<p>I realize everyone is unique when they create their school audition list.
There are grades, geography, big city, small town, finances etc.
But, it would be helpful and interesting for us parents with juniors who are starting lists to see what your final list looked like.
My sons is WAY TOO LONG right now and I would be curious to see who auditioned where.
Thanks!</p>
<p>I like fun as well as the next person, but a list itself won’t tell you anything that will be of help to your nor any of the junior parents. What you would really want to know is what was your criteria for picking and then based on that criteria, what schools did you include? But even then if I think of our list, it includes schools that violated that filter for various reasons including some that were just random (right place the right time as an example). </p>
<p>My daughter’s criteria was: urban, full college vs. conservatory or arts school, not tiny, great MT program with strong emphasis on acting, solid academic reputation. At least 50% of the schools that she ended up auditioning at flunked this filter or parts of it because in the end admissions odds are really against you so are forced to compromise on the ideal or hope you get VERY lucky (and win the $ lottery). Also complicating the process is that her filter, and her parent’s filter had some differences as well. Mine also included: easy to get to on your own, within financial reach for our family, somewhere that I wouldn’t dread visiting. </p>
<p>Why not flip this question around in a way that could be directly helpful for you. What is your son’s criteria?</p>
<p>Just started with our list. We’re looking for a strong dance program for a male dancer with 7 years of solid and wide ranging training, good acting training, and, of course, good vocal training. So far, Ithaca, Penn State, UCLA, and BOCO look promising. Still lots to figure out though. Oh, and Pace sounds like it might be a good fit, too.</p>
<p>Ewanes, although Ithaca does have a strong dance program, there is NO dance audition—just something for you to take into account when auditioning.</p>
<p>That is great to know! I will make a note of that. We are hoping that being a well-trained male dancer will help out a bit in the audition process, but not at Ithaca. Thanks!</p>
<p>I love fun stuff! We have a bunch of REACHES and then some safeties. nothing really in between. My son’s so far:</p>
<p>Carnegie
Michigan
U of OK
Indiana
Otterbein
Penn State
Texas State
USC (acting BFA audition)
USC (MT non audition)
UCI (Mt non audition)
Chapman (unsure, probably no audition program)</p>
<p>As a parent of a senior still waiting for results of auditions, I would only suggest that maybe his list is not way too long. For example, if you limit yourself to a region of the country closest to where you live and are not open to going far away, you can greatly reduce your chances of acceptance because most of these MT schools are already highly competitive with only a handful of spots to give. Obviously there are many other criteria to consider but I thought I would mention that keeping a long list at this point is not really a terrible idea if this career path is his passion.</p>
<p>As a parent of a current freshman MT BFA who went through the process last year, and has watched the competition escalate this year, don’t forget to spend time on the full college list, as opposed to the ones in the box at the top, and peruse and research numerous less well known BFA programs that draw more regionally, as well as strong BA programs with great emphasis in MT. That list has really grown over the past 2 years. One experienced CC posting dad has a post on here somewhere in which he hypothesizes that last year, talented kids got into 2 of every 10 schools they applied to and auditioned for. My daughter auditioned for 14 schools and got into 3 BFA MT (only 2 offered financial help) and one well known BA. A long, BALANCED list may be necessary . . .</p>
<p>md311mt, </p>
<p>Do you and your son have the ability to visit any of the schools on the list before he applies? My d and I visited as many campuses in person as we could, starting her sophomore year. We called it “auditioning the colleges”. Some schools, that looked so right from afar, or that were recommended to her by others who thought they’d be a great fit, really weren’t it when we spent a day on campus…thus paring the list and saving audition fees, time, and really individualizing the list for her. </p>
<p>We did several visits on her h.s. spring breaks, and also some over the summertime. Although summer visits are not the same (fewer students, no feel for what this place is like in winter when you’re trudging across a huge campus in the snow…), there is a lot of value to seeing the place, getting a tour of the dorms, grabbing a meal in the dining hall. The schools do generally run their walking tours year-round, and we found that, with some planning, we were able to find faculty and department heads willing to really sit down with d and talk about their programs, etc. </p>
