This is our first time going through this whole process. Just needed some clarification on the process, or the order of the process.
Which to do first? Prescreens, then apply, then sign up for auditions, then unifieds??When should prescreens be completed in order to sign up for an audition time?
Any feedback or advice is much appreciated as we start this journey.
New at this too. Could use some clarification.
Some schools require students to apply academicly before you submit the pre-screen, some schools want you to wait to apply until after you pass pre-screen, and if you pass the pre-screen you then apply.
Generally, you schedule auditions for pre-screen schools after/if you pass the pre-screen. I have not heard of pre-screen schools that allow you to schedule an audition before you pass the pre-screen.
For schools that go to Unifieds (or audition in a Unifieds location at the same time as Unifieds), that will be an option to schedule if you pass the pre-screen.
Not all schools require a pre-screen. Some of these schools require you to apply before you schedule an audition, some will allow you to schedule an audition before you apply. Most will require you to apply before you actually audition.
From our experience:
Make list of schools to apply to. Figure out which ones require prescreens, figure out which (if any) you want to apply to ED and which have Fall auditions. Make a worksheet.
Check prescreen requirements for each school and figure out what cuts / selections and videos are required. Make another spreadsheet. Panic a little.
Prioritize applying to the top-choice schools that don’t prescreen because their auditions fill up in a NY minute. Film prescreens. Apply to ED or Fall audition schools if you still have time. Then get the rest of the apps in.
Once an application is complete, monitor email inbox and spam folder for audition invites. Check frequently. Make audition appointments and get Unified slots for the schools who attend Unifieds. Make travel arrangements… and a third spreadsheet.
Hope that helps!?! Good luck … And get going! Time is not on your side at this point - especially with non-prescreen schools, ED schools and Fall audition schools - so get a move on to avoid applying after all slots are gone,
Fees -I’m sure there is an audition fee. I know there is an application fee. Is there a prescreen fee? If so, what’s the typical range?
Just had a kid go through the whole process and it can be daunting. Didn’t discover CC until way late in the game.
Like the previous posts stated. Make a compehensive list of all the schools your child is interested, we made ours compile the list alone without influence from us. Each school is different as to when you can schedule versus applying, research is KEY.
Each school has their own nuances as to what each requirement is. Make sure you sign up for auditions for non pre-screen schools as soon as each school opens their sign ups. Some schools will fill up super quick (Baldwin Wallace). Signing up for Unified auditions takes some detailed time management skills. Most schools will let you reschedule if they have slots available, but give yourself ample time between auditions to account for walking in winter weather and the long lines in the bathroms for outfit changes.
The prescreens can be a daunting task. So many different requirements for all the different schools. Try to get these done soon, that way if you’re not happy with the first go round you can redo them. Don’t forget a lot of pre-screen requirements also need dance videos.
Hope this helps and good luck.
@rickle1 - the application fee is paid and you submit your prescreen as part of the application. If you audition you also pay an audition fee. I don’t remember there being any other fees. I do remember having to get our audition fee back from BW because they allowed my D to apply with no prescreen and then responded via email that there were no audition slots left. This was the day before the early admission deadline (Oct 1?) 2 years ago, btw, and the audition slots were filled all the way through Spring… so don’t trust anyone’s deadline dates. Get your apps in as early as you can.
Not all schools have an audition fee, and some might for off campus auditions, and not for on campus. Another thing that will vary from school to school.
A general note… I think this has been posted already this year, but just in case… you may want to create an email address specifically for college applications and auditions and have it accessible by parent/guardian and auditioning student. I have had conversations with frustrated parent/guardians whose auditioning student missed important emails, and as a result missed some opportunities.
Thanks for the coaching!
Thanks so much for all the helpful information!
This will also help you a lot. These are the requirements for the new Musical Theater Common Prescreen. The list of schools that are participating are featured here too:
https://papermill.org/musical-theater-common-prescreen/
-
Create a spreadsheet as mentioned. If your son is interested, this should contain a list of minimum 8 schools. If your daughter, probably double or triple that number. The disparity is because the majority of applications are from women while schools have an equal number of slots for men and women.
-
Buy or borrow and read cover-to-cover a book on the college audition process. This will be one of the best (and cheapest) investments you can make in the process.
-
Create an account on getacceptd.com (there is no E between t and d at the end). Populate the “discover me” in order to gain experience with the uploads, editing, etc. features of the site.
-
Create an account on commonapp.org and fill it out, then find the schools on your interest list and add them to your dashboard. You can add/delete schools but not exceed the hard limit of 20. You will find that in addition to about 2/3 of the schools requiring the 650 word common app essay, most schools will have additional short answer or essay questions that you can only see once you add them to your personal list of colleges. These school-specific writing requirements can range from 100-800 words, and some are specific to the music/musical theater track. Most of them center around questions like “why do you want to do this, why do you think you’ll be successful, and why is our school a good fit for you?” This means that a lengthy career goals discussion is a good thing to have your S/D avoid in the common app essay and prepare some general thoughts they can customize for each school in the supplementary questions.
-
Even though about 25 popular schools are participating in a “common prescreen” for the first time this year, that doesn’t mean it’s standardized. In the simplest combination you will need (and we have already submitted these): one contemporary monologue 60-90 seconds, one ballad 60-90 s, a contrasting uptempo 60-90 s (one pre-1970, one after 1970, your choice which is which), (BEWARE: Some schools want the vocal cuts limited to one minute), and a “wild card” which can be a special skill or whatever you want (60 s).
Other schools will require a second monologue 60-90s and differ whether this should be contemporary (1900+), classical (pre-1900) and specifically Shakespeare or specifically NOT Shakespeare, and finally some want the “introduction and why you want to attend our school” video 60s.
If your schools are NOT on the common prescreen their requirements may or may not align with the above, but probably not. Decide on the range of schools you will target and figure out
-
Each school will charge an application fee ($30-80) and often a separate prescreen fee ($50-115). Some will waive them if you have a common app fee waiver, others will not waive the prescreen fee no matter what. You pay the application fee on the common app through cashnet (it’s an automatic redirect) and the prescreen fee either directly on acceptd or sometimes through the school. Some schools will combine the prescreen & application fees in some way.
-
Acceptd is great once you have your videos uploaded. Find a fast internet connection (10Mbps upstream or better) or it will take you 10’s of minutes to hours to upload one mp4 file and you will wind up with at least 4 and probably more like 12-15 files of substantial size on your account.
-
You will have to refer to the websites for the schools that will evaluate a prescreen before you apply (Emerson and Otterbein are the only two which come to mind). Most will only look at your prescreen after you apply or require you to have information derived from the application process in order to submit a prescreen or request a live audition.
-
Start this process ASAP. Once your future star goes back to their senior year, getting them to focus on this process will be like pulling teeth. The hard deadline for most performing arts programs to submit application and prescreens is Dec. 1, 2019. The ones that tend to fill up will do so earlier than that, and they all state that they may run out of audition slots before the deadline and that is not their problem. The good news is that most schools are still not accepting prescreen materials, but they will start any day now.
-
This process is fun, but also stressful. It is a good training ground for keeping a positive mental attitude in the face of uncertainty, imperfection, and rejection. Your S/D will look to you for cues. Good luck and BAL!!
There are to date 38 schools that have signed up for the common pre-screen. For these schools you will have to, at most, create 5 videos total (not including dance videos, which are not s/t the common prescreen for the '19-20 application season).