Gap Year (from high school to college) to audition for MT Schools- MY EXPERIENCE!

College Majors Musical Theater Major
1

Hey everyone! I’m a graduated high school alumni(class of 2015) who would love to share her thoughts and journey upon taking a gap year, otherwise known as a “year off” between high school (since I graduated last June) and college (I plan on attending school in the fall of 2016- so just a couple of months!)

I’ve read and seen only a small amount of posts on here explaining what a gap year is, if someone should take one, and what other schools and admissions think of it. Well, I’m here to tell you- IT WAS THE BEST DECISION I HAVE EVER MADE MY ENTIRE 18 YEARS OF LIVING. (I turned 18 in October!) I have gained so much independence, maturity, and knowledge throughout the past couple of months, and am so grateful for the opportunities that I have been given. Not only have I met some of the greatest people along my journey, but I have had the pleasure of going on big auditions (not just for college) in NYC, and networking with some of the most talented people in the business.

At first, I was very hesitant. My guidance counselor didn’t really know how to handle this certain scenario, due to the fact not many of her students took gap years between high school and college. Usually her kids go straight from high school after graduating in June to college that same summer starting in August. You have to remember- it is ONLY a year off! Not 2 years, not 3, or 4, or 5. (unless you make it that long). In the long run, I have benefited from this year off in ways that are indescribable. I decided to take the leap, because I needed to do what was in MY best interest.

See the thing is, I have always wanted to pursue MT and dreamed of auditioning for MT college programs ever since I walked into my high school as a tiny little freshman. I knew how taxing, stressful, and time consuming MT college auditions would be, and knowing myself, I knew I could achieve the most if I did it without the extra stress of cramming for tests, studying for history exams, and writing papers. The application process to apply to these schools is stressful enough, so why add even more chaos?

Earlier in September, I was able to solely focus on gathering my materials that I needed to send off to college. Some of these materials I needed to retrieve from my high school’s guidance department, and others I needed to fill out online via the Common Application or the school’s website. I used my time and energy at the beginning of the whole process to complete these applications WAY before the deadline for them approached, because I knew the sooner I finished them, the sooner I would be able to start working on my audition repertoire (2 contrasting songs, monologues, and brushing up on dance training), as well as scheduling an audition. See here’s the thing that I’ve learned this year- the sooner you submit your academic materials and applications for these colleges, THE SOONER you can schedule your audition date. Once I did that, I started working on my repertoire. BEST decision I have made thus far.

Now that college auditions are over (I just finished my 16th and final college audition last weekend!!! Wooohooo!!), I am able to go back to work at my part time job (a local clothing store at my local community mall) and have even applied to be a waitress at a restaurant nearby.

As for college admissions… Many of them were delighted to see that I have used my time wisely to work on my craft ( i have been taking loads and loads of dance classes a week to train, as well as private voice and acting lessons to improve my skills), so overall, the experience has been absolutely wonderful and positive! REASSURANCE IS A GREAT THING!

If any of you have any questions for me, feel free to PM me or comment below! Or, if you want to get in touch, I’ll provide my e-mail in a PM. I am very friendly, and would love to answer all questions that you have!

BAL to everyone waiting for acceptances to arrive!!! For me, this is the HARDEST part!!! The waiting. I am here to talk if you need!

Good luck :slight_smile:

2

Thanks for sharing your version of one of the many paths to life in the MT world. There is no ONE way to get there - wherever “there” is. Sounds like you have the confidence to know that yours doesn’t need to look like everyone else’s. Good luck with whatever lies ahead.

3

@mom4bwayboy thank you so much for your kind words! If you have any questions or just want to talk about MT audition prep or anything in general, feel free to PM me!!! I really appreciate the support. :slight_smile:

4

I appreciate your posting! I would like to hear from more GAP year students, what they did, what they would do differently, how it turned out for them!

Anyone?

5

My two kids in theatre both did gap years–My D is currently a senior at Northwestern and my S is currently in his second year at LAMDA. They both are happy they did the gap years; it was for complex reasons that don’t necessarily apply to everyone. I wrote earlier about what they did for their gap years, but in both cases, it didn’t involve anything expensive, and both worked, as well. But if you do take a gap year, know that there are many who do, and are happy with the decision :slight_smile:

6

I’m a gap year student! I’ll post something longer after I’ve heard back from everywhere! BAL everyone!

7

@connections thanks for sharing your experience! Sounds like the decision was very rewarding!! Happy to hear that.

