Thank you all! I had a lot of positive messages through this journey. Every time I felt so sad because me daughter was sad someone would lift me up. I will always be grateful. Now D is loving the rest of her Senior Year and Starting to Pin all sort of ideas for dorm decor. Hehe!
@mel2421 ⊠welcome to the NWU family! Iâll see you in Lincoln soon!
@Mel2421, do you know what class size NW is aiming for this year? And how many boys / girls the freshmen class will have? Thanks, and huge congrats to you and your D!!!
@actingbee I have no clue. Sorry maybe someone who knows can answer.
@KaMaMom, can you chime in?
Love these stories! Congrats to all! @1bamom welcome welcome to the Boco family! We love it! And as a dancer your D will too!!
Hi @actingbee ⊠there are about 100 students in the entire Theatre Dept - which encompasses Musical Theatre, Acting, Directing, Theatre Tech, Theatre Studies, etc. I believe the last time I asked my girl there were about 8-10 MT students per grade. Hope this helps!
My turnâŠ
Preface: My S is a good singer with a contemporary, non MT voice, who can act a bit and does not dance (but wants to). He has little to no formal training in singing, acting or dance. He goes to a large public high school that has excellent academics and a strong drama and choir department. He began acting in plays and musicals in 9th grade, doing sound and musical composition for plays 11th grade, and has been in choir since elementary school. All in all, the boy can really sing, picks up musical instruments and tech easily, and is super smart. However, as for acting and dancing, what skills he has, he learned simply from being in plays and musicals. We came really late to this process, and I mean really, really late. Aside from being in plays, choir, and musicals in HS, there has been no focus on MT, only academics. By the end of his junior year, S was thinking he would double major in theater and psychology, sing in an a cappella group and take a pre-med track. It wasnât until June 2016, after attending International Thespian Festival and performing a musical theatre song for national adjudication, that he had this epiphany to major in musical theatre. So, we spent the summer preparing and researchingâŠ
Applied to: 13 audition schoolsâCCM, CMU, UMich, Ithaca, NYU (Tisch), BoCo, Baldwin Wallace, Point Park, Hartt, James Madison, Wagner, Temple, Rider/Westminster (walk in). And 4 non-audition BA programs Muhlenberg, UVA, Northwestern, and Cornell.
Prescreens: Ithaca (passed), Temple (passed), UMich (rejected), Syracuse (rejected)
Accepted to (in order of receipt): Temple on 1/31 (best and most welcoming audition of all), Rider on 2/16 (wonderful walk-in with warm and repeated follow-ups by email); Wagner on 3/3 (unusual audition conducted in front of 30 other kids, almost all female, but def. a BA program); Muhlenberg on 3/14 (BA program with a non-audition theatre major); Hartt on 3/23 (which was a huge surprise as S woke up sick that morning and had a fever by 10am); Boston Conservatory on 3/31 (the biggest surprise of all since S is not a dancer; this was only his second audition; and he had already been rejected at PPU, Carnegie, CCM, and NYU)
Rejected from: CCM; Ithaca; CMU and Point Park (and this rejection was hard as S was asked for 3 songs and an interested and beaming Zeva Barzell, told him that she could easily see he was able to act from his 3 songs so no monologue was necessary; needles to say the rejection was a very difficult one); NYU and BW (initially WL and another really hard no as he fell in love with the program). Also rejected from NW, Cornell and UVA.
Wait-listed at: James Madison (withdrew), Baldwin Wallace (eventually rejected).
Coach: MCA (but only a very basic package that provided school, song and monologue selection, Shakespeare tutorial, and monologue cuts/prep). Yes, heâs VERY untrained compared to most, but we just didnât want to pay for the full package knowing the thousands of dollars auditions and applications would cost. Looking back on this process, I think that given his lack of dance skills and unique non-MT voice, no amount of additional coaching would have made him a viable candidate for Michigan, CCM, and CMU. I do think a massive amount of additional training and coaching certainly would have helped him at JMU, Ithaca, BW, and NYU though. The coaching was invaluable for choosing songs, monologues and schools. However, spending thousands more on coaching did not seem wise to me then, and it still doesnât given our great results. Although, if you have it to spend, I can guarantee it will help. My Sâs first three auditions were more of a learning experience than an audition experience IMHO.
Summer Programs: None.
