<p>Hi guys. I still have a few years before I have to apply to colleges, but I'm trying to figure out what I want to do so I can prepare myself. I have one question for when it comes to auditioning for theatre- what would you do if you don't get accepted into any program? That's my biggest concern about getting a degree in theatre. Congrats to everyone who got accepted this year!</p>
<p>You take a gap year, use it productively to earn money and improve your skills, and try again. Or you apply to one of the two-year programs such as Stella Adler or AMDA. Or you attend a “regular college” and get the best training you possibly can there.</p>
<p>Hi BriGilly! Welcome to CC! So, if you want a BFA (from what I gather, most BFA’s are auditioned, although there are some that are non-auditioned or you only have to audition later), then you can either audition for a few (like I did) and pray that you’ll get in, or do like some people do and audition for 14 or 15 schools (it’s considered a normal thing to audition for that many schools). I couldn’t find that many programs that I would have liked to attend, so I only chose 4 schools.</p>
<p>People will also tell you to choose “safety” schools, or schools that you are guaranteed to get accepted academically (mostly BA’s), so you’ll have a college to go to the following year. I’m a big supporter of a gap year, though.</p>
<p>Threed and others have been discussing similar matters here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/1461602-top-choices-vs-gap-year-vs-safeties.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/1461602-top-choices-vs-gap-year-vs-safeties.html</a></p>
<p>Read this thread, I bet you’ll find something useful ;)</p>
<p>Thanks Milkshakespeare!</p>
<p>My daughter felt similar to you, Milkshakespeare. She refused to apply to any schools she didn’t really want to go to. Her coach thought she was a little crazy, because they were all ultra competitive schools, and that it was risky, but my daughter was pretty confident she would get into one of the schools on her list, and if she didn’t, she was going to have to rethink this whole thing over. Possibly take a gap year I guess.
I made her apply to our state school BA program just in case though! I’m not quite as daring as my kid!</p>
<p>You’re welcome, BriGilly!</p>
<p>MOMMY5 - I was extremely picky when I was applying for colleges last fall. Maybe because I’ve been out of high school for a while and had a lot of time to think, train and get to know stuff, I had a very specific vision of what I wanted for my education. Honestly, only 2 schools fit my standards, but I also knew that if I had to spend another year stuck in my city doing what I’ve been doing or working, I’d go nuts. I knew CalArts was the perfect choice for me since I first heard of it and after I auditioned, I knew I was a perfect fit for the school :)</p>
<p>I guess if you apply to schools that match your “profile”, chances are it’ll be reciprocal. But it’s always risky, right?</p>
<p>Hate to sound like a stuck record, but I’d really like to emphasize that a “safety school” is NOT a school that you don’t want to attend! Just one you are more likely to be admitted into–and while we’re at it, can we also dismiss the blanket assumption that a BA or a non-auditioned program is a de facto failure? ALL your schools–everything from dream schools to sure bets–should be schools you would be happy to attend. Nobody should waste their time or their parents’ money applying to places that you wouldn’t go to in the fall (although I have known several kids who have done this, none of them theater kids FWIW). Some people have a very limited number of places they would be happy to go, so they gamble and plan on using a gap year to re-apply if necessary. And some people WANT a gap year in the first place. Others (like my son) believe they could thrive at a range of school types, and that belief is reflected in their lists. Some kids will be accepted into several kinds of programs and maybe actually choose NOT to attend a BFA even if they were accepted. You can change a lot during your senior year of h.s., and it can be smart to keep your options open by casting a wider net.</p>
<p>I just would love to see us move away from the assumption that choosing anything other than a highly competitive auditioned BFA (with or without a gap year) is a declaration of defeat… End of rant! :)</p>
<p>Time3 is absolutely correct on all points. In this field, there really is no safe bet…audition vs non-audition, BA vs BFA, there are no guarantees. Because of this, your safety is not a typical safety so you really should give these as much consideration as your top choices. </p>
<p>Bri…you have a few years to work hard in school (helps keep your options open) and to participate in different types of shows. Read through this forum and the music theatre forum, you will learn a lot.</p>
<p>Times3, sorry if I had anything to do with hitting a nerve… If a kid has a safety school that they would be happy going to, then they are very lucky.
But what if they don’t? My daughter found very few schools that had what she was looking for, just like Milkshakespeare.
