Question about UNIFIEDS! PLEASE HELP!

<p>Read the other threads about the Unifieds. There are several. On one, everyone checked in with where they auditioned (on-campus vs. unifieds) and what their acceptances were. Also, Dr. John clearly explained that the schools put great expense into travelling for the Unifieds and wouldn't do so unless they intended to find great talent and students to admit to their programs.</p>

<p>babar - please remind me where your son is going for college.</p>

<p>Unified thoughts - </p>

<p>CMU is an exception on having to bring a taped recording, as they offer a real piano player. I think this is also true with Ithaca in NYC but not in Chicago.</p>

<p>I don't think there is any difference, in terms of acceptance, auditioning on campus vs. at unifieds. My son did most on campus, as it provided a great way to compare the schools one more time (we had already visited all the places he auditioned, during sophomore or junior year). He originally planned to do 4 auditions in Chicago but dropped 2 of them after he had exciting results before Christmas (we found it very positive to do some auditions in the fall). He did 9 auditions in total, 7 on campus, and was accepted to 5 of these. The 2 he did in Chicago were Juilliard and Carnegie Mellon, from which he was rejected, but both have only about a 1-2% acceptance rate (I think). He knew they were long shots going into the auditions! </p>

<p>Chicago was interesting and fascinating, and I wouldn't change the fact that we went for anything in the world. We saw so many people and had fun in the city. I think the masses of young people auditioning there really made my son realize how very tough it is and how very many people are wanting to do the same thing he wants to do (not true in our city). It was a great reality check. I also think that the Juilliard audition was a positive, bonding experience for the group, as they all visited and compared stories while they waited for callbacks to post and got rejected together (because hardly anyone got called back that day). </p>

<p>That Chicago experience is really something to witness! The hotel is great. Get your reservations now! </p>

<p>Good luck, and don't stress - many people have lived through the audition process.</p>

<p>From what I remember the acceptance rate is higher at unifieds than on campus- this was attributed to the fact that more local students might come to visit a campus, and think "I want to major in mt", vs the possibly more serious ones who have done their research to even know about the unifieds, and who may be better prepared. They tend to be less casual about the process. That's my recollection. Click on the search button to find other threads about the unifieds and get more info....</p>

<p>What do i do to "sign up" for unifieds...do i just apply for all the schools that i plan on auditioning for at unifieds? the whole process is confusing me..and my parents arent much of a help so if anyone can guide me that would be wonderful! i'm planning on going to the unified auditions in chicago..so yeah! thankyou
--jessica</p>

<p>Jessica - When you apply to each, individual school, you'll sign up for their Unified date. There's no general Unified sign up sheet or anything that covers all the schools. However, if you're going to Chicago, it's always good to book The Palmer House reservation in advance so that you can stay right in the hotel where the auditions take place.</p>

<p>ooo thanks!</p>

<p>I'm really trying to make the decisions about going to unifieds or not. is it true there is only one or two faculty members at the auditions and that they can't make scholarship desicions? because one of my biggest decision factors about where i decide to attend is who gives me the most money, and if its not possible cant recieve scholarship from a unified audition i'm not sure if its right for me. if it makes a difference i'm going to audition for webster, hartt, miami, and NYU at unifieds</p>

<p>It is true that there will be minimal faculty present at the Unifieds, but you'll probably see the same ones on-campus at most schools. Also, they can and do make scholarship decisions. I think I mentioned this before, but neither Webster nor NYU are known for being particularly generous with scholarships and you need kickin' grades and scores to get much from Miami. I've never heard of them offering much but chump change for talent.</p>

<p>My D auditioned at the unifieds in Chicago. We had a great time. I also recommend the Palmer House and we booked the upper floors (executive maybe?) so she could get a snack and something to drink whenever she had a second. Sometimes you don't have time to stop for lunch.</p>

<p>She was accepted at several schools and eventually chose Webster. THey did give her a scholarship but it was mainly based on academics. She also did not need taped accompaniment at the Webster audition. </p>

<p>Be aware that at some of the auditions you not only need taped accompaniment but sometimes you must also supply the cd/tape player. I know that was the case with Evansville and Univ. of Okalahoma. </p>

<p>Break-a-leg!</p>

<p>My d did not want to stay at The Palmer House. She wanted time away from the audition atmosphere as well as the hundreds of students staying at the hotel so she could re-focus for the next day. Just something to think about!</p>

<p>Okay, I'm a parent of a new senior, and I have two requests about the Unifieds,
1) Please recommend places to stay while attending the Unified's in Feb. in NYC I remember reading in the threads that there were several sites, and I'm wondering what a good reasonable starting point is to stay that won't break the bank, but is primarily convenient.
2) Is it possible to sign up for any of the Unified auditions through the schools before completing the applications after Sep. 1? I called BoCo and CCm, and they clearly make you wait until then.</p>

<p>Tashmu and all the woulderful MT CC people out there,</p>

<p>I am very new to these boards and am excited about the wealth of info I have been reading. My s is also a new senior and we are starting to stress about what to do next. Should we have started getting ahold of the various schools he is interested in already and have applications sent? I am now panicking thinking we are well behind on things. We were planned to do college tours the end of the summer and early fall. Can we sign up for audition times at the various schools and for Unifieds yet? I know I sound very naive about all this AND I AM. I just want to get a feel for the timetable of how things work and I know all you wonderful CC parents and kids who have and are going through this stressful adventure are the most trusted people to ask. Thank you so very much for your time.</p>

