<p>OK, folks another question from that annoying inquisitor, NMR!
My D has been noodling around the Web, looking at the applications required by the various schools she is considering auditioning for/applying at. From what she's seen so far, most schools want kids to apply online, which I get. A question, however: is the most efficient way to go about this to just download and print out the applications ahead of time, so they know what is being asked, can write essays, etc. and then, when they are ready, click on the form for each school and fill it out? Also, does each school make it clear if it takes the common form and if so, where is this info? Sorry for being so dense.</p>
<p>NMR (and others)
I would strongly recommend that you print the apps ahead of time. With some schools, you will find that you have to fill in the whole app in one session, so it works best if you write your responses in Word (or whatever word processor you use) and then copy and paste them in when you are ready to fill out the application. Also, that way if your internet connection drops or your computer crashes, you won't lose all your work.</p>
<p>Hi NMR~
I'm sure others that have been through this process can respond to your question about the logistics of filling out the numerous online applications. How best to keep it all straight?...I would be interested in this info too. Here is the link to the common application website:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.commonapp.org/%5B/url%5D">http://www.commonapp.org/</a></p>
<p>It includes the names of the schools that participate. Also, as they note on the opening page, Emerson will be added to the list of schools accepting the common app for 2008. They indicate that the 2008 application will be up on July 1. So it begins...! :)</p>
<p>Thanks, guys. Is there any disadvantage to using the common application that you can think of? And are there separate instructions on each school's Web site for those who are using the common app? For instance, I would guess that if School A accepts the common application, it might also ask for a supplemental form. Is this correct? Are these supplements also filed online? Ugh, this is going to be a leap of faith for me. ;) I do a lot of stuff online, but like many of you, have had situations where I filled something out, pressed "SEND" and it never got there. I am old fashioned enough to want to hold a physical piece of paper in my hand and have it delivered somewhere FedEx!</p>
<p>I'm not sure about any disadvantage. The schools we have visited have made it clear that equal weight is given to the commom app vs. the schools' app. I believe most schools have supplementary forms that you do online if you are sending the commom app online. You can do a hard copy of the common app and then hard copies of the supplements if you prefer. I think once you decide, the supplementry forms are to be done in the same mode as the common app.</p>
<p>Thanks, gem. (Your name always puts me in mind of "To Kill A Mockingbird" ...) I am sure that my technologically competent kid will be just fine with the online stuff. I am the dinosaur ...</p>
<p>Hi NMR-so glad you ask those questions. I felt like a dinosaur, as well !!! I have decided to print out the applications as suggested and have D. fill them out 1st then submit them online. It sees to me that some schools offer the perk of waiving the app fee if you do it online-which is a nice plus since many of us are applying to a large number of schools. Once it is submitted I think I will call the school to be sure it was received-I am with you in that Fed ex or priority mail is a nice thing, in that you know it was delivered into a persons hands!!:) Looks like the fun is starting!!!</p>
<p>mtsmom, glad to know I am not the only one unsure about this stuff. I feel fortunate that so many parents and students here are willing to answer questions and help us newbies! :) I think your idea of having your D fill out the paper applications and then submit online is a fine one. I may suggest my kid do the same. Keep the good advice coming, y'all!</p>
<p>You should definitely check with the schools if you do not hear from them via postcard or e-mail confirming receipt of your on-line application. We applied to I think 12 schools, all on-line, 4 of them with the Common App. It is more difficult to fill out and you DO NEED to ascertain which schools require the supplemental form and additional essays in some cases (i.e. NYU), but it is worth it to be able to fill out one form for multiple schools. It is a great way to add schools that are added to your list later on if that happens (which it did to my D) without additional apps/essays having to be filled out or written.
As others have said, some schools waive the application fee for on-line applications and some of them do it specifically with the Common App. Just TRIPLE CHECK everything. </p>
<p>Out of all the schools, only one did not receive the on-line application, and told me it was "lost in cyberspace" - somehow they did locate it, but if I had not checked, who knows?</p>
<p>The other thing that I don't think anyone has discussed is booking those audition dates as early as they will let you. Check with your schools during the summer to see when applications are available and audition bookings and get on it right away. The unifieds were our biggest challenge as to the scheduling, and also deciding which ones to audition for in the fall - some of them offer this option, some don't - will your child be ready and confident? All those questions have to be answered.</p>
<p>We went through this process 2 years go, when online apps began growing in popularity. I was leery at first, and called one of D's schools and was told that they much preferred online apps to those mailed in. So she figured that was the way to go for all her schools (except for the two which back then in the "dark ages" didn't have online apps!)</p>
<p>Here's what she found:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>In all cases the app began with the assigning of a pin # which allowed her to return to her saved application to complete at a later date.</p></li>
<li><p>All the apps asked virtually the same questions, although in a different order, so it's not reinventing the wheel each time.</p></li>
<li><p>She filled in the first one online, proofed it carefully for typos, had me also proof it while it was still up on the screen (or if I wasn't around, she saved it and using her pin #, had me proof it at a more convenient time). Went back, corrected any errors, printed a hard copy and hit send!</p></li>
<li><p>Every application she filled out had a prompt to print a hard copy before hitting send. Absolutely do this for two reasons. First, you need one for your file folder which you should have for each school :). Second, you can use it as a "written" guide for your next app.</p></li>
<li><p>Essays were written online in microsoft word and imported into each appication.</p></li>
<li><p>Using this process, it wasn't necessary to fill out a paper app for a school in order to do the online app. Don't make extra work for your kid! </p></li>
</ol>
<p>It turned out to be a much easier process than I anticipated, BECAUSE of the online application. (Which I suppose is the reason so many kids these days can now apply to so darn many schools!). Not sure if this is a good or bad thing. ;)</p>
<p>My best advice: Encourage your d/s to write their essays in the summer (look at last year's questions). Most are NOT school specific and two or three "base" essays can be written and later "tweaked" for particular schools. Complete the applications as early as possible (as soon as they become available online -- late summer/early fall in most cases). It eases a lot of stress if the applications are out of the way at the beginning of the school year. :) </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>BiGismama, thanks SO much! That sounds much easier than I had anticipated it being. But I have to ask yet another question: you suggest (wisely, I am sure) having kids write their essays in the summer, and then tweaking to make more school specific. Are the essays that they should write the ones asked for on the common app? And do most schools require additional essays, etc. on the supplemental form? In fact, do most schools (and by that, I mean most of the schools on the big list at the top of this forum) require supplemental forms, including essays?</p>
<p>She looked at the questions asked on the previous year's applications. In most cases the essay questions were very broad: leadership or personal commitment or career field choice so it was obvious that thinking about and writing essays on these subjects ahead of time would be beneficial. I don't meant to give the impression that the same essay was used for each school. Not at all, but these were general subjects that could be written about and then expanded upon for each school. The beauty of editing and word processing! One or two of her schools did ask the "who would you like to have dinner with" kind of questions, but if memory serves, that was for specific university scholarship programs (round 2 applications, as I like to call it!) ;)</p>
<p>I can offer no advice re: common apps. Only half of her schools accepted them at the time (remember it was 2 years ago :) ), so she didn't bother. The supplemental apps. for each school looked fairly cumbersome, so it seemed just as easy at that time to just do the actual school app. But that might have changed since her application process.</p>
<p>Thanks BiGismam for the great tips!! Question did your d. find the essays from the previous year the same or do the schools change them yearly. Thanks again.</p>
<p>There is no one right way to go about the applications but I will share that I differ in some of the ways others here have gone about them. </p>
<p>First, let me say that schools are being honest when they say they will accept either an online or a paper application and that it makes no difference in terms of admission which is used. Also, when they say they will accept the common application or their own application (IF they do....some do not), this is also true and should make no difference in the admissions outcome. </p>
<p>However, I have a strong preference in these matters. It is just my opinion and there is nothing wrong with going about it another way. My own children and all of my clients have used paper applications (except I think one or two schools may ONLY have an online option....I think that is the case with BOCO but I'd have to look it up). My clients are free to use paper or online but once we get into things, they have all gone along with the paper applications. All of them put together an annotated activity resume and that would not be able to be sent if applying online for example. All wrote cover letters expressing very specific interest in each college and program. Again, can't be sent online. All were able to create little activity charts on a computer to cut and paste onto the online appllication neatly where those are asked. Anyway, there are more reasons for this approach but their whole application was sent via snail mail in one package and they verified the receipt of it later on. I much prefer paper applications. Also, there are no online hitches that way either. </p>
<p>As far as common app or own school's app....I prefer the school's own school's application. Please be aware that many schools which take the common app, have a supplemental app with extra essays and information anyway. When folks here discuss what schools have required, remember that our children have not all applied to the same schools. A lot of the schools my kids and my clients have applied to have supplemental apps with the common app anyway. In some cases, that IS the application. In others, there is an option to do the common app or their own app. I prefer their own application and to put individualized attention into each application that is very specific to what that school is asking for and to show specific interest in them. No two apps they sent looked the same. In fact, my daughters and the clients I have, all have written numerous essays. Sometimes, an essay just needed to be tweaked in length or content to fit a similar essay prompt or an essay can often fit different prompts. I draw up an essay master plan for the applicant once all their prompts are gathered and then figure out which essays will go with which prompts to write the least number of possibly essays. However, they still have had to write multiple essays or short answer paragraphs because many schools have SPECIFIC questions to their school. For instance, I can think off the top of my head that Emerson's essay is very different than NYU's. NYU also has one long essay and four short essays. Some can be used or tweaked from other school apps but some are very specific to NYU"s programs. Many schools ask why you want to attend their program. That answer should be FAR from generic and should be geared to specifics about each school. </p>
<p>None of my kids or my clients started their essays in summer. However, all the prelminary steps to organize the essay writing, the resume writing, soliciting effective recommendations and much more can be done before school starts. There are steps they took in brainstorming what they wanted schools to learn about them and how these attributes would dovetail with the essays, no matter what the essay prompts turned out to be. So, there is lots to prepare and to organize that can be done in summer. Writing essays Sept. through November has worked out fine. Some schools change the prompts and some keep them. But there is essay prep that can be done that I take my clients through that should be done regardless of the essay prompts. The message a student wants to send can be fit to any essay prompt. That brainstorm can be done without even knowing the essay prompts. I won't get into all this any more specifically but just to say that my preference is for paper applications and a school's own app or else common app and supplement (which for some schools IS their app anyway). Getting all this organized ahead of time and drawing up a master plan of attack is something that can be done by late summer when all apps are usually available.</p>
<p>Wow, thanks Susan! This is great information. It's reassuring to hear that essays can be written in the early fall, too, as my own kid will be away at a precollege program this summer and won't have much time to craft essays until she returns to school in late August. I am just having difficulty processing the fact that it's her turn at all of this now! Yikes! ;)</p>
<p>NMR....yep, her turn has arrived. My children, as well as many of my clients, were also away the summer before senior year. This was NO problem. If their college lists were fully explored and all set by late summer and all the preliminary steps done, they started on applications, essays, resumes, recommendations, and so on at the end of August or early September and kept to an organized time line of every step that needed to be done to pace things out accordingly. Audition prep also began in September. My kids were fine and so were my clients. The only problem is for kids who procrastinate and do not keep to the well paced time line and put off essays and applications for way too long and work close to deadlines. These things take time to do them well such as many drafts and so forth. Starting audition prep in Sept. also works well with enough months to be ready by auditions. What doesn't work well again, is those who put things off. A well paced and well organized time line suits a student well, if she is diligent about putting aside time in a busy schedule to keep to the plan of attack. There is no need to truly do it over the summer. Many are away training and doing shows, etc. This is fine. Putting off solidifying a college list or deeply exploring schools would be a set back. That should be done by now and some tweaking to the list by the end of summer. The list should be finalized by the time school starts in order to put full attention into apps and audition prep. Once apps are out of the way, preferably by November, full attention just on audition prep can also happen.</p>
