<p>If it is any consolation to all of the current sophomores who didn’t get into MPulse this year, it is my understanding that because of the huge number of applications to the program this year, they made a late decision to limit admittance to ONLY rising seniors. Apparently no rising juniors were invited to be in the program at all, not based on talent, but because they felt there was not enough room in the program and they wanted to give preference to the older students. There is hope for next year! I’d definitely try again.</p>
<p>Thanks CalDad3 for the information. My son is happily off to OCU this summer as a rising junior but was disappointed he didn’t get in to MPulse. He will be relieved to hear this news. Congratulations to your son!</p>
<p>CalDad3, I know my daughter will be relieved to hear this. I only got back on here today to ask if anyone knew whether sophomores may not have been accepted this year because of the large volume of applicants. You have confirmed my suspicions, so thank you! This will encourage her to at least audition again next year, as she is only a sophomore now. I really wish they would have mentioned that decision in the rejection letter, however. We finally called the office on March 31st, and were told a letter had been mailed out to us on 3/21, but when it finally arrived on April 4th, we noticed that it was postmarked 4/1! It was very hard waiting so long for a denial!</p>
<p>We just found out today that after being waitlisted for mPulse TDA, we got in! Question now is, we’ve already accepted to BTP. Any thoughts on which program we should do? Daughter is a rising junior in high school. She went to OCU last summer and loved it.</p>
<p>^^^In my opinion, nobody can say where your D should go. It is not like one program is better than another. It is all about fit with what the student wants to spend their time doing and which program matches that the best. If you share your D’s summer program selection criterion, that would be a good start and the idea is to figure which program bests fits that. </p>
<p>I will say this…MPulse TDA is for Acting. BTP is MT-oriented and heavily dance oriented. These differences alone are so significant. Does your D want to spend her summer honing her acting/drama skills or does she want to train in voice/dance/acting (and particularly lots of dance)?</p>
<p>Well she wants to do it all! She is a theatre major at a performing arts school and has done acting in film, TV and stage. She LOVES musical theater and is an accomplished singer. She does dance but it is probably her weakest of the three areas. She hopes to audition for MT schools in a couple of years but will also be auditioning for some straight acting programs as well. </p>
<p>BTP seems to me to put the kids in front of a lot of industry professionals which is fantastic. But will that help her in the near future with auditioning for college? And is she ready to be in front of industry pros? I don’t know. Michigan is definitely one of the top schools on her list in either MT or Acting. I know colleges do go to BTP but not sure how much interaction they have with the kids or if its just like a college fair where the kids can get brochures and chat with them.</p>
<p>And --How do these programs take it if you turn down an opportunity to go there? I don’t want to make any of them mad at her. If you turn them down this year, will they let you in the next?</p>
<p>She is just finishing her sophomore year so she has a little time before college auditions… just not sure what to do. Thanks for any advice! I know you can’t tell us what to do specifically, but any thoughts you have are appreciated.</p>
<p>You can’t look at a summer program like a “pre-audition”. It could go either way, or it could make no difference. You have no control. You can only control what your daughter spends her summer doing. My sophomore son is doing BTP because he wasn’t accepted to Mpulse MT. He would not consider Mpulse for acting only. He wants to do MT. It doesn’t matter who sees her at this point in her journey (unless someone casts her on Broadway now!?) It is all about the learning. If you are worried about who will see her , and will she get a solo, and can she turn this into a future perk- you will end up frustrated. Go where she feels she will learn the most and she has fun. There is so much stress ahead of her. Enjoy this summer.</p>
<p>If you had said your D wants to pursue a BFA in MT, I would have advised BTP as the better match in terms of training for that goal. However, you say that your D wants to apply to both Acting or MT BFA programs and if that is the case, either of these summer programs would work for her and it just depends how she would prefer to use this summer…focusing on acting, or all three disciplines. If she is weak in dance, it is a good chance to get some additional training. You can’t go wrong with either program and neither has an advantage over the other when it comes to admissions. If your D is planning to pursue both MT and Acting college programs, then maybe this summer she trains in one of those areas and next summer she trains in the other. For example, she could go to MPulse for Acting this year and try again for BTP next summer. That’s one way to look at it. I would not concern myself with any contacts she might meet at these programs. That seems a minor consideration in my view.</p>
<p>(cross posted with theatremomma but we’re basically saying the same thing)</p>
<p>haha well I’ll give you an opinion, take it or leave it. I would say BTP. If dance is her weakest area, she’ll get some good training. It is SO HARD for kids her age (believe me, I know) to choose what will HELP them the most over what will make them SHINE the most. But at this age, training is so important. And I very much doubt if Mpulse will be “mad” if you turn them down after AS A SOPHOMORE she was put on the waiting list, and you wisely moved ahead and made other plans, put down non-refundable $, etc. She can do Mpulse next year; sounds like as a rising senior who had been on the (coveted) waiting list the year before, she’d get in!! There!! Now if your (or her) gut doesn’t like my answer, then at least you know what you want!!</p>
<p>Thanks so much to all for your words of wisdom. I hope I didn’t come across the wrong way. She isn’t looking at either camp as a pre-audition. Just trying to figure out which one would best prepare her for college auditions down the road. Although I have read that at BTP every day is an audition. It sounds very intense, challenging and extremely worthwhile. However we also have things to consider like travel logistics, costs, etc… And most importantly – whatever our daughter’s heart and gut tells her to do. It is a good problem to have to choose between 2 such great programs. I will say I don’t think going to a 2 week acting intensive is not helpful to someone whose long term goal is musical theater. So I would hope someone interested in musical theater wouldn’t automatically rule such a strong program out. I think any program they can do to strengthen each different component of musical theater has got to be helpful in the long run. If we go that route we may try to do a summer intensive in dance as well. And she can continue her private voice lessons throughout the summer. It would be easier to get all of that instruction in one camp – but it may not be bad to do intensive focus on each element individually either. Thanks again for all of the advice. I really do appreciate it. I hope you and all of your kids/students have a fantastic summer. I will enjoy hearing about their experiences on here. And I will keep you posted on what our daughter ultimately decides :)</p>
<p>Hi! I was put on the mpulse tda waitlist for this year and wanted to know if anyone had any wisdom onto what my chances might be to be accepted. I’m also a rising junior. Thanks! :)</p>
<p>I think you meant to post in the current year’s Mpulse thread (Mpulse 2012)? This one is last year’s, so you may want to ask your question again in the more recent thread.</p>