<p>If possible (during the school year), we saw a show done by current students. She also asked to take a dance class or sit in on an acting class. She was fortunate to be allowed to do a few 1:1 meetings with voice faculty, and ended up working with a couple of voice teachers on campus (this was rare, but welcome). </p>
<p>When you are finalizing THE LIST, think about the common “it” factors (and every family will have different ones!). “[insert name here] is such a good school” really didn’t cut it in our household – kiddo had to be able to really explain to herself (and us) what made a program unique, why she could see herself there (and this was helpful in the blur of auditions, as several auditors asked her “why our school?” and she was prepared and ready with an answer that was meaningful to her.)</p>
<p>Consider the whole school, not just the department. After all, your kid will be spending many years (and many dollars) here – will the school be able to nurture the whole kid – academic classes challenging enough? what is the campus culture? what are the logistics of getting home for breaks? On and on and on!!</p>
<p>For d, the criteria included strong dance program (a plus if a dance major or minor was available), BFA preferred, strong academics, honor college that “played nice” with MT, scholarship potential… Everyone’s checklist is going to be different, but it is well worth it to come up with some factors to help pare the list (and it is fine if it starts out huge…it will shrink…for some kids, partly because the sheer number of applications becomes overwhelming). </p>
<p>My d’s list went from 18 (no!) to 15 (not yet) to 13 (closer) to finally 9. That is a LOT of essays, recommendations, applications (and even the Common App has supplemental essays…), and fees. She also did most of her auditions on campus…so add in a lot of missed school, a lot of logistics, and the expense of travel. </p>
<p>In the end, she completed those 9 applications/auditions, and had 4 lovely offers from which to choose. Having made the careful list ahead of time, she knew they each had the critical components she wanted, now she could consider the other details. </p>
<p>Things to keep in mind: You can only attend one school, so you only need one acceptance…but (and this is CRITICAL) make sure that ANY school on the final list is one your child would be happy to attend, and do NOT!!! have one magical “it” school…if that doesn’t pan out, any other acceptance (to any other amazing program with a perfect fit) will seem a disappointment. With the odds of admission as tough as they are for MT, that balanced list, and the “I could see myself there” factor are critical.</p>
<p>Happy school shopping!</p>
<p>We are in southern cal and know the schools in our area very well. We go to their shows regularly and know kids at those schools. My son could be happy with any of those and most of those are safeties. We will not visit any reaches because of cost and low acceptance rate. We will only visit if accepted. I think he (and I) are pretty secure with the fact that he would be happy with any school on his current list. He will audition for some bigger programs but he doesn’t seem to think it is make or break- that could change. If he goes to a safety, he will add outside classes if the feel there are gaps. I’m not sure he’ll leave the state.</p>
<p>I have no problem listing D’s schools - everyone’s list will be different. Our list was made based on a number of things:</p>
<p>-our assessment of how competitive she is artistically
-a mix of smaller and larger programs, programs we knew were reaches, others we had some confidence in, and a non audition super safety BA in drama (not MT)
-took out a couple of schools that we visited junior year and didn’t feel were the right fit
-took out the BM degrees as she wanted more of an acting based program
-took out some schools because she tends to wilt in intense heat and humidity - so most of the south, Florida and Texas were out
-our assessment of how competitive she is academically - took out a reach school where she felt like maybe she could get in with her academics but might struggle in the academic classes once there - only schools left on the list that we felt was an academic reach are NYU (included because it has a larger number of acceptances) and Muhlenberg where we felt like, although a slight reach, her audition could push her over the edge</p>
<p>This was our initial list she applied to:</p>
<p>CMU
CCM
Ithaca
Syracuse
University of the Arts
Point Park
Otterbein
NYU
Northern Colorado
Hartt
Muhlenberg
Drew (safety, safety)</p>
