<p>This is a hilarious conversation. :)) </p>
<p>^The Gavin Creel videos are from MT College Prep, a different company. Mary Annaâs videos are for purchase</p>
<p>Here is a brief synopsis of what info I was able to gather on my leisure holiday time off! Please add on others.</p>
<p>collegeauditionpro, local Bay area coach, vague but âtries to work with familiesâ. No other details given.</p>
<p>mycollegeaudition, after brief phone conversation offer need based ( and also for military families). Plan to offer talent based next year.</p>
<p>dave clemmons college advisory program, no response</p>
<p>musicaltheatreaudition.com, no response</p>
<p>artsbridge, offer need based for college consulting only (do not offer coaching)</p>
<p>MTCA, after brief initial consult, offer a small limited number of private need based only scholarships. Limited because of the large number of sub contracted coaches who would have to agree to work for free. No talent scholarships.</p>
<p>straightfromnewyork, no response</p>
<p>collegeauditioncoach, Each request is evaluated on individual basis. Talent and need are only 2 of multiple criteria after informal consultation. Total number of scholarships depends on what the company can afford that year. Some are full scholarships, some are pay-what-you-can. For a very few, audition travel and other expenses are underwritten.</p>
<p>broadway student summit/broadwayteachinggroup, currently not able to offer scholarships</p>
<p>HITStheatre, based in Houston, college audition prep, offer financial aid of all kinds after application process</p>
<p>I forgot about MT College Prep, but since I contacted them about scholarships, they have not responded. However, on their website they are offering book one coaching session and get your second one for 1/2 price.
I am going to assume those who never responded do not offer any price breaks or scholarships.
If anyone else gets information about these or addional coaching services and scholarships, please add here.</p>
<p>collegeauditionpro, local Bay area coach, vague but âtries to work with familiesâ. No other details given.</p>
<p>mycollegeaudition, after brief phone conversation offer need based ( and also for military families). Plan to offer talent based next year.</p>
<p>dave clemmons college advisory program, no response</p>
<p>musicaltheatreaudition.com, no response</p>
<p>artsbridge, offer need based for college consulting only (do not offer coaching)</p>
<p>MTCA, after brief initial consult, offer a small limited number of private need based only scholarships. Limited because of the large number of sub contracted coaches who would have to agree to work for free. No talent scholarships.</p>
<p>straightfromnewyork, no response</p>
<p>collegeauditioncoach, Each request is evaluated on individual basis. Talent and need are only 2 of multiple criteria after informal consultation. Total number of scholarships depends on what the company can afford that year. Some are full scholarships, some are pay-what-you-can. For a very few, audition travel and other expenses are underwritten.</p>
<p>broadway student summit/broadwayteachinggroup, currently not able to offer scholarships</p>
<p>HITStheatre, based in Houston, college audition prep, offer financial aid of all kinds after application process</p>
<p>MTCollegeprep, no response</p>
<p>As you can see, I think it is atypical for a private coach or counselor to offer scholarships for services. There is no âscholarship fundâ like a college or some sort of entity like that would have. The private coach is providing services for a fee, and if they reduce or eliminate the fee, then they are working for free. Very few private services of any kind offer services for free. So, as your research is showing, the majority of private coaches (and Iâll say this for independent college counselors as well), do not offer scholarships. </p>
<p>Most of these people have training similar to what what we are hoping our children will get - and presumably also paid for it, just as we will - but also have some âvalue-addedâ years of experience on top of that. For some, this may be a lifeâs âcallingâ. For others, itâs the âsurvivalâ job that keeps food on the table between gigs. Yes, the fees can add up, but by hoping for a price break from those with desirable skills to share, we are contributing to the devaluation of âArtâ as a profession (this includes the wizards that make auditionees sound and look good on video). In 5 - 20 years, this could be your childâs livelihood, or supplemental income. If they are good enough to help get our kids into programs, they are good enough to be paid a living wage - which may, or may not, be equal to what we wish the market rate was.</p>
<p>Well said. And this should be across the disciplines. I consistently take students to task when they are playing stolen music, using stolen images in posters or say to me âwe arenât charging ticket prices, so why should we pay royalties.â I have the poster in my office, âI am an artist, this does not mean I will work for free. I have bills to pay just like you. Thank you for understanding.â </p>
<p>Hey #soozievt, you might want to take a closer look again at the results. It seems that of the 10 coaching services I contacted, five of them DO offer some sort of financial aid or scholarships.That is half. So as my findings show, it is actually not the minority or that unusual, as you stated.
