How early to apply/schedule auditions?

<p>Should I have already applied/scheduled auditions for regular decision? Or as soon as possible? Some of the schools have their dates up already, as I see from the other thread. Do the dates fill up THAT quickly?</p>

<p>It depends on the school. For NYU, the most desirable dates (generally, the dates when many students have a school holiday) fill up very quickly; however, they offer many dates. </p>

<p>In general, it is a good idea to schedule as soon as possible, but it is okay to wait until all the schools have their dates up.</p>

<p>As I’m sure you know, some schools let you schedule auditions before you have applied, whereas with others you have to apply first.</p>

<p>The only schools I found that let you apply before applying were Fordham and Chapman. Could you give me any others?</p>

<p>There are also a few schools that require you to actually be accepted to the university before you can schedule an audition ( or be invited for one). If they do things the same way as in the past, then Pace in NYC would fall into that category.</p>

<p>We wanted to have as much flexibility in choosing our dates as possible. With most schools you cant schedule auditions until the app is complete. We started the apps as soon as they opened on August 1 and Sept 1. Of 14 schools we have finished 13 and are just waiting for U Arts to open mid September. My D has a few essays left to finish and we have to get her school to send her transcripts.
We have two auditions booked and I have planned when I want to schedule the others. So once the schools process the app we can get those scheduled too. I think getting the app done quickly does give you more selection in dates.</p>

<p>Syracuse lets you schedule an audition before applying</p>

<p>I haven’t done any of that yet, my school in the past has worked with the seniors in the application process but haven’t really said anything about it yet, I didn’t know whether to wait or to just go ahead on my own, I guess I’ll look to see if the schools on my list schedule auditions before applications, thank you :]</p>

<p>I wouldn’t wait for your school to start working with you seniors. Because of needing to schedule auditions, theatre applicants tend to start this process earlier than most. I would start looking at the websites of all the schools on your list and making note of application requirements for the school itself and any additional material needed by the theatre department. Make yourself a spreadsheet or notebook and calendar with your deadlines and audition dates so things don’t sneak up on you. Each school is different, so look carefully. You should be working on your essays, too, both the general ones for the Common App as well as supplemental ones for theatre. Also start lining up people to write your recommendations.
Forgive me if you’ve already done all this…</p>

<p>dramamom…you are making me break out in a cold sweat…wow your D is on top of it:)) My S has not done ONE thing, but look at his list and start the CA. I sure hope this all works out… but he wants to be in charge… so off I go to… try to remain calm and carry on:)</p>

<p>5boys, I am with your S there, I’ve spent the whole summer studying the program and the process that I’ve kind of delayed the applying part. I guess I have a lot of work to do now :)</p>

<p>Sometimes I think it’s better to crank out the applications under pressure. Not everyone works the same way–this might just be your way. But I do recommend printing out a paper copy of the CA and filling it in by hand, as well as listing out all the supplemental questions and so forth for various schools, so you know what lies before you. One of my kids did ALL of his apps in one weekend–I took him to my parents’ house a few hours away, where there were no distractions, and he spread everything out on the big dining room table and got ‘er done. SJane, if your high school’s counseling office hasn’t started working with seniors yet, you do need to be proactive and start on your own (and they are shockingly behind, just sayin’). Good luck :)</p>

<p>I think my S will be like yours times…just bang em out in a weekend. I am trying to get him to concentrate on his EA schools first, and his main CA essay. After that it seems to get easier. I think he can write a theater essay pretty easily… he has done a few of them for summer programs. Luckily he LOVES to write, and was disappointed to find quite a few of schools had no supplements. I hesitate to get to carried away with scheduling auditions until he decides about applying ED to Kenyon. We visit in Oct… hopefully that will help him make up his mind… and maybe all this auditions stuff will be a mute point… but I can’t even give my mind the luxury of that thought if it happens to work out…</p>

<p>5boys, just out of curiosity, when in October are you visiting Kenyon?</p>

<p>Thanks Times3, it is a little unnerving that my school hasn’t started helping yet, and I’m not exactly sure if they have handled any BFA applicants in the past, I haven’t heard of any… I hope I can be like your S and get everything out of the way quickly!</p>

<p>Well, that wasn’t my theater-applicant son, so it was a bit more straightforward. But S3, the one who applied to acting programs last year, had a relatively good plan of attack. First priority: prescreen (only had 1) and apps for schools that required the application to be submitted before auditions could be scheduled. Those happened in September. Second chunk of apps (maybe 3-4?) went in during late October/early November, and included the early action non-audition schools–so he was able to hear back from them by early December and knew he had a fall-back position. Everything else (there weren’t many more) got finished up by Thanksgiving except for one school, which for some reason he dragged out for awhile. Even the schools that wanted the applications in before scheduling auditions ONLY needed the student’s part of the app–it didn’t hold things up if the recommendations weren’t in, for example. So he did 11 schools in 3 or 4 waves of work, and that made it manageable. Hope that helps!</p>

<p>My son applied to all the schools who had early decision auditions quickly, the. He then was able to concentrate on the others. The audition dates start to fill up, so I would recommend not waiting for your school to begin the process. </p>

<p>I also want to send all of you this message…believe it or not, your child will most likely end up at the right program for him/her. As you go through it, it seems so arbitrary and unfair but the schools have a method to their madness.</p>

<p>Yes it does help Times3, I just need to do my homework on these schools and find a method that is right for me :] Thanks photomom5, I will definitely begin scheduling auditions as soon as they become available and I have everything in order…I think it’s safe to assume that all the NY dates fill up more quickly, which are the ones I plan to attend, so I have to be attentive!</p>

<p>sjane14, it is best if you become the pro-active parent (or your student). Most high schools really don’t understand the process of college applications for performing art students. You really need to know your stuff and aggressively push your school counselors along the way. Make it as easy as possible for them by knowing the applicant’s plans, the processes for the schools, the critical dates and requirements and provide them with every paper you need them to take care of as soon as possible. I would not sit back and wait until the regular protocol begins. What is at risk is the flexibility granted to early birds come audition time. It really pays to be on top of the game and know your strategy in scheduling your auditions (where and when). You do not want to be stuck with whatever time slots are available for auditions. Since the audition is the key for most BFA programs, the scheduling of these auditions should be in your hands from the start. You want your applicant to perform well during auditions and it is very helpful to have control of such things as the total number of auditions that seem reasonable a day @ Unifieds; what times during the day might your applicant feel more prepared to perform (morning/afternoon), etc. The sooner you can get the auditions scheduled, the more the schedule is specifically tailored to your applicant–this is your goal. It makes a difference. Last year, my S had all of his applications in (12 of them), this included all teacher/counselor recommendations and initial transcripts, by the first of October and then all of his auditions scheduled by mid-October. I think most schools are ready with the audition slots by this time. It is a pretty focsued and exhausting effort but really pays off. The applicant will see/understand this at audition time.</p>

<p>I’ve just checked my schools and they all will start the registration of auditions in October or later, some of them wanting the application to the school itself done first, so this will give me time to get my applications done and sent during September…at least now I can breathe a little easier, but still, lots of work ahead.</p>

<p>@Times… we will be at Kenyon on October 21st for the day. My S is also spending the night on campus… I am hoping they will have some sort of production that we can see, but it might be too early.</p>