<p>Then, before unifieds, she had 2 acceptances in hand from schools with rolling admissions, one of which she really really liked, so we cancelled the Hartt audition and instead walked in at Penn State, and we canceled the Northern Colorado audition.</p>
<p>She is happy with her outcome and we feel like the list was appropriate for her. Good Luck! - and remember - it’s arbitrary as to exactly which school will make the match - so don’t limit yourself - and as has been said above - don’t have one to die for school - we always had a top 5</p>
<p>I think the original question is perfectly valid - future MT students may “recognize” themselves in others’ experiences and not have to re-invent the wheel.</p>
<p>Our main criteria:
- BFA with full university core curriculum required </p>
<p>He is a strong student, sees teaching or directing in his future, and did not want a conservatory-type experience. A lot of (tedious) perusing of college catalogs revealed that most BFAs - even those set in a university - have little or no classes outside of theatre studies. And you have to read the fine print…for example, some programs show that they require some electives, but in reality they choose them for you and they are something like “English in Shakespeare” or something else theatre related. That is not to criticize those programs, just to say that they did not fit what he wanted.</p>
<p>Suprisingly, the good matches for him were hard to find! Our list was narrowed to only five: Ball State, Elon, Western Michigan, UMich and Penn State. A small, scary list, right? In hindsight, we maybe should have compromised a little on the criteria and done a true safety school, but at the time, he felt that if his audition season was not successful, he would study directing or something else behind the scenes (always theater…always!)</p>
<p>Luckily, he ended up with 3 solid choices, and as an added bonus ended up close to home, so we are able to attend his productions. That was not really a “criteria” but was a very happy accident.</p>
<p>Second the advice to make your own criteria, read the fine print, and GO TO VISIT. In the end, that was how his final decision was made.</p>
<p>I’m very interested in sharing and seeing these lists! I’ve found SO much helpful information on CC, much of it involving discussion about where kids are applying. My son’s a junior too, and asked me to visit schools with him last spring (2011). Since then we’ve had the full range of visits, including seeing productions, and with more visits planned for spring/summer, here’s his “still-too-long” list of possibilities:
Dream schools: Carnegie-Mellon, Boston Univ., DePaul, Otterbein
Closer to home: James Madison University, Shenandoah Conservatory
Haven’t visited but on list for now: Fordham, Evansville, Ithaca, Syracuse, Hartt
Non-audition schools: Muhlenberg (will audition for scholarship), Temple, U. Montana, U. Minnesota BA
Just to clarify: he’s done summer programs at American Shakespeare Center and U. Minnesota and will be at the Boston University pre-college program (BUSTI) this summer. He’s a middle-of-the-road student at an independent school with tough academics and a strong but very small theater program. Also plays varsity football–he’s a big guy–which limits his involvement in school theater productions. Was sidelined from the school’s late-winter theater production by a badly fractured ankle, so he started voice lessons and is researching monologues, hoping to be prepared for some intensive work at BUSTI in July. Looking for BFA-type training but prefers a “real” college experience, and does not want to go south of Virginia. We hope to visit everywhere by the time auditions are complete–this is my third time out as a parent of a college applicant, and I’m an arts teacher/advisor at the high-school level, so I’m a big believer in actually seeing places before you invest yourself in the application & audition process. It’s certainly different for everyone, and I feel lucky that my son is more interested in a good fit than in the big name. His sights are firmly set on acting, but he genuinely believes that there are many paths to that goal, so he’s trying to put together a relatively varied list of schools. Hope that helps–and thanks to the OP for starting this thread!</p>
<p>This had been stated in other threads, but boys don’t need as long a list. This has proven true this year with people we know. Yes, a boy must be very talented to get in a very competitive program. But I know boys (with marginal talent) who have received lots of offers while girls (very talented!) have gotten very few. This is not unfair- just a fact. If you are a talented girl, you need a very long (17?) list if you are choosing a lot of reaches. I think you should audition for all the reaches you want as long as you would be happy with the safety you choose. (yes, people can be happy when they end up with their safety!) Look at the acceptances this year and there are 5 or 6 schools that have a lot of boys accepted. Those are a good start for your list.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the helpful info. It was especially helpful to hear that boys don’t need quite as long a list. We’d love to visit bunches of schools, but time and finances prohibit that. We need to save up for fall auditions and unifieds.</p>
