<p>I am sure that each school has a different way of "grading" auditions. I cannot imagine how schools that see 300 - 800 auditions can choose 30 to 40. It must be very difficult! </p>
<p>I think that most schools must have some sort of a ranking system for each of the performance areas, and a manner in which they weight the rankings. Depending on the school GPA, Essay, Recommendations, Interview, etc.... probably come into play.</p>
<p>For most schools type and gender probably also comes into the mix.</p>
<p>I can't think of a student of mine who had a great audition and then didn't seem to grow once in the program... but some people are terrific auditioners -- I have had that happen in shows I have been in or directed.</p>
<p>It seems to me (and again I am not an auditioner) that if you are auditioning 1000 kids you need to do something to cut a substantial number from the start. For example, if your chosen few need to be fierce dancers, you may have the dance audition first and then effectively eliminate all the auditionees who don't score a perfect "5" (or whatever the highest score is) and then look to the next category of importance for your program. If that is voice, then that batch of "5" dancers must also be "5" singers to effectively stay in the running. Finally, they will move on to the acting category (in my hypothetical scenerio) and the top ones in that category will be the finalists. Of course the auditionees are unaware of where they stand as the audition progresses because everyone is allowed to complete their entire audition.</p>
<p>After that, depending on the type of program, they may look to grades, type, etc. Just my thoughts...</p>
<p>Given that programs (especially those that audition hundreds of students) must see MANY students that they will not consider for admission, I wonder why they all don't send out "rejection" letters quickly to those students so they can "move on." Some schools DO send out such letters, of course.</p>
<p>I've wondered about this myself...I assumed a grading system was used...I figured it would have to go up to 10 to give enough leeway for judging when seeing hundreds of auditionees. Still, it seems nearly impossible to me for them to keep it straight. After seeing so many kids, I would think that a lot of them would get a score of "5", which looks like the top score at some schools...since there are SO MANY really incredible kids throughout the country. Without filming the auditions, how can they remember each student well enough after seeing hundreds over a several month period well enough to choose one over the next (even with their headshots & resumes). Maybe they just right a giant YES on some of the applications; and then...maybe they have amazing memories for talent. (I can't imagine making a final decision based on an essay or GPA...unless it is REALLY low).)</p>
<p>Univ. of OK is the only one that I know of that has a "callback". My daughter was seen at the Unifieds in L.A., and now will be seen for a much longer period of time at the school. Since only about 100 - 120 are called back, this does make more sense to me.</p>
<p>I would think they would get down to their final decisions and wish they could get them together and see them all again (or maybe that's just the mom in me talking!)</p>
<p>Guthrie also has a callback. S auditioned at Chicago Unifieds and has been called back the weekend after next for 3 days. My understanding is that they callback approximately 40-50 students for 20 (ish) spots. Don't quote me on the details as S is the one who really keeps track of all of this :) If the kids cannot make it to the callback weekend they are asked to send in a DVD.</p>
<p>Does someone know for sure what the 1-5 means? Which is the top score and which is the bottom? And does it vary by school...ie: some schools 1 is top and some schools 5 is top?</p>
<p>SeniorMoment, Guthrie calls back around 60 kids for their weekend of auditioning and such, and ends up offering places to a class of between 20 and 24 kids. And as you said, the callback weekend is not mandatory: kids can send DVDs in. But the program thinks it is a good idea for kids to see them up close and personal in Minneapolis in March :) and for them to see more of the kids. :)</p>
<p>CA-MOM you may have hit the nail on the head, there are a lot of kids that are not a "5" in dancing so bam you're down from a 1000 to 150. Then you got the acting and many cannot score a "5" on two contrasting monologue's or even one if that's the audition requirement, now you're down to 75. At this level I'm pretty sure they can all sing well enough to make their parents cry (I bet 975 out of a 1000 could), you pick the best 50 of the 75 left, send it over to admissions and they sent back your 24 with a wait list of 6.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, in my opinion this would not be the best way choose a class. I like the idea that if you have big numbers that there is a call back and they spend the necessary time for an accurate evaluation. Ultimately this is the school's loss as they may not get the absolute best talent. On the other hand if a person can sing and act like Sutton Foster they may overlook the poor dancing audition. Furthermore, since they do have 1000 kids auditioning no matter which way they go they will get good talent. You could also turn this scenario around where they eliminate the < 5 actors, then dancers and finally singers.</p>
