Wow…after 5 years of being on CC, I can’t believe it’s finally my D’s turn to begin this crazy, stressful, exhausting process! At another member’s suggestion, I’ll start the thread.
So…summer programs, anyone? Can’t believe it’s the last one before college auditions. Summer programs are one of the areas where I actually have a bit of knowledge and have felt comfortable sharing over the years because my D has been to several. This year she’ll be going to S.T.A.T.E. at Penn State. Anyone else??
D went to CMU last year before Junior year,( LOVED IT) figuring out this summer still w a family African safari scheduled the first 2 weeks of July the options are a bit limited and we want to focus on getting applications and essays out of the way before school starts.
Hard to believe it’s time! S will not be doing any summer programs but will probably be cast in children’s theatre shows done at the theatre where he performs. Also plan to spend time prepping and pulling together prescreens to get an early start. Looking forward to getting to know everyone and start this off!
Hi All,
While I too understand the excitement of starting to document/discuss your journeys after watching and waiting for a couple of years, I honestly need to say, I wish you had waited until after May 1st to officially start this thread…
Not saying you shouldn’t be joining in and participating in discussions, as you’ve been doing, it’s just as a parent of the class of 2023, we’ve not finished our journey yet…
It feels like I’ve got my birthday cake with candles lit, in front of me, everybody just finished singing, and someone else walked up and blew out my candles…
@lithpool- i have twins SO I KNOW we can celebrate 2 parties at once and make sure neither kid feels slighted:) .i for one am still following the 2023 thread closely and cant wait to see the final decisions for everyone, have been and will continue to root you on till the end as we have done all year long!! i hope you will stick around and offer us all of your gained wisdom!
@muttsandMT As the mom of a class of 2023 D, I’m glad you started this now and I don’t feel like it takes anything away from the current seniors! It’s great you all can start supporting each other and sharing now and I’m more than ready to pass the torch and hear how you all are preparing. Our thread is still going strong and this doesn’t affect that at all. In the past these threads may have started a tiny bit later, but honestly, everything about this process seems to be accelerating each year so why wait? The earlier you can start to get ready, the easier the ride in my opinion. Good luck to all of you!
Oh @lithpool – I am so very sorry…please accept my heartfelt apologies. I would never, EVER want to hurt anyone or try to steal anyone’s moment, and I just feel terrible that I have made you feel this way. I promise that I never meant to imply that your son’s journey was done…my D in fact has many friends who are still waiting for that first yes or who are waiting for WLs to come through…but in fact many of us who have juniors have officially started our journeys, as songs and monos are being selected by coaches, reservations are being made, etc.
On the 2023 thread, there were a couple of us mentioning things back and forth about next year, and I asked if anyone had started a new thread yet (because I was worried about being off topic), and someone responded back to me that I should start one, so I did. I will admit that I didn’t question it or try to look to see when threads were typically started.
But if you search my history, you will see that I’m not usually one to start threads or post much, even though I’ve been on here since my D was in 7th grade, but I thought that that little “push” from the other member was maybe what I needed to be a little less shy…but now I feel terrible that in one of my few started threads that I have hurt someone. If you knew me in real life, you’d know how incredibly shy and introverted and sensitive I am…but I know that messages written online don’t always show any of that and can be misconstrued.
To anyone in the Class of 2023 whom I have offended or hurt, I am truly, deeply sorry. Moderators, please feel free to delete my posts as you see fit (as is your right, of course ).
Best of luck to your son on making his decision @lithpool ! I know that he has a lot of great choices and it won’t be easy. I’ve enjoyed your posts, and I look forward to reading about your son’s final decision!
@muttsandMT@NYFanNowMTdad and others…Thank you for acknowledging. I do know the thread wasn’t started maliciously, and I’ve enjoyed reading about everyone’s journeys, whether starting or further along in the process, and there are no hard feeling on my part, and I do plan to continue participating and cheering your class on too, as well as the successes of those moving on in the professional world!
I wrote my post the night before and let it marinate overnight, to see how I felt in the morning, and still felt as though I needed to address it, hence my post.
In any case, I thank you both for responding and acknowledging my feelings. (I guess my skin isn’t as tough as our kids are…lol)
I really didn’t want to make a ‘thing’ out of my post, nor generate the support of either side, bc there are cases to be made from both…
Gosh, please don’t feel bad. I am a mom of a class of 2023 MT son and I, personally, understand the excitement you are feeling starting this process. Honestly we found CC way too late and I can only imagine how much smoother this process would have gone if we had access to the wisdom and support of this forum sooner! The earlier you all can help each other thru this exciting but complicated and stressful process, the better!
