday I have committed to Point Park’s Conservatory of Performing Arts for a BFA in Musical Theatre for the class of 2020!!! In terms of fit, financially and training wise, this was the best school for me and I cannot wait to get started and see where the next four year take me! Thank you all for all your help. I couldn’t have done it without all the helpful info on this board!