Has anyone NOT heard from CCM (other than us?)
I have stayed off this forum for almost 2 months because all the success postings were freaking me out. Now that pre-screens are over I have returned mostly to thank people for tips and reassurance after my previous handful of posts. Recognizing that pre-screens are now all in (mostly) so many parents of class of 2024 have left this thread for the next one in the timeline of this process, I am still going to post my D’s final PS results n the spirit of sharing negatives as well as positives to alleviate anxiety of parents next year.
She applied to 21 schools; 13 had PSs; 6 have auditions but no PSs; and 2 have no (required) auditions. Post-PSs we have 17 (out of 21) schools left in the running but most of these are non-PS, non-MT, non-audition, or non-performance degrees. Here is the breakdown:
Pre-screens YES to BOTH MT & Acting:
Ithaca
Roosevelt
Pre-screens: 4 NO to BOTH MT & Acting:
BOCO
Illinois Wesleyan
Millikin (but yes to performance-oriented (supposedly) BA Theatre program)
University of Michigan
Pre-screens NO to MT but YES to Acting (only 1 audition completed so far):
Emerson (audition this coming weekend)
Point Park (Chicago Unifieds)
Rider (Chicago Unifieds)
Shenandoah (audition 2/8)
Syracuse (auditioned this past weekend; no results for awhile (March?))
CCM (Chicago Unifieds)
Non-PS schools (only two auditions and only one result so far):
American (auditions available only 2 dates in mid-February)
CCC (rejected from BFA MT program but yes to BA MT program)
MMM (Chicago Unifieds)
Montclair (Chicago Unifieds)
NYU (auditioned but no result until March)
Wagner (auditions only on 3/1)
No-audition schools:
Muhlenberg (but "optional audition submitted electronically)
Northwestern (but “optional” MT supplement submitted)
So bottom line, out of 21 schools, we have left:
9 MT programs (only 2 from PSs)
6 additional schools left for Acting (plus 5 of the 9 MT schools have Acting options)
2 admits to BA programs (i.e., non-BFA programs)
2 non-audition schools.
In hindsight, I wish we had applied to a few more schools and that we had shifted our numbers from mostly PS schools (that process was exhausting and demoralizing) to more non-PS schools.
Hope this helps someone and that is also gives you a balanced view of the negative as well as the positive. Also, if you look at the breakdown of the yes and no outcomes here it illustrates pretty well how illogical the process is. Ithaca is highly ranked yet she passed for MT there and not other (supposedly lower ranked) MT programs.
@AnxiousNovice You’ve cast a very wide net–wider than most–and she will land somewhere and be happy and wildly successful. We spoke with many coaches and they said 15 was the magic number when you fill it with reach, ideal fit, and safety schools. Your list seems to have that spread. You’ll be fine and I bet you’ll have 2-3 offers to choose from in March/April.
There is no magic or consistent formula for how a program selects its class. Why? Their shows and talent pool changes(graduation, transfers) from year to year. In 2020, maybe XYZ University has all their male, dark haired soprano spots filled. But, they DO need 2 blonde, alto males because they have 2 shows that require that profile/type-cast coming up. If you don’t fit that profile, one program rejects you, while another accepts you. The point is, you just don’t know exactly what they are looking for and it changes from year to year. Thus, you cast a wide net. Case in point, the University of Oklahoma was our only rejection out of 14 school pre-screens. I am not losing sleep trying to figure it out.
Lastly, CC represents a VERY SMALL population of people auditioning. Keep the good and bad news you read in perspective. Good luck. Your daughter is going to do great things!
@AnxiousNovice I saw on your list that your D applied to Northwestern. My son is interested in that school but I wasn’t sure if he has the grades/scores to get in and had basically taken it off his list. Do you have any idea if the MT/Theatre program has the same standards as the university as a whole? He has strong grades and scores - just not necessarily “Northwestern” strong. I had no idea you could send in audition materials but that made me think that it might be an option for him. (He is a junior)
BAL to your daughter!!
