We are in state for Montclair and my D refused to even consider applying. I know they have a great program but FYI many kids end up leaving there. We have a friend whose D left after one semester in the BFA Dance (that was last year). There’s just not a lot going on at the campus on the weekends from what I understand. It’s traditionally been a suitcase school and although that’s changed somewhat…there are still a lot of kids who go home on the weekends. Personally, when I visited with my D21 for dance I really liked the school and campus. She was admitted in the room but never seriously considered it. It would have saved me a boatload of money!
@daughtersdreams My D’s experience w/ her Montclair MT audition was nearly identical to yours. She wasn’t impressed with them and their failure to connect with her. The kids should at least get eye contact and a thank you. She crossed them off her list.
@marg928 We live in a very rural area and my D’s previous college (total enrollment <5000) was also a suitcase school - so she knows what a dead campus looks like. Haha. Montclair, on Saturday, still had a lot of activity going on (comparatively) - students in the gym, student center and walking around, some kind of game in the sports field. And the fact that NYC is a 30 min. bus ride away is a huge plus to my D who’d be happy just walking around Manhattan and window shopping with a friend or two.
@Mardeen - were you and your D at the audition this past Saturday, Feb. 25? I overheard a couple others come out of audition and comment to parent/s that they didn’t think they’d get in because no feedback or not working with songs. And another girl who my D had met at another audition, auditioned right before my D and told us she had a similar experience. It makes me think that that is just their style.
@Jkellynh17 They may have made eye-contact and my D was just too nervous to recall it. As I think about it, if I were an auditor I would not be very demonstrative either. Knowing that kids compare their audition experiences and read a lot into what happens in the audition room, I’d want to appear as neutral as possible. They know that we talk and that if they spend time working with one kid on a song, but then the next kid sings and gets no feedback - it’s going to be interpreted a certain way – possibly incorrectly.
Despite the reserved attitude of her auditors, Montclair has exactly what she’s looking for in both BFA programs, and location and other programs that she’d like to minor in. There will be a big celebration here if she gets in!
@daughtersdreams I didn’t realize your D was a transfer student
@marg928 Just barely. She attended one semester of a BFA MT program last fall at a small school in SC and it was just not a good fit for her so she left it in December and entered the audition process for the second time. Applied to all different schools this time, more selective ones than last year. Holding our breathe and hoping for better luck this time!
@daughtersdreams My D had a scheduled audition with them at Chicago Unifieds.
Can I suggest some perspective as being dubious about local colleges is such a common feeling no matter what the school that a HS kid lives close to:
A couple of things.
- Kids leave BFA programs all of the time. All of them. No matter how fabulous and for variety of reasons.
- Suitcase campuses? You do know that MANY of the most coveted schools that you all seem to love in this thread are like this right? The BFA programs are often the exception so be prepared to be an island and enjoy your cohort.
- Not wanting to go to the local school: I felt the same way about my state University (which I did attend instead of Cornell because of cost and it was 20 mins from my house and yeah.. I didn't want to make that choice but my parents said... Cornell = big loans in daunting numbers that are yours. State U = mostly we can help you so what loans are left over will be easier. ($42.62/month after I graduated... remember it well). Both of my kids had zero interest in attending our state's flagship university that quote "we can see from our house". Yes... lean off the upper deck of our house to the point where you almost fall off when there are not leaves on the magnolia tree in the side yard you might actually see the top part of some higher level building on a hill 3 miles away. There is nothing new about this sort of sentiment. So much easier to fantasize over "love the one you are (not) with." Respect a local kid who feels that way if you choose to as it's hard to overcome. But take that sentiment with a grain of salt if you are NOT the local kid. Gosh my state flagship U out of state kids KILL to get into. It's a very hard admit as it also is in state.
You can research the heck out of the history here about Montclair auditions and applications. I’m fairly sure they have a well established history here in CC at sometimes sucking at both. But I’m pretty sure the training doesn’t suck. I’ve seen one of their productions and know for sure the talent in the peer group won’t suck either. So I urge you to take a breath. A smooth audition doesn’t always mean a superior program. It “could” but it also might mean a school that knows they need to try harder to woo the talent and they make the effort. And YES I know CMU and some other schools with great reputations have managed to do both auditions and training well but just urging caution. Montclair offers some pretty remarkable training at very reasonable tuition.
I have zero experience with Montclair, so cannot contribute to specifics - but to me, a lot of this has to do with what I think of as the “warm fuzzies” effect. Some schools are great with that, some aren’t; but it doesn’t really impact the training.