<p>MomOfAPrincess, it really does vary from school to school. For example, at Syracuse it's 1-5 with 1 being the top. At UArts, it's 1-6 with 6 being the top. Also, at most schools, for each category (acting, dance and singing) there are several factors that are rated and these can vary from school to school. Schools can also have thresholds in their scores which a student must meet or exceed to be in the running. This can be a way of initially filtering out students from the pool from which decisions are made. For example, it has been reported that at Syracuse a student must score a 1 or 2 in 2 of the categories and no worse than a 3 in the third to be considered part of the pool from which decisions are made. Then there are also the subjective comments and impressions that are written on the audition score sheets. There is no "standardized scoring" to the audition process.</p>
<p>One way the schools recall applicants when determining their class when is by referring back to their videotaped auditons to refresh their collective memory.</p>
<p>Although I have never been an auditor at a college audition, I have been behind the table at large professional and summer stock auditions. (And I have attended quite a few college auditions with students.) It is quite easy to make the initial cuts -- there will usually be a large percentage of actors who either are not prepared, do not have the skills required, or -- surprisingly -- have a bad attitude. (Of course, no one who reads this forum would fall into that category!) Thus you are left with a much smaller group to choose from. Then it comes down to: do you need tall brunettes who are strong dancers, or short comic actors who can sing, etc. What specific types are needed will have a great deal to do with what students are already in the program.</p>
<p>Since, a month or so from now, many students will be trying to figure out whether it would be worthwhile to consider going through the audition process again next year after more training, it would be really valuable (albeit possibly very painful) to know whether they fell into the "easy to cut" group or the group that received further consideration. My impression is that no programs are willing to say. Has anyone ever managed to get such information after the auditions and acceptances are all done? A lot of us probably try to get hints based on when rejections are received, etc., but as others have pointed out, it might be impossible to read anything into such things.</p>
<p>While I would guess that you're not going to be hearing anything from the programs to which your child has not been offered acceptance, there may be something you can do to assess chances of success next year. Why not hire an acting coach to assess the monologues, a voice coach to assess the singing, and a dance coach to assess the dancing? Or, hire someone who can help with the entire package? You may learn where your child is, and what he/she needs to do to improve!</p>
<p>letsfigureitout - Yes, that certainly sounds like a smart way to go. Our D's decision to audition, and which schools to audition for, was based on that kind of input from coaches, but from coaches she'd worked with for awhile. Seems like it would be wise to also do as you suggest - get second opinions from teachers who would provide an assessment based on just a few minutes of exposure (and thus more similar to what auditors see) - prior to starting the planning process.</p>
<p>I think letsfigureitout is right on the money. What we did was call a college that D had done a summer program with and talked to one of the professors and asked if she could recommend a voice teacher for my D since she was familiar with her. My D had been between soph and jr year when she went to the program. Luckily she recommended one of the other professors with the college (has left since then). I think this really gave my D a "leg up" on the process since he had been involved in auditioning students in recent years. He then in turn recommended someone for her monologue coaching. The difference in the advice she got was amazing. We did have to spend more then what we were use to (another thread) but in the end it paid off for my D. I think it really helped to have someone very close to the process in recent years to give her advice since each year the process is becoming so much more competitive. My D's other teacher/coaches hadn't been involved in the process recently so I don't think they were that helpful.</p>
<p>My D did not audition at BoCo, but I recall reading that they were willing to provide feedback to auditionees after the process. I don't recall any other school making that offer.</p>
<p>Re: getting input from specialized coaches, etc. before a kid heads out onto the audition circuit. One thing that I think is important is that the student (and parents, if they are involved directly) need to do is to make clear to the coach or person providing input on songs, dance and monologues that the students wants and needs a BLUNT and REALISTIC assessment of his or her skills and how that kid stacks up to peer group he or she will be going up against on his or her college list. It seems to me that many teachers believe it is part of their roles to be encouraging and hopeful with their students, which in some cases might mean that a teacher is not going to just come out and say to a student "Your singing is not up to par" or "Your acting needs help." However, if a student asks "Am I in the ballpark for kids who plan to audition for such-and-such a school" the teacher may very well be willing to be more open. Of course, one must be willing to hear that assessment, too, so don't ask if you don't want to hear it! :) (I hope that made sense. I am so cold that my fingers are not cooperating as I type ....)</p>
<p>Thanks, srw! I loathe the cold. It's hard for me to believe I grew up outside Syracuse and would spend hours (and I mean HOURS) outside in mid winter at this barn where I rode horses. The only heating in that big aluminum barn was a small electric space heater in the bathroom, so I would huddle in there to eat my lunch. Once I came into the bathroom and (I am not making this up) a big rat was sitting near the heater, basking in the glow. It barely moved over to make room for me. (Ok, I did make that part up.) :)</p>