I believe the academic standards to be admitted for MT/Theater at Northwestern are the same as for any other intended major at the university.
@AnxiousNovice I empathize and feel with your post SO much! My daughter is not one of the kids who passed every pre-screen (I’d say she is running about 50/50 on that). And now she is doing her callbacks, and it is truly disheartening. I mean, say a school cut from 1500 pre-screens to 500 callbacks. Well, that means that all of the kids they called back are really good, and the school may only accept 10 girls. At this point, I am not even sure it is about talent anymore, it is just about “fit”. At the UMich callback, they made a point of saying, “You are all good enough to be a part of this program. We called back 500. We are taking 11 girls.” It is simply insane!
We did a LOT of schools, and included a mix of big programs as well as smaller, lesser known ones as well. What is interesting is that , with a few exceptions, many of the smaller schools are ending up being her favorites. If your daughter is wanting more options, there are some GREAT smaller schools that she can still apply to.
This has been such an incredibly tough process, and part of me really resents how much of her senior year has been dedicated to this, especially when the results can be so brutal. I am acutely aware of how little time I have left with her, and I am so jealous of moms of kids pursuing regular majors who have it so much easier. However, her dad and I just keep reminding her that what she is going though now is nothing compared to how hard it will be trying to make a living doing this.
I wish you the best of luck in the rest of the audition season. I know it is hard, but try to stay calm and hang on until the end…we are all hanging with you, and counting the days until we can breathe normally again!
@AnxiousNovice I saw your post on the other 2024 thread and was going to reply there, but your post here makes your situation much clearer–sounds like your D definitely has options! Please tell her to keep her chin up!
From our experience, the prescreen process really only gets you so far–you may make that cut (from 1500 applicants to something like 800 or so for some top schools?), but it’s definitely not a guarantee of anything, unfortunately… The odds are still crazy! We have had many, many conversations in our house over the last couple of months about trying to keep this process in perspective, but it’s HARD! Every time D goes into a dance call, she comes out saying that there were more people in the room than will be admitted to the program–and that’s just at one audition!
I posted earlier on D’s prescreen journey–including the No’s as well as the Yes’s, since I was also feeling the anxiety. She applied to fewer schools than your D but had somewhat similar experiences–some outright No’s, 1 redirect to BFA acting, and a few MT yes’s. She also has 8 non-PS auditions and 1 non-audition safety.
She was initially disappointed about the redirect to acting, until she talked to various people (voice teacher, coach, college MT friends), who advised her that an acting redirect is not a NO and that there are many opportunities to add MT skills (voice, dance) at some of these programs if she wants.
I don’t know if that helps, but I’m definitely sympathetic about how stressful this all is! It sounds like your D has a lot of auditions lined up and that’s a positive thing!
BAL on your D’s upcoming auditions!
@AnxiousNovice Thank you for posting this. I’m usually super positive about this whole process because it can’t hurt and worrying doesn’t help, but once in a while I get a flash of something like - what if every school says no because statistically that is the most likely outcome!? - and it feels awful. Congratulations on the passes for Ithaca and Roosevelt and also all the acting passes!
Post-NYC unified auditions I feel like I have no idea if anyone will say yes to my kid. Yet somehow after two weeks of school, making up academic work, continuing to work audition material and getting through a HS show that closes the night before Chicago, we’ll show up and do this again. No matter what happens with this college thing my kid is prepared to face the world with an insanely strong work ethic, and that’s more than I can say for myself at 17.
This reply is intended for csuram1994 (not sure yet how to target a reply–sorry). Thank you for your encouraging reply.
Still figuring out how to target a reply (tips welcome). This is intended for cgn626. Northwestern is a long shot for my D. The score and grade requirements are really high but there is no audition. They do not have an MT degree but they do have an MT certificate. You cannot audition into that program until you are already there in the fall of your freshman year but you can upload some materials for it with your application if you choose. We did that but I am not sure it will be taken into account in the admissions decision.
