I will give my personal perspective on summer programs for my family. I went away to overnight camp every summer growing up…for ten summers…for 8 weeks per summer and loved it. It was a big part of my childhood.
My kids wanted to go away to summer programs when they were young. We let them pick the programs for six weeks per summer. Both picked performing arts programs, though not the same one as each other. We never ever did this with any thought related to college admissions!! It was simply to have enriching enjoyable summers doing what they enjoyed the most. My older D did that for four summers and then wanted to do travel programs her final two summers and she did. My younger D loved her theater camp so much, we never looked into anything else in subsequent summers and she did that for 8 summers, up through graduating high school. Even if she never majored in MT in college, I am happy that she had these awesome summers that truly were a significant part of her development and the bonds she made there continue to this very day quite strongly. She never did pre-college programs. My kids were fortunate to attend summer programs but it had nothing to do with the idea of getting into college. And yes, you can be quite successful in the admissions process without having attended a summer program.
^^^and there are some very middle-class families who make sacrifices or go back to work, or take a new job so they can stretch for a $4,000 summer camp. I realize no-one is judging here. As was previously mentioned, it’s all about choices, and yes, there are some who have more choices than others.
Kids will thrive from a variety of different backrounds and experiences, and it’s great that this forum provides opportunities for everyone to share what has been a good experience for their child…whether it’s a $14.99 book or a $100/hour coaching session.
Ultimately, as with the profession itself, it’s what happens when the kid walks into the room, and while the coaching, the summer programs, the this and thats can sometimes be helpful, I refuse to believe they always are, and in fact they can also at times make for a less natural presentation.
We did some of these things, didn’t do others, influenced not only by not having an overabundance of money, but also wanting to trust our own instincts about repertoire, delivery, etc. And it’s been so far, so good, pretty much, with a lot yet to come, for my daughter - for instance she got a Young Arts Theater HM based opon uncoached submissions of material she and I happened upon and believed in. Then again I agonized about the cost of a summer program and ultimately succumbed, and, for a bunch of unexpected reasons it wound up being a great investment for her/us.
Between the constant “we look at applications holistically” for BA applicants to “we want to see You - be yourself” for the BFA applicants, one has to hope that some part of that is true.
Well, let me say this: CMU pre college wasn’t cheap, but my daughter did pay half her own way with her own earnings. I also had intentionally resisted sending her to summer camps in her younger years like Stage Door and French Woods, knowing that if we did that, as great as it would be for her, we wouldn’t be able to send her to a precollege program when the time came. I felt that I’d rather spend that large an amount of money on a six-week program on a college campus where she could work with actual college professors and get a feel for whether she liked the BFA atmosphere than on a camp where she’d, essentially, put on a show. Again, not that there’s anything wrong with those summer camps. Just knowing our resources, I knew we couldn’t do it all, and I thought precollege was a better bang for our buck. Hope that helps!
Florida State University is starting a summer intensive for rising high school juniors and seniors. There is information on the School of Theatre web site and applications are being accepted through GetAcceptd. Please let me know if you have questions!
Michele
My D did not apply nor attend any summer intensives and got into her dream school and first choice. Money was definitely an issue for us. The process was extremely stressful, and so was the wait for that acceptance. However, I have since found out that attending some top schools’ summer intensives CAN and DOES help said applicants get into some of these top programs. Just a thought… If you have the money, go for it!
For us, I have no doubt that attending the summer intensive (say a $4K investment) ended up getting D a $44K scholarship (over 4 years.) If you can attend a top school’s intensive and in doing so you are on the radar of the faculty making admissions and scholarship decisions, a summer program can prove to be a very worthwhile investment. But obviously, the faculty needs to feel you are the right candidate for their program based on your summer work.
@Mel2421 we looked into Wagners last year. I got info from the woman in charge and she was super nice. Very helpful. It’s a bit too much for us budget wise this yr as we’re aiming toward some less expensive programs but I would’ve liked my D to go there. It seems great, especially if your child has interest in applying there which my D does.
Thanks! It is hard waiting. My daughter and I visited Wagner in November, beautiful campus. Lot’s of theatre kids doing the tours my daughter learned a lot.
Re: NYU Steinhardt Summer MT program - I read somewhere that it was rolling acceptances but reading the current website it sounds like you hear decision 2 weeks after the deadline of 4/27? Is that correct? Has anyone been accepted for summer 2016 yet?
Has anyone done the Performing Arts Abroad summer programs? A friend’s daughter is considering the West End Musical Theater Program. She will be graduating and hopes to be attending college in the fall, so this won’t help her with applications… it’s just for experience. Anyone heard of it?
D just found out that she was waitlisted for NYU Tisch Summer High School Drama program (she applied for New Studio - the musical theatre program). Has anyone ever heard of someone getting off the waitlist for this program?
@ourturn2 - my daughter attended Artsbridge (as well OCU, MPulse - acting, Interlochen MT Intensive) and it was by far one of her favorite summer programs (she learned from and enjoyed them all - fyi). The entire focus was on preparing for college auditions. It gave her a chance to work with faculty from top programs all over. It was a life changing experience for her - she loved it. A close friend of hers went last year…and they said the same thing. It really is a fantastic prep program.
@theaterwork - I had a younger daughter attend the Rider Summer MT program last year for middle school - she loved it. There was training, plus a concert production at the end of the week. She really enjoyed it. Never had someone do the high school program.
Thanks so much @mommabears26 - It looks amazing! My D got in for this year but we applied to several and are just trying to figure out what’s the best fit. Wish we had the time and money to do them all!
@TwoBusyMom my D just recently did the on campus audition for Penn State summer intensive. She got wait listed. Hoping it works out for her but if not we will have to pick another program. They already chose their group and they told us 20-25. I think they used to do the program and stopped doing it & reinstated it this year. Not sure. Seems like it will be great though.