<p>Well, I only auditioned at 7 schools, and I also applied to an 8th school in state for just plain academics. I’ve gotten 2 rejections so far–the second came today, Michigan, and I have one acceptance to a BM in MT program in the fall. The program isn’t as selective as some of the others. I’m still waiting to hear back from the remaining schools but I’m not feeling too great about it and there’s only one more that I really care about.
I guess my mom is taking it much harder than I am because she is getting very upset and wondering if I should just go to my 8th school for academics since I only have gotten in to one MT school. I told her that you only need one acceptance because you can only go to one school but she says she doesn’t understand why I am getting rejected from the other schools. I guess she’s worried that I didn’t audition for enough schools, and that we’re wasting all our money and if I go to this less selective school then I won’t get a job when I graduate and now I’m feeling very confused because I am the one trying to comfort her about my rejections.
So should I have auditioned for more schools? Would it have mattered? Should I go to the school I’ve been accepted to (I do really like it) or should I get more training and try again for my “dream” schools next year? If I’ve only been accepted to one school that isn’t as selective does it mean I’m not talented enough to “make it”? Maybe I just picked the wrong audition material. I don’t know what to say to my mom! This is all so hard.</p>
<p>Please tell your mom that I don’t know of ANYONE who has been accepted at every school they applied to. You still have several more to hear from, and you’ve already gotten one acceptance! You are in great shape, and you don’t have to make any decisions just yet.</p>
<p>And oh my, please don’t start worrying yet about what happens when you get out of college!</p>
<p>@lalamusicmuse - I’m a mom who has always been far less comfortable with the level of rejection our D has to face on a regular basis as an aspiring actress than she herself is, so I think I understand where your mom is coming from. She loves you, doesn’t want to see you hurt, and wants your life to be filled with happiness and success! </p>
<p>Maybe it will help to talk with her and let her know that you are tough enough and committed enough to your goals that you can take rejection, and that you recognize it as an integral part of the path you hope to follow. You know there will be plenty of rejection mixed with success in your future, as that’s just the nature of auditioning for a living. </p>
<p>We parents CAN learn that our kids are often capable of doing things that we ourselves couldn’t do, and that you will make choices that we might not make, but sometimes we need reminders. MT kids are an incredibly courageous bunch! ;-D</p>
<p>Possibly a relevant quote;</p>
<p>I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.</p>
<p>Michael Jordan</p>
<p>Great quote and so true!!! Hang in there Lalamusicmuse!! The fat lady hasn’t sung yet! ;)</p>
<p>Love that MomCares . . . thank you.</p>
<p>And on another Michael Jordan note, he didn’t make his high school basketball team…</p>
<p>lalamusicmuse-- you’ve been accepted into a school you really like. That’s what I would call a success! May you have much more success-- but please reassure your mom that all is well. You are going to be studying what you love and that will take you to the next step, and on and on. When I think of the actors I know who are successful-- which is to say usually working on great projects and making a living-- they went to all kinds of colleges, often not even for theater. It’s their love of the art and their hard work that has made the difference. Congratulations on your acceptance–to your mom too!</p>
<p>I know this is not the point of the thread, but I was curious… is that true about MJ not making his HS basketball team … or urban legend? I’ve always heard that story too, but I had doubted it’s authenticity. So- I just looked it up!</p>
<p>He did not make Varsity as a Sophmore because he was a late bloomer and wasn’t tall enough. He then shot up by junior year, made Varsity and was the star of the team. He was recruited right from HS to UNC Chapel Hill with a full scholarship. Left there after 3 seasons going to the Chicago Bulls. </p>
<p>So I guess a part of the story is true!</p>
<p>@lalamusicmuse: If you look back through the acceptances threads, you will see that for 2009, 2010 and 2011 about one-third of the CC posters received 1 acceptance to an audition-based program, about one-third percent received 2 acceptances and about one-third received more than 2. And these are the successful ones who posted acceptances, no doubt many auditionees received no acceptances! I didn’t run the statistics, but the acceptances to the “top” five or so programs (like Michigan), at least by CC posts, look to be around 10-15 percent. Hence, receiving one acceptance to any audition-based program is no small feat and most people who did get an acceptance, didn’t get one from one of the “top” five or so programs. If you add it up, the majority of auditionees (about 65%) received “only” one or two acceptances. This is an extremely competitive arena and success of any kind deserves kudos.</p>
<p>Note: Yes, it is true that some people stop the process after receiving one or two acceptances early on (and that would skew the numbers downward), but if you dig through the posts that appears to be only about 10 percent of the total.</p>
