My D is applying to acting programs and I’m feeling very stressed about how behind she is on the whole thing - I knew all the conventional wisdom about getting prescreens and essays and headshots over the summer, but she was away & busy 24/7 for virtually the entire summer. I’m trying to guide her in prioritizing and could use some advice on a few things.
For now, the most pressing: I just saw a post that said Carnegie Mellon audition slots tend to fill very early (as soon as early October). Are there other programs where people have had similar experiences, and if so, how early do you think they’re filled? I know all the schools will tell you it helps to apply “as early as possible” but I’m guessing that some are much more important than others to get signed up for early.
Also, can people give feedback on how many auditions it’s realistic to fit into a single day at Unifieds? Someone I know said their kid missed 4 days of school to do 4 auditions, which freaked us out. That was an MT kid so I think it’s a longer process, but I’m not clear on how long you need to allow for each audition.
I’m also wondering if people have any advice on programs that are simply not going to be affordable for someone who is hoping for a little bit of need-based aid but who’s not low income and won’t qualify for a ton of need-based aid. I am at this point discouraging my D from applying to certain schools–NYU (and most other NY schools), Michigan (we’re OOS), BU, & California (also OOS) because I just don’t see us swinging them realistically. Anyone have info to the contrary? And/or recommendations on good-value programs?
Unfortunately, many of the programs with more affordable price tags that I was hoping to have her check out are in the south, and recently, she is getting more and more adamant about not going south.
I wonder whether there are AA chapters or similar specifically for parents of kids auditioning for BFA programs! If not, maybe there should be.
Following this thread, as D19 will be applying (next year) to theatre tech programs (mostly BA, maybe some BFA), and we’re starting to plan on interviews/portfolio reviews for merit $.
On the cost question, I learned that using each college’s Net Price Calculator was a great step to take in determining the schools that made our list, some of the calculators were very detailed with income and stats, so I’m hoping the results are in the ballpark if there’s an acceptance. You’ll need to bust out the 2016 tax return, but I’m glad I did it. Some of the school calculators are hard to find, so just search on “net price calculator”. This was really an eye opening step for me, since I read posts about great aid at school XYZ, but you really have to consider the stats, income, and the type of aid at the school. I wanted 90% of the school list to be reasonably within financial reach.
@katew529 I can provide some insight based on my daughter’s experience last year as we got a similarly late start due to the fact she took on both a summer and fall show which really put us behind. Just to give you a point of reference, we did not get most of her applications and prescreens submitted until right up to the deadline of November 30. In fact, we were filming her prescreens in mid-November! Now I’m not saying this because I recommend that course of action, just to hopefully provide you some reassurance that you are likely not as behind as you feel, Also, my daughter was primarily applying as MT but also with AT in addition and some AT only.
Now, keeping in mind that Carnegie Mellon did not have prescreens last year, we were still easily able to get an audition slot when we completed her application in November. However, she auditioned for them in Los Angeles which seemed to have a lot more openings available. Chicago and New York did fill up much more quickly. The only schools for which she was absolutely unable to get a slot, even on the waiting list were CCM and Baldwin Wallace, So I guess my point for you is that while you feel behind, if you get the ball rolling right now you are still well within a reasonable time frame!
As for number of auditions per day, my daughter was primarily auditioning MT which in most cases meant a dance call and she was able to complete an average of 3 auditions per day. Now I will say that took a lot of careful scheduling as well as taking advantage of a few walk-in opportunities. Some schools like Carnegie Mellon, DePaul, Emerson, UNSCA, etc. schedule you in time blocks that require you to set aside three to four hours although you might not end up being there that long so you will have to plan for that. But there is still no reason you shouldn’t be able to fit in at least two auditions per day.
Financially we were in a similar position and ironically my daughter ended up choosing a school that basically gives no merit aid for the conservatory students, but thankfully she did get a good talent scholarship. But the schools for which she got the best merit aid offers were Pace, Rider, Millikin, Montclair and UArts.
