Congratulations @AbigCurveBall ! Your d must have incredible natural talent and it sounds like she landed at the perfect place to nurture it! I’m so happy for you guys!
Congratulations @AbigCurveBall ! Great story! It sounds like she is a very driven and talented girl which will certainly be helpful to her in this field. Best of luck to your D at PPU!
Wow @AbigCurveBall totally understand the name now! Kudos to you for supporting your D’s journey, that is NOT easy to do and I know so many kids who’s parents would never do that for them, especially at that point. We have a similar late dive into this pool and know how crazy it all feels! Definitely understand the hoping someone spots/is willing to invest in raw talent and glad there are still programs willing to do that. There are definitely moments where I second guessed that hope during the audition process. Congrats on PP, what a great place to land!
Congrats @AbigCurveBall!
Congratulations, @AbigCurveBall !
Congrats @Daddily and welcome to the Tisch family! Thrilled for your D - I’m so happy she got such validation from so many great schools. That had to have been a huge boost for her after a disappointing high school experience. Thrilled that she’s landed where she always dreamed of going! Thank you so much for sharing your story - I glad for all the details you shared. It will certainly help those going forward!
Congrats, @AbigCurveBall ! So glad you posted your story for us!!
Here goes, but I really can’t believe this process has come to an end. On to the next phase!
MTSthistime S
Programs applied to (all BFA MT, except CMU, NYU and Wagner)): Boston Conservatory, CCM, Carnegie Mellon, Elon, Hartt, Ithaca, James Madison, Marymount Manhattan, Molloy/CAP21, Montclair State, NYU Tisch, Otterbein, Pace, Penn State, Point Park, Rider, Shenandoah, SUNY Fredonia, Syracuse, Temple, UMich, Wagner
Prescreens: BoCo, CCM, CMU, Elon, Emerson, Ithaca, Otterbein, Pace, Penn State, Point Park, Rider, Shenandoah, SUNY Fredonia, Syracuse, Temple, UMich (passed all except Emerson, redirect to Acting, did not apply.)
Withdrew and did not audition at: James Madison, Marymount Manhattan, Molloy/CAP21, Rider, Shenandoah, SUNY Fredonia, Temple, Wagner
Rejected: CCM, CMU, Pace, Penn State, UMich
Waitlisted: NYU Tisch, Point Park
Accepted: BoCo, Hartt, Ithaca, Montclair State, Otterbein, Syracuse, and Elon (a month after initially receiving rejection letter)
Coach: Chelsea Diehl and her team at My College Audition. We love them so much. Also lots of help from his long time dance teacher and his mentor at regional theatre which has been his second home.
Summer programs: None
Background: My son considers himself a dancer first, singer and actor second. We think he is really good at all three but dancing was his first love and it comes the easiest to him. He started dance at age three and theatre at age six and never stopped. He enjoyed his soccer and Boy Scouts but if there was a choice to be made, it was always dance and theatre.
In high school he continued with a local regional theatre and some community theatre, but in school his focus was on academics. He is strong in math and science, and at the end of sophomore year he had decided to major in science or engineering. At the same time, he was working professionally at the regional theatre and after an emotional discussion with his director at the start of junior year, he told us that he was going to major in musical theatre. At that point I started reading everything I could, especially CC, and off we went. We decided to use a coach, and made an appointment with Chelsea Diehl of My College Audition. It was the best decision we could have made. She helped with school lists, song and monologue selection and prep, headshots, prescreen filming, and final decision. She and her team are just so kind and caring, and kept us sane and grounded through it all.
The first weekend in December brought on-campus auditions for Hartt and Boston Conservatory. Both were wonderful experiences and son loved the faculty at both. By the beginning of January his portal at Hartt showed acceptance for MT and a call in mid January was acceptance to BoCo. These early auditions were the key for allowing us to really enjoy the rest of the season, I strongly recommend doing some early auditions. Because he loved those two programs and they were close to home, he canceled eight auditions at that point, leaving him with twelve more to do. We traveled to CCM, Point Park, UMich, and Elon for on campus auditions, did NYU and Pace on campus, CMU at New York Unifieds and Montclair, Syracuse, Ithaca, Penn State and Otterbein at Chicago Unifieds. In most cases, his feelings about the audition were accurate as to his results. Exceptions to that were Montclair, where he didn’t think they liked him and he got accepted, and Pace and Point Park where he thought they really liked him, but which yielded a rejection and a waitlist. The audition he was most surprised about was Ithaca. Because there was no dance call, he thought it wouldn’t be one of his best, because that’s where he always shines, but he really loved it and connected with the auditors. He came out beaming. All in all, Chicago Unifieds was a great experience for him, so much fun with friends, and acceptances to four out of his five auditions there.
