I had my D apply to 3 BA safeties - b/c I wanted to make sure she had choices no matter what. Probably overkill - but we had fun with that part too 
@EmsDad and @soozievt our Ds sound like peas in a pod ā no Plan Bs and nothing else but BFAs! more power to them knowing exactly what it is that they want!
My daughter said she regrets not taking her grades more seriously in high school so she could have afforded some of the schools she auditioned for and was accepted to. She didnāt want huge debt after graduation, so that ruled out some of her accepted programs where her academic scholarship wasnāt enough to make going possible. She said she also wishes should would have tried for a few more competitive programs to see if she could have had a shot at them. For reference, she audition for and was accepted to Nebraska Wesleyan, Viterbo, University of Central Missouri, Stephens College, Culver-Stockton and SEMO (all BFA MT). She dropped auditions at Milliken and Rockford after getting these acceptances. In hindsight, she wishes sheād have applied to Texas State and OCU at least.
@EmsDad I think there is a distinction between making the decision not to have a safety because you know you would choose a gap year or some other path to your goal anyway, and not having a safety because you think it will all just work out fine. In fact, it sounds like your daughter had a Plan B. It just wasnāt a non-audition BA program.
I also have to say, based on the analytical side of yourself you show here, that must have driven you nuts! Iām so happy she found her spot and you continue to share your wisdom here.
My kid didnāt have ANY plan B! However, I donāt suggest that.
My S, a current MT BFA senior, was also BFA or gap year kind of guy. At the time, H and I wished he had applied to more academically rigorous Liberal Arts with strong theater options. He would have nothing to do with OUR plans for him. Turns out that his auditioned BFA at a āless academically rigorousā school was the perfect fit. He got great performance training, but as the fates would have it, his less-than-demanding academic schedule, a front load of AP credits, and a moderately understanding (but ultimately very supportive) faculty allowed S to spend two years writing a complete original musical (book, music, lyrics) that also functions as an honors thesis. Iām not sure this could have happened if H and I had gotten our way.
@jbtcat My d had the exact same mindset. No plan B. I was so proud of the ambitious plan she had in place. She worked her butt off. Unfortunately, the plan is not working out for her, and now we are scrounging for some last minute options.
I think we can preach to future parents/kids until we are blue in the face, but the reality is, many kids think like mine and others here. It pans out for some, and not for others. And as long as it pans out for some, these are the stories that future kids (like mine) will hold on to.
I spoke with @bisouu last year. I canāt pretend that I didnāt know this was a reality. But my kid wasnāt hearing it. I am not in any way mad at my kid (no intention of saying āI told you soā), thereās no need at this point. All the schools my d stated she āshould have applied toā are just as competitive as the ones sheās been rejected to. Some of the schools that others suggested here (as back ups) are just as competitive (and we have the rejection letters/emails to vouch).
When all is said and done, I may add more opinions to this thread. But we are not officially ādoneā yet.
@DramaQueen219 I am sorry that it has not worked out for your D so far but I do hope that she eventually ends up somewhere she is happy. I should add that my D only wanted a BFA and we agreed with her early in the process that if she did not get into a program that she would take a gap year and continue her training in a non-college environment as well as audition and see where that took her. So I guess in a sense, that was a Plan B but one that stayed on the same course of pursuing her career. I know that is not a choice everyone agrees with, so every family really needs to do what they think is right for them. Best of luck to your D!
I have such mixed feeling on this topic. My kidās experience culminated in great options (still awaiting FA on several), but he was a mix bagged in terms of responses. And the results donāt necessarily line up with difficulty of admission. Of programs that he auditioned for and applied to, I firmly believe that 2 decisions (1 no after callback and 1 redirect) were absolutely tied to the programās curriculum/class-building vs his skill set/current level of development. Both of those schools gave extensive feedback after the decision was rendered which effectively pulled back Ozās curtainā¦ I believe that the other redirect (not a great fit, in my opinion) was a result of the program wanting kids who had more āpolishā and experience. His final no could easily be due to a poor audition on his part, he described it as a ādisasterā. He remains on a couple of waitlists from schools whose focus is on dance, which is not his strong suit. Our list was pretty balanced thanks to research and help from our coach, although he decided not to apply to a true safety. His newness - and mine - to the world of MT, made the designation of personal fit really tough - heās still learning about what he wants and needs. We almost cancelled 1 audition because of expense and low acceptance rates; Iām very grateful that we didnāt. In the end, our list worked well, although some of the programs shouldnāt have been on his list in the first placeā¦ But we just didnāt know that going into the process. And maybe now that I understand what I do now, Iād add a few others that are very strong in acting, less so in dance. Weāve come to realize that capitalizing on his strengths (voice and acting) work better FOR HIM than trying to squeeze in a dance-centric program that will hopefully strengthen his weaker area. What weāve learned might help others, particularly boys, who are newer to MT. Hindsight is 20/20.