<p>Also to nicksmtmom, sounds like mine is like yours, definitely “recognized” my ds in your post. Talent, and also a strong and curious student. So your list is very helpful to us. I started looking at every school on the list yesterday and American University was, of course, one of the first. They offer a BA in Musical Theatre with a strong core curriculum. Does anyone have any experience with the program at AU?</p>
<p>Here’s my original list:</p>
<p>Ithaca
Penn State
UCLA
BOCO
Pace </p>
<p>Add:
American University
Ball State
Elon
UMich</p>
<p>Thinking about:
University of the Arts
Temple
Muhlenberg
Oklahoma
Juilliard</p>
<p>Ewanes, I’m not familiar with the curriculum at ALL the schools on your list but I do know that if your S is looking for a strong academic experience in addition to MT, both BoCo and UArts will not be a good fit for him.</p>
<p>And if he’s sure he wants MT, Juilliard doesn’t offer it, so that wouldn’t be a good fit either (in addition to, I believe, being a pure conservatory with no liberal arts core requirements).</p>
<p>Also, Temple’s BA MT program is by audition. Acting program is non-audition but requires instructor approval to take advanced level acting studio.</p>
<p>Like so many others my Ds list is still very long and a work in progress-some are definate apply to and others she is thinking about. </p>
<p>CMU
Ithaca
Pace
Baldwin Wallace
Emerson
Ball State
Point Park
Syracuse
CCM
Texas State
Elon
Western
UM
Coastal Carolina
Shenandoah
UArts
Roosevelt</p>
<p>With it being so competitive almost any school feels like a reach. She has come to the realization when visiting other schools she can’t compare it to her dream school-which I think is a big step in this. The hardest part of our list has been the safety schools. If anyone has a list of safeties they are willing to share or have an opinion on I would love the feedback. Feel free to PM me if you would rather. Thx!</p>
<p>@broadway95, I found that settling on the safety or safeties which you would truly be willing to consider if all else fails, was the hardest part.</p>
<p>I’m happy to post our safeties since we don’t need them any more (and have officially declined acceptances at both). I’ve yet to post a list of acceptances/rejections otherwise because I’d rather do that all at once when all the cards are all on the table which hopefully will be within the next two weeks. Superstitious.</p>
<p>Two safeties:
- University of New Hampshire’s non audition BA in Musical theatre. Actually a very decent program in a school that is easy to get to (hour outside of Boston and a bus or train that runs door to door from the airport) and a very lovely campus.
- U of California-Irvine which is a BFA in MT but you audition after you’ve already been in the school and have completed a required course. I thought the odds of just competing against admitted students were a lot better than competing against hundreds applying to schools where admission to the school itself was dependent on a successful audition. (Although I read admission to the BFA at Irvine isn’t a walk-on either and sometimes it takes a couple of tries). </p>
<p>Maybe this subject should eventually be its own thread. I think it doesn’t get enough attention and in the end as I said, it is probably the hardest thing to settle on. Safeties should also be included in the visits. We didn’t do that but we should have because if it had come down to truly needing them, we could have been up a creek.</p>
<p>@tracyvp, thanks for that info. I think I was drawing from schools that I read just had some major money flowing in (UArts). Money, which is, of course, wholly another consideration.</p>
<p>@MichaelNKat. Whew! Good point! We are really at the start here, and I have to say that my head is spinning. Juilliard received a $90 million dollar gift recently, so I would definitely have dk give straight drama or legit voice (he tends in this direction vocally) a go there, even if it is a conservatory. I don’t have the details, but it sounded like a good portion was headed toward scholarships. Something along the lines of what Stanford instituted recently. Interestingly, Juilliard asks acting students to sing a cappella at their audition according to the website, so I guess they feel that straight-up actors could do with a bit of musicality as well.</p>
<p>So it seems that I was first thinking about curriculum and dk’s needs, then I was thinking about the effect on the pocketbook! This must be a fairly common seesaw effect that occurs from now until we drop dk off a year from September. Yes?</p>