The Journey Class of 2020 ... Denials, redirections, etc.

College Majors Musical Theater Major
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It occurred to me that we don’t have a page like this yet and I think it would help to have one place to post about the whole journey. We can all celebrate the acceptances but that doesn’t give the full picture of what happened this season and getting the whole picture helps put things into perspective for parents and students going through this right now, as well as for future classes.

I’m modeling this on threads from prior years. Here goes:

D is a graduating senior, from a public, non PA HS, and applied to the following schools:

BFA: Texas State, Michigan, Penn State, Otterbein, CMU, Wright State, Pace, Ithaca, Wayne State (Acting), Fordham (Acting), Rutgers (Acting), Minnesota (Acting)

BA: Skidmore, Vassar, Barnard, Yale, Brown, Northwestern, and Harvard

Passed all prescreens

Rejected from Minnesota artistically

Not rejected academically anywhere yet. Those rejections will arrive on or about April 1.

Participated in Rutgers Summer Acting Conservatory and Columbia Gorge School of Theatre, as well as small workshops in our area

Competitive dancer at one of top studios in our state (maybe nationally), dancing 20+ hrs/week during school year, did lots of community theatre prior to HS. Since she wasn’t in her school’s choral program, she was not allowed to participate in solo & ensemble competitions through her school so she looked for other opportunities to get before judges, such as participating in NATS & Classical Singer Competitions, and monologue slam competitions.

She was cast in a significant acting role in a regional equity theatre this past year.

I think some of her schools could start notifying this week, based on past threads so I thought I’d get this out there so we can all give one another a boost. D mentioned she may have to take a gap year, if she doesn’t get into a program with enough scholarship/financial aid to make it feasible for her. Some of the programs are very costly and she won’t be able to do them without a good package, hence so many BA schools on the list. Also, so many BAs because no one can call highly selective schools, like Ivies, a safety.

Best of luck everyone! I hope you will post away …

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I meant to add above that you don’t have to add all the above info to contribute to this thread. I took the leap so others will feel comfortable in sharing. I plan to update with D’s denials as they come in so you can all cry with me. I’ll cry for you too when you post something less than an acceptance. :slight_smile: Then we can just pick up and move on … My estimates tell me we may hear from Penn State, Wright State, and Texas State this week, all on D’s list. And if not this week, then next. I’m bracing myself.

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D applied to:

BFA - Ithaca (passed pre-screen, rejected), Pace (didn’t pass pre-screen, accepted academically), U of Arts (rejected), CCM (never could arrange for audition because of her schedule), Montclair (auditioned, waiting to hear, accepted academically), University at Buffalo (auditioned, waiting to hear, accepted academically), Rider (auditioned at open call, waiting to hear)

BA - Marymount Manhattan (accepted academically, rejected artistically), Fairleigh-Dickinson (auditioning next month), Muhlenberg (no audition needed, waiting to hear)

BA to BFA - Clarion (applied, waiting to hear, audition for BFA sophomore year)

Sigh.

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Sending positive thoughts your way, @emdpraze!

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D applied to: OCU, Muhlenberg, Marymount Manhattan, Hartt, CMU, Pace, CCM, Point Park, Roosevelt, Webster, Syracuse, Montclair State, Ithaca, Hofstra (withdrew apps from a couple of schools after an early acceptance)

Prescreens: passed three for all Pace BFA programs, Ithaca MT, did not pass Syracuse MT

Accepted to: Hofstra (audition for BFA sophomore year), Marymount Manhattan (BA Theater Performance w/ MT minor)

Redirected: OCU to BFA acting, BA music

Rejected: Hartt, Ithaca

Waiting on: everyone else

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Thanks for sharing @CTDramaMom. Your D has choices already! That’s more than we can hope for, really, in this competitive field. Looking forward to hearing more from you as we get further along in this process. :slight_smile:

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Please tell that to her LOL. She got a rejection yesterday that she’s taking particularly hard. And for those of you who believe that kids with professional credits are immune from the rejections, let me assure you that they are not. They still come, and they still hurt.

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Hugs to you @CTDramaMom! Someone once told me that we are only as happy as our most unhappy child. I agree! So, it’s a hard day for you too. I’m sorry. I hope better news comes soon. As for my D, she didn’t audition anywhere until the weekend before Chicago Unifieds so most of her rejections haven’t had time to arrive yet. And, I understand your point. Rejections hurt no matter what and no one is immune, not even those with many professional credits, awards, or plum roles under their belts.

