@AnxiousNovice Hang in there! Almost everyone here will get way more rejections than acceptances, girls especially. It’s part of the process. What is it they say? That an MT girl needs to apply to 20/25 schools in order to get one acceptance and 2 waitlists? Something like that? It doesn’t mean your daughter isn’t talented, it just means that everyone else is talented too and schools have the luxury of being able to be very specific about what they are looking for. Her school is out there, and as painful as it is every rejection brings her one step closer to where she’s meant to be. She’ll be fine.
@AnxiousNovice as @BloomingGirl noted and I tell my own D, if you audition for 20 schools you likely will have to stomach at least 16- 18 nos- awful ( thats considered a successful result!!! WTH. A few other things to consider, those schools you listed are amongst the tops, especially Ithaca & Pace- 98% or so will get no from them, hopefully you have some more mid tier you are awaiting on, keep in mind the schools often send the “NOs” out fairly quickly & so anyone you have yet to hear from is in the no news is good news category…Also if you read back on the venting and final decision threads from the past 4-5 years, every single year there is 1-2 people who have a horrible audition/ result season & are waiting for their first yes often into April…most of them land at a solid BFA program…Hang in there- long way to go with the month of march being the longest wait ( from what I’ve read)
This forum has been really helpful because this process is so intimidating and overwhelming for everyone involved -but mostly I try to remind my D who has been a lot calmer than me except after a dance call that this is a part of the process for this field! Best of luck to each of you!! #almostthere
@AnxiousNovice, Do you mean that Pace has sent out No notification? I thought that we won’t hear from Pace until 3/1.
Anyone know about the University of the Arts decision notifications? On the notifications thread it says one week after auditioning but on the acceptance thread there are still no names under it. I assume someone would have posted something after NYC Unifieds if they were sending acceptances a week after that. My daughter just auditioned for them in LA.
@AnxiousNovice - I feel ya. Two years ago my D had two BA program acceptances and was in the middle of a rejection streak of 9 "no"s in a row. After that a couple of yesses, one of which was her final choice and it’s been amazing. This process can be very brutal. Hang in there and stay positive!
@AnxiousNovice I agree with @NYYFanNowMTdad that it is super important to have some middle tier schools in the mix! If your daughter has not auditioned for LIU POST or Molloy/CAP21 I think there is still time. My daughter got her LIU acceptance while we were at LA Unifieds and it was such a huge relief to know that she WILL be going to a BFA MT program in New York, even if she gets rejected from ALL the schools she is waiting on. She sent out nine prescreens and got rejected or redirected by 7 of them (only Pace and BoCo called her back). She was so disheartened after the prescreen process. But she/we carried on, knowing lots of kids have a rough time with prescreens and do great with live auditions. She has done 12 live auditions and sent in one digital audition. That’s eighteen total auditions (she had 20 planned but decided to drop 2 final live auditions after her LIU acceptance). Of course, she desperately wants to go to Pace or NYU, but she knows the talent pool is just too big to bank on it. Extremely talented kids go to the middle tier schools, get phenomenal training and end up with successful performance careers. This business is ALL about rejection and I think this process, as awful as it is, can teach our kids if they can emotionally withstand a career that is full of constant rejection. My daughter has learned to go into an audition, do her best, and then completely let it go. I’m still agonizing over when we will hear and what will they say, but she has moved on. It’s a great sign that she is going to be able to tolerate the rejection in this field. I think it is often harder for us to watch than it is for them!
@AnxiousNovice, huge hugs to you and your daughter! Every year there are kids who get a string of “nos” and then finally a “yes”! There are also kids who get all nos, but then add additional last-minute applications and auditions and end up with a successful “yes” there! Look up the Final Decision stories from last year. Once they’re in their college, the journey of how they got there won’t matter!
Got an email this morning from SCAD congratulating me on an acceptance, but I’m just wondering - is this just academic acceptance or artistic (since I know SCAD is a school for art and design, so would they send out just an academic acceptance)?
BAL to everyone going through this process right now. This process is the farthest thing from easy, and the waiting is the worst. Have faith, and know that, no matter where you end up, you can always find a way to accomplish your goals!
