MT Rejections

<p>Thank you to all the moms for your kind words and encouragement - and best wishes. It will surely help me through the next few weeks.</p>

<p>@tracyvp - the school is UArts. I was expecting it to come by mail after reading some postings yesterday on acceptance by UArts. She got the result by mail and she audition in at NYC (Pearl Studio), February 5. It is not among her top schools and we find the audition process different - no orientation with the parents, no group dancing or vocalization; no piano accompaniment - it was scheduled as individual audition. And she did not have much interaction during the audition with the evaluators. Maybe it was almost the end of the day, around 5pm on a Sunday.</p>

<p>My other question is - in some schools, I see some comments of being “academically accepted”. I understand that for these schools, the kids are accepted but not for MT. Does UArts have a similar acceptance. If yes, I would be surprised that my D is not even academically accepted. She is an A student taking IB curriculum. If no, then is it because it is an Arts school? Would it also be true for BoCo, i.e., it is MT or nothing.</p>

<p>Again, thanks for all the input.</p>

<p>@ParadiseMT - I think you said you also have a son who’s an MT, but am sure you realize that admission is FAR more competitive for girls. Hopefully your D understands this as well, so she doesn’t compare her experience to her brother’s!</p>

<p>I remember Mr. Wagner talking to all the families after MPulse and saying that college auditions would be a love-fest for all of the guys and extremely difficult for virtually all of the females.</p>

<p>Fingers crossed for everyone during the coming weeks!</p>

<p>@MomCares - Yup, my son “was” MT - two years ago. He was “accepted academically” in all other schools but only ONE school for MT - and it’s all that matters. “Was” because he has moved on to another major after he broke his ankle while practicing, in crutches for almost 3 months and did not further pursue his MT. But he is still very happy with the school - he continue to minor in dance, though. And nope, thank God, they do not compare nor compete with each other - the schools they applied to were totally different :). I understand the difficulty for the females - just the sheer number of applicants during the audition, the ratio could be 3:1!</p>

<p>And thanks for the good wishes!</p>

<p>Update on my D: she just received an email from Rhonda Miler at Pace, accepting her into the Theater/Commercial Dance Program and commending her on her talent!!! My daughter’s status on FB this morning was “I just want some good news”
 This major is awesome, they still take acting and voice and I am so happy!!! A lot of the kids we talked to that audtioned for MT went with Commercial Dance, and are really happy!!! Thank uou so much for all of your words of support. I hope all of you hear good news as well very soon. :)</p>

<p>@Lulusmom2: Congratulations to your D! That’s wonderful news! My D also was kept after her MT audition to dance with the Commercial Dance candidates, but still no news here. Of course, she auditioned in L.A. so that could have something to do with it. (or not!)</p>

<p>@ParadiseMT: We are also expecting unhappy news from UArts. I’ve been surprised it hasn’t arrived yet. D auditioned in L.A. and they didn’t even ask her to dance, so she’s pretty sure she can consider that a “cut.” Also not her first choice (although it is pretty far up there) so she won’t be devastated but it would just be nice to know, so we can cross it off the list and move on. </p>

<p>Everyone tells you (and you believe them) that this is such a strange and subjective process but until it’s YOUR kid getting the random rejections and acceptances you don’t really get just how random it can be. What makes a small school that most of the world has never heard of pass up a kid that a school with a huge international reputation can’t wait to snap up? (Not referring to my D in particular, just the “system.”)? </p>

<p>I know it’s all about “fit” but some of these schools (Penn State, UArts for example, didn’t even seem to give D their full attention, so one can only assume they decided the minute she walked in the room that she wasn’t right for their program). Same day, another school accepted her on the spot. That same school has rejected some very talented kids. It’s just very, very random!</p>

<p>a c*apshoot, a needle in a haystack, a totally seemingly random process from a parents point of view. That’s why the net has to be cast wide. Of course, as someone said earlier, boys have it so much easier. My D’s friend auditioned at 2 top schools and already he’s accepted at 1. I doubt any girl has such a little list.</p>

<p>Tracy I totally agree with the random thing
 I know some super talented kids that are friends of my d’s getting rejections and having a really tough time. In my d’s case, she only auditioned for three schools. It wasn’t until I found this site that I realized how under applied she was. And what is funny about Pace is that until we went there for her audition, it wasn’t her top school; once she visited she realized that was where she wanted to be, even if she ended up taking Theater Arts Management or something academic if she didn’t get in. Now she doesn’t have to, and she is so happy
she just sent me a text that said Yaaaaayyyyyyy!!! Now the stress is off her, ( and me, lol). She has had the most training in dance, so that has been her strength all along, but now she can also strengthen her vocal and acting to hopefully be even with all of them. </p>

