Our Excel Spreadsheet

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
21

<p>Oh, no no no no. Welcome to the dirty little secret we all share around here. That despite the finger wagging “thou shalt not fill out thy child’s college application” general attitude of most college admissions advisors and pretty much all those “get into college” books, it’s a whole nuther ballgame for us lucky parents of TALENTED kids. ;-)</p>

<p>If your kid is anything like mine (and I’m sure she is, as well as everyone else’s around here) she’s at school early to rehearse for whatever is going on in her school theater program. Then after school, every day, she’s either taking voice lessons, vocal coaching, monologue coaching, dance lessons, rehearsing for whatever she’s in at the moment, practicing her vocal exercises or some other performance related thing until around 8:00 or so. Then she’ll be frantically trying to keep caught up with all of her AP or dual credit homework and studying.</p>

<p>Weekends are catching up and rehearsals and once in a while, a NAP, because if they get run down, they’ll be sick during auditions. Oh, and yes, auditions themselves take a good chunk out of the schedule, too, and then they have to catch up on schoolwork they missed while out of town for auditions!</p>

<p>Plus, most of them are applying to anywhere from twice to four times the number of schools most other majors apply to.</p>

<p>PLUS their admissions process is squared because they have to apply not only to the school but to the PROGRAM which is a whole confusing maze of differences from school to school.</p>

<p>Anyone who thinks a prospective drama student has time to do all their own admission stuff clearly hasn’t actually known any actual prospective drama students…or they have a time machine and I sure wish they’d quit bogarting the thing cause one would come in handy!</p>

<p>My daughter wrote her essays and the long answer questions to the Common App and the Texas App (naturally we have to have our own different one, sigh) and I just fill in the blanks and do all the rest for her. And it is taking me HOURS - it really is very time consuming because even though she has her nice little EC/honors/volunteer activity sheet, it seems like every single school (even if they use the common app) manages to have something or another that requires the information to be entered in a format completely unique to them. In other words, nothing we’ve done already works and we have to edit the information to fit THEIR form. lol.</p>

<p>Then in my case, I have to double check it about 17 times because I’m just the sort of person who has to do that, but actually I’ve caught a lot of errors and not just the second proof read, either. Plus some of the questions I’m not sure about so someone has to be contacted for the answer and it takes a couple days sometimes for people to get back to you.</p>

<p>SO. That is why from what I can tell, we are all furtively filling in our kids’ applications around here but it’s not something you really can go around talking about to just ANYONE if they don’t understand the situation, because then you just sound like you are an overinvolved helicopter parent on a big, whiny, excuse making binge. hah. (“oh SURE your kid doesn’t have time.” lol. ) ~ My extremely prosaic, plain spoken, little brother, the Ag/Air Force pilot (you could say he’s not really the artsy type) snorted and said he wouldn’t bother with a school that made you go through all that. But he doesn’t UNDERSTAND!! lol. Our kids have no choice! This is what they want to do and they don’t want to do anything else and if they are going to do this, then they have to go through this process. It’s just inevitable!</p>

<p>So that’s why we all cling to the comfort of the CC theater major boards because it is just such a relief not to have to explain and justify everything! lol!</p>

22

<p>snapdragonfly, great post, it really captures the frenetic pandemonium to which our kids and we attempt to bring a semblance of structure. When my daughter was applying to schools in the 2006-2007 application cycle, we too had the same operative allocation of tasks that many are speaking of here. If it was a matter of substance (essays, song and monologue selection, audition prep etc), my daughter did it. If it was a matter of administration, I did it. There were areas we did together (deciding on the sequence and timing of auditions for example). </p>

<p>It seemed that the process was one phase after another, with each phase having its own unique organizational and administrative needs. At the beginning, we had a general college info/search binder, a chart of all schools on the “long list” and later the “short list” setting forth general and program info on each school. We had a chart of admissions requirements for the schools on the short list. And all of that was in her junior year just to plan for what standardized tests to take and for her to decide where to apply.</p>

<p>By end of her junior year, we had moved into the application phase. That required a chart of the application types and due dates, a chart of what application materials had been sent out and when they were received, a chart of the materials and due dates for docs her h.s. had to send which was given to her GC and tied into the audition dates once those were decided. We had a chart of the specific audition requirements for each school to focus my daughter’s song and monologue selection over the summer. We had charts and forms with info and impressions from college and departmental visits.</p>