@AnxiousNovice If you don’t mind sharing which schools were on her list? and how many? There are still some schools accepting auditions and applications. There will be through March (although less). I advise the kids I work with to apply to at least 1-2 non-audition “safety” schools (they both chose Coastal Carolina BA) and a balance of “reach schools” (the ones you listed “no” from are all reaches), then choose schools with strong programs but maybe that are not in the “top tier.” Some of the “hidden gems” I used to recommend (like Missouri State) have now become reach schools, so you need to look at what the program really is. Kent State, for example, has more audition dates and it is now listed as one of the top 30 MT programs on one list (OnStage Blog) as is Southeast Missouri State (which allows video auditions). I created a multi-tab spreadsheet with various lists, research about the schools, etc. that they worked from and built their own lists. I am happy to share anything with you or give you some of their lists to look at (a M and F - both movers, strong singers/actors and more character roles). Don’t panic – it’s not over yet!
@AnxiousNovice Also - remind your daughter that her “talent” got her to pass prescreens that many other kids didn’t. When offers are made, it becomes more about “type”…To have a balanced program, most departments are looking for 1-3 of any particular “type.” Then, when you add other factors (diversity, gender, range, etc.) then it narrows the scope even more. I know both kids I am working with this year took gap years. They didn’t even attempt to audition during senior year because their class load (one was taking 5 AP courses!!), HS musical was (and is always) scheduled during Chicago Unifieds, etc. They both worried it would impact their results but they spent a year prepping and getting more training and it has worked well for them. In fact, neither thinks they would have had the same results without the gap year.
@AnxiousNovice I KNOW this is hard, and I am SO sorry you guys are feeling the pinch right now. But NYFanNowMTDad is so right. The no’s come early, and even though people on here do share their no’s…somehow it seems like everyone is hearing yes’s but us.
I remember reading about one girl last year who, by April had not had ONE yes. Her mom was freaking out. Finally, she posted that her daughter had missed a call from the chair of the department at Webster. When she called by the next day, the guy offered her a spot. Webster was one of her dream schools. My daughter went to an audition at one of her dream schools in December, and the current students were all talking about where they got in, and one girl said, “This is the only school that accepted me.” My D was shocked. This is a GREAT school where she would absolutely LOVE to attend, and the kids are all super-talented, and one girl there only got into this one, really great school.
My daughter has several acceptances (she will not let me share them yet). However, she is not certain about ANY of them. Okay, that’s not true…she LOVES one of them but the loans she would have to take out to go there are RIDICULOUS, and we will not be doing that, no matter how amazing the school is. So, even though she has so many acceptances, she is still considering a gap year option. Acceptances do not mean everyone is finding a place. Fit is super important, and my daughter is still super stressed about finding her place. Honestly, she has three schools right now that she would die to go to, but she feels like her chances of getting into them are not good. One school has made several cuts and notified her she is still in the running, but she is too scared to let her hopes get too high, as it is an extreme reach school.
She went to another call back recently at a school that she honestly did not expect to love, and LOVED it. She came out saying it was a perfect audition. They held her back at the dance call, she said her songs were great, and her monologue was the best it had ever been. Then she looked at me and said, “Too bad I won’t get in.” It is SOOO hard!!!
We know of someone who passed all of their pre-screens last year, and then struggled to find a place in the end. Early success does not mean that you will get into any “better” schools than someone who has less success.
If I posted all the no’s my daughter received on here, people would think my D is really untalented, but that is not the case. She IS talented and receives confirmation of that in so many other ways. The reality is that the college MT system is broken right now. At one audition she went to, the department chair was talking about how the system is broken for them as well, and how it makes it super hard to try to fill their program with any certainty. She also said that it has only gotten this bad in the last 2-3 years. I know of a school that just last year was considered a pretty easy school to get into, but has decided to cut their acceptances to half moving forward. Even my daughter’s “safety” school (I say safety, but it is an audition required school) told her at her audition that they would only be accepting 8 girls starting this year and moving forward.
The reality is that my daughter spends most nights crying, and wondering what a gap year would mean for her. She is exhausted and physically and emotionally worn out. She worries about asking us to help her pay for a college that she doesn’t love, and might not get the education she needs to be truly competitive after graduation. It sucks all the way around.
But, please know that you and your daughter are NOT alone! I feel for you because even with her acceptances, I don’t feel we are in any better place than you. I am sure many on here feel the same. Just remember, right now is the time you hear the no’s. Truly, the yes’s come later. I know it hard, but hang in there!!
