BU is around 30
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thanks 
School of Theatre is between 60 and 70 newly matriculated students; I donât know the size of their prospective acting majors.
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Anyone else feeling disappointment at the way this has shaken out? I am struggling to make sense of my feelings but I wake up daily with a sense of sadness and dread when I think of the college process.
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MT programs are small. I think what was already a hyper competitive process became even more so. Two critical barriers to entry have been eliminated, one in recent years and one began just this cycle; the former was establishing a common prescreen and the latter was eliminating the need to travel for auditions coupled with the lost opportunity to showcase in person for whatever thatâs worth. Iâm guessing that the average (mean and median) number of schools applied to per applicant has increased over this time period although I donât have empirical evidence to support that assertion. While I feel âdemocratizationâ of processes tends to be a good thing, itâs resulted in increased competition and certain people benefit as a result while others donât. But we (parents of applicants) donât control the process and so I try to move on from feelings of disappointment / sadness / dread and use that energy to help young applicants find their best fit among schools and offers.
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Earlier this month when my son had a couple of rejections and a few waitlists I felt exactly like you. I literally felt like I had cement boots on and was crawling through the days. Iâd listen to friends of mine who had kids going through the regular academic experience of applying to college and I would think you have no idea how hard this all is for the kids and parents. We all love our kids immensely and Iâm sure we all have seen our kids sacrifice so much to pursue their dreams. Trying to navigate all of this throughout Covid was extraordinarily hard. When I think back to how much thought was put into creating an appropriate place in our home for my son to audition with good sound and lighting etc it added another layer of stress. How about the fact that for many kids they had to do all their work and coaching via zoom: the stress was immense. However, the one thing that has kept me going is my son. He has never waivered in his love of the arts and his dream. As my friend put it some people get to their goal through the front door⊠others through the back doorâŠothers the basementâŠsome the attic or windowâŠit doesnât matter how you do it. In my heart I think of all the people who never went to school and found a way to make their dream happen. Our job as parents is to keep holding the torch. I know your daughter will make the most of anywhere she goes and if she needs to supplement her studies somehow she will do it. There are so many resources online. She will find her way and you will be there with her. Stay strong and know that we all know exactly how you feel and are sending you lots of positive energy. Best of luck to your daughter.
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Very salient points for sure. The common prescreen was a gamechanger last year. My kid applied to 20+ schools. Same as many if not most of you. Had she needed an individual prescreen per school the list would have been way smaller, maybe 7 or 8. That said, the quality of the 8th would have been far better than the the first. That was the important part, for her, in live auditions. She got better along the way.
Itâs just a brutal process. I donât get consumed with the total numbers because itâs not that different than the common app dramatically increasing applications to top academic schools. In both cases, I think a high percentage of applicants have no realistic shot and likely would not have applied if there were extra hurdles. Theyâre not your kids primary competition. As an example, S applied to HYP. Looking back, there was no way he was getting in. Shouldnât have bothered applying. Great student, leader, etc but without the high 1500 SAT, in his demographic, not going to happen. But it was easy to apply so why not.
I think a lot of us, parents and students, view BFA acceptance as the culmination of your kidâs body of work and effort. In reality, itâs just the beginning. As brutal as the admissions process is, itâs a proper experience for those who really want to do this professionally. Far less at stake than the real world but good practice. And in the real world, other than for a tiny few, itâs not going to be rating programs and building a dream list (think about how silly that sounds to be rating shows or projects and holding out for a better one). Itâs going to be all about hard work, grinding, rejection, and hopefully getting parts and building on that. Of course there are a few that go straight to the top, but soooo rare. As in anything, (think about sports), the next level is a whole new world. Fortunately, in the arts there isnât a finite number of spots like there are professional teams.
I give all of these kids a ton of credit for putting themselves out there and following their dreams. Hopefully they all find some venue, regardless of level or location, to create and share their talents. The world needs that, especially now.
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Yes. I thought at this point weâd at least get one bit of normalcy and be easily visiting schools and talking to students there. Instead, weâve found travel restrictions, fully booked in person tours, and in accessibility to buildings/students in person. I just thought weâd have turned a bigger corner at this point regarding to covid, and being once again restricted by it is hard to deal with (edit: not criticizing schools here, I get it, but wish things were better in the world by now).
