@DramaQueen219 Thank you, will be waiting to see where you all land!
@"#booknerdmom" I’m still waiting too :))
Hi MT Family! I created a thread so that we can see a glance of where everyone landed - by college only. Check it out!
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/2078282-decision-day-for-mt-class-of-2022-final-decisions-by-college-only-p1.html?new=1
@jenniferm1973, congratulations on a final decision!
I guess it’s our turn now. 
D started doing theatre when she was 8 years old in a little homeschool group. She was the narrator for a modernized version of the Three Little Pigs. 
After about a year in that program, we found a local theatre company with an attached school and she started doing shows with them. She occasionally took voice lessons from the director (a trained opera singer) and off and on from a couple of other local teachers. No formal dance, voice, or acting training other than what she did in her high school theatre and choir programs. With that said, she is aware that she has some gaps in her training she needs to fill and was looking for a program that could best help her do that.
Programs Applied to: OU, Univ of Central OK, CCPA, Wright State, Baldwin-Wallace, Ohio Northern, Point Park, U of Miami, U of Tampa, Marymount Manhattan, CAP21, Hartt, Montclair, James Madison, Univ of Arizona, Ball State, Coastal Carolina, Viterbo, LIU Post
Prescreens: OU, Coastal Carolina (passed neither)
Accepted to: Central Oklahoma, Ohio Northern, U of Tampa, LIU Post, Viterbo (redirect to BFA Acting), and CAP21 off waitlist
Rejected from: all the others
Wait-listed at: CAP21, accepted third week of April
Coach: Mary Anna Dennard, College Audition Coach - can’t really say enough good things about Moo. She and her team were able to help D put together an audition package and a list that worked well for her. They were a wonderful source of advice and support through this crazy process with nothing but encouragement. Moonified auditions were a terrific experience and allowed D to have two early admissions which really took the pressure off through this process. I would absolutely have D use them again if we had to do it over. We’d just get started earlier with Moo - by spring break of junior year would have been ideal.
Summer Programs: Just some local shows.
Final Decision: By mid-March, D had her 5 acceptances and a waitlist. She narrowed it down to her top two and we scheduled visits. First was Ohio Northern. She had auditioned for ONU at Moonifieds, and the day after her audition we were in the elevator. She was wearing sweats and no make up, hair up in a messy bun. The ONU auditors stepped on the elevator and their faces lit up. They called her by name, introduced themselves to me, and chatted with us during the ride. As you can imagine, this made Mom very happy. So I was as exctied about this school as she was. On her visit, she met with the head of acting, sat in on a couple of classes, had lunch with several of the MT kids, and went to a rehearsal for Sweet Charity (terrific!)
On Monday morning after her visit to ONU, she was heading out the door to school and told me to cancel the trip to visit LIU. She was going to ONU. She just knew she fit there.
But wait.
I cancelled flights and hotel. Then she came home from school that afternoon with a big smile on her face. CAP21 had accepted her off the waitlist. So I rebooked the same flights and same hotel (for about double the price) and we headed to New York. We got to see the very talented graduating students perform in their senior showcase (so impressive!). We toured Molloy college and then commuted to the Manhattan studios the same way the CAP students do. We got to tour the beaufiful new studios and she sat in on a class. Rebecca was a wonderful host and made sure D had all the information possible to make the very best decision for her. (We also went to see Once on This Island and shopped for prom shoes so it was a GREAT trip!)
Back home, D had a very clear idea of what she wanted in a program, but sat on it for a few days to be sure of her choice. By Friday she knew for certain which program fit the bill.
Final decision - Ohio Northern University - Go Polar Bears!
As much as she truly loved CAP21, there was just something that clicked for her at ONU. She knew it was home. Her very first acceptance was her final decsion. (If we’d have known that we sure could have saved a lot of money, time, and AP Stats grades! HA!)
Anyhoo - thank you to everyone who has shared their experiences here - truly you are a wonderful group. To all of your amazingly talented children on this journey - Break a Leg!
@BassTheatreMom One of D’s friends will be a senior next year at ONU and LOVES it! Congrats on your decision!
@BassTheatreMom - Wow! If prom shoes didn’t make her choose the NY option, then Northern Ohio must be incredibly special!
@BassTheatreMom - That’s so wonderful! I love how sure your D was after visiting both schools - it truly is all about fit. Congratulations to you both!!!
@BassTheatreMom Congratulations!!! ONU is a special place! This was our D’s first audition, first acceptance and final decision too. If only we had known!!
Please let me know if you have any questions and let’s keep in touch!
Go Polar Bears!!
Shout out to everyone on CC who has posted in the last ten years. We have lived and learned through your stories. Hope ours is helpful to someone down the road.