To be continuedâŠ
âŠcontinued
Background: Audition season began with audition at James Madison in Virginia. His JMU audition in November was a wonderful and fun audition day. Kate Arecchi, gave my S (who was terrified and completely unpolished) some critical redirects and coached him through the process with care and kindness. It is a truly wonderful school (a BA program that looks and feels like a conservatory program in a traditional campus setting and with brand new facilities) that should be on more peopleâs radar in my opinion. So armed with his JMU re-directs he went on to Boston Conservatory and was re-directed again, this time on a post-war monologue. According to my S this was the best 15 seconds of coaching he has ever received, and it totally changed the way he acted that piece, making it less over-articulated and less over-acted and more humorous and conversational. Eventually, that post-war piece became his most interesting and strongest monologue. His third audition was at NYU, where the vocal auditor also gave some excellent advice (albeit in a super-rude manner). Everything became a bit sharper and more professional after those three schools. S never again got re-directs or suggestions. Eternal thanks to the auditors who made those suggestions and re-directs, and a warning to other talented, but untrained kids to use the first couple auditions as warm-ups or to hire a coach to train the crap out of your kid all summer long.
My S felt he nailed the auditions at three schools: Temple, Rider and Point Park. At those three schools, he was warmly received with laughs, beaming faces, and hearty congratulations on his vocal talent, acting and GPA, and so he was a bit surprised when he was rejected at PPU, but it goes to show that you cannot predict outcomes by what happens in the audition room. Ithaca was absolutely his worst audition experience as he was greeted with stone-face glares that never let up and totally unnerved himâno surprise when he did not get in. Given how unpolished his first three auditions were, and the need for re-directs, we kind of wrote off JMU, BoCo, and NYU. The rest of the auditions were somewhere in the middle and hard to interpret, so we waited. Which if you look back at the posts on the Venting 2021 thread from March 2-28th you will get a hint as to how difficult it is to wait. By BW (his last audition) we were both sick with bronchitis and sinus infections and S had horrible audition fatigue. It is very hard to keep up that energy through late February, much less March. Audition fatigue. It is a real thing.
Results: Ithaca and CCM were very quick rejections. Temple, Rider, and Wagner were very quick acceptances. They also all came in with HUGE merit/talent scholarships, so S entered Marchâs waiting season with three solid acceptances in his pocket, and a sense that he belongs in the MT undergraduate field and would continue to get more acceptances. The waiting was horrible for me, but S was so busy catching up in classes, going to SETC, participating in plays and musicals and senior projects that he didnât really seem to be bothered too much until the last two weeks of March when he still had 6 schools left. This was hard, especially as multiple rejections and WL started to roll in. And these rejections hit him hard. Everyone locally was shocked at the string of rejections he received since everyone around here thinks he completely awesome.
Which brings up my pet peeve throughout this process: local drama teachers, vocal teachers, friends, etc. know nothing of this process and the level of competition. My child with the unique voice and no training vied for these coveted spots against thousands of all of these amazing kids who are double or triple threats, have been on Broadway, have been dancing and/or singing since elementary school, have taken gap years to train and refocus, have been coached for years by people who really know what they are doing, and are otherwise just naturally and insanely talented. We honestly had no idea of the talent that was out there, and since my S just has always found great local and regional success without much effort, we entered this process thinking that it would be a top 10 school or bust. Until Harttâs acceptance came through, my S was fairly dejected (even with the Rider and Temple acceptances). With only one school left on the last day of March, and with no clear winners at all, Boston Conservatory came through with their offer (and de minimus scholarship).
Decision: My S visited Rider, Temple, Hartt and BoCo, and even though BoCo has the best reputation, it is a conservatory program without a supporting university; itâs in a busy urban area with a bizarre housing situation; and it comes with huge price tag (which we can handle, but ugh). He really wanted to carefully evaluate each. My S does not make any decision lightly and this is a huuuuuge decision, so we spent more time and $$$ looking at his top 4 schools. He had two clear favorites (Rider and BoCo) after the visits but could not pull the trigger because he kept thinking about what ifs while waiting for the BW decision.
After getting the BW rejection in late April, he was finally able to make a decision. We spent time thinking deeply about the financial, location, curricular and vibe differences. What it came down to was that we have the money to pay for BoCo, and S feels that BoCoâs curriclulm, professors, training, attention to physical, nutritional and mental health (massages and physical therapy are included in cost of tuition), not to mention location, reputation, and professional placement record, warranted spending the extra funds. So final decision isâŠThe Boston Conservatory.
