@vogelpitts Thanks a lot. I’m so worried about not getting accepted into a school because this is my passion and I honestly don’t know what else I could do. I’m confident in my work enough that I think I’ll have a chance at getting in.
@TheatreTrix My D also worried about not getting in anywhere. She got in everywhere she applied. See you on here next year when you’re finding it impossible to decide where to go!
I agree with @bearlife My daughter got in everywhere and waitlisted at CMU. Your passion will take you very far if you try. You sound very committed!
I have a junior D just starting this process also and your stories of getting in most everywhere are so encouraging.
Would you mind sharing which schools you applied to and which you were accepted?
@craspedia My daughter will be in the BFA Costume Design program at DePaul in the fall. She also got in to Purchase, Pace, Emerson, CalArts, CUBoulder (safety near home), and was wait listed at CMU.
I think the major work for Tech Theater students is in preparing their portfolio. Once that is ready getting prepared for the portfolio reviews is the next important step. I do think that experience counts but love of telling in a story through your medium is what almost every department head told us was most important. Talent and passion are important also. My son applied to UNCSA, SUNY Purchase, Otterbein U, Pace U, Coastal Carolina, ECU (Safety) , Greensboro College, and WCU. He got into all of the programs except Pace (wait-list). Best of Luck to you!
Agreed, portfolio is key - and not just your stage work, but what makes you someone they would want in their program, maturity and a strong work ethic/commitment/passion. There are a fair amount of kids who think they want to do this and then realize it is way too much work - programs don’t like to lose students, so I think that is one thing they try to filter out in the audition process.
If you want merit money academics will be really important too, the smaller schools like Webster and Otterbein give nice merit and talent awards. I think any of my D’s schools would have been great. She chose CMU. Applied and was accepted at these: CMU, BU, Emerson, DePaul, Webster, Otterbein, Ohio, New Paltz (see how much we thought we needed a non-portfolio based safety? forget about it!). Got decent money from all.
Best of luck to you, work hard but most of all don’t stress. Research each school in depth.
I agree with everything @upstate13 said. My son is going to UNCSA but we received great merit scholarships from Otterbein and Pace that made their tuition the same as the in-state tuition at UNCSA.
@cjenny2 and @upstate13 Did you visit Otterbein and Webster? Can you describe the campuses and what their location is like (suburban? closer to a city/urban)? D really wants an urban experience and liked the campus/locations of CMU and DePaul.
Also heard that Purchase is sort of run down and in the middle of nowhere… what did you think of it? We live on the West Coast so it’s going to be hard to see them all.
We also received excellent merit based scholarships from DePaul (half tuition) and Pace (also half tuition). @craspedia I spoke with parents who had visited Purchase during unifieds and they gave the campus a big thumbs down. We didn’t visit though. I’m biased, but DePaul is in a pretty awesome-location, program, etc. I’ve heard the same about so many other campuses located in cities (CMU, Emerson, BU, NYU). D loved Pace as well, but when it came down to it the program for costume was simply better at DePaul. I’ve heard nothing but great things about UNCSA as well.
I also agree with @upstate13 about the interview-showing your passion, love for what you want to do, maturity and work ethic. My d didn’t have a lot of experience costuming shows, (only 2 small productions) but she created her own work to show her commitment and she said that she tried to be very reflective in her answers during interviews as well. I also agree about researching programs thoroughly. I think that my d wouldn’t have applied to Purchase but may have applied to UNCSA or CCM instead.
Agreed on Purchase, it was awful. That is why we put New Paltz on her list, needed a Suny (we are from NY), and both Fredonia and Purchase were downright depressing. Webster and Otterbein are both fantastic schools too, they treated her so well - she hated telling them no.
@upstate13 What kind of campus settings are Webster & Otterbein?
@cjenny2 Is UNCSA in town? (walking distance to stores, cafes, etc?) What is Winston-Salem like? It’s so hard to tell these things from google maps.
Oh, D also liked CCM. If we knew that just one of those three would come through…
We did not visit Otterbein. We planned to go if my son got into the program but when we found out about UNCSA (my son’s number one choice) we decided not to visit. I do know a student in the BFA Tech Theater Program at Otterbein who loves the school and we were very impressed. It is outside of Columbus Ohio. It was hard to say no to that school.
We only briefly visited Purchase and only walked around outside the buildings. I didn’t think it looked so bad. It has that '70’s brick box design which is not the most appealing but it looked fine. They have a very good reputation for Tech Theater, good alumni base, and are affordable. The lighting designer for the Superbowl this year is a professor at Purchase. It was in our top three in the end with Otterbein and UNCSA.
UNCSA was our top choice from the beginning. The school in not in a big city. Winston-Salem has a population of about 230,000. UNCSA is about a 30 minute walk or 10 minute drive to downtown. It is a beautiful campus. This is not NYC or Chicago but my son wanted a conservatory with a great reputation and was not in a hurry to move to the big city. His main concerns were facilities, training, cost, and post graduation jobs opportunities.
If you are looking for a big city Pace, NYU, Emerson, BU, or DePaul would be a better fit.
@craspedia On the west coast I would look at CalArts. I have heard very good things about their program.
Yes, I’ve seen their website & they do have a great program. However D wants to experience the cold (and seasons) so the focus is out of state. I’m fine with wherever she wants to go. There are just so many scouting trips we can make… She may have to apply to a couple sight-unseen like you all did. Just don’t know if 5 applications is enough? You each applied to 7-8 schools.
You can have the portfolio review be your visit. That might cut down on some traveling. ECU for us was a non-auditioned BFA, WCU was a auditioned BA and Greensboro College was a on the spot offer at the North Carolina Theater Conference. In looking back we probably did not need as many schools. It is very hard to cut the list down! 
Distance and travel time to and from home is another cost factor to consider when looking for schools.
My d applied to 7 and only saw 4 of them. She ended up at one of the schools that she visited, however Emerson was high on her list and she didn’t visit. If the program is good and you get in, many parents visit the campus before making a decision. We went on two scouting trips to LA (USC, CalArts) and Chicago (Northwestern, DePaul). We then went to Unifieds in NYC and visited Pace and decided not to take the train to visit Purchase after talking to many people. Unifieds can be a great opportunity to visit schools if those that you’re applying to are in the area as well. It helps to talk with students at the schools if you can as well. CC is great for that.
@cjenny2 did your S participate in any open auditions at Unifieds? I’m curious and have had people asking. My D didn’t, and I’ve only heard from MT parents who did this.
@craspedia I agree with @cjenny2 that visiting during Unifieds or a portfolio review is a great way to cut down on traveling. That is what we did for Pace. We visited LA and Chicago only because there were at least 2-3 schools in each city that my D was interested in. One of the schools tops on her list, Emerson, was sight unseen and she fell in love with it. She met with them at Unifieds and met some great people. A lot of parents also wait for admittances and if they get a great aid package and their child is uber interested they’ll actually visit the campus. My d’s close friend ended up doing this and it was very helpful in deciding where to go.
As the parent of a Purchase tech student I will say that the campus is definitely in the SUNY style, not as attractive as others. But the program is very well respected, connections in the industry are amazing. It is, however, very intense.
We loved UNCSA’s campus.
My son also got in everywhere: Purchase, UNCSA, DePaul, Webster, CalArts, Ithaca, New Paltz…can’t remember if there were others.