Congratulations to your D @dramamama3 ! Syracuse has an amazing BFA program - the Syracuse actors from my D’s year seem to be in heaven there. And how great that she gets to combine that training with the traditional college experience she really wanted. Beyond happy for her!!!
Congrats @rickle1 and @dramamama3 ! So great to hear your kids’ stories and how they’ve landed in exactly the right place for them.
Great story, @TheatreDad69! Congratulations!
Congratulations, @rickle1!
@dramamama3 – congratulations! Your D nailed it!
Congratulations @dramamama3 ! Best of luck to your D! Great story!
@rickle1 glad you posted, congrats!!
@dramamama3 congrats each story is so unique thats what makes it great- im jealous with only 3 applications 
!!
@dramamama3 Congrats!!! What a wonderful program to get into! I know she is excited!!!
Congratulations @dramamama3 ! Sounds like your D landed exactly where she was meant to be!
And Congratulations @rickle1 !! So very happy for your D and as I mentioned before, Welcome to the Molloy/CAP21 Family!! 
Programs Applied to:
UCI (Irvine) - Drama (BA) with option to audition for Musical Theatre (BFA) once in program
UCSD (San Diego) - Theatre (BA)
UCLA - Musical Theatre (BA) - audition required for admissions
CSULB (Long Beach) - Theatre Arts (BA) with option to audition for Performance (BFA) once in program
*CSUN (Cal State Northridge) - Theatre (BA) with Musical Theatre minor option *safety school
Prescreens: None
Accepted to: CSUN, CSULB
Rejected from: UCI, UCSD, UCLA
Coach: None
Summer Programs: None
Background: Our story is a bit simple and definitely very different from the path most traveled.
My daughter has been a singer since she was two years old. She was always performing for people in grocery stores or at restaurants, even if they did not request it. So, she is definitely a singer first. She was in her first musical in elementary school with a community theatre group and was in the ensemble. She did a few more shows up through middle school and was always in the ensemble. She also was cast in a few minor roles with solos but never as a lead.
With the start of high school, at a performance arts school, she actually became more involved with the music composition side of things and joined her first rock band as the lead singer. This took her away from theatre for a while and seemed to be more of her passion and focus. In her junior year, she finally joined choir and drama/musical theatre. She was cast as one of the leads in the spring musical and loved every minute of it. She also did her first drama performance, a Shakespeare play, and really enjoyed that. The summer after junior year, she was cast as a lead again in a show with a community theater group.
On a whim, she auditioned for performance jobs at Legoland and was cast as the female lead with singing and dancing involved. She could not believe she was getting paid to do the things she loves! So, she finally decided she did want to go to college for theatre and get the training she has never received.
We moved from the East coast to the West coast while she was in middle school and as she finally feels like this is home, she did not want to go out of state for college. This, and our budget, really limited the schools on her list. She was open to either Musical Theatre or Acting and actually wanted a BA so she could add a minor and study abroad.
Her GPA is 3.95 and SAT is 1310 which is pretty good, but not great for the University of California system. (I decided to add this part to our story because it does come into play if others go this route.) However, she still applied to UCI and UCSD since she was in the range for her major. She also applied to UCLA because, why not, and this one required an audition which is actually weighed heavier than stats (as long as you have at least the minimum). She applied to CSULB as a match school because when we visited she just loved the vibe. We did a self-guided tour and just happened to bump into a staff member who showed us all of the theatre facilities and backstage areas.
We were not surprised when she did not get admitted to her reaches, all three UCs, or when she was admitted to both Cal States.
I think her journey and where she has ended up is definitely a match for her. She never had any dance or voice lessons and also had no coach for this process. She loves to figure out things on her own and has always marched to the beat of a different drummer. But, she is also super excited to actually have classes geared towards acting and plans to add dance as electives and music as a minor to get piano classes and voice lessons. She really wants to explore all options to becoming a performer - theatre, film, TV, music. Even now as I write this she is in her room learning a guitar solo on her electric guitar for a rock song she loves. So, she plans to put together a band while in college and the urban setting of Long Beach really lends itself to this path too.
Final Decision: CSULB - Go Beach!
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@MommaCat - I hope your daughter enjoys her adventure at college!! Putting a band together sounds like a great goal!
@MommaCat - she will love it. Long Beach is a great campus and I love the area. They just started their BFA program so she’ll have a chance to get in on the ground floor … but I think it sounds like she might stay BA with all of her other interests. SO Happy for her that she found an affordable “great fit” school - congratulations to you all!
Very cool, @MommaCat – congratulations!
@CaMom13 thank you so much . It is good to hear that actor’s from your D’s year like Syracuse !
@tsamuique @Loganator @NYYFanNowMTdad @onette @JavaJo @modanbsmt001 Thank you. When we first started researching I had no idea she would only apply to 3 schools. What made the difference is the safety that she loved and actually preferred over several programs.
@rickle1 Congrats again and welcome to the Molloy/Cap21 family. I am sure your D will find a much more nurturing environment while working hard!
@dramamama3 Congrats on Syracuse. Glad she was able to get her first choice and you were able to navigate this process. Yea to a safety you love! My D had one of those as well.
@MommaCat So glad your D found her home even if it was through her own path! Hope college is all she wants and more!
@MommaCat - congrats; CSULB sounds like a gem, and so does your D!
@MommaCat - congratulations to your D! And thank you for sharing your story! I love hearing all the different journeys and paths our performing arts kids take! There is not just one way to do this - so thank you for sharing your journey to help the next year’s group realize that each journey is unique!
Thank you all for your congrats! I am so excited for my D and all the other kids on this journey. I hope we all give updates as the journey continues as it will be so much fun to hear the stories.