8

@lrfmt18 please PM me! I would love to chat with you about your experience! maybe ours are quite similar?! That’s so great. I love meeting people who took a gap year! I don’t feel so alone!! :slight_smile:

9

I didn’t do a gap year, but I did take summer theater college classes at a conservatory before starting school! It changed my life. I felt ready for “the real world” of script analysis and how to approach college level academic Music and theater work! Highly recommend any summer programs which earn college credit towards the BM, MT or BFA Acting.

10

@destiny95 wow that still sounds like an amazing experience! Which summer program did you go to? I am looking into summer programs right now!! Thanks for sharing!

11

@mtmcmt Way back in the day, I was a gap year, gap semester, gap everything student. It never occurred to me that I was supposed to finish college in four years. I didn’t want to go to four year college, so I went to CC, where I messed around, ditched classes, dropped classes, and eventually got put on academic probation. Then I finally got serious. I improved my grades and transferred in to several local state uni’s.

In the end, it took me 6 years to graduate. I don’t regret it at all. After two years of doing who knows what at CC, I got bored with that. As I was working the whole time, I decided I should start traveling. So I did. I went to
Australia and all over Europe. I continued my travel/college pattern the whole time I was in college, and I don’t regret it one bit. (I do wish I had earned a more useful degree, but that is a different story.) I got to see much of the world and that was a great education in itself.

12

@Lindagaf wow sounds like an amazing experience! And congratulations on all that you have accomplished thus far. There is no “normal” pathway to adulthood/success! You should be very proud!

13

@broadwaybabyyy, very kind of you:-) I am now a 51 year old mother of teens, my first will go off to college in September. But I keep travelleing, and nowadays our kids come with us. We have taken them to China, Morocco and all over Europe and the USA. Between hubby and I, we have been to over 60 countries. The world is your oyster!

14

@Lindagaf wow! Are any of them auditioning for MT schools this year? I just finished up my 16 MT auditions!

15

No, my kid is probably going to end up at a liberal arts college studying anthropology and macramé. Haha, just kidding, I love the LACs and I think the arts are incredibly important. Your thread caught my eye, best of luck to you. I firmly believe kids shouldn’t rush to become bill-paying adults:-)

16

@Lindagaf thank you so much! And best of luck to you and your kids. I definitely agree, rushing into things is not the way to do it!

17

Hey, what schools did you apply to and are there any where the deadline hasn’t arrived yet to audition or apply to?

18

@marmot_sherpa This thread might help-

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1870392-are-any-schools-still-auditioning.html#latest

19

@marmot_sherpa I applied to 16 BFA/BA Musical Theatre programs:

  1. Emerson
  2. PACE University
  3. NYU Tisch
  4. Point Park
  5. Hartt School of Music
  6. Muhlenberg
  7. SCAD
  8. Viterbo
  9. Montclair State University
  10. Wagner
  11. Ball State
  12. University of the Arts
  13. PENN State
  14. The New School
  15. Rider University
  16. Marymount Manhattan

In regards to your other question, I know THE NEW SCHOOL is still taking applications for their programs. ALSO, Muhlenberg is the only school I auditioned for with an OPTIONAL AUDITION for a talent scholarship. If you have any questions about the process, coaching, how to handle stress/emotions of musical theatre college auditions, please don’t hesitate to PM me! I’m here to support! Break a leg, and I wish you the best of luck!!! :slight_smile:

20

My daughter, a junior this year, is considering a gap year as well. She is the youngest in her class, and would like to train a little more before she starts auditioning for MT programs. I am wondering if taking a gap year will affect her chances for a merit scholarship? She is #2 in her class and has a GPA of 4.79 and her SAT scores are pretty good as well. She has worked so hard academically that I don’t want all the hard work to go to waste in terms of merit scholarships. She just decided the past few months that she wants to go into MT. She LOVES it. We have a nice Theatre company here that puts on full scale Broadway type shows that are difficult to get cast in. She was Jane in Mary Poppins and have been cast in other supporting roles with Little Mermaid and Shrek. She also has been a part of a Preforming arts company and played many lead and supporting roles with them. She competed with this company and won best actress and other awards. She also just choreographed and stage managed her school play “Annie” and played the part of Annie. She has quite of bit of experience but feels like she needs more time to develop herself all of her skills, especially dance. She has not had formal dance training since she was 11yo. However, when she did the role of Jane in Mary Poppins she had to learn a difficult tap number and she pulled it off beautifully. Their were a few broadway ex’s that came to the Mary Poppins show because they are friends with the director and they both commented on how great my daughter was, and said that she will go far. I say all this because part of me thinks she should just take the chance and go ahead and apply and audition for MT programs after she graduates. I don’t think she realizes how talented she is and is very humble about it. But like I said, the biggest thing I fear is her losing possible merit scholarships…cause we will need them!! LOL