Hoping you guys can help or give advice. Especially anyone who has experience with Millikin.
My son is auditioning for Millikin MT in Chicago during Unifieds in February.
He has already been accepted academically and applied for scholarships. He qualified for the Presidential Scholarship (full tuition) which he applied for and was invited to campus to interview.
Of course the on campus interview is Saturday Feb 2 and is the only day they are doing this. His audition in Chicago is Sunday Feb 3rd. He will have to miss a choir competition on Saturday to attend this interview. Obviously IF he is awarded the scholarship and IF he is offered a spot in their program it will be great. However, there are lots of IF’s in this scenario.
I have done my best to help him juggle applications and scheduling auditions, but now the scholarship issue has almost pushed me over the edge.
So now trying to decide whether to make his Choir Director mad, take a detour on our way to Unifieds to Decatur to interview for a scholarship that he may not get to a school he may not attend…UGH.
@Kristiern1 It’s tough. I think your S should decide, with guidance from you. My D had a similar situation with Western Michigan’s scholarship interview day for their full tuition scholarships back in early December, but she won’t audition until Chicago and she had a commitment the same weekend for a program she’s been involved with for 4 years. WMU even offered a guarantee of some scholarship just for coming, but she decided the odds weren’t great for both the full ride AND admittance into MT program - plus she wanted to finish what she’d started with the other group. Thankfully her group’s big annual weekend is the one weekend in February when she doesn’t have any auditions, so no other conflicts. That said, if Millikin is at/near the top of his list, it may be worth the trip.
@Kristiern1 Can you do an interview via Skype or FaceTime? Many schools are doing this as they realize it’s difficult to travel to multiple locations.
Contact Millikin. They do make accommodations to do the interview over FaceTime.
Alumni with a dd who is an Alum and was honors/JMS there. The interview is important. The interview teams are made up of facility and honors/JMS students and not necessarily in your major. Last year alumni also participated. You will receive an honors/JMS host who will take you around and you can ask them questions. There will also be another prospective and parents paired with the same host. The interview isn’t just for the scholarship but also for the honors program. The year my dd interviewed, it snowed over night and since interstate wasn’t an option, it was uncleared highway. It was a sheet of ice under the snow and very slow going. A white knuckle drive for me. Double the driving time and several thoughts of turning back but as soon as we hit that county, the roads were clear.
Between being interviewed and doing interviews my dd did this five times. They review the application just before meeting the prospective student. I do know that mine has voted against honors for at least one prospective. The reason why she voted against was because when she asked questions about the girls activities the girl really didn’t know anything about them. Obviously if you competed on the WYSE team, you know what subjects you competed in and the process to get to state, yet she knew nothing about her activities. Yes,the honors/JMS opinion does carry weight. There are very few Presidential scholarships but the interview can increase the amount of the scholarship(s) that you have been offered. Mine didn’t get Presidential but ended up with a package equal to it. She went for room and board. Her senior year, they added two more scholarships including one that wasn’t her field but she had impressed the professors in that department with her skill and knowledge of the field.
If you haven’t auditioned, contact the theatre department and ask that since you will be on campus for the honors interview if it is possible to also do his audition that day. If they agree, get a time, and then let the honors department know when his audition is scheduled so that his interview doesn’t conflict with it. I am not aware of any honors student who got into the program without doing the interview or doing a facetime.
I’ll be happy to answer any other questions that you might have. Ask your honors host about the echo spot.
@Kristiern1 I just asked my dd about a FaceTime interview and she doubts it unless there are extenuating circumstances and it is arranged well in advanced because it is a panel interview.
@GloriaVaughn Thank you for your response. I felt like a Skype session wouldn’t work as they clearly stated in email if you can’t attend you are out of consideration. His audition is literally the very next day in Chicago. We are already there for Unifieds so he will likely just audition there but will be sure to mention, he was just on campus for scholarship interview.
Would you mind if I asked you some questions via pm re: Millikin. Concerned about some things I have read about safety and would love insight from someone with firsthand knowledge!