<p>I’d always heard that it didn’t matter when you auditioned and that you should reserve your earliest auditions for the schools that are lower on your list, saving your dream schools for last, as it were. But my son was told by a faculty member (at a school he liked very much) that they do offer spots right after the fall auditions (before Christmas) and that he should audition as early as possible to improve his chances. This was worrisome to us, as my S really loved the school, but he plays a fall sport (games every Friday night) and the school is more an a day’s drive for us, so it’s almost impossible to audition before January. This was a straight acting program, btw. I was grateful to the professor for being straightforward, but you better believe I’m doing a lot of calendar work these days trying to plan it all out! As an aside–we wouldn’t have received this advice OR known how good a fit this school seemed for my son if we hadn’t taken the time to visit. Just one more thing to factor in!</p>
<p>Even though my S does well in auditions, he really shines in a masterclass/workshop type setting. With enough time to display his talent, my S has as good a shot as anybody unless he doesn’t fit the type needed. When that becomes evident, he moves on.</p>
<p>If he feels he didn’t have a good audition for a school he really wants to get into and there is another shot later on, he’ll do that. If he still doesn’t get in and feels they are missing his best, then maybe going to the school under a BA until they have time to get a better look at him is the way to go, then he’ll do that. There are several ways to go about it, he just has to keep it real and know what a good fit is and if he thinks he has a real shot or not. Hopefully we have built this mechanism into him, and we are always here to help him along the way. We do encourage him and applaud him, but we also make sure that he has a good business head, because when it comes down to it, it not “Show”, its “Show Business”.</p>
<p>Audition early, audition late, go to festivals, go to unifieds, make your visits, and exhaust all the steps. In the end, good honest communication with the school and a grasp of reality in regards to your kid being up for it is a must.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. about National Thespians and the colleges that attend and offers, etc. It is just very foreign from our experience here in Vermont! And none of my D’s regional friends, nor her friends from her summer theater program out of state, attended that, though all got into very good programs. It sounds like a neat opportunity. I have to say that most of the schools (in fact, I think ALL of the schools) my daughter applied to…are not on the list of the colleges that attend that event or hold auditions there. So, that is another reason why it just doesn’t align with our experiences. </p>
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<p>I don’t mean to be argumentative, but this is NOT a FACT. SOME programs admit students as the season goes on. MANY programs (including the majority that my own kid auditioned for) do NOT and they wait until all auditions are done to select the class at ONE time.</p>
<p>@Emsdad & austinmtmom- I didn’t even go into the things that some of the schools told my son. Money to cover expenses to come see their school. He did three offsite private auditions while he was there, at a hotel down the road. One school shut down the booth/office and took him out for coffee and a chat off campus to tell him he was the one they came for, what will it take to come to our school. He recieved notes pinned to his dorm room door. We are going to go to Chicago Unifieds because a few colleges that are near by are going to pick him up from the unifieds to take him out to their school for a visit. The phone rings everyday, we have several letters, and a bunch of emails since he’s been back from Nebraska. There are even a few that will amount to college being covered for my S.</p>
<p>It is all very flattering, and it is a big relief for us and him, but he still has to make sure he gets the right fit.</p>
<p>@soozievt- There where only a few schools on that list that my son was considering, and fortunately he got accepted to them. The funny thing is, it turns out his list has grown since he went there. Several schools that he had never considered really turned out to be nice schools with nice programs and he hit it off with the professors. </p>
<p>This certainly isn’t the only, or, any means to an end, but it was a nice opportunity. It was a nice prep for the other schools coming up that are on the list list. It is nice to know that it looks like he will have the opportunity to get a secondary education because of something he is good at and loves so much. I just wanted him to learn some life skills from doing theatre, anything beyond that is a huge bonus.</p>
<p>soozie, I’m not meaning to be argumentative either, but I don’t quite understand why it would bother you to advise students to audition as early as they can, if possible? Just because your D and her friends were successful auditioning later, means very little. My D was ultimately successful too but my advice still stands. I’m talking about statistics and chances, not anecdotes. Certainly in this very competitive process it makes sense to increase your chances whenever possible. </p>
<p>Yes, it’s true there are <em>some</em> schools that wait to choose mostly everyone at once besides ED (I believe NYU is one). But <em>many</em> programs don’t–see commentators above who have already gotten offers, and others who have been advised to audition early. I didn’t know this before going into this process and I would have valued this knowledge. To use our own personal experience, in every single BFA program my D auditioned at, slots were already taken up by people who’d already been offered a spot, sometimes much earlier–not ED. </p>
<p>Again, I’m sure there are exceptions, but many top programs DO fill their slots as they go along. Given that it’s so competitive, I don’t see what’s wrong with alerting folks that this happens. At least then they can make a more informed choice.</p>
<p>Big Shoes – your son must be pretty amazing!
