A coach (a good one) is a guide and an aid, but is not a guarantee. I would use one if you can afford it though. The process is so much smoother/easier if you do. And I don’t mean easy in the sense of admission, I mean in stress for the family. Talent matters and so does what a particular school is looking for. So yes, you can do it on your own. Just be sure to cast a wide net with a variety of schools.
I can’t imagine having gone through this without MTCA’s guidance. The help with the monologue choices was invaluable and the support network via the Parent FB page is also a big perk.
I finally posted my D’s final decision so if you’re interested it’s in the Theater Drama forum
@marg928 it’s about time! 
I had read from former years parents saying they wished they has used a coach. So I went ahead and got one for my daughter (Mary Ann Dennard) (Moo Crew) I can tell you we could not have done it alone. There is just so much to know and the competition if fierce. Having her available to guide us was very valuable. She met with my daughter and picked out wonderful monologues for her. It also helps that she is at Moonifieds and Unifieds should you need immediate attention. I just feel that MT has gotten way too competitive and if you can swing it I think it helps.
Us too! @speezagmom
D applied to: UMich, CMU, Emerson, Pace, Syracuse, Wagner, UArizona, AmericanU, NYU
Prescreens: UMich, Pace, Syracuse (Passed all)
Wait-listed at: Pace, UArizona (All academically accepted w/ Honor scholarships)
Accepted to: Emerson (BFA MT), Wagner (BA MT), AmericanU (BA MT)
Coach: None
Summer Program: Emerson Pre-College
Final Decision: EMERSON!!!
@lulugeorgan that’s a great example of success without a coach, well done! Emerson is on my daughter’s list, but I recently noticed they require applicants to have 3 years of foreign language and daughter only has two, so I am guessing she needn’t even bother applying. She currently has a list of 25 schools and clearly must narrow it down. American, Muhlenberg and Rider are definites.
@collegemom2000 Thank you! 3 yrs foreign language is just a recommended requirement. I think your D should still apply Emerson. Good luck!
@lulugeorgan oh, are you sure? I thought they said 3 required. I’ll dig a little deeper, thanks and congrats again!
@collegemom2000 Thanks! Check school Addmission directly. Wish your D every success in this crazy process.
I don’t post often, but I have to say - this process was so much more demanding (physically and monetarily), exhausting, exhilarating, and absolutely all encompassing that I ever imagined it would be a year ago. I also do not know what we would have done with out the coaching staff at MTCA. We were a little skeptical when we first heard about them, having hired a coach for my son’s college search 4 years ago (he’s an athlete, not an MT) and getting swindled out of $3K. We thoroughly researched MTCA and read all the glowing reviews and finally took the plunge. SO GLAD we did. Anyone out there looking to start this journey - CALL THEM. You won’t regret it.
OK - PSA over.
I have been relatively quiet on here through this process. But, I gained so much from CC and wanted to share my D’s journey for future parents. National coaches are pricy and you can do this without them. This entire process is already so expensive and so are many many of the college MT programs. Most of these kids already have the expense of local dance, voice, and acting lessons (including my own).
So here is the story of my D’s adventure…
Applied: SIU, Wright State, Belmont, Baldwin Wallace, CCM, NKU, Otterbein, U of Michigan, Florida State, OCU, Texas State, Montclair
Prescreens: passed all required
Accepted to all academically.
Accepted for MT: Otterbein, OCU(MT and VP), Wright State, Belmont, NKU, SIU
Rejection/Redirection: Florida State, U of Michigan, Montclair
Wait-listed at: Baldwin Wallace (redirected on 3/29), Texas State (redirected end of April), CCM (released 4/28)
Coach: Local only
Summer Programs: Interlochen Arts Camp 6 week MT. Governor’s School for the Arts
My D performed in her first musical in 2nd grade. Around 8th grade she began really auditioning for school, community, and regional musicals with nice success. She started training with private voice and acting lessons as a sophomore. She fit dance in where she could. Her voice is very much her natural strength. She knows several talented friends who traveled this BFA MT audition road in previous years and knew it would be tough to get even one acceptance. She also knew we needed to look at schools that offered great scholarships and instate tuition to out of state students. She decided to do all on campus auditions. She chose 12 MT schools and 1 Music Ed. safety at a school where she received a full tuition scholarship.
She started her auditions in late October and wrapped up all 13 by Feb. 25. By Christmas she had 3 MT acceptances, one hold, and one wait list. She was on the waitlist for Texas State and CCM until the very end of April. This made making a decision tough. She was deciding between Wright, OCU, and Otterbein. However, she attended a visit day at Otterbein and immediately said it was not the program for her. Wonderful program, she just didn’t feel it fit her personality. She was also concerned about the larger class sizes at OCU and the very heavy voice component when that is already her strength and she feels she needs more acting. Again, wonderful program.
