I noticed that many long-time members of the board have commented that more schools than ever before have instituted prescreens. One clue as to why might be found in the talk BU gave at Unifieds this week. They noted that last year they wanted an acting class of around 28-30, so accepted around 70 (their usual process) and wound up with a class of 56. While BU continues NOT to prescreen, they will have be more conservative on their admit numbers this year. If other schools experienced similar surges in the popularity of their programs, that might explains some of the increased prescreening. Just a thought…
Numbers of applicants (I should say QUALIFIED applicants!) seem to be way up - even from 4 years ago - so schools are looking for ways to “cull the herd” more efficiently.
The applicant pools are getting larger, but the faculty and staff resources have stayed the same size. It’s just not possible to keep up with those numbers, so they do have to “cull” (as @artskids aptly put it) at some point. It’s the same with the schools that have callbacks as part of their process; another way to narrow it down.
@artskids and @BFAbff I totally agree with you! I can’t believe the increase in applications since my D applied 4 years ago. There was nothing like the amount of activity on these boards back then as there is now. I think pre-screening is the only way these schools can handle the amount of applications.
I wonder how the more widespread use of coaching has played into this. Schools that used to be looking for raw potential are seeing kids present more polished packages, so more kids seem to have what it takes (and therefore get accepted).
@toowonderful that’s also a great question! When my D applied she did not use a coach nor did any of her friends that were applying. I am amazed by how many people are using these coaching services that create packages and how many people use the same coaching services! No judgment, just an amazed observation! LOL