D attends a PA high school and did community theatre since elementary school. Has friends training across the country and older siblings in college. There was some familiarity with the process going in. Started in dining room last summer with a giant poster of potential schools on the wall. This list got narrowed down to a still enormous spreadsheet. While crafting audition material and filming pre-screens the list got trimmer. D wanted to attend Chicago Unifieds. Many campus-only auditions got cut. She focused on curriculum and I contributed my best guesses at financially plausible institutions. More cuts. We both questioned the wisdom of proceeding without a coach. The idea just never felt comfortable.
The first thing I did in July was make hotel reservations at the Palmer House and get plane tickets. (We changed those a dozen times. I do love Southwest.) Got headshots taken in August and printed at Actors Photo Lab. Prescreens were filmed at the accompanist’s home and at school during lunch by friends in early fall. D put the whole thing together and I’ve only seen bits and pieces. Applications done by the end of October all on her end. Well, I paid for them and helped with some calendaring. D-box and G-Docs were our friends. I’d get notifications all day that there were changes being made to the To-Do List or whether she accepted my “suggestion to edit” or not. Valuable learning experiences coming at us from all angles. Sounds rosier than it actually was as I read this. I reiterated at the time that what she was doing is hard. Really, REALLY hard.
The list eventually became this: Baldwin Wallace (non- audition BA Theatre with Dance), Ball State, Coastal Carolina (both MT and Physical Theatre programs), De Paul, Emerson, Missouri State, Montclair, OCU, Otterbein (MT with Dance), Point Park, Roosevelt/CCPA (MT Dance), Temple, Texas State (both BFA MT and Acting), University of Alabama-Birmingham, CCM, Webster, Wright State.
Passed all prescreens except De Paul.
Academically accepted everywhere that separated them from artistic decisions. Those big envelopes in the mail are pretty great. Her safety schools, BA programs at Baldwin Wallace and Texas State, bore good news. This gave her two choices that were different- a large state school and a small far away, private campus. Thought this would be helpful, but as the process drew on she realized she wouldn’t be happy in the shadow of a prominent program.
Canceled two auditions and re-scheduled another in January. Nerves? Maybe. Rehearsals for a major production added more stress to the mix. Never auditioned for Wright State. Almost made it to OCU but decided she didn’t want a BM. Moved Missouri State on campus audition to NYC in mid March. She was more at ease, but changes to a plan make me a wreck.
However, Unifieds was a blast! Loved the Palmer House, caught a Second City show with friends, shopped a wee bit, ate a way lot. Wish I could hug the woman sitting in the executive lounge sipping coffee who casually remarked, “Great audition outfit!” as we boarded the elevator. That was a compliment that carried D for days. We tried to pay it forward. It was a game changer.
Ball State: Still on the waitlist and keeping it there just out of curiosity. Have never been to Indiana.
Coastal Carolina: Accepted into the BFA Physical Theatre program. Interviewers thoroughly examined resume. D had second thoughts about studying something so specific this early in her training. But a year in Italy… hard to let that go.
Emerson: No
Missouri State: Reluctantly took her name of the waitlist in April. Enjoyed her late audition in NYC immensely. Genuinely engaged faculty. She could see herself with these people. Robert Westenberg is an excellent communicator.
Montclair: Socks first then the rejection.
Otterbein: Thought this was The One last summer. Ticked all her boxes: small cohort, strong dance, cozy campus, solid reputation. We even visited on our way to another Ohio audition. The rejection stung.
Point Park: Nope
Roosevelt/CCPA: Accepted into Musical Theatre with Dance Concentration. Big WOW moment in the house. Study in Chicago? Live in a gorgeous high rise dorm? Hardest dance call she’s ever had. Everyone kind, but not exactly personable. In the end, it simply cost too much.
Temple: Very quick and encouraging acceptance! D enjoyed the audition and dance call very much. A surprise Unifieds take-away. We visited during spring break. She liked the people, but missed a more traditional campus. The lack of green space took her aback. Truly felt honored to be accepted, and it was a difficult decline to send. Philly would have offered superior business connections.
Texas State: Thought her campus audition was solid. Highly complimentary panel of auditioners who knew her by name from the new NEXUS Summer Musical Theatre Intensive she attended last year. 20 minutes from home would have been nice. Kaitlin softened the “no” with a very personal email.
University of Alabama- Birmingham: The most eager team of auditioners in the game. From the homemade cookies at the audition to the phone call with an acceptance before we even got home from Unifieds, these guys make you feel appreciated. D considered the offer heavily, but yearned for a more established program.
CCM: Why not? No acceptance, but also no regrets attending an on campus audition. World class facilities, straightforward process, good opportunity to show your stuff in a hard core environment. D looked braver and stronger than I’ve ever seen her.
