PreCollege

Colleges and Universities A-Z Carnegie Mellon University
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Hello everyone!!
I went looking for a thread about CMU PreCollege last year and could not find one, so this is me opening one up for anyone who is looking for one this year :slight_smile:

I attended CMU PC in the School of Drama, and I am attending CMU next year. If you have any questions about my experience at PC, what you should bring, etc. feel free to comment or PM me :slight_smile:

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What program did you inside of the school of drama? I just got accepted into the musical theatre program and just looking for some advice on what to expect! Also how was the mock audition/ interview that the students do at the end of the program?

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@MuTh2024
Hey! Congrats on making PC :slight_smile:
I was in the design/production program, but my roommate was an MT (they have you room with someone else in one of the drama programs, which will most likely be a performer as there are never more than 20 DPs and usually over 90 performers).
Based on what I heard from her, this is sort of what the performer experience was like: My roommate had classes starting around 9ish in the morning. They would go to ballet, jazz, and I think they took a movement class as well. I recall her having to go to the library (fourth floor, btw) to look for monologues for her acting class pretty often. They also had the option to pay for private voice lessons with the vocal teachers (I believe everyone said it was worth it). The workload was mostly monologue memorization for scenes from what I heard. My roommate was usually able to sleep by 10:30 or 11pm most nights (though the case was nowhere near the same for me and the other DPs).

In terms of the interviews/mock audition, my roommate and I had very different experiences. I don’t know much about the mock auditions for performers - let me get back to you about that :slight_smile:
The interviews for DPs were very much NOT “mock” ones, but if you are a PC DP reading this, don’t let this scare you!! Myself and a few others were accepted directly from the interviews and did not need to re-interview come application season. They did let us know that this could potentially happen on the very first day, so we tried to be as prepared for the interviews as possible. The profs will do a workshop with you, so have questions prepared. Go over your resume with one of the PTM professors and take their advice (it’s very helpful!!). The interview itself was more a long conversation. I had 7 profs in mine, and we essentially discussed my experience at PC and in life in general. It was 30 minutes (I was in there for 27) and it feels nowhere as scary as it feels like it will beforehand.

Pro tips for stuff to do on campus and in Pgh:

  • Download the Pittsburgh Transit app, it’s a lifesaver. PSA though, buses suck at timing on the weekends.
  • Your ID gets you into the Carnegie Museums for free (the ones down the street & Andy Warhol Museum), as well as Phipps Conservatory (GO HERE!!! It’s a three minute walk across Schenley Park and it’s amazing!!)
  • The Waterfront is a 20 minute Uber and has some shops (not many), but it has Burgatory (GREAT burger place) and a movie theatre
  • The Manor is a small, cheap movie theatre that gives student discounts over in Squirrel Hill, and it’s reachable by bus
  • Noodlehead is an awesome, cheap Thai place in Squirrel Hill
  • Target is super close!! Ten minute bus ride at most. There is no Walmart close to campus, so Rite Aid and Target are your friends.
  • I’m not sure what on-campus dining places will be open during PC, but Resnik is fine (not great, just okay) usually. Check out The Exchange in Posner (behind CFA) bc they have GREAT sandwiches. TepperQuad has AWESOME burgers and breakfast during the year (arguably the best food on campus), but idk if they’re open in the summer.
  • Participate in one (or more!) of the workshops SoD offers. I worked on the Augusto Boal workshop and it was an eye-opening experience for everyone in the troupe. The film workshops were great too. I believe they also had a tap one (they ACTUALLY shook the building, haha) and a few others.

Let me know if u have any other questions!! This post was mostly a brain dump of class/positive experiences I had while I was there, sorry for totally rambling. I hope everything goes well :slight_smile: