<p>@lauramomatty - I will let you know as soon as I find out. They have confirmed receiving her audition materials and promised a response by March 8th (tomorrow?), so we’ll see!</p>
<p>@MTmom2015 I’ll be going to TPAP this summer as we’ll! I was rejected from Mpulse, but accepted into Interlochen’s six week program. Very excited to see what TPAP has in store!</p>
<p>Just got an email, the D has been accepted to the OCU summer 5 week MT Program! Woot, woot! <:-P Now just waiting to hear back from Broadway Dreams which her coach really wants her to attend as well. </p>
<p>@Lauramomatty I’m going to the three week OCU session, so I should meet your daughter :)</p>
<p>I would love to send my sophomore S to one of these camps…but they are sooooo pricey:(</p>
<p>Most offer some sort of scholarship program. That can defer some cost. Also, check with your local theatre or “community fund” and see if there are grant monies. It is a lot, but I think it is worth it.</p>
<p>They are very expensive, but in our case it was a great investment as the time spent in the summer helped D realize that she wanted a different type of program than what we had all assumed she was looking for. The summer program was FAR less expensive than a school transfer would have been. We also didn’t feel D needed any extra audition coaching after her summer experience. Plus it’s good practice for kids to help figure out how to earn money to help pay for it. Heck… they could put on a show! :)</p>
<p>@MomCares… LOL… that’s so Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney… “Let’s Put on a Show!” </p>
<p>I hope those of you with kids attending the OCU program will come back and post about their experiences here. My daughter is really hoping to attend next summer between her sophomore and junior year.</p>
<p>@sopranomtmom - I can do that 
Also, if you look at some of the older threads, you can find some information - that’s what I did :)</p>
<p>I promise to have my D share her OCU experience after this summer is over, but she has loved all the camps she’s attended for different reasons (Interlochen, BAA and TPAP). I guess she can enumerate a " few of her favourite things…" 
</p>
<p>Edit to add that Interlochen and OCU have both been GREAT about providing financial aid to this single mom. BAA & TPAP none. D worked & asked for all B’day and Xmas gifts from family be contributions towards those camps to be able to attend. </p>
<p>A girl in our area invited friends (including D) to sing for a fundraising concert (held in her church) to help send her to a summer program their junior year of high school. The kids got to try out lots of new material, the audience had a blast, and she raised big bucks. :)</p>
<p>We are in the middle financially and have 4 kids, so our solution was to have our D get a part time job. She has paid for two expensive summer camps this way! We get her there and pay for lodging. It’s a win-win! As a bonus she feels really proud to be able to pay her way!</p>
<p>My daughter did BAA and loved it. But does it compare as far as colleges to these other programs like OCU or MPulse? </p>
<p>I hate to do this with all the college decisions coming in – those are far more important. I need some help. We have been accepted (and were planning on going) to OCU Summer MT program, however today I found out we have a good chance of coming off the waitlist and getting into TPAP – if this happens (and it has to happen fast as OCU is owed money next week) my daughter is very excited but completely stumped as to which to pick. Any comments, ideas, as to one vs the other appreciated. </p>
<p>OK, I will try to help answer @evilqueen and @lauramomatty 's questions in the same response as my D has attended both BAA and TPAP. These are definitely apples and oranges types of programs. What you get out of each is completely different. </p>
<p>BAA- attended between 8th & 9th grade. Day camp. Parents have to stay with kids at a hotel or an apartment (we rented one by the week) Had tons of fun. Not sure how much quality instruction she received. Got to rehearse at Ripley Grier Studios, go to shows and meet many industry professionals. She worked late hours but loved every minute of it Had a very short (16 bar) “recital” with all the rest of the camp kids at the end of camp that casting agents and college recruiters were suppossed to have attended. I did not see much evidence of that, but we didn’t sign her up to get “discovered”, rather, for the experience so it was not a big deal for us. Great fun for the rest of the family as we toured NYC while she spent her days singing, dancing and acting. FUN is the adjective I’d use to describe this camp.</p>
