Anyone else find out they were accepted today? My D was accepted to the 3 week high school program and is so excited! She attended the three week program last year as well and can’t wait to return – she describes it as “her favorite place in the world.” 
Arghhh… We’re still waiting. My D attended a different program last summer, but she’s hoping to be accepted into the 3 week program to check the school out before auditions.
Hopefully your D will hear very soon, @TXMTMama ! My D applied really early because she couldn’t wait to go back, so I’m guessing that’s why we heard so early. It truly is an amazing program! 
I hope so! We sent her application in before the early decision deadline, they said would we should be notified of the decision by 2/1. Two of my D’s teachers are OCU grads, so it’s high on our list to visit.
Congrats to your D! Hopefully our girls will both be there this summer. 
My D was accepted to the 5 week program. She’s looking forward to an exciting summer. Looking forward to connecting to all of you.
Congrats @desireearl!
We just got the email at noon that my D was accepted into the 3 week program as well! Yeeesss!!
Where are you all from? We’re obviously from TX.
Yay! Congrats to both of your Ds, @desireearl and @TXMTMama !
We are from CA. Last year there were quite a few from TX and OK, but also many from out of state too. I think there were 3 from CA and one from either WA or OR, plus kids from FL, MI, IL, etc. They really do draw from all over. It’s such a fantastic program…the faculty and staff are just amazing…so warm, friendly, and knowledgeable. And all the kids (and parents) love Dr. Herendeen, who is the head of the MT and Opera programs at OCU. He does master classes during the camp and also directs the production, which this year is Urinetown. He really gets to know every single kid. He also gives an amazing talk for the parents the weekend of the production where he discusses the audition process for college programs, as well as what having a career in MT is like. Don’t be shy about introducing yourself to him…he is extremely approachable and really loves the kids and what he does for a living, and it’s clear that he puts his whole heart and soul into it.
You will be blown away by the caliber of talent you’ll see at the program. In addition to Urinetown, they will have a cabaret show for the parents where every kid gets featured. The voices, the acting, the stage presence…oh my goodness, we were beyond impressed. It really opens your eyes as to just how much talent is out there and what a competitive business MT is. It’s good for the kids to discover this, though…I think it helps set realistic expectations for college auditions and their careers, and it’s also a great motivator to work hard and stay humble.
Oh…and my D wants me to add that the food at OCU is incredible! They have the most amazing cook…I believe his name is Willie, and he just loves the kids and completely spoils them, especially on the weekends where he gets really creative with pancake flavors and desserts as I recall.
@muttsandMT Thank you for all the info! I didn’t realize that they did a showcase as well during the 3 week program. That’s amazing! Can you give us some insight about the show weekend? I planned to go the day before check in and stay the night of the show so we don’t have to drive 6 hours home that night. It sounds like there are some parent activities, though, that we might need to plan for the weekend of the show.
I’m glad to hear firsthand from a camper parent that Dr. H is great. I’ve read that he’s very hands on and our voice teacher loves him so I’m excited to meet him. Right now OKCU is one of my D’s top schools on her list. She’s going to be a junior this fall, so I look forward to learning more about the program.
Hi again @TXMTMama
Yes, there are definitely some parent activities that you will want to take advantage of if you can spare the time. I believe last year the schedule went like this:
Friday night: Dinner Cabaret followed by the full musical (last year it was The Pajama Game)
Saturday morning: parent info session with Dr. H (optional; no sign-up required; kids could attend this as well if they had time in their schedules)
Saturday late morning/early afternoon-ish: information session with admissions and student-led tour of OCU (this was optional; sign-up required; again, kids could attend if their schedules allowed)
Saturday night: Dinner Cabaret followed by the full musical
Sunday morning: check out/leave for home (I think this started at 9 am)
Last year they asked that you only sign up to attend one of the two cabaret performances to make sure that everyone would get a chance to see it (it’s the same show both nights, and space is limited). However, you can and probably would want to attend both nights of the full musical performances, as the shows are double-cast to feature as many students as possible. Students who aren’t featured in the full musical are featured in the Cabaret show; students with lead/supporting roles in the full musical are in the ensemble for the cabaret. I personally think this is great for a couple of reasons: (1) it really gives every kid a chance to shine individually, (2) there are sooo many talented kids there, most of whom typically get leads/featured roles at their local theaters/schools, that there simply aren’t enough lead/featured roles in the musical to go around. I really liked that Dr. H talked at length about how much goes into casting in terms of fit for the roles with respect to the director’s vision for the show. He said that you should not assume that if you got a lead that you were the most talented, and you also shouldn’t assume that if you didn’t get a lead that you aren’t the most talented. I think that’s a really important lesson for our kids to learn at this stage, because it is so true at the college and professional levels. You will truly be blown away by the kids in the Cabaret performance…the level of talent is absolutely incredible.