Question about the Thespian Convention – do kids attend as part of a school group, or do kids go as individuals? My D is a Thespian, but their troupe is not very active.</p>
<p>Oy, I lost my entire post and will try to recreate it. </p>
<p>connections:</p>
<p>My point is that you stated it as FACT that all programs admit as they go along with the audition season and this is not the case with all programs whatsoever. In the goal of becoming informed, as you also desire, it is important that applicants follow and learn about the policies and procedures for admission at individual programs as they do NOT operate in the same fashion in this regard. Sure, if a program admits on a rolling basis, it is good to apply on the earlier side, but for schools that admit all at one time, there is no advantage to auditioning early and in fact, some students find that they improve their auditioning skills as the season wears on. What is important is to know how it works at each program. My observations and knowledge are not merely anecdotal or based on my own kid’s experience. I have advised many MT and Acting applicants over the years. One can even read this forum and see when the acceptances get posted to certain programs. </p>
<p>First, I will start with my own kid’s college list, where the date of her audition made no difference in my view:</p>
<p>NYU/Tisch…accepts some in the ED round and then accepts/denies all at one time in the RD round after all auditions are done
CMU…accepts/denies all at one time when auditions are done
UMich…accepts/denies/defers some on a rolling basis and some when all auditions are done
Emerson…accepts (very few!) or denies/defers in the Early Action round in Dec. and then accepts/denies all at once in the RD round when all auditions are done
Syracuse…accepts/denies all when auditions are done
Ithaca…accepts/denies/defers some on rolling basis and many when all auditions are done
Penn State…accepts/denies when all auditions are done, but there is a callback at auditions which would indicate if denied or still in the running
Boston Conservatory…accepts/denies when all auditions are done</p>
<p>Some others off the top of my head (feel free to correct any misconceptions):</p>
<p>Otterbein…denies/defers on rolling basis but accepts all at one time when auditions are done
CCM…accepts/denies/defers on rolling basis
James Madison…accepts/denies when auditions are done
Wagner…accepts/denies when auditions are done
Elon…notifies all BFA’s at one time in the RD round after all auditions are done
Pace…notifies all at once when auditions are done
Point Park…rolling basis
UArts…rolling basis
Ball State…notifies all at once at end of auditions (I think)
Indiana…notifies all at once at end of auditions (I think)
Baldwin-Wallace…has an early and a regular round (I think)</p>
<p>Know your programs. They differ in so many ways, not just in this way!</p>
<p>My sons troupe is active, but I’m not sure if that matters much on if you attend or not. As long as you are an active member in good standings you can attend, even if you pay for it yourself and take your kid. I don’t know if it gives you any advatage over anyone else, but it was a good experience for my son.</p>
<p>Thanks for the compliment, my son does a good job.</p>
<p>@ Big Shoes, I was just curious - do the auditions at the Thespian Convention have a dance component, or is it just singing and monologue? Congrats to your son!</p>
<p>@zebrarunner- During the main audition there was no dance component. Most of the schools where satisfied with his resume and portfolio showing that he was taking a triple threat program at a performing arts high school. Others had him go through a choreography work up off site during a more extended audition. Others will add that component once he gets to the College for a larger audition later this year.</p>
<p>I have heard and read so much about the dance component during auditions that its mind boggling. I think the best advice was given a few responses ago by soozievt, know the programs at the schools your child will be auditioning for. Most have great info on their MT Audition requirement pages. By looking at the past shows they’ve done you can also see the level of dance required once they are attending there.</p>
<p>Thanks for the congrats.</p>
<p>Big Shoes: I apologize if I implied your son was given a spot,; it is clear he earned it through his talent. My point is that I want to be sure if my daughter is applying to a school that says they take 6 girls that she would be auditioning for 1 out of 6 and not, say, 1 out of 2. We’ll have to check closely with each school as soozie suggests. One more question to add to the list!</p>
<p>I thought I had an idea how hard the admission process is, but after reading this thread, I see that I am way behind . . . and clueless. It sounds like it is pretty darned impossible to get into most of these programs - with kids being offered admission at festivals, and kids preparing by taking triple-threat programs at performing arts high schools, etc. Never heard of the Thespian Festival - great opportunity there! Wasn’t even thinking about fall auditions, because that is when our high school does its musical every year. No way S is not doing that his senior year! Then Massachusetts Educational Theatre Guild will begin in January, with the festival starting in March - this is a huge deal for S and his classmates!</p>
<p>Fitting auditions in will be hard, but this is SENIOR year! I know my S will not be talked out of doing any and every production the school puts on. So, we’ll do what we can, but it looks like we will have to take a reality pill here, and learn to really love those safety schools!</p>
<p>In our case, the festival was convenient, it wasn’t about getting the jump on everyone else. The PA School my son goes to is our local public high school. We are going to Chicago Unifieds because somebody else is paying for it or we’d stay here in Los Angeles. </p>
<p>I know everyone has their formula on what it takes to get a kid ready for an MT College program. Then they have their 10 schools and every angle on how to get in. But…then they have the school they will go to when that doesn’t pan out, their ‘safety’ school.</p>