<p>It is amazing, this rollercoaster ride. I feel for these kids, and we parents. All we want is for them to succeed and be happy, and it hurts to see them feel their talent is in question, when it is simply not that at all, there is just so much competition.</p>

<p>Fourkids, as I said above, my d only auditioned at Rider, Pace, and Wagner this weekend. But that was because she didn’t know any better. She didn’t think about the odds, just chose the schools she liked. She crossed Tisch off merely because of finances, as she did with a couple of other schools, and focused on the ones she really wanted. She still has her Wagner audition this weekend. I am just glad she can walk in there feeling confident, rather than after having the rejection from Rider over her head from yesterday
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<p>Last night I went to an admission presentation for a local private college that is the “dream” school for many normal (non MT) kids. He talked about the fact that they got 45,000 applications last year for 2,900 spots. The audience was anxious to hear how they could get their kid into one of those spots. He had no answer. Get good grades, show passion, impact your community- and don’t make this the only school where you will be happy- we can’t take you all. He also told them that there are interviews offered but he recommends against them. He said interviewed kids have a lower acceptance rate. Most kids look better on paper than nervously sitting in a chair in front of him. MT kids are so brave to do what they are doing to get in a school.</p>

<p>lulu- I wasn’t saying it for you I was saying it for anyone else reading the board. I know someone here who also didn’t realize they needed to schedule auditions, only made 2 and got into 1
as a girl 2 years ago. sometimes things just fall right.</p>

<p>I agree with you though, about the boys having it so much easier in this business. I didn’t feel like you were talking to me directly, no worries. My D just got lucky, and her dance is her strongest of the three because it is where she has the most training. I am just glad she is accepted into performing arts in some capacity, given the odds she had. Like I said before, I feel so much for these kids, it is so nerve wracking for them, and this should be the best time of their high school years; enjoying their Senior years.</p>

<p>ParadiseMT, UArts does not have a separate academic admission. Many schools, not just “arts” universities or colleges but also programs housed in more traditional liberal arts institutions, do not bifurcate the process. Many also do not automatically offer a different program or major to a student who is not accepted artistically but who has the academics that meet academic admissions criteria. You really need to look at this on a school by school basis. Some schools permit MT applicants to list an alternate program or major on their application. Many do not. You can’t even draw a line of demarcation based or “art school” vs traditional liberal arts institution. For example, if memory serves me right, at NYU you can only list one school and major on the application. If an MT or Acting applicant who applied to Tisch is artistically rejected, the student is done even if qualified academically for admission. This is not unusual Emerson is an example of a school where students can list “second choices” on their application and if rejected artistically for MT but academically qualified, can be offered their second choice major.</p>

<p>As to the audition process, UArts runs their on campus and off campus auditions differently. The details are on the website. Among the differences noted is that no accompanist is provided off campus. There are a number of schools that also do not provide off campus accompanists. I’m not sure what the off campus procedure is for call backs and the dance part of the audition and if they differ between on and off campus.</p>

<p>I disagree slightly about the boys thing. There are a lot more boys auditioning for MT now, then in the past. I’ve definitly had my fair share of rejections. (Texas State, Otterbein, Oklahoma City, Sam Houston) and around the same amount of acceptances.</p>

<p>The other thing I noticed about the boys we observed during this process is that on the whole they seemed to be MUCH more trained and talented than a lot of the girls. I think fewer boys decide to pursue MT “on a whim” than do girls, and in general MOST have been preparing for this for a long time.</p>

<p>While there are always a TON of girls who have also been preparing forever (probably an equal number to the boys, acutally), there are also a lot more girls than boys who woke up one morning and decide it would be “fun” to be a performer. I could be completely wrong, but that’s what I think.</p>

<p>So from the standpoint of college admissions, there probably are only a third or twice as many girls as boys that are competitive, rather that the 4:1 (or 5:1) ratio we so often see bandied about.</p>

<p>So, now I’m worried. One a my daughters friends, a boy, is now waiting for news. And all but one of his schools are very reachy.</p>

<p>Just from one instance, but I counted at BW audition in dance room, 48 kids, 20 male, 28 female</p>

<p>My daughter went to the Goodspeed Audition Intensive with Brent Wagner, and there were 3 boys, 18 girls.</p>

<p>@flossy I got rejected from Reach schools and fit schools. But i got accepted at some fit schools and one reach. It’ll work out.</p>

<p>Rejected from ED1 NYU back in December.</p>

<p>Accepted to CalState Fullerton for BA Theater. Academically accepted to pace with a nice scholarship!</p>

<p>But I still have to wait for all my artistic review decisions
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