<p>Congrats sassystage! Great job keeping positive!</p>
<p>Beeje2011 - Iâm sorry to hear about the rejections. I know it must be really hard. What were your non-audition schools you applied to? Hopefully you have been accepted to one that you really love. Remember there are many paths you can take to end up as a mt performer.</p>
<p>^ Beejee, Iâm pretty close. Still waiting on 6. I got rejected from like five in a week. So many academic acceptances though! :/</p>
<p>Beeje - So very sorry to hear about the rejections. I saw the list of the auditioned programs you applied to that you listed in another post and those are all programs with extremely low acceptance rates. All of those programs are turning away very talented kids because there are just so many of them auditioning for such a small number of spots.</p>
<p>As showmom mentioned, hopefully you have some choices from non-audition schools that you would love to attend. Sending good wishes your way.</p>
<p>Thanks you all 
austinmtmom, I did not apply to any non-audition schools. The fact that they donât audition is very off-putting. How can the people running the applications know if the kids are talented or not?
Also, I realize that these schools had low acceptance rates, but as far as I can tell, those are the ones with the highest success rates as well. Iâm really thinking about my future here, which is why these appeal to me. I would rather spend another year preparing for auditions rather than go to a college that may not prepare me right for the future.</p>
<p>I could not have said it better!</p>
<p>Beeje, I am sorry that you have not had positive results with your six audition BFA schools. Did you hear from Syracuse already? In this highly competitive process, six is on the low side of number of schools. </p>
<p>In my opinion, you ought to have included one or two non-audition schools. </p>
<p>I totally do not agree with you that non-audition schools donât end up with very talented people or that they wonât prepare you for a career in MT!!! I know some very very very talented MT kids who CHOSE to attend non-audition BA schools who were ACCEPTED to BFA in MT schools! For example, such students went to Northwestern, Yale, Brown, and several other schools with strong theater with no admissions audition. Guess what? Some very successful MT actors are alums of these programs!! I can think of several off the top of my head who went to these schools in recent years and have Broadway and National Tour credits. A BFA or a BA can lead to success in the professional theater world. The programs differ but talent rises and talent will be what counts in the audition room. Please do not discount all non-audition programs!! </p>
<p>(likewise, with summer theater programsâŠmy kid attended a non-audition based one and SOME of the talent there was so high and kids from the program landed at every top MT school in the country and numerous ones have gone onto professional success on stage at the highest levels including BroadwayâŠeven though the summer program did not require an audition to be admitted)</p>
<p>By the way, while this is not foolproof, one can ascertain some level of talent even on paper on an application. I regularly review backgrounds of prospective students. Honestly, even on paper, some have extensive training and achievements in casting and awards, some rather significant. I know what it takes to achieve those particular things and so have a sense of the âlevelâ of their talent even before viewing them in action. There are also recommendations and other things that paint a picture of an applicant.</p>
<p>A college education cost soooo much today unless you love that program you get into, should you settle for something that may not be the right fit .</p>
<p>100% in agreement. There is SO much focus on a few institutions and very little discussion about the real world here. Reality-you get into a top school and the competition begins all over again-then you graduate into a bigger pond of competition. The bottom line for all? What is the best fit for YOU? There is no one size fits all. A good friend in the business pointed out recently that no one at auditions generally cares where you came from. Talent speaks for itself. They audition you and make a decision at the moment. So go to a college where you will get attention and opportunity to demonstrate it. And if itâs a BFA or a BA or a BS-itâs what you DO not where you go. And remember there is a reason why we end up where we do-not always evident at that moment. For some it seems obvious, for others, hidden. But we realize later we were meant to meet someone, or experience something, or whatever-but there is a reason. Love/hugs to all who are going through this difficult quest!</p>
<p>typecast:
Nobody should attend a college they do not want to attend. Of course not. But I am not convinced that among the tons of other schools she did not apply to, including non-audition ones, are not a good fit. The goal ought to be to train and study MT and get a college education in order to pursue a career in MT. This goal CAN be reached even at non-audition schools. Thatâs what I am saying. </p>
<p>Say you want to be a doctor. Do you think that the only âfitâ or only way to reach that goal is to attend an Ivy League school? You can try year after year to get in but may never get in. Yet, you can attend another fine school that allows you to reach your ultimate career goal. </p>