Like @beachymom, I have mixed feelings about this topic, though my regrets do not lie in where I applied. While I did musical theater in high school and I finished my BA in viola performance last year and am now in graduate school for something unrelated to musical theater, I regret not taking an acting class (or doing a minor in theatre) while I was in college to keep up my acting skills (and voice lessons to retrain my voice).
Only regret for my S is that we scheduled too many auditions early. I feel he would have been more competitive (you can never say you would definitely get in anywhere) at a few of the schools he did early due to convenience instead of preparedness. Based on his results from Unifieds (instead of November and December), he performed much better.
Such is life, however. You can always point to things you would do differently, especially as a parent. I think in the end he has some strong choices and may even have a couple more in the next few weeks.
I also learned that the level of competitiveness is even higher than expected. And I do think you can better understand āfitā after going through the process. Certain programs look for certain talent. It is no different than a basketball team that recruits for a specific style of play. I know there are some schools my son auditioned for that he had no shot simply due to not checking certain boxes. That is fine and better for him in the long run. But it makes the process really inefficient.
@DramaMan Early auditions can be so helpful yet are such a challenge. I REALLY pushed D to do some early auditions but did not want her to do early auditions at schools in her top 5 or 6. She learned so much from the early rounds; she ended up changing out one of her songs and adding a second comedic monologue as a result. I definitely saw a higher, consistent level of preparedness this year.
. accidentally replied in this thread & couldnāt delete comment. oops
Maybe a few regrets or thoughts of places we should have added, but also this past year has been a huge learning experience in so many ways. Iām not sure how we could have known all we know now without going through it! My S has done professional auditions, lots of research, and much introspection. For example, a few programs that he applied to dropped off the lists after the auditions (and a few before the auditions) and visits and more research. Perhaps a waste? Or, as I prefer to look at it, all part of the process of figuring out what you want and where you fit! I wish we had found more financial safeties, but Iām not sure they truly exist in the range we were hoping for and at the level and kind of program he wanted. I donāt think itās a matter of neglecting to choose a safety - more that he knows the level of training he wants, and if he canāt get it in the colleges he wanted (because of $ or not getting in), he knows where to find it outside of college. And that is the route he is going!
I occasionally regret not encouraging S17 to apply to at least one reach school. I limited him to schools where I was fairly certain he would get academic acceptance and then prayed over the tech acceptance. I somehow had the idea that a tech admission would be easier than acting or MT because it isnāt as subjective or competitive. I was probably wrong, but fortunately, my naivete didnāt negatively impact my son. I also discouraged him from a BA because I wanted to limit his gen eds, especially math and FL, since he is dyslexic, dysgraphic and dyscalculic. I discouraged schools that didnāt accept 3ās on AP exams.
He was originally planning a gap year anyway and only applied because I promised him he could defer, so it he hadnāt gotten in anywhere, that would have been his backup. He only decided to enroll this fall because he really liked the program and wanted to get with it.
This is a tough question to answer. I want to say that we wouldnāt have done anything differently, because you end up where you end up, butā¦
At least one early audition. She literally ran out of steam at the end. Tired, hoarse (add in rehearsals for the school musical which was right during the peak of acceptances coming in). Perhaps at least one early acceptance would have led to a boost in confidence, and less stress to absolutely nail each late audition. The reason I didnāt push an early audition was because a) I wanted her to feel 100% ready (which she likely was anyway, given her 4/5 presceen passes), and b) she wouldnāt have committed to anyone early on (which was a silly reason, in hindsight).
Insisting on applying to a non-audition program. She resisted, but did apply/audition to a couple of state schools, and got into only one (theyāre not a sure thing), but the cost canāt be beat.
Balancing (what people consider to be) more target/reach/safeties. Too many reaches on our list.
We almost regretted not applying to my sonās most competitive reach school. It was down to the wire, and a call had been made to cancel the audition. As it ended up, we didnāt cancel, he completed the audition, and he is attending in the Fall. I hope that prospective parents: have a balanced list (we did), understand that great training can be achieved at many schools and that outcomes, meaning decisions from the schools and from your kids, are completely unpredictable, and lastly - donāt take a competitive school off your list because of low admit rates. You just donāt know how things will turn out!