We are doing what we can, but itâs stressful and a lot more work than I expected at this point to dig through the school pages for the various kind of virtual offerings - and the secret ones for admitted students that are only available via the email link your student never bothered to read!!! And my mind is blown by how many of the schools do a live zoom session, but donât record it for students who canât make it because of conflicts. Honestly! Maybe the college zoom should be the priority, but tell that to the Senior who has lost almost every single opportunity in the past 12 months and just wants to be with the group of people who make life bearable right now.
Sorry for that vent, but yes, not how I expected to be feeling once decisions were in and I just want something to make this part easier.
Edit: sorry, upon rereading that all sounded so depressing!! Student is actually handling it much better than I am, lol! We just did a self tour yesterday that definitely left me in a funk over what it could have been vs what was, but student still liked our walk around campus
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@OutOfMyMind21 totally understandable everything you are saying. If its any consolation, none of last yearâs class got to do live visits , many made decision never having visited their campuses & I havenât heard of any kids who are disappointed with their decision. though most are not happy with the way covid Fr year has unwound either remote class, no live performances etcâŠanyway, very reasonable feelings you have, hopefully you ( or those lurking) can get an ounce of comfort that she will likely be happy in the end
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Right there with you!
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Our kids have definitely not had it easy this past year! No matter what year theyâre in, our kids have had challenges and adversity that we never anticipated, or had to live through ourselves at their age. I so admire their commitment to the craft in spite of all of this, and itâs so nice to have support here from other parents and know weâre not alone in all this.
It does help to hear last yearâs kids feel good about their pandemic decisions, and gives me comfort that my student will get there in the end (but I sure wish âthe endâ would come sooner than the last day of April, lol!!).
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Unfortunately we have experienced the same:(- I have had my son take days off (senior college days) just to sit at his computer and spend "virtual "days at each of the 3 universities he has been given the opportunity to join. Some have been great and others just lead to more questions to search. I do feel fortunate that virtual options are available and realize that just 5+ years ago this would have been so much more limited. I also appreciate all the time each university has taken to try to create youtube videos and hosted zoom sessions to support students as much as they can. This generation of kids will definitely have stories to share with others. Although I wish that things could be more accessible I realize that each of these challenges our students are experiencing are making them amazing, strong, independent young adults who will be ready to take on any challenge the future brings their way.
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Iâm so sorry, Class of 2025. I know youâre all so exhausted by everything and your feelings are 100% earned by blood, sweat and tears.
On the plus side, If all goes well, your student will get an uninterrupted four years of in person college classes, performances, etc. And an actual functioning industry to work in upon graduation. While this college gap year has not been ideal, by any means, I am grateful for the timing (not a HS senior, college freshman, college senior, recent grad or anyone trying to earn a living in the industry right now.) Things are looking up, if you can get through the next few weeks. AndâŠscene.
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I was just telling this to my daughter. Yeah this has been a terrible Senior year, but at least she will have a true Freshman year at college experience.
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@Skymomia I hope so, but Iâm unsure whether universities are committing to full-in person classes yet for the fall.
Yes, and we shouldnât forget about all of the MT college graduates whose opportunities and careers have been totally stagnant for over a year. Those who booked Broadway, national tours, cruise lines and regional jobs in their field who are now doing survival jobs or have moved back home. Our kids in the c/o 2024 and 2025 have it tough, no doubt about itâŠbut imagine if your kid had just booked a Broadway show and it shut down for good due to Covid? That would really suck!
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This thread just passed 100,000 views; that must be among the largest for
recent threads?
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Wow, your post was amazing! I love your friendâs description of all the ways of getting to the goal-- so important to remember. I must admit I recently asked my daughter for the first time if she might consider doing theatre as more of a hobby rather than a career path, given how rough the competition is. She looked at me like I was crazy --Iâll remind myself to keep holding that torch for her!
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Yes! @DivaStageMom had the D that committed to BU. Great memory!
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Hey - I heard my name I havenât been on any of these threads this year but my daughter ended up going to BU - she auditioned for all MT - this was the exception - at the end, she got into a few good MT programs but she loved the BU location, wanted to be in the city, wanted academics, greek life and semester abroad and BU checked all the boxes. She loves it - as much as you can love anything during this pandemic. She is around a diverse group of talented students, she loves Boston, she has made friends both in the program and outside the program, she joined a sorority and is having a great time. She has a few in-person classes and everything is supposed to return to normal next year. Anyway, if anyone has any questions please feel free to reach out - I would be more than happy to put people in touch with her if they had additional questions. I believe there are 43 in her class.
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