@gold24 Yes, that sounds like the same email my daughter got for the BFA Performing Arts program. It was vague, to me, but it is their acceptance. There were not two separate acceptances (academic/artistic) from SCAD for her. They also called and sent things through snail mail very quickly after the email. Congratulations!
Encourage your kids to go find online MT incoming student groups on Facebook and other places (like Crucible Cast Party) to find some “support.” This entire process is exhausting – for everyone. Everything @WDWMom says is true. Acceptances do not equal a spot for you (especially if you care about final cost of attendance). That being said, I am still encouraging my students to apply at a few more places they discovered at Unifieds that costwise, look good on paper. One has gotten a “dream school” acceptance but realizes that he may not be able to afford to go there. I am trying to help him figure it out, but he completely understands it may be out of his reach. (His family has no ability to contribute to his college - mom is unemployed currently and dad has contributed $0 to him or his siblings since he was a freshman.) Definitely checks all the “need-based” boxes but still — even though this is an OOS public college — it may be more than be is comfortable with. And I applaud his frugality! I have spent several years encouraging them to boost their academics. He did, but still might not be enough for this school (they don’t seem to have a set merit scholarship like others).
@tsamuique - YES!! absolutely yes…another aspect of theatre (and one that I constantly stress) is commitment and responsibility. If you audition for a show, you need to put down anything you would not consider. Most audition forms I get have nothing listed for “won’t consider” – blank space. Yet, when someone is cast, they may decline the role. Because it wasn’t large enough. Directors remember this and as my students CONSTANTLY find out, it is a small world in theatre. Even in a big area like Dallas-Ft. Worth.
Everyone has heard the quote “there are no small parts…yada, yada, yada.” It’s true. Many of my stronger kids have had to play ensemble at some time or another. When I doublecast shows, I make leads and supporting actors take ensemble roles on offnights. They must learn how not to just “endure” the ensemble role, but actually bring life to that role. Kids who work with me will always come back to me (after the first show) and remark that they almost dropped because “ensemble” but glad they didn’t. I actually spend time working with ensemble separately. I make each of them do character development just like lead and supporting roles. You won’t find my ensemble members out of character while they are onstage (huge pet peeve of mine to go see an ensemble-driven show and find the ensemble with no focus or gazing around, completely out of character). When I directed Hairspray, I had some tremendous talent for leads and supporting. Three of them were chosen by a non-youth-reviewing Dallas theatre critic for some of the best performances of 2017. But the one performance my mom pointed out (and still does) was from a girl who was new to musical theatre and was in Seaweed’s group. She was in the ensemble for “I Know Where I’ve Been” singing backup. But her acting through the music was absolutely incredible and brought tears to people’s eyes. Since then, she has gone on to have larger roles — supporting and lead. But she was so integral in helping the rest of that ensemble act that song so incredibly. And all of the other songs she was in as well. The leads didn’t make that show. The ensemble did!
Thank you so much! appreciate the info @BFAMom2024
For those of you who might be interested in widening their options at this point, I would suggest taking a look at some of these programs, which typically still have audition availability at this time of year (I have not checked all of these for this year):
Western Kentucky University (audition in 2nd year)
Nebraska Wesleyan
Tampa
Northern Kentucky
Manhattanville College
Western Carolina (deadline to apply for audition is Feb. 23)
Western Michigan
U Alabama Birmingham
Memphis
Oakland (MI)
Drake
Sam Houston State
University of South Dakota
There is more discussion on this topic, and more schools, listed in this thread from last year:
Adding Southeast Missouri State, University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point (where Andrew Cao and Laura Osnes attended!), Oklahoma City University (Kelli O’Hara and Kristin Chenoweth!), Kent State, Northern Illinois, Millikin and University of Northern Colorado! All of these have later (March or April) audition dates and SE Missouri and UNCO allow video auditions for sure!
And, I can tell you this. Nebraska Wesleyan is SOOO sweet!!! If you are looking for a place for a BFA MT and have not applied there, you are missing out!
@WDWMom you mentioned that there is a super reach school that you said has made several cuts and has notified your daughter that she is still in the running. I heard that ShenCo and Elon have sent messages like that from their earlier auditions, and Penn State is rejecting if you’re out so people know if they’re still in if they haven’t received a rejection. Curious if the school you are referring to one of those 3, or is there another one that is communicating with applicants still in the running? TIA