<p>Currently I have about 4/5 audition BFA schools and 4/5 non-audition BA schools on my list. I see the norm around the forum is about 10+ audition schools and a few more non-audition.
My theory is, why audition/apply to schools you are not particularly that fond of just because they offer a BFA, and sometimes the program isn't that good anyway. What's a degree worth if you didn't receive the kind of training you wanted or the experience you wanted?
I guess this isn't much of a question, just opinions on the subject. Why have/are you auditioning to so many schools?</p>
<p>One thing that I have learned from reading this forum is you MUST do what feels right to you and not worry about what others are doing. I got some very good advice from a wonderful poster on CC and she has really opened my eyes to this. My D is going against the grain on many areas of this process. Only time will tell if she made the right decisions. Coach/no coach…one audition school/10 + schools, audition first/last, EA/ED or regular admit…it really will drive you crazy. Ask questions, research as best you can and then go with your gut :)</p>
<p>Sjane14. My D is applying to 14 schools. 12 are BFA’s and 2 are BA’s, all but one require an audition… My D does like all the programs she is applying to except one.(I’ll explain this below) There are a handful she likes more than the others, but she likes the programs at all.
We did cut a number of programs from our list during the research process. Most we cut from Internet research but two in particular we actually traveled to visit and during the visit my D learned something she really didn’t like and that was it. She leaned over to me and whispered “Nope. Dont like that. Can we go now?”… Right in the middle of the presentation. That was enough for her. She didn’t want to be trained in that way and knew it. (We did stay until the end of both presentations obviously!)
Now for that one she doesn’t like which we are applying to…, I won’t go into which it is…suffice it to say I made her apply and she doesn’t like it, but I think there are valid reasons to keep the school on the list. As an adult I know ideas can change over a year, and we need to feel as certain as possible at the end of this year she has a school to go to. I think it is possible she might feel differently about this school in April if she only has 1 or 2 acceptances in front of her. If she still doesn’t like it, then fine. If she is accepted somewhere else with rolling admission early in the audition process, this one can go. But I am trying to give her opportunity. I agreed with her about the other schools she decided not to apply to… And we have agreed to disagree about this one.
So to sum up and answer your question, my D is applying to 14 but is actually happy with all the programs (except for the one) and would be happy to attend and feels there is valuable training.</p>
<p>There are plenty of good programs out there. Apply only to schools you would like to attend.</p>
<p>Some students apply to fewer schools with the idea in mind that they will take a gap year and apply again if they are not accepted anywhere. That was my son’s strategy. He applied to six auditioned BFA programs. Fortunately, he was accepted by three so he had some nice choices.</p>
<p>I started with 3 and I asked college confidential about it because of the same reasons you are. I’m now at 5 schools, and 2 open-enrollment BA’s at schools I really, genuinely love. Money is an issue for us, so frankly we can’t be forking over an extra 1,000 dollars for application and audition fees. If you’re uncomfortable with it, find more schools you like. But there is no point in having a list of 12 if you’re not in love with 7 of them and can’t afford half of them, either.
Also, really asses your skills. Try to find your reaches if you want to have more.
Five is a fine number. If you add more schools, that has nothing to do with if you’ll be accepted to the five you’ve already chosen.</p>
<p>I agree. I’m not certain there even are 17 schools I would want to attend and very much prefer at least one BA (hopefully, safety) to most of these random and new BFA’s. I would love one of the top BFA programs but I think some people get so hung up on BFA that they don’t even think about the the overall school.</p>
<p>I also tend to think if your list is top heavy you need more schools and if you decide not to go with having a non audition safety you would need more. If you have non audition safeties that you truly love then no point of having a long list.</p>
<p>Thanks guys for the input :] I think I’m going to stick with the ones I have. While reading the forum I got so stressed with all these other colleges I’ve never heard of and I just didn’t like any of them, so the ones I picked just feel right for me. I feel like any auditioned program is kind of a reach school, you just can’t know, and I have reaches as well as safeties within my BA group of schools too. I like all the programs I’m applying to and they also fit my, “requirements”, I guess you could call it. And on top of that, I don’t think I could handle to shell out more money to apply to more colleges–I mean, you would think that if they wanted people to apply to colleges they wouldn’t put a price tag on everything. So fingers crossed I can charm the pants off of at least one of these schools</p>
<p>Sounds like you are in a good place sjane14…best of luck!</p>
<p>Also if you go to Unifieds and a school there peaks your interest and has walk-ins you can do that and then research the school before you apply. Only a couple charged an audition fee last year for walk ins.</p>
<p>I recommend applying to at least 5-7. As many as you can if you are only looking at BFAs. People apply to so many schools because most get rejected. Acceptance rates at all the top schools are under 20%. It would be putting your eggs in one basket to only audition for 2. </p>
<p>I don’t have the money to go to a top school, apply and travel to auditions for the top schools, and don’t have the acting chops yet, so I applied to 4 BFAs (1 was auditioned your sophomore year-you were just considered ‘pending’ freshman year) and 3 BAs (non-audition). I got rejected from 3 BFAs and decided not to go the 4th school because one of the faculty members dislikes me (I don’t know why?!?!?!), so I knew I wouldn’t get into the BFA when the time came.</p>
<p>Sjane, if you do not want to go the school, do not audition or apply. You should want to attend your safety!</p>
<p>My daughter, who is technical theatre, applied to 14 schools. None of them were for a BA program because she has no interest in that degree. There were a few non audition schools. Her thought process was that she would rather take a gap year than end up in a program she didn’t like. We did visit all of her schools. It was expensive but very much worth it. She ended up at a school that was just on the back burner and a maybe kind of school. She LOVES her school and couldn’t have made a better decision. I cannot emphasize enough how important a visit to the school is, really. Please don’t apply to schools that you don’t like. It can make for a miserable year.</p>