To WDW Mom: Any suggestions on the smaller schools that will still take applications? And thanks for your comments about resenting this process. I feel as if I am wasting my remaining months with my D and she is not able to enjoy any part of her senior year, especially now when classmates are done with applications. The whole process has taken such a toll on her self-confidence and whole outlook on something that used to be her joy that it breaks my heart. Too late now so we are muscling forward but I often wish I could go back and convince her to apply to just liberal arts schools with no auditions for now and go for an MFA in four years if she still wants this career.
This is for toystorymom: Thanks for the encouragement. We are having similar conversations. Hope things shake out well for her and for your D as well.
To TenaciousC: So impressed at your positive attitude and tenacity. Not sure we could survive two Unifieds! I am exhausted and we have only done 1 Chicago trip, 1 NY trip, and 1 Syracuse trip so far! Hoping to keep D and self healthy for Chicago Unifieds.
@AnxiousNovice I am sorry this has been so stressful for you and your D but am so happy to see everyone jumping in to encourage you. If you want to “tag” someone in your response just use the @ and then the person’s screen name. 
@AnxiousNovice type the “@” sign and the first few letters of the member you want to tag and suggestions will pop up.
As for finding schools, try looking at 2023 list of schools with walk ins and do your research to see which you might be interested in. Sounds like she has some criteria (like radius), but she might need to consider a few outside that. We had a lot of criteria and have let a few things go.
Your D got TWO passes from very competitive schools! There are kids who got zero. You have to take the no’s as helpful. Now you don’t have to waist your time. It’s a blessing and given the odds and number of apps it’s not personal. The kids auditioning are so so talented. So much is about fit and/or other factors out of her control. It’s also an opportunity to ask herself how she deals with rejection. What can she learn from each experience! Somehow my kid handles rejection really well and it fires her up and she works harder. She lets it bug her for a day. If she didn’t I might not be so willing to support this wild, EXPENSIVE process, but she’s built for this wacky world. I’m the one who is more worried and stressed most of the time because I want her to get something and I have to take a step back.
Remember this process regularly yields 2 acceptances for 15 auditions, (CAC), that’s an 87% rejection rate. Reassess, add, move forward!
@AnxiousNovice ~ and you can tag several people in the same post so you don’t have to do an individual post.
Okay one thing I did not plan for is hearing about a prescreen rejection minutes before going into an audition (at unifieds) and then today moments after leaving an on campus audition with a bit of a “high” and checking to see a college rejection from unifieds.
Have any of you contemplated removing your child’s access to email on their phones? I hate to see rejections affecting auditions ya know?
I cannot believe how brutal this process is. I thought innocently we’d hear in March but to hear during audition season seems particularly cruel no?
@mamaboyz Sorry about the rejections! On the practical side a fast answer is much better than the torturous wait from Feb-April (or longer for waitlists). The sooner you know the sooner you can move on (and you will, once your kid finds their place rejections will be a distant memory).
@mamaboyz We got the prescreen rejection at Unifieds, too just as she was going into her Combines audition! I managed to keep it from her until she finished. Frankly, I was relieved to not have to plan another trip for one more audition – she’ll do more walk-ins in Chicago.
The rejection after NY Unifieds is tough. I also didn’t think we were going to hear anything from schools so soon. I keep reminding myself that she really only has to get into one place. She built her list with the knowledge that she would happily and enthusiastically go to any school on it. Options would be great, but she only has to be accepted by (and given some financial aid at) one.
@mamaboyz oof that sounds so tough! Maybe a good learning opportunity to have a conversation with your kid about how they feel, see if they have considered boundaries about when they check certain accounts and the importance of protecting their mental space during certain periods of time and offer to check for them if they feel like it does negatively effect their auditions. I say all this as someone who has obsessively checked email all day and know it’s driving me batty!