<p>Another option we took advantage of was that my daughter went to summer programs at two of the schools she was interested in, one after sophomore year and one after junior. Both schools used the same faculty as teach the undergrads (UArts and OCU) and so, in addition to wonderful experiences and valuable training, she got a real feel for both schools, </p>
<p>After all our visits, my d auditioned for as many schools as she could at Chicago Unifieds I think 9) and did just a few on campus as required. She was accepted to 2 from Unifieds and 1 from on campus and 1 excellent nonaudition BA where she did actually do a scholarship audition during our visit end of summer before senior year.</p>
<p>To reiterate my warning: kids will be coming off of waitlists well into May and even June, and if you wait to see schools, you may not have the time available as a coming off waitlist answer may be required in just a very short span of days!</p>
<p>But . . . those of you that can’t afford to visit all the schools on your list your prior to applications and auditions, don’t be discouraged . . . your kiddos will have a feel for the faculty they meet in auditions and narrow your visiting list even further. This whole endeavor is manageable on a smaller budget. It would’ve been nice for my D and myself to make visits, but it’s worked out okay so far.</p>
<p>I visited some schools before audition season and I personally didn’t find it very helpful. Most information given during the tour can be found online and if it can’t, you can email the theatre department to get it. However, because of the low acceptance rates of the schools, I tried not to picture myself as a student because I didn’t want to become attached to any one school. If I get accepted to any of the schools I visited, I would want to visit them again anyway before deciding.</p>
<p>Most of those who say it was useful are talking about less-known programs. If I already have a safety school that is pretty reputable and only want to audition for the top programs I don’t really see the point. I want to go to the best school that takes me and I don’t care one bit about location, type of campus, or whatever. Later, if there are choices, I’ll visit.</p>
<p>@actor12. Nope, I am not talking about lesser known programs at all and I doubt anyone else who thought visiting was helpful is saying that either. We actually visited many of the big-name programs and ruled one of them out even though it is regarded by reputation as one of the very best. </p>
<p>But your strategy of not caring about location, type of campus etc. and only caring about going to the “best” is perfectly valid if it works for you. I hope you have clarity on what “best” means to you. For my daughter, the definition of best also included considerations for location, type of campus and academics because there is life outside the studio walls that she really cares about. Good luck!</p>
<p>I Kind of see what actor12 is saying - I wouldn’t say we didnt focus on lesser known programs - but we only visited one of the schools that are typically put in the top 5 - and only because we were going to be in area anyway. As it turns out - we didn’t like the program and didn’t apply. Mostly we focused on those schools that would make up the very important 2nd tier - there r so many programs with great reputations that are still hard to get into and it was very important to have a good mix of these. We eliminated and confirmed quite a good number of these. I think if we hadn’t visited these schools would have had an even longer list - and a few schools not a great fit. So, I get going for the top top schools without visiting.</p>
<p>Just want to encourage everyone to read the posts on this and the theater forum about the (relatively) high attrition rate at some top programs. Reputation isn’t everything. You won’t thrive at a school that’s a bad fit, no matter how prestigious you perceive it to be. And maybe, just maybe, there’s a chance you will want or even NEED to do something outside of MT/acting training, wherever you end up. Everyone recognizes that it’s not possible for everyone to visit extensively, but I think many of us are experienced enough to understand that there is no one-size-fits-all “best” for everyone, as halflokum points out above. And even among the schools generally acknowledged to be at the top of the competitiveness scale, there’s a significant difference in terms of the overall tone of the place and people. Do whatever you can to find a place where <em>you</em> can flourish!</p>
<p>Times3, you took the words right out of my keyboard, as it were! I would also suggest people take some time to read on these boards the stories of students who have explored transferring schools…I think it’s a heck of a lot harder to gain a transfer admission (and many times, you have to start over as a freshman at the new school…back to those tens of thousands of dollars and time and the stress of auditioning again…). If you realize that the college application/audition process is 2-sided – yes, you want to get in, the colleges want to get the right students…but you also need to find the right college for you. </p>
<p>Students-to-be, an exercise: Think about who you were 4 years ago. (If you’re 18, imagine back to your 14 year old self…golly, you were cute then!) Anyway, imagine that 4-years-ago you HAD to pick a college RIGHT THEN and stick with it. First of all, 4 years ago, would you have known/considered MT as a career or major? (There’s not a wrong answer here!) What would you have based your college decisions on 4 years ago? Okay…back to now. You’re 18 (or so), choosing your college list. Think about who you’re going to be in 4 years. You’re going to be 22 (boy, are you going to be old!). What did you get out of that college experience, what is your next step? Think about alllllll the changes that happened in your life, your training, the way you see and experience and understand the world between being a Freshman in h.s. and a Senior. Now think of all the changes ahead of you in college. (And they make the teenage stuff seem pretty tame.) Who are you going to be in 4 years? None of us knows. But as you are thinking about the next “God I hope I get [admitted to X college]!” moment, think of your 22 y.o. self, leaving that college. </p>
<p>Do you have to visit schools pre-audition? I think there’s a lot of value to it…but it doesn’t work for everyone. That’s okay. But do yourself the favor and really, really think about where you (and your/your parents’ money) are going to be…and look beyond name “brand,” beyond “my teacher/friend/whoever says this is the best school” and listen to your present and future self. It’s a big decision, and the more information you have to make it, the better. Value yourself enough to realize it’s not about “I hope they pick me,” but the real answer is “I chose THIS school for my own personal reasons. I was prepared, applied/auditioned, accepted. But <em>I</em> chose the school!” Good luck, gang!</p>
<p>A fit school does make a difference. I met a young woman at NY Unifieds who was transferring FROM Oklahoma City Univ. I asked her why because that is known to be such a great program. She said there are a lot of beauty queens that come to that school and she found they were very conservative- her roomate in particular didn’t believe in gay rights and the girl I met was from California and has a brother who is gay. So, just because a program has a great reputation, it doesn’t mean you will fit well there. I also believe many kids overlook really great programs because they aren’t in the “elite”. I wonder if Sierra Boggess thought about that when she went to Milliken or Marin Mazie when she went to Western Michigan?</p>
<p>We have received what I consider good advice on this. We plan to spen an extra day during auditions to look at the town, general campus life, etc. The drawback to pre-visits as I see it is that your child could fall in love with a place, then they’d put even more pressure on themselves during audition. And if they don’t get in they’d never feel great about their other choices.</p>
<p>actor, I disagree with you…and just because a school is in the top ten list doesn’t make it an automatic fit for someone. I know some people who only applied to the top ten schools, and once visiting, did not care for several of them for different reasons. Reputation and proven results matters, but so does a personal connection and fit with the campus, faculty, and student body. In reality, a weekend visit is not going to tell you that, and a student may get to their choice school and change their mind…but no one that I have talked to about this on the board were discussing little known programs. </p>
<p>Just because NYU/Tisch or Shenandoah or the like are great programs doesn’t mean you shouldn’t visit the campus, IMO.</p>
<p>Visiting dream schools is fun and exciting, but I do know too many kids who came home wearing all the gear and were ultimately rejected. Not sure it was all that valuable. At a certain point it feels a little like shopping at a store that is closed. That said, obviously visits to schools you have a good chance of attending are a good idea. That will be a different list for different students.</p>
<p>“Wearing all the gear.” My D and I made a pact that no school gear would be purchased until the acceptance was in hand.
I, too, subscribed to the visit the school once acceptances are in strategy but I’ve since changed my mind.
One reason to visit any school ahead of time is that you will have fodder for all those essays that ask you to explain how their school is going to be great for you. If all you know is limited to their website, it’s very difficult to come up with interesting and unique material for that essay. On the other hand, if you’ve visited MT classes, chatted with MT students and/or have seen a show, you will have all kinds of great material for those essays. That experience also helps for the interview, as well.
We were not able to get to all of my D’s acceptances last year, so many of those acceptances she wrote off in her mind because she had little to no personal experience with the school. I felt terrible about that, and kicked myself soundly for not getting out to see more schools ahead of time. (April, decision month, was a super busy rehearsal month for her and it was next to impossible to get away.) Now I feel even the visits to the “lottery” schools where we “wasted money” due to eventual non-acceptances were useful and I don’t regret those trips (although I would like to be reimbursed!
Best wishes to everybody!</p>
<p>Good point! Now we need to find out how much the essay really matters. All you hear is that it’s all about the audition and whether or not they need your type.
We didn’t buy gear either; almost bought a sweatshirt for the school she’s attending but the next day they gave them away to the entire Freshman class.</p>
<p>I have no idea how much the essay matters, or in the case of UMich, how much the 6 essays mattered! (How many were there? They never seemed to end. One would hope there was some reason for all of them.)</p>
<p>re: the essays (and then back to topic)…my d’s essay was mentioned in both her email confirmation of audition and during her interview (two different people) at Otterbein. She was asked some questions about her artistic essay at UMich (she had written about her experience at MPulse, as I recall) and she had some conversations about her essays at Ball State when she interviewed for her academic honors scholarship. She said it was good to know someone actually read those things! I think by the time all was said and done, she had written 18 different essays for admission and scholarship consideration.</p>
<p>As for U shirts and the like – didn’t buy anything until she went for freshman orientation! She got a few free t-shirts, etc along the way at tours and in the mail…made good sleeping shirts!</p>
<p>I didn’t mean to offend anyone by calling schools lesser-known, guys. Maybe I should have said not top-tier, but more in back-uo category or the middle. My list doesn’t have a middle because I like my safety better than those. They may be known to people on here but outside of theater circles most people look blankly if you mention some of these schools and I do care about the name on my diploma. I 'm sure they are right for some students but I have good grades and don’t want to waste them at schools that don’t care.</p>
<p>actor12, there are very few schools, except for pure conservatories that ABSOLUTELY don’t care about grades. As a matter of fact, great grades, combined with great test scores, can mean the difference between being able to afford to attend a “top” school or not. (Or any school, for that matter). But even some of the “top” schools such as Carnegie Mellon don’t actually consider your grades for admission into the BFA program. NYU, Elon and UMich do, but there are many that do not. Northwestern certainly does, but it’s not a BFA program.</p>
<p>I have to say, it is VERY risky to only audition for the top tier most selective schools in the country. But as long as you are completely happy going to your Safety schools, then that mitigates the risk, I suppose. However, I think you are setting yourself up for disappointment next March by not at least considering a couple of the more regionally-known programs on your list.</p>
<p>I can honestly say even after going through auditions and applications and now just awaiting the last of the results, I have absolutely no idea what the list of top-tier schools should include. Nor could I tell you what a list of “lesser known” should include. Until this MT pursuit cranked up in earnest, I had never heard of Elon, Shenandoah, Ball State etc. - all excellent programs from what I read.</p>
<p>So I for one would never be offended by a school that we liked being referred to as lesser known nor would I ever care about top tier because I would think, according to who and by what measure? The only real measure that we cared about were the ones that we defined for ourselves. After that it’s just a function of having enough of the right schools on the list to be sure when you get to the end, you have somewhere to go.</p>
<p>on the topic of essays… when we went to UMich after my son was accepted, Brent Wagner said that after the auditions they sit and re read the application and essays of the students they are considering. I couldn’t wait to say to my son “SEE!” as we had a little bit of a battle over essays during the application process. So although your audition gets you into the “consider” pile it is not the only factor.</p>