The other really cool thing they did last year was that they created a Facebook discussion group for the parents (and kids technically, but I don’t remember the kids posting much). They actually live streamed several events on the Facebook page, including 2 or 3 of the master classes, as well as some informal cabaret nights they had where kids could sign up to sing for their counselors and fellow campers. The counselors performed several numbers too…and wow…they were so incredibly talented!
The camp counselors are absolutely incredible…they are all students in OCU’s MT program and are hand-picked by Dr. H. I didn’t mention it before, but my D actually attended the Junior High MT camp in the summer of 2015 (it was amazing too, but structured differently). Anyway, one of the counselors that my D loved from the Jr High program was back again last year for the 3 week High School program, and she was beyond thrilled with that…he ran up to her and gave her a big hug when she arrived, and it made it feel like coming home again to her.
Sorry to ramble…I could go on and on! Hopefully some other parents whose kids have been will chime in too. I think you will hear pretty universal rave reviews though…they have a lot of kids who come back multiple times, and also kids whose siblings attended before them and/or are currently in the BM MT program. It’s just a phenomenal experience, both from a learning as well as a nurturing standpoint, with incredibly nice kids and families. In fact, my D has kept in touch with many of her fellow campers from last summer…one actually came and visited us in CA, and another is planning a visit…and I have made some really great parent friends that I have kept in touch with as well.
Feel free to PM me if you’d like more specifics or have any other questions.
I love hearing every bit of detail you want to share. We were excited before because of the camp’s reputation, but hearing all of your info that you’ve gathered from personal experience makes it even more exciting!
My D was so happy to hear the food is good. At the camp she went to last year it was meh so she didn’t eat much, which isn’t good when you’re working as hard as they did. They were up for a 7am workout every morning before breakfast and fell into bed about 11:30-12 each night. But she loved it!
I’m hoping someone else from her voice studio or performing group is going so she can have a roommate she knows, but she’ll be cool with whoever she rooms with. She’s a very chill kid.
I’m going to PM you some more questions since you said you don’t mind. Thank you again!
Your D should have no worries at all with the food, @TXMTMama . My D is a vegetarian, and they even had plenty of vegetarian and vegan options for her to choose from…we were so impressed! My D loved the salad bar, the grill, and the fact that they always had hot water and tea bags. Willie (their awesome cook) would even ask the kids what kinds of foods they wanted and would accommodate them within a few days. My D said her favorite special request item was Willie’s confetti pancakes! She also appreciated that there were desserts available pretty much all of the time (lol) as well as a cereal bar which had lots of good choices. She definitely never went hungry!
That’s good to hear.
I’m reading an old OCU Summer camp thread and they mentioned that the counselors gave the campers an opportunity to run over to Walmart sometimes to get snacks or laundry soap That was in 2008. Is that still something they do?
I also read that there was a card you could put money on for laundry and making copies of sheet music. Still true?
@muttsandMT I thought of another question! What was the housing like? Which dorm was it and what items do you suggest that may not be on the list?
@TXMTMama , I’m not sure they still do the WalMart runs. Last year my D got sick and one of the counselors went to the drug store and got some over the counter stuff for her, but I’m pretty sure that no kids went. I think maybe that’s something that varies year to year depending on whether there is time in the schedule. I think they did get to go on a Sonic run one night, though.