I also agree with @halflokum that there are LOTS of CC favorite BFA programs in acting and MT which are at schools which could be thought of, or have traditionally been “suitcase” (many are working to change this). Wright state, coastal Carolina, Malloy Cap21, Baldwin Wallace, and Otterbein are just a few that jump to my mind. If a vibrant, traditional campus life is something That is important to your kid, then, much like academics, you need to plan your list to make sure you include schools where you will get that. Places like Penn State, Syracuse, Michigan, or Indiana will certainly fit the bill 
I agree with what @halflokum is saying…which is why I made my D apply to Rutgers (no call back though)…that being said, this is CC and people go on here to learn everything there is to know about a school. Perhaps the out-of-staters would be interested in knowing it’s a suitcase school. How else would they even learn about something like that if they live nowhere near the school and never knew anyone who went there. As @daughtersdreams said, it doesn’t matter at all to her D but it may matter to someone else. We’re here to share information so our kids can make the best choices for them. And yes, my 21D’s best friend left the BFA acting program at Marymount Manhattan after one semester too so I know it happens.
@marg928 I agree with @halflokum. My S is at BW (about an hour from home) but he very rarely comes home! I know a few of his local classmates will run home for weekends now and then but the BFA kids are super busy (even on weekends). They have masterclasses most Saturdays and the rehearsal schedule tends to start on Sundays so they do end up in socializing on campus with fellow BFA students.
I hear ya…my D21 is a senior BFA Dance major at Pace. When I woke up yesterday morning i told my youngest to go take a shower in her sister’s room and she said…but she’s in there. I was like…HUH? She came home after midnight apparently and never said a word!
Hey all my daughter goes to Montclair and it is a fabulous program. When I read daughtersdreams’ daughter’s audition experience, my first thought was that they must have liked her to be writing all that stuff down about her. Seriously, if they knew right away she didn’t meet their standards, they would have checked “no” and stopped there, right? And I don’t know who was doing the auditioning but I wouldn’t read any more into it. Maybe they were trying to appear neutral. Maybe other stuff was going on, who knows. But agree that “warm and fuzzY audition” doesn’t = “good program” nor is the reverse true. I will say my daughter loves the faculty there and they are kind and supportive. There is a family feel within the program. As for the whole local thing, I live in New England now so my kid is an out-of-stater, but I grew up in NJ and though I applied to Montclair (45 years ago) it was the LAST place I wanted to go because I wanted OUT of NJ. So it’s kind of ironic my kid ended up there and I’m thrilled that she did! It’s been a great 4 years for her (she’s a senior) and I’m sad it’s soon ending. Also though a few that were originally in her class left, they did so for medical or financial reasons, not because they were unhappy there. One of her classmates was a transfer IN from CCM. And PS over 6000 kids live on campus and though I’m sure there are many who live in NJ and go home, MANY don’t. And NYC, very visible from campus, is your playground, though the MT kids are often busy with rehearsals. Bottom line, I’m sorry if your kid’s audition experience wasn’t her most comfortable, but if she gets in and has choices, don’t base your decision just on that. Go back and spend a day there, go to classes, meet more faculty, etc. It truly is a phenomenal program with fantastic facilities and opportunities, and a bargain to boot.
@Calliene Haha so funny I went to Pace back in the day when it was a business/commuter school. I never in a million years thought my kid would end up there! I wanted the whole campus thing for her…mainly because I missed out on that but that wasn’t what SHE wanted! Now she is a senior there…who would’ve thought?
@Calliene “Seriously, if they knew right away she didn’t meet their standards, they would have checked “no” and stopped there, right?”
My thoughts EXACTLY! I told my daughter: “Well, at least you know they weren’t writing a big “NOPE” across your sheet!” LOL!
Great minds think alike!!
My daughter’s favorite audition experience was with Montclair at LA Unifieds 3 years ago. The auditors spent tons of time with her, and made her feel like they were super interested. She came out of the audition glowing. Thought for sure she had gotten in…NOPE rejected. But it was a wonderful audition. FWIW
Wasn’t it Monclair where your D broke her foot at the dance call @KaMaMom? Nothing to do with the school itself, but one of my all time favorite audition stories.
@toowonderful … Hahahaha!! :)) Nope … it was at Millikin. She’s a trooper though … still went through the rest of the audition - then went straight to the ER.
AND was onstage that night (in a boot!) in a community theatre show.
@marg928, I went to Pace, too! But for graduate, not undergrad, and I was on the Pleasantville/Briarcliff campuses, not the NYC one.
Son’s MT audition at Montclair 3 years ago at NYC Unifieds was very interactive, and he enjoyed it a lot. He also was rejected, but felt they took time to get to know him.
My D particularly enjoyed her auditions at American University on campus and Cornish College of the Arts at NYC Unifieds. At American they complimented her Shakespeare but thought she needed to be in her body more, so they had her do it over again while stacking the chairs that were in the room. She loved that. She also found Cornish to be a lot of fun and loved the people. She has already been accepted to Cornish with scholarship. American was just last weekend so no word yet.