50% of those respondents above indicated they DO offer some help.
There may be more services that you know of who donât? These services were just the popular and experienced ones that I had known of from reading CC.</p>
<p>@Notmath1, I believe youâd find a large percentage of the coaches that students use are often extremely talented and knowledgeable performers, musicians, dancers etc. for whom coaching is an income supplement to their art. Therefore, I think soozievtâs conclusion was logical. These folks have to eat too. Some of the coaching engines that you read about here are businesses which may have the ability to offer scholarships and props to them if they can.</p>
<p>There are also plenty of very generous artists, teachers etc. that actually coach students for free. My daughterâs HS drama teacher loaned her his personal stash of plays to read to help her find her monologues and then worked with her on them. He was not paid for that help and did it out of the goodness of his heart and because he is an amazing teacher. Along the same line, SoozieVT is actually a private college coach and has offered advice for free in this forum for years. Iâve often wondered why she is so generous with her time but have concluded she just cares. Nice when the world works like that.</p>
<p>Like Soozievt, Iâm a coach (not in theatre), and from my own perspective, individual coaches may work out a deal with you that they would be reluctant to share at first. Or they may not. They are running a business so they would have to decide if it is worth it to them to reduce the payments in order to secure your business. Someone just starting out may well agree so they can build clientele, but then you would be working with someone who is just starting out (and may be excellent of course). On the other extreme, I know Moo offers talent/need scholarships, but she has a large successful business and I believe does this both for good will marketing and to gain a more diverse portfolio. A large company may offer a reduced fee but that may come off the backs of the coaches themselves or it might not even be a reduction; it could simply be a lack of inflation (department stores do this too; they inflate the price, then say theyâre marking it off 25%, but really itâs at the price it should be).</p>
<p>Iâve had 3 kids go through this process and Iâve done a range of things, and I can definitely say that hiring a skilled private college coach definitely positions you best in the process if you can at all manage it. I am not well off, but honestly Iâd hire a coach for her/his ability first, and not shop around for price. We are proposing to send our kids to an expensive college program; Iâd view this as an investment in that process. A top coach can not only help you secure the admission, but perhaps make you strong enough you can get talent/merit offers. The way Iâd save money personally is to have fewer lessons, not to ask for a reduced price in the lessons. </p>
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<p>I donât draw the same conclusions that you do, sorry. I count that you contacted 11 coaches, not 10. It seems that 5 may offer or plan to offer some financial help and one said that they âwork with familiesâ which is not the same as offering scholarships. It may mean some form of a discount in certain situations, though it is vague. So, in my view from the small sampling you did, coaches that offer scholarships for services are in the minority, and even if they offer it, it could be very limited, and cannot be counted upon. </p>
<p>For the record, I am not an audition coach. I am in independent college counselor. I work with MT and Acting applicants, as well as all types of college applicants and their parents. There are many different types of services all the way up to all inclusive packages. Most people are doing this for a living and like any service, are doing it for pay. Have I helped answer questions on a forum like this or to those who email me asking for advice for free? Sure. But those who truly formally sign up for services, are paying for that service. And hopefully when your kids become professionals and offer some sort of service or perform, etc., they also are paid for it. </p>
<p>I also agree with halflokum that there are ways to perhaps be coached for free such as by your schoolâs acting teacher or drama director or a director at a theater in your community that you already know. They may be willing in their capacity as a teacher or a director to coach someone they know for free with regard to monologues or songs.</p>
<p>While not free, my D did not have a separate college audition coach, but her regular voice teacher coached her on her songs. Yes, we paid for voice lessons, but not anything separate to be coached for auditions, as some people do who have a voice teacher (for pay) and also a college audition coach (for pay). </p>
<p>I also agree with connections, that one way to save money is to have fewer lessons or coaching sessions, but with a quality teacher/coach, rather than seeking or asking for financial aid from such professionals.</p>
<p>@soozievt, Sorry I accidentally used the word âcoachâ describing your work but I meant counselor though Iâm sure there is plenty of coaching that happens as a component of your work too. :-). I know you are not an audition coach. </p>
<p>No problem, halflokum. I know that YOU know. I was just clarifying it here since many do not know me and the discussion was focused primarily on audition coaches and I am not one. All of my MT and Acting clients who I am advising on their college admissions process also have vocal and acting coaches that prep the audition material, even though I advise them on the entire college selection, admissions, and audition processes. I simply commented because be it an audition coach or college counselor, most donât offer financial aid per se.</p>
<p>Coaching and counseling is a business and people will have different models that will still enable them to earn a living. Some coaches might charge x amount of money, knowing that they will offer a certain discount if asked or as a promotion. That is already part of the formula that has been used to come up with pricing. Itâs like the colleges out there that give a large percentage of their students merit aid or the stores that will offer an item for a full retail price that is quite high, knowing that the vast majority of sales will come once they offer a discount. But in reality that discount is not a real discount, it was the anticipated price all along.</p>
<p>Universities do fundraising for scholarship funds. Private businesses do not have this funding. It doesnât make sense to truly believe that someone will offer a significant discount to a total stranger when they are trying to earn a living. Students who are going to ultimately try to earn a living in theatre need to be resourceful in order to make ends meet once they graduate. They canât expect hand-outs to survive. If someone wants coaching and finds it out of reach financially, I would look more in the direction of figuring out how my child or I can earn extra money, rather than expecting a reduction because we feel we are qualified and want to rely on otherâs good will.</p>
<p>I suspect some audition coaches may accept some kids who are ultra-attractive packages on spec, so when theyâre admitted to awesome schools the coach can claim some of the credit for that placement. This might be viewed as a Marketing expense. Does that happen?</p>
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<p>Exactly. A scholarship from a university is financed into their budget and comes from fundraising, endowments, and the like. A private person who is working to earn a living in a business or service rarely can afford to offer the service for free. They might offer a variety of service options at different price points. I know I do. If someone canât afford a full package, there are smaller/cheaper options, and these provide less services. I would be curious the kind of profession that the person posting who is hoping for scholarships from coaches has themselves. Do they offer services or products for free? Just wondering. I agree that if coaching is not affordable, either just take a few sessions, find a cheaper option, find a teacher/director who can advise you who doesnât do this as part of their regular job but may help you since they know you, or have your child earn some extra money for these sessions, which in the end are a drop in the bucket when you think of what four yearsâ worth of tuition/room/board will be. Most applicants that I know had some sort of help with audition prepâŠcould be their regular voice teacher (as was the case with my kid), a teacher or community theater person, or a specialized audition coach. This is not much different than a kid who is applying to conservatory for cello who works with a cello teacher to prepare pieces for auditions. It really is a part of this process, but there are various price points for this help. I would not consider asking a cello teacher for a scholarship when they make their living that way. </p>
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<p>That was discussed earlier on this thread in relation to a particular acting coach who does offer scholarships and who does publicize where each student is admitted, etc. </p>
<p>I do not understand why it is our place to make a judgement about a coach or student and their financial arrangement. If a coach offers a discount or scholarship to someone, that is their right to do so and it should not be a concern to us, just as we should not care what teachers charge other students for lessons or what schools offer other students in aid. If the student has earned a coaching scholarship or discount with their talent and/or based on their financial need, and they wish to work with that coach, and they understand as a scholarship student they may be featured in some publicity, then so be it. It is the right of any coach, teacher or school to set their own pricing which may or may not include discounts and scholarships. And the student has the choice to accept or not. Neither the coach or the student receiving the benefit are doing anything wrong. If it is of great concern to you then look for a coach that will,offer your student a discount or scholarship. Just like financial aid at colleges, not every student will be offered aid in the same amount and many will receive no aid at all from a coach. You may choose not to,work with that coach if the cost is too great just as you may choose not to attend a certain school if the cost is too great. But do not begrudge the coaches and students who are working together in a mutually agreed upon way. That was their choice. It may not be the choice you would make for yourself, but it is a choice they have made and are happy with. Let them be. </p>
<p>It certainly is very nice of a coach to take on scholarship students. It is not common. Nothing wrong with doing that. </p>
<p>delete. </p>