As you said it would be pretty silly spending a fortune to go to a school you really have no interest in. And isn’t that just as valid?</p>
<p>I agree that you should like to attend your safety schools 100%! I do believe, however, that if you don’t find any safety schools that you wish to attend and you’re just applying because they’re easier to get in, then it’s better to take a gap year than spend all that money and be unhappy. I was in a similar situation, I was accepted to a ‘safety’ school that I had really liked at first, but after I started learning a little more about the school and finding out things that weren’t on their site, I considered not attending and taking another gap year.</p>
<p>Also, some people will be happy with either a BA or a BFA, some will only be pleased with a BFA. If you’re the second type, like me and many other sons and daughters of CC users, I don’t see why apply for a BA.</p>
<p>I think you should set some priorities asking yourself “If a school didn’t offer me [insert something], would I still want to go?”. Not everything works out the way we want, but if the only choice you end up having is a school that does not offer you the thing you want the most, that thing that is your #1 priority, than I don’t think it’s worth it.</p>
<p>^^I completely agree, and you didn’t hit a nerve, but I must not have been clear. My point was exactly the same: don’t apply to schools that you don’t want to attend. A safety school isn’t a school you don’t want to attend; it’s a school that you DO want to attend and that you are pretty sure you can get into! Since it’s pretty hard to be truly sure about getting into an auditioned program, theater “safeties” are usually non-auditioned, and there often seems to be a negative judgment attached to that. I think we all know that there’s excellent education and actor training to be found at schools that have open majors, whether they’re BFA or BA programs (e.g., Muhlenberg, Kenyon, Vassar, or Yale–nobody’s safety but still a case in point as far as theater’s concerned). </p>
<p>Wish there was another term to use; I think that’s part of the problem. “Safety school” sounds so pejorative, and there’s an implication in a lot of people’s posts (not just on this thread, and not yours, Mommy5, I promise) that attending your “safety” school equals failure. That’s the assumption that pushes my buttons; chalk it up to 25+ years of teaching high school and seeing seniors disappointed in the spring because they didn’t get into any of the “name schools” they applied to and didn’t engage in a thoughtful search for colleges where they might thrive despite a lack of prestige. </p>
<p>So fundamentally we are making the same point–apply to schools that you would be happy to attend!–my additional point is just that students and families should be sure to examine their criteria and not dismiss less competitive choices as “undesirable” safety schools. Many, many kids are going to learn, excel, and launch satisfying careers from those institutions. </p>
<p>Hope that makes a little more sense… :)</p>
<p>Work hard in school, take some AP classes, get great grades and take the SAT OT ACT seriously. Merit awards mike make the difference between a school being a financial possibility or not. Academics are not to be overlooked!</p>
<p>I agree with the posts here… I guess the only thing I would add is in relation to the idea that some “will only be pleased with a BFA.” I think what that means is that some will only be pleased with conservatory style training within a four-year university setting?</p>
<p>There are BFA programs that are not really “conservatory style training.” These programs require quite a few general education credits and often have a little more flexibility with major course choices. These BFA programs are pretty close to professionally focused rigorous BA training programs. </p>
<p>I don’t think the question is as much BA or BFA, exactly … rather the kind of educational environment a student maybe looking for, and which programs will offer that kind of environment, regardless of degree. </p>
<p>Each school offers something different, and degree type (BA, BFA, BS, etc…) is only one piece of the puzzle…
:)</p>
<p>For students (or parents) who are not sure what kind of program may be the best fit, it can be a good idea to apply to different types of programs (including a non-auditioned, academic, financial safety). You do not have to attend any program, but it is nice to have a range of choices in April. If you(r child) do(es) not like the choices available in April there is no obligation to attend. Take a gap year. </p>
<p>Also, as mentioned above, high school seniors may change their minds through the audition and application process. Auditioning for a range of options can help a HS senior clarify what they want, and open up doors and windows of possibility!</p>
<p>^^Whew, thank you KatMT for saying what I meant, just making more sense! :)</p>
<p>Times3, you make a lot of sense. This year, more cc parents & students than ever are taking a top BFA or bust strategy–using a gap year to deal with the possibility they don’t have an acceptance from their dream BFA audition programs. Of course a gap year is often wonderful and if a student longs for a gap year of travel, volunteering, training or even work–it’s great. But since there is no guarantee that the following year’s auditions will bring better results, a gap year should be considered only if it is what the student really wants to do, more than he/she would want to go off to college and move on to the next phase of young adulthood in stride with peers. While the gap gives the student a second chance at those dream schools, it also prolongs the risk. I’m really sympathetic! But a lot of us have seen how wonderfully well other programs such as non-auditioned BFAs, BAs at terrific schools, and so on have served the extremely talented, dedicated, passionate and able young actors who attend them. They thrive. They make the right connections, get the right training, meet the right friends, and so on. A showcase is great. But plenty of young actors get agents without a college showcase. I always believe it is the individual’s gifts, hard work, karma, and right place/right time luck–not their college or degree name–that best predicts success. So…I’m keeping my fingers crossed for all here on cc. Falling in love with Yale and Harvard (or the equivalent in Theatre programs) is easy, but keeping options open makes a lot of sense to many others and these other choices are not chopped liver. 
</p>
<p>Carry on all you brave, determined souls. We’re pulling for you all (and your kids). And wishing everyone lots of luck.</p>
<p>@Times3
I know one private high school that has done away with the ‘reach, likely, and safety’ terminology and replaced it with ‘unlikely, likely, and probable.’</p>
<p>I agree with what a lot of other people are saying here.</p>
<p>If you don’t get into any school you actually want to attend, take a year or so off, work on your audition skills (or whatever else you need to get admitted), then try again.</p>
<p>But also remember that there are MANY paths into entertainment careers, and many succesful happy people in the entertainment industry have no degree at all!</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>I’ll put in a plug for a Post-Grad (PG) year at an excellent performing arts boarding school like Interlochen Arts Academy. It’s not for everyone: the cost is on par with a year of college, and it can be tough to live under the restrictions of a boarding high school when all your friends are off at college with unlimited freedom. (I think a PG student can live off-campus as a day student, but you’d have to research that option.) But the training is incredible, the faculty is top-notch, and there is a wide array of artistic classes and opportunities to perform and hone your audition skills.</p>
<p>what other PG year programs are out there?</p>
<p>Just wanted to say to the OP, you can’t “not apply” because of a fear of not getting in. The audition process in and of itself is a fabulous experience and will teach you a lot about yourself and the various programs out there and where you fit in. If you are choosing to go into this entertainment industry, you will receive a lot of rejections and learning how to deal with them is part of the process. As many have stated above, if that should happen than you make a plan B, gap year or if heading straight to college is essential and you are making that an ultimatum, then you will plan for that by applying to some non-auditioned BAs or you will also apply for some of the 2 yr certificate programs or acting studios. </p>
<p>Not trying because you are afraid of failing means you are pretty much just stuck living your life thinking what if I had. Go for it!</p>
<p>I believe Walnut Hill School of the Arts (in MA) and Idylwylld Arts Academy (in CA) also have PG programs. I do not know anything about their PG programs, but I do have familiarity with the program at Interlochen Arts Academy (in MI).</p>