<p>I am looking to begin college coaching in the spring or even summer (I am a current high school junior.) I've been looking into lots of coaches, but can anyone tell me about how much different coaches charge?</p>
<p>I know MCA charges $3500 for their musical theatre coaching package or you can buy a minimum of 5 coaching sessions/lessons for $100 an hour each. Can anyone share about how much coaching costs from Mary Anna Dennard, MTCA, Straight From New York, and any other online coaches?</p>
<p>MTCA is $120/hr for monologue work – you can schedule as many as you need. Their prices just went up, used to be $100. Very happy with them so far!</p>
<p>We also had to sign a contract agreeing to 12 one hour sessions for MTCA last year. At the time is was a little hard to swallow with all the other expenses, but my son gained a lot from the experience and was accepted to programs he was happy to attend.</p>
<p>He also did all his sessions by skype as we are in northern New England.</p>
<p>Thank you for sharing your experience! I know their prices now, I still need to find out what Mary Anna Dennard charges, I know it’s $175 for a consult but I’m wondering if that’s the consistent price. I just want to make sure I’m getting the most out of what I pay for!</p>
<p>I can’t remember the exact cost of Mary Anna, but she will sometimes even do half sessions after working with her a few times if that is all you need before an audition. Also, she’s very good about answering any questions you might have in emails so you don’t waste time and money paying her during sessions to answer questions. She believes that time should be spent working on monologues, etc. Another great thing about using Mary Anna is the Moonifieds. She brings in about 20 schools for kids to audition for in just 3 days. It is much more organized than at Unifieds, so it is possible to audition for over a dozen schools in a weekend. This alone saves enough money to pay for her services.</p>
<p>We used MTCA and found that the amount of coaching they required was based on the intake interview/audition. Not every student will require the same minimum amount of coaching. The price increase to $120 applies to all the services and is a 20% increase that started in October 2014.</p>
<p>And be sure to look at the list of schools that attend Moonifieds. For us the list had very little overlap with ours.</p>
<p>Hi all – FYI, students of both Mary Anna Dennard and Dave Clemmons take part in Moonifieds. I was invited to attend this year, helping to lead (along with another mom and dad of two college MT students) a parent panel discussion about the college audition process. There were 20 schools there this year – among them Texas State, Otterbein, Pace, Penn State, Point Park & Rider. Many of the schools were also in town for the North Texas Drama auditions and for the showcase at Booker T Washington HS. As for Mary Anna’s fees, they vary. Worth noting is that she provides a number of coaching scholarships every year – this year I think she has 16 students on scholarship (you can see them in the “We Got In” section of her website.) Also, know that not all “moo” students do Moonifieds (my own sons couldn’t attend in 2011 due to high school show schedule). It is optional. You can find the list of school that take part in Moonifieds on Mary Anna’s website under Get Started > Private Coaching.</p>
<p>And to clarify, the 12 sessions for MTCA included both voice and monologue. I thought it seemed like a lot at first, but spread over five months, it wasn’t.</p>
<p>I think one of the great things about Mary Anna is there are many different ways to take advantage of her knowledge of the college audition process. The cheapest thing to do is buy her book, “I Got In”. For less than 20 dollars, you get a wealth of information about making your list of colleges, selecting songs and monologues, what to wear, to do in the audition room, what to do after the audition, how to make a final decision, etc… If you do nothing else, or even if you choose to work with another coach, get this book! It will be a valuable reference for you throughout the college audition process.
For a little more in-depth info, you can sign up for her online tutorials at college audition coach dot com. These are a series of videos that show you first hand every step of the process, from how to shoot a prescreens to audition techniques to head shots and more – there is so much info in those. She has students demonstrate how each step of the process works, she holds interviews with the heads of the top programs in the country about what they are looking for, she shows you good head shots, resumes, etc…all of which you can see firsthand on the videos. It was nice to actually see some of these things instead of just reading about them.
Lastly you can do personal coaching with Moo. After our initial consultation, she hand selected D’s monologues and worked with her to understand the material and present the material at her best. She also connected us with an amazing vocal coach in NYC whom we also paid by an hourly rate. We call him “the song whisperer”. He was able to select great material for our D. In fact, she did a master class with Brent Wagner and he wanted to know who had helped her select her songs. He felt like they were great choices for her, and not ones he had heard in years. I would say in total we worked with Moo maybe 6 - 8 hours. And with the vocal coach maybe 4-5 hours. The number of personal coaching hours you do is solely up to you and can depend on when you start, and how much you want to work with them. Some of Ds peers only met with the vocal coach once via Skype, got their songs and worked with their local voice teachers only or even on their own on presentation. So you can do as much or as little as you wish.
Moonifieds is a great opportunity. Moo also attended Unifieds and met with the kids the night before they started, walked them around the hotel to give them a feel for where each school was located, gave them some pointers and reminders about what the auditions would be like and D reported in to her after each and every audition to let her know how it went (no cost for this!). D would also call Moo from the road after her on-campus auditions and let her know how things went at those schools also.