Best of luck on this crazy journey. I can tell you that you will get through it - deep breathes and one step at a time!
@DoingResearch, yes, thank you - I agree that the Net Price calculators are helpful. My hesitation in relying too directly on those is that they usually seem pretty generic, using what seems to be a one-size-fits-all approach to all students, even when policies can be quirky when it comes to PA students (i.e, some allow arts students to get merit aid for academics, others don’t, etc.). But they’re obviously a good place to start (and were in fact my source for deciding that it’s probably a waste of time/energy/$ for her to apply to the particular schools I mentioned).
@sopranomtmom, thank you so much! I really appreciate the reassurance and the info…all very helpful. The tidbit about 3 auditions per day is very comforting.
Merit/Talent awards at Otterbein made the school as affordable as our in-state. The awards are stackable, meaning he could take both awards. Some schools do not allow a student to stack awards. Son did two on campus auditions and attended both NYC and Chicago Unifieds and missed three days of school. We are in Maine, so on campus auditions were not an easy option. BAL to your daughter!!!
Drew is non auditioned and reducing its tuition by 20% for next year. My daughter didn’t have great stats (1880 SAT and 4.3 GPA) and received amazing merit from Drew. Basically Drew is cheaper than our instate schools. If you have any questions let me know.
We did all of our auditions at Unifieds in LA except for one on campus. We were able to do them all in that weekend.
So glad you posted this. My S was way too busy this summer to get a head start and is now overloaded with schoolwork and activities.
Right now we’re looking at being finished with applications in mid-November at best, because he doesn’t have monologues ready and has so many essays to write.
Reading the other posts about all the kids who already have applications done and auditions scheduled was stressing me out. I know we’re behind, but nice to know we aren’t totally alone.
@Naevia, thank you for chiming in! I’m sure there are TONS of current HS seniors in the same boat, and others who are still a couple of hours’ drive from the sailing dock, so to speak. I kind of assume that the typical kid of CC parents is not typical otherwise! At least I hope so.
@123Mimi, please accept my deepest apologies for letting my paranoia spark any in you! So far, I haven’t seen many responses to this–phew! Which makes me think it will probably all work out fine.
My daughter is dragging her feet a bit, too. Lots of homework and fall play keeping her really busy. So far she has UNCSA in and most, but not all, of the common app ready to go. She still needs to get her resume together and her portfolio is 80%. She has a drama visit day at Otterbein this Friday and they have requested she bring a resume and portfolio. Scrambling. I have given her a drop dead of this weekend to have Common App ready to go in, which will just leave her with a couple of odd individual school apps.
Here are a few schools that I’ve been told often give good aid: Evansville, DePaul, Otterbein, Coastal Carolina, Millikin, Webster.
If anyone comes to visit CCM, let me know. I live just a mile down from campus on the same street. It’s the reason my daughter won’t even apply!
From our experience, BW, Wright State, and CCM were all full/almost full by the time my D got her materials in and heard back. But, all is not lost. If she does happen to get put on a waitlist for an audition slot, I strongly recommend checking back frequently in the week or two leading up the audition date. My D started as #15 on the audition waiting list for one of her schools, and then crept up to #2 in the week ahead as folks started backing out (could be for a number of reasons - accepted somewhere else, illness, weather/travel). Our plan was, since it was driving distance, to just show up on the day of with fingers crossed, because we noticed that there are always a couple of folks who don’t show up, and don’t give notice, so we figured there might be a shot that they could take her (and if not, it was just a morning of driving wasted). But, she kept checking and a couple of days before, she was officially off the waitlist and on the schedule. I had a couple of other stories over the course of the “process” where persistence paid off. But you are right to try to get ahead, because while they might not be upset about not getting an audition now, depending on acceptances and rejections, by the time March and April hit, they may be kicking themselves for any missed opportunities.