@rickle1 - you are not alone…emotions run like a roll a coaster…its a total crap shoot for ALL these pre screens…we got a yes from CMU & a no from several schools one might consider a " second tier" not naming for the sake of avoiding who is better , best, blah blah blah…if you look at the past few years threads there is ZERO rhyme or reason to which schools you pass vs dont…and btw even LESS correlation between high or low pass rate on pre screen to ultimate acceptances in BFA/BM programs. we know people who passed all prescreens and got shut out on acceptances and others who passed ZERO pre screens & today are happy at a BFA MT program…all that said the process is brutal- hang in there, we all have a long way to go!! its only the second inning to use a baseball analogy
^ Thanks gang! You guys are great. Of course I know all of this and am telling her that, but who wants to listen to dad? I try to get her to focus on positive things (and there are plenty) but you know the drill - 17 yr old drama / singing queen. Like the rest of these maazing kids, she’ll find her place. Ist audition is this Saturday (already accepted , non audition program, but looking for merit money - should be great practice!)
@rickle1 as one of the few fellow dads, certainly no 17 yo F wants to . hear from us…we are a rare breed 
Question for those who have heard from Rider. Did you have your SAT scores in before hearing? That’s all that’s missing in the portal, but it’s been weeks. We submitted a few others after that one that we have already heard from. I wouldn’t think they need to have everything for a prescreen decision but just checking.
hi everyone! does anyone know how to tell if rider has a prescreen decision yet on the portal/ where to look? not sure where it would show up & heard that it shows up earlier there than on email. thanks!
We are in the exact same boat with Rider and a few others – only missing SAT scores and waiting on pre-screen decisions from submissions that have been in longer than some we’ve already heard from. So maybe they wait until they have the full academic picture?
@legitmt When our application was submitted, we got an email to log into the “Be A Bronc” portal and have been looking there.
Bringing up the pack with Prescreens submitted! Now we wait. I can’t help but wonder if the longer you wait to submit, the less likely you pass given how many kids they have already seen? Is that a thing or is the anxiety getting the best of me?
“Separate the Dream School from the Dream”. I think we discovered the tag line for Class if 2024. Love it.
And so true! I keep reminding D that the two most successful young actors I have personally met- currently working in touring productions- both went to their Flagship State. No student loans meant extra cash to live and audition in the city. There are SO many roads to this destination. The key is being willing to to the work and climb those hills.
@Sitzprobe - Yes, everything I have heard says that the longer you wait to submit pre-screens, the harder it is to pass, as schools get more selective as the number of slots gets smaller. I don’t know if that is really true or not. My daughter is doing a regional unified in November, and I am a little worried about the schools that she is doing her pre-screen auditions for then. I think many of the schools have set aside a set number of audition slots from those pre-screens, and it may be harder for her to pass them there. Of course, we keep reminding her that if a school doesn’t LOVE her at a pre-screen, it is better to know that early than to just squeak past a pre-screen and be disappointed later.
I feel so badly for these kids. Her friends who are pursuing other majors (even ones such as dance) have it SOO much easier. They apply to one or two schools, pick their favorite and go. So many of her friends already have their college plans lined up. These musical theatre kids spend almost all of their senior year stressed out and auditioning, trying to stay well, etc. They give up doing shows so they can keep their calendar open for auditions and scholarship interviews, and worry about finding the right mix of a program they love (and are accepted to) and a college they can afford (because who needs student loans as an actor).
They are all brave for even trying!!
My DD did not pass the Pace pre-screen but she passed Elon & Shenandoah. I caulked it up to them looking for a certain type that my DD did not fall into.
@MTorBust2020 I think that happens a lot. There are some schools my daughter has passed pre-screens that she could not have dreamed she would pass, and there are some that we thought she would pass, but she did not. It is hard to understand sometimes. She also went to an audition for one school where she did not think she did well, but they really seemed to like her. She LOVED the director, and had a great time. What should have been a bust of an audition turned out to be a really positive experience. She auditioned for a different school a few weeks ago and thought she did great, but was unsure of what they thought of her. She also auditioned at her “safety” school, and found them to be less than excited about her. It really makes no sense sometimes.
She is also starting to believe that schools are often lookng for “types”. I don’t think she believed that either until she got a couple of auditions under her belt. She is a distinctive type, and is finally starting to believe that might weigh more into the decisions process than she thought.
Now she is also starting get the whole idea of the “right” school. I don’t think she got that until she visited a few campuses and met a few program directors. I am really happy for her because now she seems much more focused on finding the right school for her rather than going with a name. Of course, a name would not be bad as long as she feels like she “fits” there. But, since she discovered this, it seems as if some of the pressure has lifted off of her.
We just have to have faith that our kids will end up where they are supposed to be.
@WDWMom well said! I couldn’t agree more. My D visited a few schools at the top of her list, some where she was offered great scholarship money. She observed classes and met with faculty and just plain could not see herself there. Other schools that were completely off her radar, she fell in love with! The next time we went through the audition process we tried to have a completely open mind and not worry about “dream schools” or “safety schools”. We simply applied to those that she was interested in and waited until offers came in to truly get emotionally invested. It still wasn’t easy. Lol I do believe they end up where they are meant to be. There are TONS of performers on national tours and broadway and beyond who went to schools i honestly had not even heard of. If they are unhappy at the “top school” in the country, they won’t feel it a safe environment to truly grow as a person and experience the soul baring curriculum of an actor. Hey… Worst case, there is no shame in transferring. It is more common then I had realized.
My D has had everything in to Rider since October 17. Still waiting!
So the “type” thing came up on the thread and I’m going to give my 2 Cents: my sister is a voice teacher at a university where MT kids are auditioning. She gave us a perspective that may be helpful when explaining rejections to your MT hopefuls. Let’s say my son is a tap dancing tenor who typically gets cast in romantic leads… if XYZ school took a romantic tap dancing tenor last year ( and maybe the year before too) then if they take my son this year, he is going to be stuck behind, fighting for a place in their shows when LMNOP school really needed a tap dancing tenor and he would have more opportunity. Unfortunately there is no transparency when it comes to who they are graduating out and what each program needs, but it may help your students understand that some of the programs they are auditioning for are doing them a favor by allowing them to go to programs where their skill set will be rewarded
^ I hear that a lot. D’s program director refers to it as they’re actually casting their shows for the next few yrs (vs. generically admitting a certain level of talent). So if they are loaded with X, they don’t need another X. Not that different than sports recruiting where they are looking to fill positions. We need a good shortsop, we need a catcher. If they have 3 1Bmen, they don’t need a fourth. The difference is the coach will tell the kid that and sometimes refer him to a school he/she knows is in need.
Clearly, it’s not just about talent. Very much about timing. But to be fair, so is life.
So true about programs looking at type and not just talent, but even knowing that doesn’t help these poor kids when they hear no after so much hard work. It makes me so sad for them. My daughter did all this a few years ago before prescreens, and I honestly think rejection after a real audition is a little easier than after a prescreen. It’s like you didn’t even really have a chance to show your true potential and you are shut down. I really look forward to hearing that everyone has found their place at the end of all this. My daughter did, and I know my son will too, just hard to get through.
On that note, I have another question. I think I read somewhere that earlier responses from BoCo might only come if you opted for a December audition date, but I don’t remember having to put audition preferences on that app. Did we miss something? I really hope not!
^ We;ve not heard from Boco either so would like to know.
I reviewed BOCO app just now and there is no question asked about selecting audition dates.
My notes say BOCO received by Nov 1 notified by mid November.
@rickle1 , @mamaboyz , @intheburbs , thanks I will stop worrying (for a minute) and try to be patient. ?