I think I recall that the washers and dryers are now free for the kids to use. What worked really well for us last year in this regard (since we were flying and couldn’t pack 3 weeks worth of shampoo, laundry detergent, etc) was making a quick Target run right before we dropped her off at camp. We made a list and then just bought that stuff in full sizes, and whatever she had left over we gave away to other campers who were driving home and weren’t subject to the 3 oz rule, lol.
I have no idea about the sheet music, but I will ask.
Housing…I believe the campers are all housed in Walker Hall. The dorm rooms are decent, but nothing fancy. They are arranged as suites…2 girls to each room, and they share a bathroom, so 4 girls or guys per suite. One nice thing is that the rooms have a large and tall bookcase/divider thing in the middle that is attached to the beds so they can have a little privacy if they want it…which is particularly useful for sleeping if one is night owl and the other isn’t. The beds are twin regular (not extra long), and many of the kids find that a mattress pad is helpful. We forgot last year and my daughter groaned when she remembered that the beds aren’t as soft as her bed at home, lol. I seem to recall also that they try to put boys and girls on different floors of the dorm building. And there might have been a suite or two that had three girls instead of four…I’ll ask my D when she gets home.
For the future, if your D ends up auditioning for/attending OCU, I think I recall that Walker Hall is where they typically put freshmen, and that the dorms for the older students are quite a step up in newness/niceness. The cafeteria and the hangout places on campus are absolutely gorgeous…my husband and I, who both went to public schools for college, were so jealous when we saw them!
I would say the #1 thing I didn’t think of that I should have was snacks for the dorm room. The kids are working so hard that they get hungry between meals. My D was jealous that other kids had relatives dropping off Costco sized cases of snacks for them, or shipping stuff via Amazon. She was lucky because her generous suitemates shared with her, but I feel very guilty that they had to, and I’ve promised I will make it up to her this year by sending goodies via Amazon for her to share with everybody. I’ll ask my D what else she thinks is important to bring and report back to you!
Oh – one more thing I am remembering now is to be sure to pack some dresses for the master classes. They encourage the kids to dress for those as they would for an audition, so your D will want to bring several to rotate between.
I need to get my kid some dresses that aren’t black. LOL The theatre kid’s struggle is real.
Some things my kid needed last year that might help someone were: a clock that lit up (she used her phone for the alarm, but she liked to know what time it was in the middle of the night), trash bags, an umbrella, bandaids for blisters, vitamin C, Kleenex…
If I think of more, I’ll post.
@TXMTMama , I had one fact about the dorm rooms confused…each “suite” contains a 2-bed room and a 3-bed room that is interconnected by a bathroom, so there are a total of 5 kids per suite. I forgot about that because my D was in a 2-bed room last year…but I knew that some kids were in 3-bed rooms.
I confirmed that the laundry is free. And lots of kids did copy sheet music, but my D did not – and she confirmed that she’s pretty sure you buy a copy card to pay for it.
Haha, the first thing she said when I asked her what to bring was snacks and audition dresses, so I remembered that correctly. She also added that you will want to bring a pair of non-character-shoe dress heels, because kids dressed up on the cabaret nights where they performed for each other and the counselors.
And my D also corrected me that the Sonic run was in the Jr High camp she attended there in the summer of 2015…she said there wasn’t time in the High School camp last year.
@TXMTMama and others who may be interested…I just saw on Facebook that Walker Hall is being rehabbed with new plumbing this summer, so the campers will be staying in a different residence hall this summer. Right now they are hearing that the kids will be staying in a newer apartment-style dorm called “Centennial Hall”, which has private bedrooms but shared bathrooms and living spaces.
My daughter is a freshman at OCU in the MT program … she is in Walker Hall … old and outdated - but it does the job. Those Freshman have to pay their dues! The other dorms seem a lot nicer - so it’s probably a blessing that you will be in another dorm!