<p>As always, the advice must be taken in context of the schools to which you are applying. More and more schools are having their first round of auditions be early action, and these are taking place in Nov.-Dec. I personally think the groundwork for choosing monologues and songs should already be happening for the coming audition season, especially for those doing early auditions. If they are at a summer program, it is possible they are already doing assignments which may lead them to finding appropriate material.</p>
<p>I know the level of parental involvement in this process varies from none at all, to way too much, but I believe it is really important for your child's artistic growth that the selection of audition material be theirs, and that should be one area where parents, even those with a certain amount of expertise, should stay clear.</p>
<p>I agree with MusThCC that so much of this depends on each person's situation and college list. Even the discussion of common app and essays and all, differs depending on the college list. </p>
<p>Same with MusThCC's point about the audition prep. In my own D's case, she did ONE audition in Dec. and the rest in Jan/Feb. She started full fledged audition prep and selection and working with voice teacher and an acting coach in September. She also did NFAA which involves one mono and one song ready to go by Nov. 1. So, this time frame worked with having the first audition in Dec. But, like MusThCC says, if auditions are in November, that changes one's time line. </p>
<p>I personally prefer to do auditions in winter and maybe get one or two done early before the holidays to have some under the belt (in case changes might be made in material....my D changed one song after the first early audition, in fact), and also to hear early from a school or two. This also allows the first part of fall to be heavy on applications, while still doing audition prep but then after applications are done, all the attention can be on doing auditions (such as in Dec., Jan., Feb) without splitting energy in all directions (add in school, training, shows). My D happened to be in a show that November and so could not have traveled to auditions at that time anyway. </p>
<p>So, how one structures their time lines will differ. In fact, for the students with whom I work, I develop individualized time lines month by month and these vary from student to student depending on when they started the process, when their apps are due, when their auditions are scheduled, if they are doing ED or not, etc. So, I totally agree with the post above in that one must gear the time line to their situation and their college lists. I was trying to say earlier that it CAN work to be gone all summer at a program, and still be on a nice pace of a time line to have the college list squared away over the summer and start apps and full fledged audition prep for some kids. That worked for my kids and for many with whom I have worked who have also gone away in summers. It works best to have the college list firmed up and other preliminary steps all taken care of as well before the fall. </p>
<p>I also agree that the student should pick her own monos and songs, and in consulation with coaches. A student well versed on musical theater repertoire is going to be ahead of the game. Searching for material is an ongoing process for anyone in this field. It should start all through high school and continue all through college and beyond. My D in a BFA program even has summer homework related to such searches of repertoire. So, in essence, that aspect doesn't BEGIN in September. But the preparation of the selected material can be done over 3-4 months.</p>
<p>Since cutting and pasting is so easy these days, make sure that you don't say that you really want to go to college A on college B's application...</p>
<p>On a slightly different topic, also make sure that you remember what kind of program a school has before you walk in for your audition and interview. We've had a couple of prospectives tell us that the reason they wanted to come to our school was because they wouldn't have to take all those awful liberal arts courses...</p>
<p>Enjoy your weekend :-)</p>
<p>doctorjohn,
You are such a generous resource for everyone here. I wonder if you would be willing to share any general observations from this year's admission/audition cycle. I know that you accept very few students; this year there was a new step in the process, I think, where students were notified if they were seriously being considered (I may have this wrong but I think there were letters sent). Also, I know that you are very upfront about the "fit" and want students who know what they are getting into (school location, expectations, etc.). I was wondering if you saw more applications than usual, or if the number of audition slots is always the same. Also, if I wonder if anything appeared to be trending differently than in years past. I know this is a lot to ask and I hope you also enjoy your weekend - so maybe sometime when you have time, you could write about this, maybe on the Otterbein thread, since this is definitely off the common app topic!</p>