<p>mtboymom and tashmu:</p>

<p>You are not behind in terms of scheduling auditions. According to the Oklahoma City thread on this site, they are accepting requests for audition dates now. But I don't know of any other school that is. (I'll stand corrected if someone has information.) Many department offices are closed during the summer, and in any case those of us who do this every year would like a little breathing space from this process. September is soon enough for us, and soon enough for you.</p>

<p>As for hotels, here's a little trick. Go to Yahoo.com, click on "yellow pages", then click on "change your location". When the screen comes up, type in the address of the audition location. For NYC, it's 1601 Broadway, New York, NY. Then in the search box, type "hotels". You'll have to click through five or six pages of "sponsored businesses" (shown with a pale yellow background). But then you'll get to a complete listing. You'll notice that the hotels are listed in terms of their distance from "your location", in this case, 1601 Broadway. There are a dozen within less than .1 mile, and another dozen or more within .1 mile. Click on the links and find one with a reasonable price. There are several. </p>

<p>You can use this same trick for Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles, although I'll tell you that it would help us, if you're willing and able, to stay at the hotels where we're holding the auditions. (Our rental rates are calculated in part by the number of rooms we can predict will be booked.)</p>

<p>You may not want to stay at the same hotel, however. Read the posts on this thread about the experiences of auditioners who stayed at the audition hotel and those who didn't. Some love the buzz; some need quiet--each kid is different.</p>

<p>Hope this helps.</p>

<p>Thank you so much doctorjohn. That takes me down the stress ladder a couple of rungs. Maybe you could give me some insight on the timetable of college visits and applications. I would be forever in your debt. Thanks again.</p>

<p>I think that everyone needs to take a deep breath and reduce their stress level. It is wonderful that you are thinking about all of this now, as you have a great head start. This is a wonderful time to search the web, reading up on different schools, and talking with students you might know who attend different programs. Summer is great to gather all of your information about the schools you feel are potential programs you might want to attend.</p>

<p>Applications usually become available by the end of August or September. At that time, the schools have usually updated all of their information on audition dates, requirements, etc. Some schools have already posted that information, so you might be finding some available now.</p>

<p>If I remember correctly (seems like a lifetime ago), we registered for the Unifieds at the same time as we submitted the applications. I believe most schools asked for the application to have a file on you. There might have been one or two schools that allowed us to request an audition date prior to having the application in hand, but again, it would be school specific, so check carefully.</p>

<p>I too remember feeling overwhelmed, and confused at all that needed to be done. There is a post on this site that talks about ways that people kept track of all they needed to do. I had made a spread sheet with each school, requirements for application i.e. 2 recommendations, SAT/ACT scores, essay, etc., audition dates, audition requirements i.e. 32 bar ballad, 1 minute monologue, etc. I also had file folders for each school with copies of "everything" sent to the school, and date each was sent or requested. When received, everything got checked off. If I spoke with someone, I had a record of the date, name and conversation that we had.</p>

<p>I followed up with the admissions office frequently. Most schools posted had websites to check for your information being received. If in 2-3 weeks, I did not see it as being received, I called the school, College Board, HS registrar office, etc. It is not uncommon to have "lost" items or "misplaced" items, so follow up with the appropriate offices.</p>

<p>We had all of our applications submitted before the due date. I guess if I had to give one piece of advice, and this is just a personal observation, I would schedule the schools that your child is most interested in after having attended a couple of auditions. My daughter's "dream school" was her first audition, early decision, and it did not go as well as she hoped. I think if she auditioned for this school in Feb, as opposed to Nov, her chances would have been better. Her auditions got stronger the more she went through, and she got used to schools asking her to do things she was not prepared for. For example, at one school, the vocal audition was in a seperate room from the acting audition. When she went into the room for acting, there were three auditioners, and they asked her what she had sung. She told them, and then they asked to hear one of the songs. She said she left her music outside, and they said, No just sing a cappella. So she did, and luckily nailed it.</p>

<p>I hope some of this has been helpful. Organization was probably our biggest help. Everything was marked, labeled, put on spread sheets, color coded, etc. It worked for us....Good luck with the journey. I promise you that in one year, you will look back with fond memories of the year.</p>

<p>Divasmom,</p>

<p>Just what I needed to hear. Thank you so very very very much.</p>

<p>I just bumped a board up that might be helpful for those parents of rising seniors.</p>

<p>Here is how I approached the Unified last year:
Somewhere around late July/early August I called the various places that I assumed my daughter would be auditioning at via the Unifieds. I kept a record of when they said to call back and how long they say the audition will take. This can vary from 15 minutes to a couple of hours. e.
In a couple of instances (Otterbein, for example), I was able to book a time in late August. Other schools, as has been mentioned, you do this only aflter the application. </p>

<p>If as you go along you get a conflict, the schools all try to be accommodating and rechedule. As you make appointments, confirm that the auditions will be at the same place. As I have noted previously, in NYC while the official Unified go on in one place in the Times Square area, other auditions go on at other locations (CMU for example).</p>