Webster: Wasn’t even on initial wall in the dining room. Don’t know when it made it on the list. Possibly a call-back at a November regional audition? In Chicago D left audition stone faced. Good? Bad? I couldn’t tell. Back in the room she beamed and said it went great! She loved them, they loved her. She asked good questions. They listened and answered earnestly. Respected university based conservatory that has a small cohort, intense training, professional collaborators, fabulous faculty, and excellent financial aid in a globally minded community.
Final decision: Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University! Haven’t even seen it yet. (Yikes!) Took awhile for the fit to sink in. D proceeded with caution and much scrutiny. She has talked with former students, current students, and faculty. I’ve spoken with parents of graduates. We’ve google mapped Webster Groves it to death. In the end, it ticked boxes we hadn’t even thought of. Tickled to be in St Louis and have more surprises ahead.
Random Thoughts: Do not attempt this process alone. Again, it is beyond complicated. Surround yourself with a team of advisors, either a paid coach or friends/teachers in-the-know. Do attend summer intensives on college campuses. This confirmed D’s desire to pursue MT, know she had what it takes, and time to get a feel for the college vibe. She also garnered new material, and even more importantly, new friends. Do have an organized notebook of schools at Unifieds. Happy to share what we did in a PM. Do remember, ceaselessly, that the entire process is difficult and that self care is a must the whole year through. Do give others compliments. It does your heart good.
Congratulations @PaperTrope !!
Webster is a fantastic school! So happy for you all!
Great story @PaperTrope So true about the compliments. Especially at Unifieds when nerves are so rattled. Congrats to your D!
Background: I always knew my D loved to sing, dance and act from a young age but we never really recognized her talent until her Middle School Music Teacher suggested she audition for the school musical. She continued to perform in middle school and auditioned for a performing arts high school for both Chorus and Musical Theatre. She got into both Programs but chose Musical Theatre. She has had an amazing four years of performances that have helped prepare her for college and beyond. She has no outside training and we did not use a coach.
We auditioned for 10 schools at NYC Unifieds and it was exhausting. She did Pace and Ithaca on Friday, Monclair, Boston Conservatory, Roosevelt, and Point Park on Saturday, Syracuse, Rider and Penn State on Sunday and Carnegie on Monday. She auditioned on campus for U of Tampa in October, Elon in November, Florida Southern in January, U of Michigan in February and U of Central Florida in March.
Programs Applied to: All BFA MT programs, Elon, U of Tampa, Florida State, Florida Southern, U of Central Florida, Montclair, U of Michigan, Pace University, Rider, Penn State, Syracuse, Ithaca, Point Park, Boston Conservatory, Roosevelt, and Carnegie.
Prescreens: passed all except Florida State
Accepted to: 5 schools
U of Tampa before Thanksgiving, Elon before Christmas, Florida Southern-end of January, Rider and Ithaca-mid February
She was accepted academically to all schools that allowed it
Rejected from: After a very successful start, my D received 10 rejections in a two week span in March.
Wait-listed at: none
Coach:none
Summer Programs: Pace Summer Scholar 2017, this was the only No that truly got to her. She loved Pace and NYC
Final Decision: Ithaca College
Congrats, @mandidnam! The only no that really got to my D was Pace as well, as she’d done the summer program there, too. But now she’s a super happy sophomore (or, I guess junior, as she had her last class last week) at Point Park. I’m sure your daughter will be happy at Ithaca, too. It’s a great program.
Thank you @CTDramaMom! Glad your D loves Point Park.
Congrats to your daughter @mandidnam- my daughter was at Pace last summer too, so I’m assuming they know each other. She is a rising senior so we still have to go through this whole bit of madness next year, but that is the worst part of the summer programs IMO. My daughter also fell in love with Pace and it’s been at the top of her list since summer scholars wrapped. This year she will attend S.T.A.T.E @ Penn and I’m assuming the same thing will happen. It’s a testament to how well they run these programs but at the same time bittersweet to see them love it so much b/c of how low the odds are that they will be able to attend at the college level.
@PaperTrope - Wow! You went back 10 years on cc? Your D is lucky to have you! Sounds like you work well as a team. Glad she landed well!!!
@PaperTrope - can you describe what your D was wearing when she got that compliment? As a mom of a S that went through this, I felt incredibly lucky that there are less options for boys. But I’m curious to know (as I’m sure many next year people are) what the super cool outfit looked like.
@mandidnam - Congratulations! Ithaca is such a great program. It was good that she at least had those acceptances when the rejections started rolling in. Good luck!
@mandidnam - Congratulations on a great decision! My D and yourself both had the same experience of being in the summer program and then rejected from Pace. (Though she since has realized that it was a blessing in disguise - and it would not have been the best place for her!) Ithaca is a wonderful school. I hope our D and mine continue to stay in touch!
Many blessings!!!