This journey was so much harder than we expected it to be, and we both continue to be stunned at how absolutely talented everyone is. This process was more expensive, more administratively challenging, more physically demanding, more mentally draining, and more bone-dragging exhausting than we ever could have imagined. Talking to all of you, particularly in March when it was nail biting time, was so comforting and helpful. I hope after all of this, my S finds a happy home at BoCo, because I never want to do this againâŠNow it is time to lose all the worry weight I put on during this process. Again, thank you to all for answering my questions, listening to my worries when your worries were plaguing you, and just for letting me read your comments. Hope all of your children land in a good place.
Excited to see all these BoCo decisions! D knows several kids there who love it and has another guy friend headed there in the fall!
I love reading all of your Final Decisions! Keep them coming!! ;))
Congratulations @MomofMTBoy! It is quite a grind. You are 110% correct about many âlocal onlyâ directors, teachers, and voice coaches. They often do NOT have a handle on the competitiveness of the process. Even the most talented kids are likely to receive some (usually multiple) rejections. It is also difficult to describe the process to friends and family! You came out on the other side 
So awesome to hear all these stories! I hope that the class of 2022 learns from all of the wide ranging experiences here! Weâll have a story to share soonâŠ
congratulations @MomofMTBoy here I am thinking that the Boys have it easier than the girls. Boco is a great choice and school the training is excellent and Boston is the best college town. A local mom just asked me to give her the ropes for her daughter a upcoming senior I told her if you can hire a national coach full package. This mother has the âlocal onlyâ mentality right now with all the teachers telling her you donât need to go that route. Again I never knew how competitive this process was on a national level I do believe that the school will find you! Great story!!!
While I completely understand that coaching can lift some of the burden - I always feel compelled to comment (for people who may be reading/researching later - that it is NOT necessary. I know kids my D has done theater with who have gotten into (no particular order): NYU, Syracuse, Otterbein, CCM, Ithaca, BoCo, BW, Michigan, Marymount, Wagner, Emerson, Indiana and Wright State - in the last 4 years, all without a coach. I also know kids who have used coaches who have gotten into some of those same programs. Like I said, I am sure it could help with stress, (though I am certain there is really no way around a certain level of stress in this process) but it is NOT required
@MomofMTBoy That is a great report! I am happy for you and your son. Lots of good information you have shared. Just for the newer families: I think that it is very unusual to get coaching in the audition room from a college auditor. Usually there is no feedback at all. Occasionally what they call an âadjustmentâ. Your son was very lucky in that regard and I am sure the coaching from a college is the most valuable of all. Especially early on. But I am very sorry that the NYU person was rude. There is really no excuse for that. What our kids are doing is brave! But I agree with @toowonderful that there are kids with no coaching from an outside college audition coach who do just fine in the process. Your choices certainly worked well for you. Congratulations!
As mom to a junior S who will be starting the application process over the summer, I have been living to read these stories every day. Thanks to all of you for sharing your journeys. They have helped me understand what life will be like for the next 12 months and have grounded me in the sobering reality of the process.
And some who use coaches get into very few schools. It certainly can help build confidence and add knowledge but a coach wonât get you in guaranteed.
No question a coach is not a necessity. Neither of my first two kids used ones and both had acceptances and rejections. The point is not to run out and get a national coach but to be wary of relying on the advice of local drama teachers/voice coaches/advisers, etc. who have no experience in this process. We heard and still hear things like âyour kid is talented and wonât have ANY PROBLEM getting into a programâ and âyou should only focus on 5-7 schools in the application cycleâ. Not great advice as those who have been through the process can attest - particularly with girls!
Wow, @MomofMTBoy, great story! Iâm thrilled my D will be in the same class as your S at BoCo because he is obviously a thoughtful kid. I agree with everything you wrote about local perceptions. We went with professional coaching not so much because we were intimidated by the process but because my D knew she needed additional artistic training, and they were able to offer it on a schedule and with a level of insight into the process that were going to be critical for her. If she had been training in all three disciplines for a longer period of time, we might not have gone that route, as I did feel we could handle compiling a balanced list of schools and keeping track of the administrative end of it. Itâs a personal family choice. The main thing is to understand itâs going to be hard, and to stay on top of all the moving parts. That said, we are deeply grateful to my Dâs coaches who were far more personally invested and, well, KIND, than I would have expected going in.