Seems like yesterday I found this interesting site called College Confidential, with wise words from those who had been through the process. And fast forward 4 years later, and my D’s last college performance on campus was yesterday (in Swing!!). Seems impossible to believe that 4 years ago we were sweating out how to finagle all the auditions around show choir competitions and the general life of a senior in high school. So as she prepares for senior showcase in NYC this coming spring, and starts auditioning for life beyond that, my thanks to all who have answered questions and help ease the path along the way.
And to those where I was 4 years ago, rest easy. It’s a whirlwind but by and large your son or daughter will wind up where they are supposed to be (and a quick plug for Ball State, it is exactly where my D should have been and she has loved every minute there). And finally enjoy your time right now, the travel to auditions, Unifieds, and getting ready to head to campus. It is astounding how fast the time goes, and you won’t get these moments back. Good luck to all, and if you’re at Ball State for auditions this February look me up. I’ll be the parent at the question and answer session sharing insight from a parent who’s been there. Break a leg to all your children!
I will also second the advice of soaking up all this senior year/audition time as much as possible. While it was crazy stressful at times (for anyone who doesn’t know our story - D’s was nuts … she broke her foot at one of her first auditions and had lots of “thanks, but no thanks” - but is CRAZY happy at her school choice) I loved her audition season. LOVED it. And I would do it again in a second. All that time spent together - I love watching her spread her wings at school, but I’m definitely wistful for the past.
Congrats @jeffandann on “surviving”! and thanks for all your helpful “sharing”. Good luck to your D in all her future endeavors. May she continue to be just where she should be - and happy wherever she is…
Congratulations from one MAC MT parent to another. Your contributions to this forum have been very helpful for years. Break a leg to your d in her future theatre endeavors.
the time of life is short;
To spend that shortness basely were too long.*
Wow young grasshopper. Glad I happened to notice your post to acknowledge how fast it went and to also add my appreciation for your contributions to this forum. I don’t look and post here that often anymore as I know my advice about the current college application process is dated and inferior to more recent experiences. But if you need some post grad advice, feel free to hit me up. Especially if she is headed to NYC. Not a plug for that choice but it seems many young people think that’s where they want to go and I’ve been there and done that for a bit now. At a minimum, I can at least recommend a good NYC exterminator.
I think post grad advice would be really, really helpful here. We get so much advice and angst about getting into a college, a little about the experiences during college, and almost nothing about the experience after college.
But it’s the experience post-college that the students are all working toward–it’s the entire point of all this angst in getting into the college to begin with.
My own kids are both in their last year of training, one undergrad, one Masters. I’m nervous and excited about next year. They don’t know yet where they plan on moving post-graduation. I myself plan on moving into a one bedroom apartment so if they have to crash at my place, they’ll have to sleep in a sleeping bag! Which means they’ll have to really support themselves, which is causing me both anxiety and hope. What’s really important for them, I think, are resilience, self-awareness, and generosity to both self and others. It’s a tough business, even when you’re successful (whatever that means for you).
I’d really love to hear more post-grad stories if people want to share them as they continue on their journeys.
@connections - maybe start a new thread about that? Our D is a senior also and like you, I’d love to hear advice, stories, suggestions, etc. about this next phase from those who’ve already been through it.
^^^OK, I’ll start a thread (but anyone can) on that topic. There have been threads on it in the past. It is an important topic! There are not a lot of members still posting on on the MT forum in the years post graduation (though I am one).
I think that the post grad experience tends to migrate to other forums and not last long here. Truth be told, consumers of this forum pretty quickly and somewhat rightly (but also wrongly) seem to think that old timers here don’t get the college process and what it means and therefore cannot relate to it. OK. No and sometimes yes, but OK. Blink.
For myself the number of programs from when we started that were in my mind “safety” schools to not that many years later became the “darling” schools is humbling. But I’ll tell you now on the other side… it’s not something to second guess. Nor is putting too many eggs into any year’s particular darling program. Things change.
None of it matters after your kids graduate from whatever program if your kids arrive prepared to grab whatever they are doing by the proverbial balls… and make the most of it. Which includes embracing the training they get in school. making good contacts, having a great work ethic etc.They will take that on the road to the next gig which will barely look at where they graduated from. Some schools attract kids that are better at that. Some schools do a better job of encouraging that. Most schools allow some degree of coasting and that includes the school my own kid graduated from. And then life awaits and has its own way of sorting things out.
Soozie’s daughter has embodied hard work in spades. Honestly the fact that she is still contributing here is humbling. You bet your life I’d watch a thread that you start but wow… so nice of you to offer.
I think another reason people don’t post is the high attrition rate of this industry. This is something people don’t 'like to think about, although we are all aware of how low the odds are. I think there is a social media thing we are probably all guilty of, in which we tend to only post news that we can brag about.
I guess I’m interested in any path our kids end up following, whether it’s acting/performing, behind the camera/stage, related to acting, or utterly unrelated. I’d really be interested in the journeys.
And I agree with @halflokum about the evolution of ‘It’ schools versus ‘safety’ schools. My oldest S first applied to acting programs 10 years ago; seems hard to believe I’ve been on CC that long. Some schools are still ‘It schools’ but many that were prominent then are hardly heard of now, and vice versa. I also think what matters most is not necessarily what college you went to, but what you do post-graduation with the training and connections.
I have learned so much here that I can’t imagine my view of college etc without this community. BUT - with that said, it has been fascinating to watch changes just in the 4ish years I have been reading. Go back to posts for the HS class of 2013 (final decisions/background is my favorite) which is was the 1sr thread I really followed in the spring my my D’s junior year of HS. Count the number of schools applied to, not to mention the number of times you see coaching mentioned. Now read last year’s thread, or this year’s sharing venting thread… and check out the differences. To be 100% honest- if I was starting now and reading here… idk if I would have felt the same way about my D’s college journey. The world keeps changing, (the last week and a half has been proof of that for me) and sometimes the changes bring more questions than answers
