<p>How many auditions are you going to do/do you suggest doing?? I'm trying to plan out which schools I want to audition for and I just was wondering how many other people are doing or have done! :)</p>
<p>I would say if there are 20 schools that you are interested in, audition at 20, if there are 10 audition at 10. I think the more schools the better with the idea that you wouldn’t audition some where you aren’t willing to go. Certainly there are times you won’t know if a school is right for you until you are there. I would try to schedule as many as you can between on campus and unifieds. </p>
<p>@Raam1012 fair point! I don’t actually know too much about unifieds. I was planning on doing a little search on this site about them to find out some more. I think I’m pretty pleased with my list but I was concerned about audition for too few but any more than what I have feels like I’m forcing the list to grow haha. Thanks for the advice :)</p>
<p>Travel and expense may be a factor. Also, check if your school has a policy about absences. Son had to have his absences approved beforehand.</p>
<p>Personally, I think auditioning on campus far outweighs unifieds, but if cost is a factor auditioning at unifieds is a wonderful thing. We learned through the process of on campus auditions if a school was a perfect fit or not so much. While the “not so much” school turns out to be a wasted trip - there weren’t too many of those in the end. I don’t think making the effort to go to on campus audition gives you a better chance of getting in, but it certainly does show them that you took the time to go to their campus and check it out. Certainly with some schools you get a little more time and attention on campus. If you can start auditioning in the fall, you can easily visit 15 schools. I would love to know the breakdown of those who are attending college this fall from an on campus audition vs unifieds. Perhaps that would be a good thread if there isn’t one already. Good luck!!!</p>
<p>@entertainersmom Most of the schools I’m auditioning for are on the east coast so travel isn’t too much of an issue. The plan is a road trip with my mom. Also the school bit isn’t too much of an issue since I’m out of school (:</p>
<p>@Raam1012 I think it’s probably better to know if it’s a not so much as opposed to a perfect fit. The way I look at it is if I get into a few schools and I’m having trouble deciding knowing the environment of the school is a good thing to factor into decision making. I’m definitely sending in my audition applications as soon as possible so I can start auditioning and I agree that having a thread about on campus vs unifieds would be good… I haven’t seen one but maybe someone else knows of one?? Thank you for the good luck wish!! 
I’m really looking forward to the auditions</p>
<p>80% of my D’s acceptances this year were from Unifieds. So I wouldn’t discount the opportunity if you plan to audition for a lot of schools. It also depends on where you live and the location of the schools. We live in the southwest and many of the schools she applied to were along the eastern seaboard. Given my work schedule and her school/performance schedule, it was impossible for us to do all of her auditions on campus across the country. She auditioned on campus for a few of her top choices and loved the campuses and everything about the schools and got really excited. And then she did not get in and it really stung because she had been on campus and fell in love with them. </p>
<p>75% (3 of 4) of my D’s BFA acceptances came from Unified as well. 2 from the 2nd day- she had her groove on! To be fair, she did NYU (which is where she will be going in the fall) at Chicago unified, but she had been to their summer program, and knew 3 of the 4 adjudicators. But I also second annelisesmom’s warning, auditioning on campus, falling in love and deciding it’s a “perfect fit” and then hearing a “no thanks” can be tough. D found the “No’s” from unified slightly easier to deal with.</p>
<p>Is there really a perfect fit determined on an audition visit? Perhaps I overstated that - definitely finding out that you can’t see yourself there is a plus with an on campus audition. It isn’t fun to visit a school after an acceptance and find out that it just isn’t right - we did that and it wasn’t fun when you wanted it to be a fit. I am in no way putting down unifieds - I think they can be great I just think an on campus audition is great too! In this process, whether you audition on campus or unifieds, it is wise to not fall in love and get your heart set on any school.</p>
<p>Another thing to look at is cost. Unless money is no object your list should include a variety of price points as scholarships in BFA land are difficult to predict.</p>
<p>Dlazlo - If you have the flexibility with time, definitely do some on-campus auditions. Check the audition stories thread for this past year. Some schools have a full day of activities for audition day, and some do not, which may help you put a list together. Of son’s three acceptances, two were from Unifieds, one was an on-campus. Also, both Unifieds acceptances were from the Chicago Unifieds, though he had auditioned in NYC the week before. Like toowonderful’s D, son had his groove on:)</p>
