<p>Has anyone one recently heard either way from UOA,Chapman,Texas State?</p>
<p>Has anyone ever heard of a kid being accepted for the BFA in MT at a school, but not getting in (or being waitlisted) academically? Don’t the theatre depts have some pull? Why go to the trouble of telling a potential student they’ve been accepted, if they’re still in limbo?</p>
<p>lalaimb, I know of kid being accepted for a BFA in vocal performance but not being admitted academically. Usually theater depts, or music depts, do have some pull, but only some. They can go a bit below the usual threshold but not a lot. Also, theater depts and admissions offices seem to work completely independently-- though it’s more common to be admitted academically and denied on the artistic side. But the theater dept. wouldn’t necessarily have any idea what admissions was going to do.</p>
<p>The role of academics and talent in the admissions process, the weight given to each, whether the two are considered jointly or in a bifurcated admissions process and the influence of the theatre department over the admissions office vary greatly among schools offering MT programs. Understanding the admissions process at each school on your list is an important aspect of having a balanced list. Short answer: there are loads of excellent, top flight schools where regardless of your audition results, you can be rejected on the academic component of the admissions process.</p>
<p>It seems wrong to tell someone they were accepted into the program and then let them know they were denied academically. You would think they would not say someone is accepted unless they are in fact accepted.</p>
<p>It is a “fact of life”, however, that academics and auditions/talent can be separate processes in college MT admissions for many audition based programs. This Board is replete with comments from students and parents about how an academic acceptance has been received and they are still awaiting the audition results or (though less frequently) about how a student has been accepted to a program based on the audition but is still awaiting an academic acceptance from the admissions office. Again, it depends on the school and its individual process. If you do the research, there should be no surprises about how a particular school handles the admissions process and therefore when the process is bifurcated to one degree or another and a “partial” notice is received, it is generally known and understood that there is more to come before a student has been fully accepted.</p>
<p>Personally, I think it’s much more annoying the other way around, with big acceptance packets and scholarship awards going out to students who don’t get into their programs but are academically accepted to the school. Then follow-up phone calls from clueless students extolling the virtues of a school that at that point you have no interest in attending. It’s fact of life but seems like a ridiculous waste of paperwork if nothing else.</p>
<p>If I ran the zoo the process would be much more holistic, for sure-- the things that come across in essays, transcripts etc. that the artistic side never sees…and vice versa. I’m sure great people drop through the cracks all the time. But…c’est la vie.</p>
<p>Fortunately, for those here who read all of the posts on CC, none of this should come as a surprise. I really feel sorry for the many, many students out there who are navigating this whole process on their own, without help from parents, or often from any high school counselors who are familiar with the whole audition process. Auditioning for theater programs is unlike any other admissions process, and if a student does not have someone to help them, it must be totally overwhelming. All of this information is available ahead of time, so it is possible to prepare your student for various types of admissions/rejctions. However, researching all of the different requirements and admissions policies of each school takes a lot of effort and it would be very tough for those kids flying solo thru all of this!</p>
<p>MT applicants don’t have a lock on this “fact of life”. Think about the case of a much desired athlete, perhaps one from a sport that doesn’t get the attention and the support like some of the large football or basketball programs. The coach might really want that athlete on the team, but if the academic performance isn’t to the school’s standards, the student is not admitted. Could also be the case with a student from a wealthy family that the development office really wants admitted but whose academic track record suggests that they will not be successful at the school. </p>
<p>@Gwen Fairfax. I’m totally with you. The best experience with auditions that my daughter had by far were those that built time into the process to try to understand who she was beyond what they saw in a couple of minutes of singing, acting and dancing.</p>
<p>TypeCast, two of my friend have heard of acceptances from Texas State.</p>
<p>Halflokum,</p>
<p>I agree. I thought musical theatre/ vocal performance admissions were hard and confusing until I had to work with younger D on admission to studio art programs.</p>
<p>Talk about subjectivity! At least as a performer you know when you have missed a note or taken a mistep during an audition. With an art portfolio, it is impossible to gauge what any one person likes. There are no standards!</p>
<p>Some schools spell out what they want in specific terms, others in broad terms and others just throw around terms like “be creative!” At “portfolio” admission events you get to show your portfolio to several schools and get direct imput.</p>
<p>Talk about a head spinning situation. Everyone had their different favorite pieces and ones they said not to submit. And of course that flip-flopped from school to school, so in the end most pieces were both loved by some and not by others. And of course you have the added fun of lugging all their artwork and schulptures around.</p>
<p>And then once you send in your application, you find out that the format for submitting is different for every school. So everything needs to be sized and resized. Ugh!! It made me long for the simplicity of MT!</p>
<p>In the end, D did get accepted to NYU, which is the same school her MT sister will be graduating from in May. One in and one out! Done!</p>
<p>^^Ps–
The same thing in terms of admissions also happens with art programs. You can be admitted academically, but not into the school of art. Actually, several schools make you apply to BFA programs after freshman year foundation classes in art. So you can be accepted, attend for a year and then find out that you don’t make the BFA program. Your only option would be to try to frantically tansfer or to earn a BA degree with half the studio art classes.</p>
<p>@uskoolfish. Yikes I hadn’t even thought about the mysteries of seeking a visual art degree placement and never knowing why you’re in or out vs. knowing you were out based on your performance at an audition. You deserve extra credit for being on the other side of things with both kids.</p>
<p>I am praying that kid #2 coming up two years from now goes into something “easy” (in quotes it’s meant as a joke so don’t hate me) like chemistry or physics or something else that seems to be more a matter of keeping up the grades, standardized test scores and having a very well thought out list of where to apply.</p>
<p>My son had it happened both ways last year. He was accepted at both Point Park and Ithica academically, but was rejected for MT, that stung a little. But what was worse was being rejected by Suny Buffalo academically, only to find out a week later he was accepted for BFA MT. My son and the theatre dept appealed to admissions, but to no avail, they were not going to change any decisions already made.</p>
<p>I’m still traumatized from 2004 when my son decided to audition to some schools in theater/MT, a couple in dance, and to submit portfolios to a few others in studio art.</p>
<p>JustConfused, Do you mean new acceptances to Texas State after the last auditions were completed Mar. 3 and Mar. 4, or the couple of students who were accepted earlier in the season? Just wondering if these are recent?</p>
<p>my d friend was accepted yesterday and had auditioned there the previous weekend</p>
<p>Just came back from Texas states callbacks for theatre my friend was there for MT she heard there were only 2spots left and over a hundred were there for callbacks thats just crazy!!!</p>
<p>Intervals, my friend who found out just today was from the callbacks this past weekend.</p>