So when all was said and done, he had six acceptances, six rejections (that would surprisingly change) and two waitlists. He always felt extremely blessed with his results, but still, a couple of the rejections were really hard because of expectations from mentors he really cared about. He has come to believe he is landing exactly where he should be, but it is definitely harder to get those rejections when expectations are in place. To future students and parents, try not to let that happen! People outside the MT admissions process don’t really understand how crazy it is, and honestly, they probably don’t know which program is going to end up being the perfect fit for your kid.
With Covid19 in the picture, there were new concerns about not being able to ever see some campuses or go to classes, and the decision process was so difficult. He took himself off the NYU waitlist, and released Syracuse, Hartt (very hard because of wonderful Tracey), and then Otterbein and Montclair, both of which he had never seen. It came down to Boston Conservatory and Ithaca, so different in so many ways, but he honestly loved both. He had a great connection with one of the faculty at BoCo, which was playing a big part in his feelings. Finally, though, he had to admit that he was very drawn to Ithaca. He had connected with present students, accepted students and faculty through zoom meetings, and even took some dance classes, and just had that gut feeling that it was the place for him. Then in a last minute surprise, he got an email from Elon that he was now accepted. He was flattered and thought about it for a few minutes, but he already knew where he would be for the next four years.
Final Decision - Ithaca College BFA MT!
We are so happy for him, and praying for all to stay healthy and for college to be able to start this fall. Thanks to everyone for all the great info here on CC. I know the future will be bright for all of our talented kids.
Congrats, @MTSthistime - break a leg to your S!
Love this story @MTSthistime ! He will definitely shine at Ithaca - congratulations to him and Hurrah for a firm final decision. He knew where he wanted to be!
Catching up on this thread today and loving every second of it! Congrats to all of you and your incredible kiddos!
@NYYFanNowMTdad - I let out a Squee when I saw that your post brought back a few memorable OGs. from whom we learned so much.
I want so badly to also pay it forward but my intensely private D has shared very little of her journey on her own and I want to also be respectful of that for her. Still hoping to get something written up for her approval in the interest of helping Class of 2025.
Congratulations @MTSthistime ! Great story! Sounds like he found the perfect fit. Best of luck to your S at Ithaca!
Congratulations @MTSthistime !! Our friends at Ithaca absolutely love it! It’s a great school and I’m sure he will have a wonderful 4 years there!
@MTSthistime CONGRATS, amazing choices you had,. Im sure your son will thrive at Ithaca!!
Hooray for your D @MTSthistime ! Always great to hear from another MCA family, too. I agree that managing expectations (AKA “Avoid going into this process with a dream school”) is key to smoothing out some of the highs and lows of the year. Hope your S has a great experience with Ithaca!
Congrats @MTthistime! Our friend just finished his freshman year in MT at Ithaca and LOVED it! So happy for your S!
Congrats @MTSthistime ! We love MCA too and was the best decision we made last year! Your S had some great acceptances…sorry he couldn’t visit them all. Glad he found his home in Ithaca.
Woo Hoo @AbigCurveBall . So happy for your D. Man that was a ride to start at such a late stage. Am glad she was able to push through to follow her dreams. I agree that time spent with our kids on audition trips are such precious memories! Break a leg at Point Park!
@MTSthistime Your son landed so many really wonderful college options! It seems he found his ideal fit right at the Ithaca audition and I wish him all the best the next four years there. I know several students who have been through the program and loved it. I have a fond spot for Ithaca as it was my kid’s first MT acceptance.
Wow @MTSthistime what great results. Ithaca is in a beautiful area too. Congrats!
Ithaca Forever! Congratulations, @MTSthistime! Be sure to eat at the Moosewood at least once!