<p>I have been calling other schools since I haven't made any of my top choices. Tomorrow I have the oppurtunity to audition for one of these schools, they both expressed interest in my resume and slipped me in. I should mention that I plan to try transfering to Carnegie Mellon after one year. I can only choose one to audition for-PLEASE help me out ASAP! I have to make a decision in the next few hours.
While these are not my only choices, I do have to choose between these two.
Thanks!
-Jesse</p>
<p>If you are planning on transfering, then audition at Point Park. I believe its only about 10 or so minutes away</p>
<p>Good Luck Jesse:
We are all hoping for the best for you.</p>
<p>Would Point Park prepare me for CMU better than OCU?
-Jesse</p>
<p>My opinion is OCU is a top MT school where the voice, in particular is nurtured and trained at the utmost level. I also think that you will do better away from CMU. You need to get your mind off of this, Jesse, and right now prepare for these auditions. I was most impressed with OCU when I visited and it was a top choice for my son. It would prepare your for a MT career as well or better than CMU. To transfer into CMU is an even longer shot than getting in from the onset. And I don't think it is going to be such a positive thing for you to be 10 minutes down the road from CMU wishing you were there. Point Park has a very strong dance program, stronger than CMU"S and one of the theatres they use is less than a mile down the road from CMU. But it is not CMU, and it is not a great mindset for you to be pining for the school up the road. Also right now you need to focus on the auditions at hand and look for what these two very fine schools have to offer. But to directly answer your question, the OCU training would be preferential to CMU's since the strength of the program is in voice whereas PP's dance strength is not as important in CMU's auditions.</p>
<p>jesse: I second jamimom's advice about OCU. The voice training there is excellent, as combined with the MT ooportunities. It's a no brainer for OCU. Go for it!</p>
<p>Jesse,
I have been following your story for a while and I want to "third" Jamimom. Oklahoma City is a excellent program. The vocal training is strong and classically based. The dance training is just as strong as Point Park's, and the department chair beefed up the actor training this past fall. I believe that OCU has the stronger program. </p>
<p>I also concur with Jamimom that avoiding Pittsburgh would be in your best interest. You don't want to enroll at PPU and constantly be thinking, "If only I could be at the school down the street." If, after a year at OCU, you still want to try transfer to CMU, you will be well prepared. As Jamimom said, you must keep in mind that it will be very difficult to get into CMU as a transfer. Unfortunately, CMU has a very small program. The odds are simply not good for anyone, no matter how talented. </p>
<p>You may find, that much to your surprise, you fall in love with the program you choose this year. I hope so.</p>
<p>jessie, i hope that if you do choose to audition at ocu, it is because you treasure that opportunity and madly desire what they have to offer. for you to audition and possibly take a spot from someone who is dreaming of only that school, and just use it as a stepping stone, would not be cool. imagine that happening to you at cmu. i don't want to deprive you of any opportunity, of course, because i know how it feels to not get into your top choice. i just would hate to see anyone take that top choice away from another kid, just because they need something temporarily.</p>
<p>I want to add that OCU is no slam dunk for admissions. It is going to be a tough go and anyone who wants to go there is going to have to show verve, interest as well as talent at that audition. Not a good idea to go into an audition with your mind on how you are going to transfer out of that program. Get into the OCU mindset if you want a good shot at OCU.</p>
<p>ocu is very definitely not a slam dunk. they are extremely selective and their program is very unique. they're very classical and their program is in the music department. and if you don't get past that music audition, you can forget it. that is considered before anything else. regardless how well you do on your monologue, you have to get past music first. this program is definitely not a stepping stone. that said, jessie, my daughter will be auditioning at ocu for the 3rd time this weekend. her appointment is at 3:00 on saturday. she's 4'11," 94 pounds with long brown hair. her dad and i will both be with her. he's very tall with grey hair and mine will be freshly colored dark brown (it's time for a touch-up). so if you are there, look us up. lauren has been accepted into theatre performance but is still going for the mt.</p>
<p>I don't know whether you'd consider it, but one positive aspect of auditioning at OCU is that when you audition for MT, they will also consider you for the Theatre major and for the Vocal major. So it greatly expands the likelihood of getting into one of their programs.</p>