<p>@entertainersmom Thank you for the advice 
Since you’ve had experience with it, do the same schools show up at Chicago and NYC? Do you think it’s best to go to two locations or just one?</p>
<p>@entertainersmom - same deal with my D! She was on fire at the LA Unifieds (she was horribly sick during the Chicago Unifieds so that may have been a factor) and majority of her acceptances were from those auditions. </p>
<p>Doing a mix of on campus and Unifieds generally works well. We saved our on campus visits for those schools who didn’t participate in Unifieds for the most part. (Elon, OCU, Indiana, Belmont, Texas State are some that I can recall that require an on campus audition at some point during the process although we did not audition at all of these. This list may have changed so check all schools to understand if they will require an on campus audition). some schools she had already visited or driven thru campuses by having either attended summer camps (OCU, mPulse) or just driving thru on our way other places over the last few years. For those schools we had not had an opportunity to see, we visited once an acceptance was in hand. But I must say my D did not like the on campus auditions. She found the days to be long and draining. She did not like to tour facilities or sit in on classes the days she was auditioning. She felt it took her focus off her audition. And it made her tired. She actually loved and preferred the frenetic pace and chaos of Unifieds. . But that is just her. We had a friend who couldn’t stand the thought of Unifieds and did only on campus auditions. So you have to gauge which environment better suits your child. In looking at results from my Ds class, I do not think there is a higher probability of being accepted at an on campus versus a unified audition. She and her friends had acceptances both ways. Choose that which best fits your time, budget and comfort level. </p>
<p>p.s. interestingly enough, although she did not like on campus auditions, she is actually attending a school she did an on campus audition for. </p>
<p>DLazlo - Many of the same schools attend, but this past year Otterbein and Coastal Carolina did not do NYC, but were in Chicago. They were both high on my son’s list, and fortunately, two of his acceptances. My best advice is to check each school’s website (and check for the updated versions). I read on a thread that Shenandoah will be attending Unifieds this upcoming year. They did not attend Unifieds this past year or they would have been on son’s list.</p>
<p>annelisesmom- I think son was able to work out some kinks by the time he got to Chicago. He also received some great adjustments in the process that he used for the auditions that followed. A neat process all around :)</p>
<p>According to VoiceTeacher who teaches at Shenandoah (and will be The D’s advisor), they’re only going to NYC so far. I think it’s a great opportunity for this year’s auditioning students!</p>
<p>Otterbein was at NY Unifieds – I tried to encourage my S to do a walk-in with them but he was very bummed out after he thought he blew his last audition so he refused to do one more. Ironically, the school he thought he bombed was the only acceptance he had from the 6 auditions he did at Unifieds (plus one priority waitlist). His other acceptances were all from on-campus auditions, including the school he’ll be attending in the fall (Ithaca). </p>
<p>@DLaszlo, a good thread to read is Final Decisions-Background – summaries of how many applications, prescreens, on-campus auditions vs. Unifieds, training, coaching, etc. You’ll get a good snapshot of each student’s journey through this crazy process!</p>
<p>maMTma - You’re right, Otterbein was in NYC! I can’t believe how easily I forgot these details. I still have all my information in the “trash”, and dug out the list with locations. </p>
<p>@DLaszlo - second @maMTma’s advice on reading Final Decisions Background…for many post-ers it gives the most complete info in one spot (and lets you know how things end!) And don’t “just” do 2014… I went back and read the past few years before that, b/c things vary from year to year!</p>
<p>@DLaszlo, nobody (probably not even YOU) can predict how you will do at Unifieds vs. on-campus auditions–it’s completely personal. My son’s experience was quite different from those described above, and he had no particularly strong feeling about either method going into it. His first two auditions (December, on site) and his final one (late February, on site) were his acceptances. The slog of weekly auditions in January and early February did not turn out to be a good fit for him.</p>
<p>You don’t mention whether you’re also including non-auditioned programs, but do make sure you have at least one or two of those that you’d be okay with attending (or, if not, that you have a plan B). Your original post asks about numbers, so I’ll pass along that my son applied to 11 total programs, three of them non-auditioned, and had six acceptances. He’s at Otterbein now and adores it. Hope that’s of some help!</p>