<p>my d said there were people there today for whom it was their 3rd attempt. and nearly all were 22-24 years old and had been to university.</p>
<p>@bardsmom - my question is on the number of times you can audition. As I said- my understanding is that you can only “go for” Julliard 4 times. Doesn’t seem like that is the case with RADA</p>
<p>I read on the UK forums that you can audition 3 times. It used to be 2 but they changed it this year.</p>
<p>Thanks @mamadrama. RADA is on my D’s “dream” list (along with Julliard) and if there is a limit to opportunities that is good to know</p>
<p>The waiting was the hardest, followed by rejection (which also was tempered by the early acceptance). But it was also hard choosing and then writing the letters turning down such wonderful opportunities. </p>
<p>@toowonderful - FYI Juilliard now limits the total number of times you can audition to three (at least that is what they said at the auditions this year).<br>
HOWEVER, they DO accept 18 year olds at Juilliard, LAMDA and RADA. I personally know of several 18 year olds accepted to LAMDA this year (all from US) as well as18 year olds accepted to Juilliard over the past 3 years. Also, RADA’s website has an 18 y/o girl from England blogging about her experiences and again I know of 18 and 19 year olds called back to RADA for the final audition this year. If they had no intention of accepting them, doubtful they would call them back. Many have confirmed what @bardsmom D said - the experience of going through the audition at these schools is an education in itself and provides valuable information about the schools for future attempts if you are not succesful on the first try.
If your D truly has her heart set on attending one of those schools AND feels “ready” for the rigors of training in their intense conservatory environments and living away from home in a big city (London or NY), then advise her to go for it. My S said he was told “Why NOT you?”. And he agreed. This gave him the confidence to audition for Juilliard and LAMDA and he is now over the moon excited that he will be attending HIS dream school - LAMDA - in the fall.
There is no perfect age or time to apply - except when SHE feels it is the perfect age or time.<br>
I wish your D nothing but the best whenever and wherever she applies. </p>
<p>Oh and to the original post - the worst part of all of this - DEFINITELY waiting for the acceptances or rejections after the auditions are complete!</p>
<p>Ok, I’m an idiot… @toowonderful I see your D already applied to and was accepted at two wonderful programs - Syracuse AND NYU! Congratulations! </p>
<p>@trying2support - no worries- and thanks. When I said “they don’t accept teens” I was being imprecise. What I meant was (as @connections was discussing in her post) was that because of the nature of the program and excellent training opportunities offered places like Julliard and RADA seem to have a higher percentage of people age ranges auditioning. Now I have no “hard” data, but I have heard anecdotally that a significant number of the people accepted at places like Julliard and RADA tend to be people with some BA or BFA type training that are looking to continue to hone skills. It’s not that they don’t take 18 year old high school grads, but they don’t take as MANY as university BFA programs where the majority of kids would be fresh out of HS. Given that there are limits to the number of times one can audition- D chose to wait. I am sure she will “go for it” at some point, and we will see what happens from there. Her current obsession is the NYU opportunity to study at RSC in England when she is a junior- always something to work towards! 
</p>
<p>My S just came back from London for his RADA callback! The all day experience was very cool and he felt it was wonderful to meet his fellow auditioners. There are around 100 called back total for this final round, done in four separate weekends. This was apparently weekend #2. So he is still waiting to hear on this final decision-- Such a different time frame than the US auditions. </p>
<p>bardsmom, my S said that most of the students were around 19 or 20 in his case. I wonder what the other weekends are like? I imagine the faculty there will be exhausted! They carefully watch and interact with the students all day long, from around 9 am till 6 pm. All in all, a cool experience.</p>
<p>aparently most were in the 22-24 age range the Saturday before. I didn’t realize this was only weekend #2, thought it was weekend #3, so still 2 more to go instead of 1. So glad he got back safe and enjoyed the experience. </p>
<p>bardsmom, well of course I’m only going by what he said— The age range was his impression; not sure if he knew for sure. I do know that one student who already has gotten accepted is 19. </p>
<p>Waiting anxiously to hear good news for both of you!</p>
<p>Here’s hoping you both will have kids heading to London in the fall!</p>