<p>So, I went onto my myithaca account only to see my major of interest changed from MT to exploratory (undecided) I can only assume this is a rejection. Ah, well. I truly was expecting it. Ithaca was my first audition and it went REALLY bad. I auditioned 2/4 in NYC. So far it is the only school I have heard anything from. I still have to audition for Marymount Manhattan, SUNY Purchase, and Adelphi’s BFA acting programs so hopefully something good happens to me. I am still waiting to hear from Frodham and Point Park. I really wish my mother had let me audition for more schools. :/</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! Rejections do stink but I’m feeling a lot better today! And it’s true that I do have an acceptance to a school that I really like. I guess I was hoping for a choice, but even if I don’t get a choice I’m thankful to have one school that I can attend. And I think you are right because my mom has never been involved in theatre so I think she takes the rejections even harder than I do. I also have to remember that there are more talented people than there are spots, you never know what a school is looking for, and that an audition is such a short amount of time in which to evaluate someone’s full potential.</p>
<p>@AthenaL–Break a leg at the rest of your auditions! You can do it I hope you hear good news soon!</p>
<p>Unfortunately AthenaL that is probably a rejection. That happened to my D as well last year. They changed her major to her second choice. So sorry! Hopefully you hear some great news soon!</p>
<p>I just read this WHOLE thread and was SO moved by the strength that all you guys had in dealing with this process. I can relate to everyone’s situation! Last year as a senior in high school I was completely confused as to how the audition and application routines went. Every single school I applied to I got a rejection from. They were all from different reasons, some due to my poor test scores and grades from high school and some due to my poor organizational skills. The list of schools were long, and I will describe the experience for each one. </p>
<p>Marymount Manhattan College - Denied academically: This really hurt because it was one of the top schools on my list. I knew for an average student that this wouldn’t be hard to get into, and to be denied academically made me feel stupid and completely worthless. </p>
<p>Pace University- Denied Academically, this expericen was the same as MMC</p>
<p>DePaul University- I auditioned for the BFA acting program and was denied, I am not sure if it was because of my high school academica records or my talent. Looking back at the auditions I would say both.</p>
<p>Roosevelt University- I auditioned for the BFA Musical Theatre. This experiecnce was similar to DePaul’s. I am not sure if it was due to high school records or talent. </p>
<p>Boston Conservatory- This was a CRAZY experience! I applied to the school at the LAST minute, thus leaving me with auditions options because all the slots were full for the Chicago Unifieds. I decided to try to go anyway just in case a slot opened up. I did the dance call first, and went back to see if the singing and monologue portion would be avaliable. Unfortunately everyone showed up and I was unable to audition in person. I sent in a video as requested with two songs and a monologue, and later recieved a rejection letter. Later on I found out from the admissions office it was because of my poor grades, and my audition rating was pretty high. </p>
<p>Julliard- I wasn’t called back. Simple.</p>
<p>Western Michigan University- was planning to go to the audition in March, I got days confused and went on the WRONG date!!! How could this happen I honestly have no idea. </p>
<p>North Central College: Denied…</p>
<p>I cried and cried and really hated myself for the rest of my senior year. I already had a hard time fitting in to my high school, and being rejected from all these schools made things worse for me. I ended up falling to Columbia College Chicago for the BA in Musical Theatre. I told myself the summer of 2011 that I would do whatever it takes to prepare myself in efforts to trying again for colleges. I worked a summer job, and payed for voice lessons with one of the leading vocal coaches in the Chicagoland area, who also happened to teach a singing class at Columbia (I took her class last semester!). During my first semester I continued to work a part time job to pay for private acting classes with one of the best acting studios of Chicago. it was defintely a scarifice because I didn’t have much money to get the things that I needed and wanted. I made a decision to keep on with these classes though. I made sure I applied and secured audition slots for all the schools I researched during the summer. I worked hard to keep my grades up for the first semester of college, and kept a great relationship with my professors leading into great letter of recs. (Just to clear the air, Columbia College is a GREAT program, the offer a BFA track that requires an audition after you have gained 32 credit hours and maintained atleast a 3.0 gpa within your major. The only reason why I am set on transferring is for an actually closed college campus, conservatory styled training, and to leave Chicago. Chicago is a great place for theatre, but I have different feelings for this city due to the fact that I was born and raised here).</p>
<p>So far I have auditioned for the following schools. *=auditioned at Chicago Unifieds</p>
<p>Baldwain-Wallace College - 1/21
Marymount Manhattan - 1/28
Webster University- 2/6*
Point Park University- 2/6*
Syracuse University- 2/6*
NYU- 2/7
Carnegie Mellon University- 2/8*
Boston Conservatory- 2/8*</p>
<p>I still have an auditions for Western Michigan University on March 16, 2012. I can’t explain how great these auditions went! The feedback was great and the overall experience was amazing. Even what the outcome maybe I really know now that performing is what I NEED to do in life. it is my destiny! So no matter what I will always continue to pursue my dream, and that is what I hope all of you guys will realize aswell. It doesn’t matter how long it may take you just hold on and stay strong! It doesn’t matter how many colleges you get rejected from it DOEN’T mean anything!!! Keep pursuing your dreams PLEASE!. </p>
