<p>What are some of the tips that you parents on the other side of this process can share with us newbies? How do you get a feel for a program? What are some of the resources that you used? Did you interview program directors? What about Skype voice lessons? We want to be thorough but also not be labeled as that high maintenance kid. Thoughts, advice? (cocktails? doughnuts?)</p>
<p>My simplest suggestion would be, although possibly more expensive, to do as many on campus auditions as possible. I know that doesn’t help with selecting which schools to audition for on campus, but I will say that is probably the best way to get a feel for what a program will really be like. You’ll meet more faculty members, you’ll see the facilities, you can ask the “tough” questions to current students (who will hopefully be honest with you), and your S or D can scope things out without seeming high maintenance. Ask if you can visit a day early and sit in on classes (we encourage this at CCU) so you can make that a part of your trip. I am seeing a ton of students who we accepted from Chicago Unifieds now visiting campus, so eventually you’ll pay for the flight and hotel bills anyway. I’m not saying DON’T go to Unifieds but to really get a feel, on campus auditions (especially at programs that make it a “full day”) are probably your best bet.</p>
<p>We did a multi-layered approach based on the fact that the odds of getting an acceptance are quite long. D auditioned for 12 schools at Chicago Unifieds and did about 6 on-campus auditions. Some of the on-campus auditions were for schools that don’t do unifieds, and some were for schools that were high enough on D’s wish list that they merited a visit.</p>
<p>You’ve been around CC long enough to know that it really doesn’t matter where your kid would like to go to school, it only matters which schools make your kid an offer. That’s the only basis that you can start from when trying to make a final decision on a program. </p>
<p>We set a goal of visiting every campus that made our D an offer. We did both department tours and campus tours, and I did a lot of private messaging with parents who had kids attending our D’s accepted schools. That activity was very useful in our decision making process. In the end our D found the one school that was a perfect fit for her all the way around, and that’s where she’ll be going this fall. </p>
<p>Agreed. Given the of acceptance for most kids at most of the more desired programs on-campus visits before acceptance could be a gigantic waste of time and money. Of course, if you have a top kid and an unlimited budget go for it.</p>
<p>I’d like to echo AlexaMT’s advice–and to pass along something that ended up being VERY helpful for my son–please don’t discount the importance of seeing schools in advance if at all possible. Several theater department faculty members told us, essentially, “If you feel at home in a place and like it’s the right fit for you, chances are we will feel the same way.” There was no question that my son had better results at the places where he had that feeling based on earlier visits or on-site auditions. The places that felt “off” were not the places that accepted him. You can waste a lot more time and money applying with a scattershot approach. Two of my son’s high school classmates (not theater kids) ended up taking a gap year because this very strategy failed for them–they didn’t visit any schools until they’d been accepted, then realized that websites and brochures did not convey the reality of the place, and they had to take a year and do some legwork and reapply. Obviously, visiting every school is not feasible for most of us, but don’t dismiss it as a waste of time. It’s not; it’s just not always possible.</p>
<p>We did sort of a hybrid. We visited lots of campuses in the course of our regular life between freshman and junior yearr. we made it a point to tour large and small schools, urban , rural and suburban schools, and even did 2 summer camps on college campuses. These experiences did shape our list of schools at which our. D would apply. However, I must say she really did not like the long on-campus audition days. She felt very drained after campus tours, sitting in on classes, etc. and did not feel she had her best auditions on those long days. so definitely figure out where your child will be most comfortable auditioning. Our D was energized by the people and pace of Unifieds. We did have to go visit some campuses after acceptances were received, but this cost was no different than if we had gone to audition on campus. So while I agree visiting campuses is extremely important, it may not be the ideal situation for your audition. Know your child and what will work best for them.</p>
<p>We used a coach who sat down with us (D talked, I took notes) and went through a ton of questions: large school/small school, urban or suburban, NYC or not, warm/cold - you get the picture. Then we got a list of suggested schools, we researched - online & contacting current students (MT world is small- lots of FOFs!) did some on-campus auditions and some at Unifieds. So hard to say what’s “right.” One of her on campus auditions she loved, and is where she ended up, and another on campus that was at the top of her list, she hated. For the school she chose, we got in the car after the audition and she said “I LOVE this program.” When we went back to visit after she was accepted, she knew it was the one. She liked others she visited, be felt at home there. Good luck with your search! </p>
