My DD has submitted 3 Prescreens so far (applying and uploading for about 7 more) and passed 2 out of 3 of them. Is it a rigorous Prescreen step where schools are really are interested in you if you pass, or is it a process to just weed out the obvious candidates who may not have any hope. (Little talent in vocal, dance or acting). Or does each school have a different level of Prescreen Standards, meaning some schools are tougher than others in the Prescreen process. My DD has lined up 3 auditions with schools that don’t have Prescreens so that is interesting too that they will hear anyone and everyone. This whole process is making me dizzy,
That is a very difficult question to answer accurately. As with most things in this process, each school will view them differently. Certainly there is the process of weeding out those candidates a school thinks will not be successful in their program. However, there is also type. If a program has 5 blond legits, they may be looking for something different this year. There are some schools with notoriously “tough” prescreens - U Mich being one of them. They have an academic threshold and are typically very particular about following their instructions.
@3Blessings congratulations to your D on passing the 2 so far. My own D is 1 for 5 thus far and it is honestly making her a little gun shy. Personal opinion is some are tough, some are strict on formatting and thou they deny it, I do think the quality of the video matters to an extent. It’s really hard to judge - there were a couple I thought she’d pass that she didn’t and the one she did pass I was surprised. This whole process is frustrating because, again in my opinion, college is supposed to develop students, but some of the programs seem to want a more finished product, while others are willing to take raw talent with room to grow.
My D submitted 8 pre-screens, so far 3 have come back as No’s, 3 Yes’s and 2 we are still waiting on. She is a tall, blonde legit, so we are going with the idea that some schools already have enough of her “type” and/or looking for a specific role(s) to fill. She has been having an amazing attitude throughout this whole process and is just itching for Jan-Feb so she can actually get her foot in some of these colleges to show them what she can do in person! Best of luck to you all!
Very talented people don’t pass pre-screens, especially if you are a common type. My personal opinion is that some schools like pop belters and other like legit singers, while others prefer strong dancers, and that is where they may cut out some of the females. And even if they cut the applicant pool from 1500 to 500 during pre-screens, they still may only be making about 20 offers. A pre-screen is one of two humps. Tough pre-screens seem to be Pace, Michigan, Elon, Penn State, Texas State, and Ithaca. I’m sure I’ve missed a couple.
As an example, Elon just posted the following information this year:
In 2013 cycle, (for their MT class of 2017):
Auditioned 387, offered 20 spots (no prescreens)
In 2018 cycle, (for their MT class of 2022):
1,051 applicants, passed 1/3 from pre-screens (~350) for those same 20 spots.
Elon is a prestigious program, but doesn’t get as many applicants as some of the other top programs, probably because of location and the fact that you must audition on campus for your final audition, which is a cost deterrent. From my notes last year, most of the other popular programs get anywhere from 1500-2000 applicants.
Another example: Last year, Florida State had about 800 applicants and passed about 220 to final auditions. They made offers to about 10-12 and had a waitlist I believe of 2-3. This school is similar to Elon, as it has a great program, but the location is relatively remote and you have to travel to campus for final auditions. Like Elon, it is an expensive flight. I believe they are going to Moonifieds this year so that applicant pool size will most likely break 1,000 now. Side note: when we attended their show, we noticed 95% of their MT majors were front Florida or bordering states; however, the final pre-screen individuals seem to be from all over.
Wow. Staggering difference between 2013 and 2017. It makes me happy knowing my DD passed Elon Prescreen based on those statistics.
Has anyone heard back regarding Oberlin vocal prescreens yet? D submitted in mid November and we haven’t heard back yet. Deadline for submission was December 4th…
Can’t speak for any other school but for Texas State, where my S is a senior, but this year they received 1400+ prescreens and passed about 250+ for auditions. All for a class of 14.