Also what is great about CC is lithpool can express how she felt and can be heard and understood, as well. No harm no foul from either party.
Each class has different needs and are in different places in the process and so really do not overlap. Here’s to both groups and both threads coexisting and going strong!
Mom of a D who currently in the mix of things. I’ve lurked on these boards for a long time and gained so much valuable information. I’d like to “pay it forward” while it’s all still fresh in my mind, so here’s a few items of advice for all of you embarking on this crazy journey.
First, you are doing the right thing by starting early! My D had her school list done and had most of her audition pieces selected at this time last year. She focused on coaching and perfecting her pieces over the summer and was ready to film prescreens in early September. Senior year gets busy so you want to have it done early. Also, if Cincinnati & Baldwin Wallace are on your list get those applications in ASAP if they continue to be a non prescreen schools. The audition dates fill up fast and we know students who couldn’t get auditions because they waited too long.
Second, once the Common App essay prompts are finalized have your child pick one and get it done. The number of essays required was something we didn’t anticipate. Some of the schools will have 3-4 supplementals on top of the Common App essay. We used the services of MTCA’s essay coach and it was money well spent. The applications and essays are very time consuming.
Third, schedule fall auditions if your child is ready artistically. Since we started so early D was prepared and ready to start auditions. My D did 4 before January and had 2 early acceptances. I can’t tell you how much stress that took off of her. She went into Unifieds more relaxed and confident. We did both NY & Chicago Unifieds. We enjoyed Chicago a lot more than NY but are happy we spread things out over the 2 locations.
As I stated above, we used MTCA for coaching and I couldn’t imagine going through this without them. Hiring a coach is not a necessity but I personally felt we needed the help. My husband & I have no knowledge of performing or auditioning (I’m completely tone deaf!) and having guidance from experts in the field was truly a life saver. It is an overwhelming process that no one understands unless they’ve experienced it. We’ve survived and lived to tell the tale! Last night D received the final decision she was waiting on from MSM (a yes yay!) and it’s a huge relief to be done.
I wish you all the best and will be cheering your kids on! These kids are amazing and I’m in awe of them all!!
I don’t have a horse in either race (2023 or 2024) but wanted to say that I don’t take issue with you starting this thread. I feel that all of the 2023 folk with still be focusing on those threads for quite some time…until all the decisions are in and the dust has settled (which could be into August ?) and the 2024 folk will still follow them (for lots of early information) while posting on their own thread.
No offense, but it almost seems like lithpool is saying “How dare they have their own agenda. Now they won’t be excited about us anymore”. I feel that people are actually capable of doing both ?.
@exitstageleft I did not say anything untoward, nor was I nasty or mean in my posting. I was simply stating my feelings. I know how exciting this journey is, and how much support we all need, and in no way was I saying “it’s all about me”, as you imply.
As I said previously, I didn’t post my statement to start a debate on either side, as there are merits to both, and it doesn’t need to be a debate on it.
In no way did I say that 2024 wasn’t going to continue supporting 2023, nor the other way around. Folks are going to provide insight and support for each other, whether on this thread or another.
in your case you have at least 12 AMAZING options for your S & i think I can speak for the class of 2024 ( though i know no one lol) in saying we would love to be in your spot next year at this time!! SO CONGRATS!!!
there will be so many negatives along the way…as i said in another post…we are waiting on the line for tower of terror never know when the up or down will come but know that they will…we are on the line having waited for our turn on the ride-- nervous but excited and watching each of the 2023 class( & many before you) come off the ride- mostly happy laughing giggling that you made it through…we also feel bad for the few that the ride made you sick & that makes us even more anxious for our turn…hopefully Disney’s Hollywood studios doesn’t sue me for infringement for this post :)…
@NYFanNowMTdad Agreed. And yes, my S is very fortunate to be in the position he is in, and we are grateful to those that have helped us along the journey. It’s a thrilling ride! Buckle up!! ?
Love the Tower of Terror analogy. While we aren’t getting off our “ride” like a complete mess we are certainly feeling a tad rough in this home stretch. I sure wish we were still on line to board the ride b/c there are many things I would have done differently.