<p>I also was responding to the notion that Beeje mentions that non-audition schools wonât prepare you. That just is NOT so. That is not a matter of opinion but it is fact. One SMALL example of manyâŠmy D (who graduated from a BFA) is in a musical right now in NYC and one of her cast mates graduated from Northwestern and is young and has also already been on Broadway since graduating. I could give you so many examples like this. Another friend of my girlsâ went to Brown and played a lead on a National Tour. Come to think of it, my D performed in NYC in an concert two nights ago with someone else who went to Northwestern and has also been on Broadway.</p>
<p>Oh, (I likely will be here forever if I list every example, LOL), a girl in my Dâs a capella group at NYU has been in two Broadway musical shows before even graduating and she is not even in Tisch! Sheâs in a big one now.</p>
<p>abbygirl, I agree that it is what you DO and not where you are from that matters in the long run. If you have talent and are driven and are an achiever, you will meet with success no matter which school you attended. But in any case, there are many schools that would be a firm foundation for someone going into theater and not all are audition based.</p>
<p>Yes, and we must do our best to let these young, talented people know that their dreams are not contingent upon a âtopâ schoolâs acceptance, but rather a combination of talent, ambition, hard work, training and (yes, itâs true) circumstances/luck. Please read the following passage from the biography of one of the greatest Directors of our time, Steven Spielberg. Itâs inspiringâŠ
He had three unsuccessful attempts to attend the University of Southern Californiaâs (USC) film school. Yet, when he became a famous director several years after, USC awarded him with an honorary degree. He soon became a trustee of the university.
After being denied entry to the traditional film school, he studied English at the California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). Interestingly, more than three decades after starting college, he finally completed his degree through independent projects at CSULB. He was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film Production and Electronic Arts with an option in Film/Video Production.</p>
<p>There! Now go out and lasso that dream, kids!</p>
<p>Steven Spielberg rejected for film school! Great story. Thanks!</p>
<p>A girl we know graduated from USC in engineering and has finished a national tour and is now starting her gig on Broadway in Mama Mia. It really doesnât matter where you went to school for MT of IF you went to school for MT- all that matters is how you audition!</p>
<p>Also, Sassystage- UCI is a tough program to get in right now so you should be very proud. We know several very talented kids attending for MT who are extremely happy there. We also know a lot of kids who are there in non-MT majors, who just generally love the school. You should be very proud to have been accepted.Good luck!</p>
<p>Itâs a two-sided street: Just because you attend one of the most prestigious schools in the country and get a BFA in Musical Theatre doesnât mean you will be on Broadway. On the other hand, I was recently in New York seeing shows and saw a ton of people who had B.A.s in English from universities or colleges Iâd never heard of, and they were in starring roles on Broadway in Plays or ensemble roles in Musicals. Many people donât even attend college. Maybe those people could have gotten into BFAs if theyâd wanted, but maybe they wouldnât have. Credits and prestige doesnât guarantee work, and just because a school accepts you doesnât mean you arenât talented. I hate to hear that people only apply to the âbestâ schools because the rest arenât worth it. Training is training and fit is fit- and happy is happy.</p>
<p>AlexaMT - You are always so well spoken and what you said here is absolutely true!</p>
<p>Well said, Alexa! Another point to consider is that an audition is a snapshot of what you did on one day (often in less than 5 minutes!) taken at one stage of your development as an artist. To judge yourself or to let others judge the entirity of your talent and worthiness to pursue your dreams from that limited amount of time and at this stage of your life is selling yourself and your dreams short. Finding a program where you are a right fit and that has professionals committed to your self-actualization is key, not just going after a certain ânameâ so the neighbors are impressed. Furthermore, âtalentâ is overrated. While of course having some base ability is essential, it is much more important to be hard working, dependable and coachable. I work in sports and deal with many talented athletes. It is often the less âtalentedâ, but much more hard working kid, that earns the spot on the national team or the college scholarship. A growth mind set, the idea that your abilities can improve with hard work, as opposed to a fixed mind set, the idea that your talent is fixed and no significant improvements will be made by training, is key to success in any field! Keep your nose to the grindstone, keep showing up and maintain a positive attitude (like Alexa!) and good things will happen!</p>
<p>AlexaMT and mom24girls - I just emailed your words of wisdom to my daughter and a friend of mine who has a daughter going through the same process. Thank you both for so eloquently stating what we all need to remember at this stressful time.</p>
<p>âTraining is training, fit is fit, and happy is happyâ. LOVE IT!! :)</p>