Another benefit is belonging to Moo Crew. They had their own FB group where they would share the ups and downs of the audition process. It really became a great support system for D as she auditioned and waited on results.
As someone else said, she does have some scholarship students. You can read about them on her website. You can also see where last year’s group was accepted and decided to attend college which is very interesting.
We did not have to sign a contract for a certain number of hours. It was 2 cycles ago so things may have changed so I would check her website for the most current pricing information. But we definitely felt we got our money’s worth and then some.</p>
<p>I think a big piece of this is what you need the coaching for. At the end of my daughter’s junior year, we began seriously looking at coaching programs. I wanted something very personal, to me one of the biggest things was selection of pieces. </p>
<p>As others have said, MTCA charges $120 hourly now. I was I tomatoes by an hourly rate at first, but the amount of personal attention we receive from them is outstanding. They took time to get to know my daughter and help select unique pieces for her. they offer mock auditions which run kids through practice auditions, which was invaluable. They also offer master classes, dance classes and have become my go to place for guidance and to answer questions. They also have had a great team of coaches my daughter has worked with for personal help on pieces (via Skype, aside from a trip to NYC for mocks). They will work with you during summer!</p>
<p>Dave Clemmons charges a flat fee. Less than the MCA few quoted. His role is more of an “overseer”. He is an advisor, not a coach I would say. He will give you tips on what to work on I a piece…then you go bake to your coach, work on it and come back to him for feedback. He seems to be more located in the south. It seems like people there have better physical access to him. He’s a great cheerleader for the kids, and from what I hear can really help you negotiate college offers and programs as acceptances come in. Working with him did gain access to Moonifieds, which was invaluable. 8 auditions, one spot, one weekend. Plus it give you a real chance for feedback on performances - in time to make changes before unifieds if you need. Also has someone to help review college essays. Doesn’t start working with kids until September. </p>
<p>Mary Anna- has a fantastic online program. Very informative - lots of information in pod casts. She created Mooinifeds - which as I mentioned above - was so helpful. Haven’t used her for private coaching, just the onlin info (which costs $500)</p>
<p>One, Mary Anna’s book is great. A CC parent actually sent it to me, and it was lovely. </p>
<p>However, if you can’t afford her or any of the others, contact your local college or PA studio. Most qualified monologue coaches will improve your child’s audition IMMENSELY. I do private coaching in my area and charge $40/30 Minute Sessions and $55/45 Minutes. (I don’t think an hour is productive with one person.) That is about market value. </p>
<p>Also, I am more than willing to give free constructive criticism and assistance to any high schooler who can’t afford to pay someone for help. </p>
<p>(I also say that with full disclosure that I do not work in college admissions so I am by no means an expert in that area.)</p>
<p>Hi all - all of the replies are very much appreciated and are super helpful! However I still am needing to find out how much Mary Anna charges, every other coach/program has their price listed on their website (or FB page or somewhere), but Mary Anna’s only gives the $500 fee for her online program and the $175 for a 45-minute consult. Does anyone know if the $175 per 45 minutes her consistent fee? I still have no idea who to choose for coaching, but a big part of who I choose is their price!</p>
<p>I would just email Mary Anna and ask her. I’m sure she would be happy to respond. It has been a few years since we first worked with her so I don’t know what her current rates are. And they may vary depending on if you are doing one or multiple sessions. But just ask her. She is super nice!</p>
<p>I agree with @vvnstar - just ask. All of these coaches want clients and should be more than happy to give you information. Also, the possibility of a scholarship with Mary Anna Dennard has been mentioned several times. It is to her credit that she offers this, but based on a small anecdotal sampling, I do think the bar may be pretty high to get in with her on scholarship. We know several of her former/current scholarship students, and they are all kids who are very talented and already having an exceptional amount of success in this business (professional credits, winning regional Jimmy Awards, etc.). In other words, they are all very good bets to get into well-regarded programs. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to ask, though!</p>
<p>As stated above, the online is $500 (which she requires her students to subscribe to) and I am thinking she recommends at least 3 hours of coaching. But I also know she is flexible and does not require a contract. She does prefer to work with students live, so many travel to Texas to meet with her. (Another expense, depending on your location), I don’t want to speak for her or report requirements that don’t exist – I think it is an individual thing, and she may be willing to work with you exclusively on Skype. I think it depends on individual circumstances. </p>
<p>Her hourly fee is higher than MTCA – in the $175-180/hr range. There is a fee to attend Moonifieds as well, this year it was $299. Then the hotel, (this year it was $169/night-though it would be possible to stay elsewhere for less). But given the ability to audition for many schools (if they are schools in which you have an interest) it is quite a bargain. And it is easy. Everything is scheduled for you. </p>
<p>If you are attempting to compare the two programs dollar for dollar, you need to consider all the other costs and savings involved, not just the hourly rate. </p>
<p>As for the scholarship, I could be wrong, but in addition to being talented (though I don’t know that professional credits or Jimmy Awards are required or even typical) I think believe financial need of some kind may also play a part. I could be wrong, but thats what I’ve noticed from a small anecdotal sampling. </p>