<p>TPAP- overnight camp. my D will tell you, changed her life. It is a camp that does not focus on a final product, but rather the process of creating art. Students are encouraged to face their fears and work at overcoming them, kinda “Glee” style… LOTS of industry professionals as teachers. This is for the SERIOUS student who is focused. Many college kids. They seem to get the most attention and opportunities, though my D did not recent that fact as she looked upon some of them with a sense of heroe worship- they were that talented. Biggest plus on my mind? CCM, Texas State and other schools go check out who’s at the camp and work with the kids in master classes. Kids get a feeling for whether they would like those schools based on their one-on-one interactions with these folks. Great opportunity for a kid to get his name associated with his/her face by some of these college directors so when auditions come around there is the possibility of a spark of recognition. Students are treated as adults so there’s a lot of freedom. You have to trust your kid to act responsibly as they will not be in “babysitting mode”. I would recommend this camp for summer before senior year.</p>
<p>OCU- my D is going there this year. She is looking forward to working on a musical and getting to check out the OCU faculty. This school interests her because she loves the fact that they have a strong classical reputation, include theory and piano in their curriculum but offer a BFA in musical theatre (her true love). She wants to do MT, but is also a musician so she understands and values how theory and playing instruments have made her a better performer than she otherwise might have been. She has a strong classical background (including opera) but can turn around and belt her face off. She is wondering how both of these styles are treated at OCU and what better way to find out than attending camp?</p>
<p>All of these camps have something to offer. I guess it comes down to how old your child is at the present and what do they want/need most this summer. </p>
<p>Best of luck making your decisions!</p>
<p>@addicted2MT thank you for the comparison, I agree completely with yout assessment of BAA. Our D went there after 9th grade. She is a junior now and is doing a dance intensive here this summer at 5th Avenue Theater which has a national reputation and she hs gotten great training there. She has not done any of the “name” summer programs at the major universities because she wasn’t thinking BFA until this year, even though she has been in MT for 5 years. Probably a mistake but not one we can change now…</p>
<p>If you still have a couple of years ahead of you, I would attend OCU this year and TPAP the next. OCU is all high schools students. Good introduction to campus living, college classes and they get to work on all facets of their craft. The fact they get to do a show is icing on the cake.
I think meeting the various MT program heads TPAP brings in is great. But you would make more of an impact with them if they see you just a few months later at college auditions - not a year and a half later. They see so many kids and do so many workshops and master classes, I think it would be more impactful to work with them closer to your actual audition.
They are both great choices. You really can’t go wrong, when our D was a sophomore in HS we had to choose between mPulse and BTP (before TPAP split off from BTP). We felt because of her age (she is on the young side for her grade) the camp that was only for high schoolers was the safer choice for her that year - so she went to mPulse. I was not comfortable with her hanging out with college and post college aged participant. To me, there is a big difference between a 15 year old and a 21 year old. Our thought had been to try BTP the following year but they were undergoing a lot of changes including the formation of TPAP, so we elected To spend the summer before senior year working on audition material with her coaches. But every child and family is different. Congrats on great options! Hope she has a great summer!</p>
<p>@vnstar - I totally agree with you!</p>
<p>Chiming in - everyone has to make summer program decisions for the fit of their kid - but I know it can be helpful to hear others decision making journeys - so here is ours:</p>
<p>To speak to the age range at a program like BTP or TPAP - My D attended BTP this past summer (as a rising senior) and plans to attend TPAP this summer (as a rising college freshman). Her friend who was a rising Junior attended with her last summer - they both absolutely loved the experience. We didn’t find the age range to be a detriment to either of them! We are excited about this summer - because of the many great connections D made last summer - and we know that TPAP will help her establish more and different connections! </p>
<p>My D was particularly interested in the level of intensity and professionalism that BTP and TPAP offer - that some non-audition or less selective programs do not. She was not interested in adding a credit to her resume either - so that’s why BTP was selected over Interlochen. I will say that she was waitlisted for TPAP last year - and likely would have chosen that over BTP - but things work out for a reason - and we are glad she will have the opportunity to experience BOTH!</p>
<p>This all being said - if she hadn’t been rejected from MPulse - I think that would have been her first choice - because it’s geared so much for college prep - and the other programs have college prep as a component, but not the focus.</p>
<p>Her biggest concern was that she would be in an environment that would push her to grow -and where the students were all serious about the work to be done.</p>
<p>So - that was our journey - and I hope it helps others!</p>