<p>The only thing I’ve heard so far is an academic acceptance to Point Park…so lets keep our fingers crossed that I get into the MT program and more is to come as far as acceptances.</p>
<p>I apologize for the long passage, but I was really moved by everyones experience, and I hope I do the same to you all. </p>
<p>Peace and break legs!</p>
<p>Thanks, 39652310, for sharing your story. It seems every year there are students who have a similar experience in that they don’t get in anywhere, either because they failed to create a properly balanced list of schools or because they failed to plan ahead. It is helpful for these kids to see that others have survived the experience and even thrived despite going through it. It is also helpful for those younger students to read it as a cautionary tale to help avoid making the same mistakes. </p>
<p>I know I learned a tremendous amount from the mistakes of others! So thanks for being transparent, and here’s hoping for a WAY different outcome this time around. And if not, I have NO DOUBT that you will still find a way to achieve your dreams, because you have the most important quality after talent: perseverance!</p>
<p>39652310,</p>
<p>My son too has incredible talent, but made some mistakes in the classroom he can’t undo. So our focus has been entirely on schools the “Look at The Whole Student” or where “There are NO minimum academic standards.” It is not too late for you, but clearly you wasted some time on programs where you cannot be accepted. You have about 2 weeks, so look forward and move quickly.</p>
<p>Point Park was a good choice and if you got accepted there academically you will also at Univ. Wisc-Stevens Point and Wichita State. If money is an issue, focus on Stevens Point as OST in Kansas is pricey. Both of these schools have auditions the first week in March if you want to travel and both will accept DVDs in some situations, but submit your application Tuesday morning. I have an earlier post on Wichita as we visited there in Nov.</p>
<p>And from your list it looks like you prefer large metro areas - so both Columbia College in Chicago and Cornish College for the Arts in Seattle have open enrollment - basically if you graduate high school and get accepted while there is space, you can attend.
Both are expensive but less so than PP…and like PP, both have solid reputations.
Good Luck</p>
<p>Thanks for the good words. My main objective for posting on here is to give a little extra push to those who think they are not good enough or feeling down about rejections. Even though I have not found out which schools I have gotten into yet, I just feel really good this time around. I feel good about myself, my talent, and the auditions. I am accepting whatever happens!</p>
<p>Thanks Santafedad for the suggestions. At this point I am pretty content with my list of choices. I wanted to balance the reach schools and the safety schools. Last semester I made a point to make my GPA above the minimum requirement of most schools on the list, and boosted my extracurricular activities! I was successfull in doing that so now all I have to see now is if they liked me enough to admit me into the program. I strongly encourage students who did not do great in high school to go ahead and knock out gen eds in a CC or state school!! It makes things a lot easier AND you can spend time working on your craft!! The whole “Schools don’t take transfers”, or “Its harder for transfers” are myths! Then only obstacle to get over is the fact that most schools will make start over as a freshman. Some of the gen eds that you do may carry over and you wouldn’t have to take them at the new school, but for the most part you would have to go through the 4 year track. I can’t even tell you how many friends I have made who have transferred to prestigous schools for Musical Theatre and got GREAT scholarships!!</p>
<p>We also have to remember that college (prestigious program or not) does not “make” performers. Every Broadway actor doesn’t have a BFA, and students with BFAs don’t always end up on Broadway. What you get out of the college training is what you make of it. </p>
<p>I had the wonderful opportunity to talk with Mo Brady (ensemble, understudy for Lucas in "The Addams Family) and he said he didn’t even know what he wanted to do when he graduated from high school. He ended up getting a BA in Theatre from Whitman College and auditioned for professional shows in Seattle. Years later he got a gig on Broadway. He said he probably went to over 100 auditions, and only got that 1 job. </p>
<p>In comparison, we can’t be dismayed by the number of rejections we get from schools. It’s also the nature of the business. If you want it bad enough, keep trying and never think you’re not good enough because a few places won’t take you.</p>
<p>One of the best things I heard on the audition trail was something from the CCM admissions director (paraphrased) - “Not everyone who attends CCM has landed a Broadway show, and many who have been rejected by CCM have great Broadway careers. The results of this audition will not determine your career success or failure.” </p>
<p>Replace “CCM” with any school name as required!</p>
<p>Bless her for those helpful words!</p>
<p>On the other hand, after my attempt at encouraging everyone in the above note, I am learning from parents of current MT college students how hard it is during college this time of year when all the MT kids are auditioning for summer theatre (StrawHat, NETC, etc). Some aren’t getting past the prescreen. Others aren’t getting any callbacks. Many are getting callbacks but no contracts. I had a dream that for at least the four years my D would be in college, we’d be able to get off the rejection/acceptance rollercoaster! But, alas, no. This is only the beginning, sad to say.</p>