<p>There is so much that goes into researching schools, it is an effort to break it down and be thorough…but I will start you off. I made a spreadsheet to stay organized. At first it had three pages: Audition Schools; Non-Audition Schools; Eliminated Schools. The columns at the top started with basics: Name of School, Location, # Undergrad students, Direct Costs (Tuition, Room, Board, Fees), Audition Location (on-campus only, Unifieds, etc.), Academics (Avg ACT score or midrange of GPA), if a Prescreen is required. On the school’s name, I added a Hyperlink to the program’s webpage so I didn’t have to keep looking it up. Then the real research started. I read through the program and school websites carefully, especially any 4-year class listings, faculty bios, etc. I added two more columns: My Opinion and Reputation. In My Opinions, I noted anything I found good or bad or had questions on. In Reputation, I noted any opinions from CC or other sources. My D had given me certain criteria she was sure she was or was not interested in so I moved any programs that were not a fit to the Eliminated page. It is good to keep the notes so when you are wondering why a certain school was eliminated, you can look at the details easily. Then I gave the spreadsheet to my daughter with a column called D’s Opinion. She looked at all the schools and made her own notes that sometimes were just to eliminate with a short reason why. Then we balanced out the list to make sure we included schools that took a higher average number of students, and had two safety schools. We also looked at whether or not we would be able to practically audition at those schools. We wanted to get a majority done at Unifieds, but were willing to travel to some schools too. I hope this helps!</p>
<p>Some great advice from the previous posters. What everyone doing this needs to appreciate is that this is a multi-layer process. Use the web (school sites, CC, others) for initial data collection (which can be quite extensive), but you will need to visit schools at some point. Whether you visit before auditions, after, or both is a subject of much debate here. My opinion is that visiting at least some before auditions can help you focus your potential colleges for things like big v. small schools, public v. private, conservatory v. liberal arts, etc. Also taking some visits can help you figure out questions to ask just from being there, hearing other people ask, etc. Like most things, the more you do it (visit & ask questions in this case) the more comfortable you will be with the process and the better questions you will ask. </p>
<p>As you answer some of the factors I listed above (big v. small, etc.), that will help you focus your list. Other factors to consider:
- Desired location, are you looking nationally or regionally (for us we decided to keep it mostly regional with a couple of exceptions, but other people are open to the whole country)
- Scholarship dollars available
- Degree type (BFA, BA, Bach of Music, and other variations). Read the program curriculum for each school. You will see a lot of similarity but also a lot of differences.
- Size of the program (do they accept only 8 kids per year or 20+)
- Faculty
- How is the school tied in with external theatre opportunities for summer stock, post graduation, etc. Most have some sort of ties, but there are differences.
- Amount/type of general education classes required. Similarly, what is their policy for accepting AP credits if your kid took those classes. Watch out for English at private colleges, many won’t accept as much credit as the public schools do. Also how the AP music theory class is handled can be interesting.</p>
<p>Most importantly, make sure you have a variety of schools from a “top tier” v. “lower tier” perspective because this is an incredibly competitive process. You can get lots of good advice about this from other threads here on CC. </p>
<p>Whether you visit or call, make some contact with schools - they want to speak with you! You mentioned lessons, that can be a good idea. My D did that at one school and I wanted he to do more, it just didn’t work out for her. </p>
<p>There is no magic answer to this process, you just have to dive in and do it and you will start to figure it out.</p>
<p>Be flexible and open… when we started this process my daughter only wanted BFA programs on the west coast when all was said and done she committed to a BA program on the east coast. Have lots of options and willingness to explore places you may never have thought of.</p>
<p>Thanks, guys! This is very helpful! Started our spreadsheet and doing a “college of the week” right now. Some touring this summer after the BW Overtures program and then the application process starts! Wish us luck!</p>
<p>Break a leg, Divamamcita!!</p>
<p>@divamamacita We started our spreadsheets this week, too! Here we go! The “college of the week” idea sounds great! I may adopt that, if you don’t mind! </p>
<p>LOL. You guys are so cute and excited to make your spreadsheets. The thought of making a spreadsheet now gives me nightmares! So glad to be done with all that. My D has not decided yet but even if she gap years she won’t be applying to a bakers dozen of schools again!