In the end, she wanted a program that fit her needs at a price that would leave her debt free, and that boiled down to WRIGHT STATE. They were excellent with communication, she loved the faculty, and she loved the theatre facilities. She visited Wright in the spring of her Junior year and sat in on MT classes. She came out so inspired and excited. Wright State made her feel very wanted and she felt she would really thrive in their environment. Their class size was exactly what she was looking for and the strong acting component was important to her. She felt she would receive excellent training and be in the best possible position to start her career as a professional auditioner in 4 years. GO RAIDERS!
Congrats to you and your D, @lynwvr1233 ! Wright State sounds like the perfect fit, and it sounds like your D did a stellar job of weighing what was important to her.
@bfahopeful Isn’t that the truth! The coach will ‘coach’, advise, help you with your look, song and monologue selection, and all that. But in the end, the actual audition is the key to getting in! I know a very talented girl who used a coach, and it didn’t turn out well in the end (for MT, but ended up in a vocal performance program).
I am enjoying this thread (and hope to contribute something to next year’s version). It’s absolutely wacky when you see who gets in to one school, but not to others. I hate to use the term ‘crap shoot’, but wow. It’s so hard to get a read on any method to their madness!
The conversation about local perceptions is very intriguing to me, especially since I have no idea where most of you live. Trying to figure it all out based on your/your child’s application locations, but many are scattered throughout! For us, ‘local’ is where a lot of kids aspire to be, with coaches and teachers that (presumably) know a thing or two about this
I have a question: I see the term re-direct used here (and in a few other threads). Can someone clarify what that means? Here, it seems to indicate that the adjudicator is giving them notes and letting them try again. But I saw it used in another thread, regarding acceptance vs. rejection vs. wait-listed? I might be incorrect, but just wondering.
@toowonderful Thank you for reiterating this. I really don’t want to spend any more money than necessary. Both my D and I are researching the hell out of the process, she has friends who’ve been through it, she’s working her butt off in school (PA HS) and in private lessons, workshops, and doing a summer intensive (and test prep- all costing $$). However, both of us no this is not a guarantee for admission. But hey, we need to save some $$ for tuition, don’t we?
@DramaQueen219 - when schools redirect they offer you a different major than what you originally applied for -perhaps BFA acting instead of MT- which many people take if they really love the school(happens at CMU a lot). But a Redirect might shift also shift kid towards a BA rather than BFA, maybe something like “theater studies” instead of performance. Some schools do it, some don’t
Congrats @lynwvr1233! and welcome to the Raiders’ family.
@DramaQueen219 - a word of caution about assuming that local teachers/coaches will understand the MT application/audition process. My S attended a PA HS within spitting distance of a “tippy top” MT college program. As ludicrous as it sounds, his HS teachers and counselors were clueless about the competitiveness of today’s MT college process. The counselor at the time was particularly unknowledgeable about the accelerated timeline for the applications. Many of his classmates who relied on their school training and guidance had less-than-preferred outcomes. Even some of S’s local coaches - some of whom trained/taught at above-mentioned tippy top school - did not understand what was really going on for the year(s) before the student walked into the audition room. I’m not saying a national coach is a necessity, but unless your kid’s coaches/teachers/counselors are holding the hands of current students going through the process successfully (within the last two years), I’d be sure to do a lot of my own research. A parent willing to take on the part time job of learning this landscape - or a super-driven HS student - can navigate this w/o “professional” help, it just takes time and willingness to dig deeper than local “hearsay”. Perhaps the local professionals are knowledgeable and highly connected to the pipeline as it exists in the here and now. Just be sure the parent/student knows enough to be able to trust their guidance.
Word of caution to those starting the audition and application process this fall… DO NOT depend on the guidance counselor at school to know about MT admissions. With rare exceptions they do not know about the timeline and the insane amount of schools you have to apply to. They will look at you as if you have two heads. If you have local people who kinda have their foot in the college mt app process then that’s great but if not a coach or another resource might be what you need. We had some local people who knew about the mt college process but that is hard to find.
You will really need to sit down w/ your kid THIS SUMMER & say " here’s the skinny we have got to stay ahead of this or it will get out of control" you just really have to get moving in August. As much as your kid will RESIST this… early applications are key and will save your sanity in November… and really it’s about your sanity , not your kid’s! Your whole family will be in upheaval if you wait because you have to schedule the auditions if you’re not doing them all at Unifieds. Don’t forget you will be working against winter weather, illness, work schedules… it’s a trifecta of mess.
Most important … & I say this nicely and with respect… your kid is NOT as good as everyone says they are… well for the most part… unless they could replace Idina Menzel or Corey Cott in any given afternoon … they are not going to get in everywhere… it’s not going to happen… IGNORE anyone telling you this. The well meaning voice teacher, the drama teacher who’s had your kid in shows since elementary school…your in laws, the “Broadway veteran” you know from social circles… BLOCK THEM OUT… smile and say “aw gee thank you” and remember that your kid will get in somewhere or even a few places if you craft a reasonable list with lots of options…
Oh and burn the list you just printed of “top 10 MT colleges”…read it once, pull a few and don’t read it again! And when a well meaning friend tags you in every list and article on FB just smile , wave and move on!