<p>It all just feels so agressive and awkward. I know its good to be organized, and we are, but all that stress. If the kids are good enough to get into a top MT School, they’ll get in. Does anyone get into a top MT School on good grades and timing? </p>
<p>Anyway, good luck.</p>
<p>I have not posted on this thread because I am neither a parent nor student…but I will offer this to the current bent. I think when you audition for a program does not matter too awfully much. True some schools admit as they roll, other schools admit at the end, and other schools generally admit at the end and have a few, very selective, early admissions. In any case folks should audition when they can - a school would not have an audition date unless they were interested in admitting students. Having said that, the one thing I would possibly try to avoid is the school’s last audition. I have heard talk of a feeling that if you are auditioning so late - you are not really interested in that school as a first choice. I have heard of having, by that time, to compete with the auditors completed class as they have formed who they would like already from the first 14 auditions in their collective heads, I have heard of auditor fatigue - after they have seen 600 prospects. So, I would avoid the last audition if I could. Still basically, I say audition when you can - and best of luck!</p>
<p>Thank you all for the info! : ) D will be a senior, and Drama pres, and like many of you, really looking at a grueling schedule this year. From the research I’ve done, most of the schools she’s interested in don’t post audition dates till September. I’ve been trying to estimate dates based on last year. I see the dates for the Unified’s but all of the schools aren’t listed on the Unified website. D is interested in acting BFA/BA, but she sings, and can do some dance. Feedback from professionals suggests she is the right type for film and TV, so many of her schools also have good film schools. Here is her most recent college list:</p>
<p>Reach: Juilliard, Northwestern, CMU, USC</p>
<p>Academic Fit: De Paul, Emerson, Syracuse, SUNY Purchase, Michigan, Rutgers, Minnesota/Guthrie, BU</p>
<p>Safety/Fit: UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCSC</p>
<p>We live in Southern California and plan to wait to see where she’s accepted to see schools in the East. We visited Juilliard and CMU years ago when older S was looking for music conservatories. D feels a little competitive with big bro as he was accepted at CMU and wait-listed at Juilliard. Her voice teacher, also a professional musical theater actor, recommends that she shoot for the top, but she’s had friends who were not accepted to any programs. I’ve read statistics that the increase in applicants to some of these programs is up 40% from previous years. She’s in the top 9% of her class, so she’s guaranteed a slot in a UC school. But we’re sweating that even, as California schools face huge budget cut backs and impacted enrollments. That’s why we feel she can’t just apply to one UC. </p>
<p>I’m impressed with you kids doing all of this research on your own. Glad we have CC to help us gather some wisdom.</p>
<p>marbleheader, don’t stress too much. The vast majority of schools that participate in the Thespian Festival are not most of the schools which are discussed most often here on CC, as I imagine you can readily see. Most applicants will not have participated in something like this type of festival or SETC, and their opportunities are not more limited as a result. There is enough stress as it is in this process without adding more because of discussions like this! 
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<p>Even those schools who do make ‘offers’ at these events often still require the student to come to campus or to Unifieds to audition officially. Many of the offers made at these events are conditional on other things, such as the campus visit, certain academic requirements, etc. </p>
<p>I don’t think that prospective students and their families should now start worrying about the number of spots left by the time they do their scheduled audition. In all the years I’ve been reading here on CC and all the audition cycles that I’ve witnessed, and the many kids I’ve helped in the process, I don’t recall ever seeing or hearing about a school who had filled all its spots early in the process. If there were, then there wouldn’t be such a rush of activity and angst around the April 1 date. The only exception to that is the fiasco with Point Park this year, and that, in my opinion, was enough to turn any clear-thinking student away from that school for good!</p>
<p>I agree with the above post wholeheartedly and based on my own experiences and observations over the years.</p>
<p>alwaysamom and soozieVT - thank you for your encouragement. Others have reached out to me via pm to say the same things you did. That makes me feel better. We are just beginning to find out about the application process, so it is hard to pluck out the most useful info.</p>
<p>I see now that some of the acceptances and offers are from lesser known, but no doubt, good schools. When I read about college reps chasing kids, phoning them, leaving notes on the doors, as well as paying for kids to go to Unifieds, my first thoughts were, if these kids are that talented, why are they bothering with college at all - which way to Broadway! LOL! I’ve always been glad that S doesn’t consider himself one in a million - he knows he’s one OF a million talented kids, and getting into a reach theatre program will take all that he has - and he still might not make it. </p>
<p>So, I will step back, catch my breath and continue my research. At this point, S needs to start writing his essays and polishing his resume until the Common App comes out in August. Then he will finalize his school list and start sending applications, and scheduling auditions. </p>
<p>Thanks again, and please continue to share any helpful info that you find!</p>
<p>Hope to meet you out on the road, Marblehead!</p>