The only dozen I want now is a dozen doughnuts. </p>
<p>@MTmom2015 – go for it! It is hard to have that discipline when I want to go back to our two or three favorite programs. We are the new group! Scary!!</p>
<p>In addition to your spreadsheets, you might consider getting some binders to hold all the mail, pamphlets, brochures, booklets, letters, origami sculptures and bumper stickers you will be acquiring. I have three 4-inch binders - one for summer programs, one for ALL the programs we originally considered (actually ended up with two baskets for that one) and THE ONE for the schools applied to. If there had been a fire in our house in the last year that one would have been grabbed along with the baby pictures. I then had individual plastic folders for each school that went in the car for college visits. They were then used to hold acceptance letters, scholarship notifications, Financial Aid info, etc. I’m not sure what we’ll use the dining room for once all this stuff is gone. . . </p>
<p>Binders, that would have been nice. Our D just made stacks in our living room. Not that we wanted them there, but that’s where they were nonetheless. Finally starting to get cleared out now though.</p>
<p>^raellis123 I had a momentary thought of saving all the papers, schedules, etc. from this year but it went out with the trash this morning!!</p>
<p>Divamamacita - I remember the realization last Fall that I was now a “Senior MT CCer” in this crazy process and it was my turn to ask all the questions and feel the angst.</p>
<p>What would you guys suggest for a college spreadsheet? CC Parents gives the best ideas!!!</p>
<p>Everyone has their own. We had three different spreadsheets:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>individual spreadsheet for each college considered - included all contact info; app deadlines and materials (letters of rec, transcripts, counselor referral form etc.) and fees for the SCHOOL; deadlines and fees for PROGRAM/prescreen upload; items needed for prescreen; items to bring to audition; tuition/room and board costs and possible scholarships - including deadlines of applicable. This spreadsheet included time limits and types of music/monologues/dance sequences/intro/personal statement requested for both prescreen and audition. This info was then given to voice teacher/acting coach to give them an idea of what needed to be worked on. That info was also brought to prescreen video shoot to make sure we had right cuts for each school. I started this spreadsheet in spring of junior year and then updated over the summer into the fall as new information became available. This stuff may be more critical this year because it sounds like more programs will be requesting prescreens for 2014-15.</p></li>
<li><p>Spreadsheet that included all audition dates for all schools considered. Again started this in spring of junior year and updated as current year’s information became available. This REALLY helped us decide what dates to request - what might be considered “practice” auditions, what one might be a “sure” bet (ha, ha), what one to put off to the end of the cycle in case you got an acceptance from more desirable program before the “less desirable” audition date. Also pay attention to ADMIT deadlines for scholarships - I had not paid attention to this and found out at Feb. 8 audition that you had to be admitted to the SCHOOL by Feb. 1 to be eligible for Shenandoah’s highest academic scholarship. Once list was complete we “highlighted” the desired possibilities to fit them together like a puzzle. Be aware that to get first choice audition dates at some schools, you will need to have all your app/prescreen materials in by early-mid October (we were given this info at CCM tour in junior year). We tried to meet this self-imposed deadline for ALL schools. S’s school counselor thought we were nuts.</p></li>
<li><p>Spreadsheet for all applied-to schools that included ALL the important deadlines for apps/prescreens/audition requests and fees; dates items were requested from counselor and teachers; dates submitted - by us AND school counselor; date we received CONFIRMATION of receipt from school admissions AND MT programs - there is A LOT to keep track of. And just because you requested it, don’t assume it got sent; and just because it got sent, don’t assume it was received at the other end. This part was a nightmare for those of us that lived through the update to the Common App over summer/fall of 2013. I also kept all emails/letters received that gave confirmation of receipt.</p></li>
<li><p>A separate self-designed “form” that listed more detailed info for each school/programs’s "individual’ requirements - essays; exact process for letters of rec/school counselor forms, etc; detailed scholarship info; “nitty-gritty” for prescreens/auditions; contact info for everyone we needed in admissions and the MT programs; place to record school ID/password info as it came in, etc. Here is where I scribbled notes to myself about things that needed follow-up, or who I spoke to on what date, Etc. I also used a “preliminary” version of this form to hand in to the H.S. counselor when requesting items that needed to be sent from the school. We found that the usual “linkage” between Common App and H.S’s Naviance system DID NOT WORK AT ALL. Everything was requested “by hand” - and many things ended up getting sent via snail mail. Again school counselor thought we were nuts, but she appreciated that we had it so clearly laid out. And we were not panicking in late October, trying to scramble to meet November 1 deadlines as many of S’s peers were. Even though some MT programs had December 1 deadlines (or later) we “pretended” everything had to be in by November 1. So counselor was essentially done with all of S’s materials as she was getting inundated with everyone else’s.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>This system worked for us. As you can see it was VERY time-consuming and I’m glad we (Mom) started it as early as we did. Good Luck!</p>