<p>Then came the audition phase. We had a chart for her schools showing the logistics of scheduling and planning each audition - date, time location, selected audition materials, supplemental materials required at the audition, travel logistics. New binders - audition binders- were created for each school for grab and go ease.</p>

<p>Then at the end, as acceptances came in, we had charts evaluating and comparing the schools and programs. By the time we were done, our family joke was that we needed a chart or spreedsheet just to direct us to the charts, spreadsheets and binders. There was no way that our daughter could have done all of this herself while still attending to a full demanding high school academic load, her host of performance classes after school and show rehearsals and performances.</p>

<p>The reality is that the college application process is exponentially more complicated and time consuming for performing arts kids than for “normal” liberal arts college applications. The specialized research, preparation and time commitments involved in the program selection and audition preparation process add a whole different dimension.</p>

23

<p>I find that our systems are evolving as we go through the process also. Actually right now we are down to a little upright file folder (like those magazine organizers) that holds a manila file for each college - various literature and forms (not all the look book stuff but more official stuff like admissions letters). I have all the pertinent info - audition dates and requirements, admissions requirements, other deadlines, and as they come in, her log in and ID numbers - written on the front of the folder in lists and as they get done they get checked off.</p>

<p>Also now I have a little set of index cards that I hole punched and put on a little round key ring thingie that is her “cheat sheet” of the audition dates and requirements. This is the info we find ourselves going back to refer to over and over again.</p>

<p>The spreadsheets are still there for reference but as we narrow things down we are finding a different and thankfully somewhat smaller set of data. Though probably when it gets down to making decisions and continuing to apply for financial aid and honors colleges it might get hairy again.</p>

24

<p>Temple has an audition for their musical theater BA. I thought it was a non-audition but they have audition dates on their website, and we emailed to make sure and they said an audition is required. </p>

<p>This is from the email they sent us:
If your daughter is interested in a general theater major or our acting program she does not need to audition. The audition for the acting concentration comes after the second semester of acting classes. She simply needs to be accepted at Temple and declare a theater major.</p>

<p>If she is interested in musical theater then she does need to audition in Philadelphia next spring. There are three dates for those auditions.</p>

25

<p>Thanks for your wonderful dash-of-reality posts, Snap and Michael… No one in my family full of creative types has a head for the sort of organizational campaign that is necessary–so I do try my best with the charts and files–but sometimes think I’m in way over my head!</p>

<p>Hope we all get some rest tonight!</p>

26

<p>We did the MMC audition today, and here’s how my spreadsheet evolved:</p>

<p>I took a small leather folder with me which contained the following:</p>

<ol>
<li>My Kindle</li>
<li>Manila file folder which contained:
A. Headshot
B. Resume
C. MMC form completed by D (they ask that it be bought to the audition)
D. Copy of the MMC Common App Supplement and form
E. Acting recommendation </li>
</ol>

<p>Also took bottled water, tucked a protein bar into my handbag, and packed a sandwich for my D — which she ate only after her audition :<)</p>

<p>Note: There were some stressed-out parents and kids there, who didn’t have any water with them - not a pretty sight…!</p>

27

<p>Sound like you had things all in order! Great advice, thanks.</p>

<p>Best of luck on the results, too!</p>

28

<p>nalajen - I hope your D’s audition at MMC went well.</p>

<p>My D is a freshman in musical theatre at MMC this year. Two of her suitemates are in the acting BFA program. My D is really happy at the school and loves the program and living in the city.</p>

29

<p>Thanks showmom – she felt really good, but can’t get a read on It. She did her Muhlenberg audition yesterday - same- felt really high off the experience, but can’t get a readon it. She doesn’t want to search for meaning in anything the auditors say and do --just wait & seee come March. Next audition is in a month, and then the Big Push in Jan-Feb…</p>

30

<p>At Muhlenberg, the audition is for talent scholarship money, not for admissions purposes. For admissions purposes, it is far more important to have a personal interview with an admissions rep; the school focuses on a more holistic approach to the admissions process and gives great weight to whether it is felt that a student and the school are a good match for each other. It also gives a lot of weight to the degree to which a student demonstrates interest in the school. The interview is important in both regards. My daughter auditioned and was strongly urged by the head of the theater department to schedule an interview with admissions. If your daughter did not interview and Muhlenberg is high on her list, she may want to consider returning for an interview if possible.</p>

31

<p>Yes, Michael, she also had an interview. She loved the school, mezzo-mezzo re: Allentown. Her NY metro area auditions are coming up… :<O :<)</p>

32

<p>Glad to hear your daughter’s auditions and interview went well nalajen!</p>