<p>they do consider you for mt and theatre performance. they also might offer a ba in music. but, as for vocal performance, i don't think you're considered at the same time for that. i think you would have to request that consideration. it's a different audition process. they do 2 classical pieces rather than 1 classical and one mt. i could be wrong, but i don't think so. j</p>
<p>Jesse - We have visited both schools and have both on next year's audition list. OCU would be the clear first choice for my son. Please know that we know people at Point Park currently and recent grad's who feel great about the program. It is just a little dance-heavy for my son. His strongest areas are singing and acting, and this is where OCU primarily focuses in their BM program. The other great thing about OCU is - if you are an advanced dancer - you have 8 or 10 dance levels to choose from and to take with their very good dance majors. We love that school and hope to go for their summer program.</p>
<p>Jesse, I had to log back on to tell you something else that is important. I believe that OCU is much higher on our interest list than CMU is. I can't tell you enough how warm and personable the faculty at OCU was. If my son ended up being one of those exceptional 10 students to actually be accepted to MT at CMU, I might be eating my words, but we are holding OCU in that very top group that we truly hope for. Did you know that at CMU you can't audition for mainstage shows until after 2 years? At OCU you can audition as a freshman and have many performance opportunities, in both opera and MT.</p>
<p>Another important thing - If you go to these auditions acting like you will only be there one year, I believe they will not accept you. The programs we have visited expect a 4 year committment (except CAP21 which is 3 years). Most of the programs count you as a freshman if you transfer in from somewhere else. If you did happen to transfer to CMU after a year, you might start over and have 4 years to go. I don't know this to be true specifically at CMU, but it seems to be true many places.</p>
<p>I vote for you to go to OCU and plan for the whole 4 years. How are you going to get there by tomorrow?</p>
<p>ericsmom, jesse's mom called me with a couple of questions about ocu and i know he is currently on his way to audition at point park tomorrow. so, let's all wish him our best, as well as remembering lauren as she auditions again at ocu tomorrow afternoon. maybe i'll see you in lr sometime this summer. j</p>
<p>Jesse - fingers are crossed for Point Park for you - I thought it was probably a much closer trip for you to be done at the last minute. I can assure you that the people we know there are very happy. Keep us posted!!! Do you realize how many moms you now have?</p>
<p>mrsark - may third time be the charm for Lauren at OCU! safe travels...</p>
<p>Jesse good luck at both auditions! My vote goes for OCU!</p>
<p>mrsark, we're all sending Lauren positive thoughts! Good luck!</p>
<p>thanks everyone. we're home and everything went as well as it possibly could have. we were able to find an area where we could hear her audition quite well. she could not have sounded any better. of course, we still expect a rejection. i'm just not going to get my hopes up again. but, at least we can say she deserves it whether it happens or not. those of you who have already auditioned there will find this interesting. they had so many that they had to split the panel and do 3 in the regular room and then had 3 judges set up on the stage in the small theatre and the auditionee stood up there in front of them. we were a little concerned when we found that was where lauren's audition was, but the acoustics in there were so great that it actually enhanced her voice. so, lauren feels great about her performance. and thank you all for your good thoughts and prayers. i hope all went well for others today also. j</p>
<p>I got back from Point Park early this morning. I enjoyed the school very much-particularly the dance audition, which I found to be challenging and fun. It gave the auditor a much better idea of the applicant's dance abilities I found. My vocal and drama went well, the auditors didn't ask me to do anything else, but I was told by everyone else that had the same auditors as I, that they didn't get anyone to do extra stuff. Last night, I got to see First Lady Suite at the Pittsburgh Playhouse with all Point Park students. Very enjoyable! I reccomend it to anyone in the Pittsburgh area! I really think that Point Park is a place that I would like to continue to attend for all four years. The visit there made me realize-and I do know that you have all been telling me this- that there are other schools out there that could give me training that is just as complete as that at CMU.
Thanks for all of your great advice!
-Jesse</p>
<p>jesse, we saw your nametag laying on the table when we checked in at ocu saturday. i did tell them you weren't able to come. i'm glad things went well for you. jamie</p>