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D applied to: Michigan, Elon, CMU, CCM, NYU/Tisch, Penn State, Ithaca, Syracuse, Indiana, Emerson, Muhlenberg, American, Baldwin-Wallace, Otterbein, Hartt, and Wagner, and did walk-ins at NYC Unifieds for Montclair State, Roosevelt and Webster. D did not pass Ithaca, Syracuse and Indiana prescreens. D has one acceptance (Hartt) and one rejection (Penn State) thus far. D pulled Wagner and Otterbein apps after Hartt acceptance and is still waiting on the rest.

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D learned she was rejected from Penn State today. Ouch! It’s tough. Thanks for sharing,@Lawfang. So happy your D has an acceptance she likes!

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How does Penn normally notify?

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Well here goes…D is Senior and has done her Junior and Senior years of High School online in order to pursue MT. Yes I have been judged for this and no I do not care :)- This process has been crazy to say the least and I was definitely NOT prepared. at all. I owe my D’s vocal coach because she literally coached us through this whole process. We have only had 1 rejection and 1 acceptance at this point. We still have 3 auditions to go, 2 this weekend and 1 in March. D has been academically accepted to most of the schools on the list AND NO ACADEMIC REJECTIONS SO FAR. To say that this process is competitive is an under statement. However I met some really genuine and interesting people in Chicago who were just as clueless as we were :)! D’s resume is full of credits and many supporting roles. D has never had a traditional “lead” but has had lots of stage time and solos. D has been taking dance (tap, jazz, hip hop, ballet, & modern) on and off since she was 4, but consecutively for the last 4 years. Vocal lessons since middle school and a private VC for the last 2 years. On paper she looks like a shoe in…LOL It is hard to make family and friends truly understand that there is a chance this does not happen for her. They all say she is great she will get in. They do not understand why we have to apply to so many schools or why we cant stay in state as we are from VA and the selection is limited. I appreciate these threads because we are mostly like minded here. We all just want what is best for our kids! I wish all of you the best and hope everyone finds their spot including my D!

On Campus Auditions:
Belmont University BFA MT (Jan 23)
Montclair University BFA MT (Feb 27)
Manhatten School of Music BFA MT (Feb 28)
Western Carolina U BFA MT (Mar 12)

Chicago Unifieds:
Hartt BFA MT
Ball State BFA MT
Point Park BFA MT
Cap21 BFA MT
U of Alabama Birmingham BFA MT
Drake University BFA MT
Dean College BA Theatre {Accepted w/ PA scholarship}
SCAD BFA Performing Arts
Temple BFA MT {Rejected}
Roosevelt CCPA BFA MT
Southern Methodist University BA Theater w/ minor in MT

Pre-screen Rejections:
University of Central Florida
Florida State University
Shenandoah (We found this to be odd since someone from their MT department contacted D and asked her to audition for their program)
Penn State
Texas State

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@HappyDancer98 How were you notified of the Penn State rejection? Im sure acceptances are on their way for you!

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@HappyDancer98 Hugs right back to you. R’s suck.

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D’s portal has not changed but she knows she’s not in. This is from a highly reliable source. So decisions have been made. Small class. 6/6 of 1300. Good luck everyone! Thank you @CTDramaMom and @mtgirl225! We needed the hugs and the good wishes. Yesterday was a hard day. Moving on …

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Aww, and thank you! How can they already have their 6/6 though…I would think some of those are probably being admitted elsewhere and still deciding.

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Has anyone heard of acceptances at Michigan, TCU, Texas State, CMU, FSU, Roosevelt, Ball State, NYU or Coastal ? When will those start coming in?

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I don’t think they’ve notified all 6. And, no one has to commit before May 1 so they don’t know who will be attending. D just knows she’s not among the 6. They said they chose 6 females (and I think 6 males) from 1300. I’m sure that 1300 was referring to male/female applicants. I wasn’t really paying attention to when she talked about the guys so not sure. I don’t think many have been notified at all, one way or another. Again, D’s portal hasn’t changed yet. Good luck to those who are waiting!

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I know of a boy who was accepted to Texas State. Yesterday or day before.

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Michigan and CMU notify everyone within a 1-2 day time period, no dribbling out of decisions. Michigan should happen in mid-March and CMU at the tail-end. I don’t know about the other schools on your list. There is a notification thread from last year that can provide some helpful info as to when notifications went out last year. It’s a good guide, although schools seem to change it up a bit from year-to-year.