Anyone for summer 2016? Daughter was accepted today and will be going. She is doing 5 weeks – 3 weeks MT and she has the opportunity to choose between acting or vocal performance for the other two weeks. She can’t decide (loves them both). Any insight into these two options would be appreciated!
@titlemom, my d is going also! She will only be there for the 3-week session even though she would really prefer to be there for 5 weeks. She went 2 weeks last year and it was an amazing experience.
Is the OCU Summer MT program hard to get into? Meaning very competitive? I’m not familiar with it (don’t know anyone who has been and it’s a haul from where we are) and was trying to figure it out from their website and they said they don’t take a set number - it’s just done on talent they see each year so not sure what that means. For those of you who have gone before, how many do they usually take? Is it a range of talent or all pretty top notch? Thanks so much for any insight!
Congrats @titlemom & @mom2MTgal! We are still waiting to hear (hopefully soon) & it’s our first time trying.
Good luck to all! Please keep us posted once you hear!
@ourturn2. Our D went to OCU summer camp one year and mPulse at Michigan the next. ( she went to OCUs camp 5 years ago!). There were extremely talented kids both places. To give you a sense of those who apply and are accepted, all I can tell you is the friends she met at OCU camp ended up attending CCM, Elon, NYU, Pace, Indiana, Belmont, Millikin, Illinois Wesleyan, and of course OCU among other schools. Her friends from MPulse are attending NYU, Texas State, USC, SMU, and Michigan among others. These are just the kids I know. There of course are other kids at other schools that I don’t know about. But I would say both camps attract a high level of talent. I think it varies each year how competitive it is as it depends on who else applies, but the kids we’ve seen at both programs were impressive. I think it’s always worth a try applying to any program in which you are interested. P.S. OCU is across the country from us but has been well worth the distance.
@ourturn2 I can’t speak to the number who apply, but if I remember correctly, there were about 50-60 students at the 3-week HS MT camp last year. Last year, one of my d’s friends who was wait listed for the 3-week camp was redirected to the vocal performance 2-week camp. I think the 2-week VP camp may be about the same number of students.
It is a great camp with lots of opportunities to perform. The 3-week kids had a showcase for parents with 12-15 songs at the end of camp in addition to the full musical production.
Thanks so much @vnstar and @mom2MTgal ! It sounds like a great program so we’ll put it on our list and hope for the best! These summer programs are awesome but it feels like it’s about as hard to get into some of them as it is to get into college! The plus side is that we are getting some great practice for our prescreen videos though, regardless of how it turns out.
I thought the same thing about the prescreen videos, @ourturn2. It’s helped me realize which locations were better for sound and also how important good lighting is!
Ok we found out that my D is in for the 3 week MT program! We got a little crazy and applied to several since she’s a freshman and we weren’t sure how it would go. Problem is now we can’t decide. Good problem but torn between this and ccm and they r at same time so can’t do both and have to respond soon. Can someone help with what’s the dorm set up? Like one roommate or more? Community bathroom? How big r the class sizes or groups? Boy/girl split? Is it divided up based on dance level or music theory results or do groups change makeup for each class? Meaning are u always with same kids or do u switch for each class? Any info u can give me would be much appreciated!
@mom2MTgal saw u offered to help on another thread so hoping to hear from u:)
@ourturn2 I will PM you.
@ourturn2, I think any summer program is great, but we LOVED OCU. In answer to your questions…
Can someone help with what’s the dorm set up? Like one roommate or more?
The dorms they used for camp were suites with two or three beds each with two rooms sharing a bathroom.
Community bathroom?
Shared with another room.
My d was at the 2 week camp last year, so the following info is based on secondhand knowledge from a friend who attended the 3 week:
How big r the class sizes or groups?
I believe there were around 60 total, so 20ish per group.
Boy/girl split?
Def more girls than boys.
Is it divided up based on dance level or music theory results or do groups change makeup for each class? Meaning are u always with same kids or do u switch for each class?
The groups are leveled based on dance ability and most participants stay with their group for theory and acting. However, last year, there was an advanced theory group that met at an alternate time.
Does that make sense? let me know if you have follow up questions.
Thanks so much @mom2MTgal! We just signed up for the 3 week MT thing this summer so we’re excited and looking forward to checking it all out!! Plus I’m relieved to have the decision made. Don’t know how we are ever going to come up with a college list if we struggle with camps. There are just so many good options!
Wanted to add a quick update for anyone looking for summer programs in the future that D LOVED her time at OCU. She texted after her first week that she thought she had learned more in week 1 than she had learned in an entire year of high school musical theater back home. I can’t count the number of times since she’s been home that I’ve heard, “I wish I was still in Oklahoma.” As parents we were blown away by the level of talent in the cabaret and the show. Highly recommend the summer program. Will try to come back when it’s time to apply to next year to see if any new questions come up.
Ditto everything @titlemom said for us and our D. She wishes she could just skip the rest of high school and stay there! This is an amazing program, and the staff and faculty are top-notch and incredibly caring…according to our D, they really got to know each and every student. And wow, Dr. H, the head of the MT (and Opera) department, could not have been friendlier or more welcoming to both students and parents. We got the strong sense that OCU really takes care of each of its students – both as students and as people. Our daughter definitely plans to re-audition for camp next year, and OCU will be high on her college audition list. 
Hello CC parents, I am JoBeth Moad the Director of the OCU Summer Music Programs. I don’t log on to CC often but I just wanted to say THANKS to all the parents who have done such a great job of answering questions and giving advice on here!! It got me excited for summer again 
I just wanted to post the link to our updated website since the link on CC is out of date.
http://www.okcu.edu/music/performing-arts-academy/summer
Applications open today - December 1 - and we look forward to seeing lots of great CC kids again this summer! If you ever have questions please do not hesitate to contact us at academy@okcu.edu or call us at 405-208-5410. We welcome questions Have a great holiday season!