The story begins: a thread for rising seniors

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
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<p>Hello, everyone!</p>

<p>I'm following lots of threads around CC, and I like how various groups of people who share grad years or interests or other characteristics, and their parents, had a place to check in and share stories and experiences. </p>

<p>Seeing the class of '10 through this past year has been inspirational, and we wish all of you the best of luck as you go along! Please keep in touch with us as you move into this next exciting phase!</p>

<p>Maybe we can introduce ourselves and start a general thread of interest and support for theater majors starting the application and audition process. </p>

<p>So here we are, almost May of jr year. My D is trucking along, doing a lot of thinking about the future, and trying to keep up with her academics, activities and social life. </p>

<p>We live in a small town in WI. She's always been a theater nut, has also been very involved in music and other arts. Bringing it all together in theater seems just right for her. She loves to act, hasn't had huge parts but is growing a lot. She enjoys backstage work, also. She's a good student, but doesn't have tippy-top stats.</p>

<p>She wants a BFA program within a liberal arts setting. She is OK with a good quality BA if that's how it works out. A general list of schools she's interested in, from visits and research, include BU, CMU, Syracuse, Adelphi, Montclair State, SUNY New Paltz, Bard, Sarah Lawrence, UMinn (BA, maybe BFA), UW Milwaukee, Columbia College Chicago. She prefers city access, but likes some smaller country schools. She doesn't want to be in Manhattan proper but is comfortable with Chicago and Boston.</p>

<p>She isn't in a show right now but is auditioning for summer musicals and plays. There are a lot of community productions where she can get experience and have a job to save for school. She had a competitive audition this weekend where she worked very hard and is proud of herself, even though she didn't get called back. She also won a distinction at our state music festival, in singing, so that was a high point. Auditions for her HS fall musical are in a couple of weeks, too. It's an exciting time! Lots of ups and downs ahead, for sure.</p>

<p>Anyone else want to join in?</p>

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<p>I would add Evansville to your list! I’m going there in the fall, and couldn’t be happier! If you have any questions about the audition and the school in general, please ask!</p>

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<p>Thank you! She’ll almost definitely be going to Chicago Unifieds, and could audition then. </p>

<p>We just saw her ACT results - I think she can put Vassar on her BA reach list! Need a few more points for Northwestern, a mega-reach. But she’s more interested in a BFA, so thanks for the tip!</p>

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<p>Great! Now maybe she won’t have to take the SAT II’s she was so worried about?!!! :)</p>

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<p>I’m glad you started this thread! I had noticed I seemed to be following you all over CC so now its official.</p>

<p>Congrats on your daughter’s singing honor!</p>

<p>My Junior D sounds very similar to yours in that she wants both academics and theater in one perfect package, whether its a BA with a strong theater program or a BFA with good academics. She’s a good, diligent student but not at the tippy-top, that’s for sure. It also sounds like both our Ds are kids who are happy to do anything related to theater, including backstage work, which I hope is an asset.</p>

<p>Most of her theater experience is at her school. She just finished the yearly Shakespeare production and has started rehearsals for a student-directed play. And they just finished auditions for next year’s shows. To my dismay she doesn’t do musicals anymore, sigh. While she is a singer and is in a couple vocal groups at school she prefers straight theater. She is really happy with the roles she got in the straight drama production and the Shakespeare. So nice to have that out of the way. Oh the drama when they are waiting for cast lists!</p>

<p>She will work as a counselor at a local kids summer theater program. She grew up in the program so its very cozy. She hopes to go to the 10 day University of Minnesota Guthrie program this summer but needs to get that application in! There’s also a one week program at a local theater she plans on doing later in the summer and she is hoping to get an apprenticeship at a local theater during the school year. And sleep. Somewhere in there. Its all very exciting and I am glad she has a good last year at home shaping up.</p>

<p>I hope more rising seniors and their parents will jump in. Already in a couple months I have learned so much here and know it will be helpful as I continue to support my D through this long (but not long enough!) year.</p>

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<p>This is nice - because when they’re applying and going through next year we can have an idea of who they are. We’re all such a big cheering section here! Even if they’re applying to the same schools, I don’t see them as competing, since the audition process is so much more complicated than that. Look at the results from this year - everyone had their own experience, their own needs, interests, variables. And many are going to the same schools and will be classmates. How cool is that?</p>

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<p>My 2011 daughter is anxious to get this next year in motion. Like the other two above, she is a good student, but not top test scores.</p>

<p>As of today, she wants to go to college in our home state of Texas, but she realizes that may not be feasible. Of the big three state universities (UT, A&M, and Tech), only Texas Tech offers a BFA in Acting. And it is by audition in the sophomore year.</p>

<p>Her favorites in state are TCU and Texas State, where she had nice departmental visits over the past few months. SMU, Sam Houston, and Baylor are also being considered at this point. I suspect her list will change as the audition season approaches.</p>

<p>Her summer plans are to audition for a production of Godspell, take a couple of college classes at the local community college, and hopefully attend a week-long audition prep class in Austin.</p>

<p>She has waffled considerably on which major to pursue. This time last year, she was sure she wanted a BFA in MT. But now she thinks BFA Acting is a better fit for her talents. In a perfect world, she would find a program that has a healthy dose of both disciplines, but doesn’t require advanced dancing ability.</p>

<p>The super competitive nature for Acting/MT majors is kinda scary for her and her parents. After reading many threads on this site for the past year, as well as visiting a few programs, I have come to believe the mantra that she will end up where she belongs. That’s kinda cheesy on the surface, but it’s starting to make sense to me.</p>

<p>Best of luck to everyone over the next year. I look forward to sharing the journey with all of you.</p>

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<p>Welcome arrdad and LeftofPisa! Best wishes for your kids as they close out the year.</p>

<p>My D LOVES MT, too, but also is sure she wants an Acting degree. When she’s visited schools where the emphasis seems to be more on MT, she feels uncomfortable. But she’s hoping to have the opportunity - which seems common virtually anywhere. </p>

<p>What I’ve learned through this forum is that if the kids are prepared and are themselves, things will fall into place. I’m grateful my D is willing to go to a BA program, because although I’d support her if she decided on BFA-or-bust and had to take a gap year to reapply, I think she’d be better off continuing becoming an educated person in general. I’m glad she feels the same way. And the MFA is always there.</p>

<p>SAT IIs - BU still wants them, no matter what the ACT/SAT score, and if she by any chance tries for Northwestern, they require 3. She says she’ll do it, so that’s that. Lots of testing in June, as she also wants to retake ACT to get a couple of sections up. Since she did this one pretty cold, she plans to do more focused studying for the next one.</p>

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<p>EmmyBet - I think you misread some information for Northwestern and their SATII requirements. Unless your daughter is interested in applying for the HPME or ISP programs or is home schooled, SATII tests are recommended, not required. Certainly 2 would be sufficient.</p>

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<p>Awesome!! That’s great! She figures she might as well take them - I respect that, not taking the “recommended” out, as much as she/we’d love to! - and only 2 would really be wonderful. Man, I scoured that site, must have been so ready for bad news that I blocked the info.</p>

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<p>" I have come to believe the mantra that she will end up where she belongs."</p>

<p>I completely agree arrdad.</p>

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<p>It is amazing how in reading the stories of the kids who have gone through this, that wisdom comes through over and over again. Even though I know there are many kids who had major disappointments, many of the things that “went wrong” seemed to be a lack of fit in the first place, for whatever reasons (including just plain lack of appreciation by the auditors! I can say that being on the kids’ side, right?). We here have no idea whatsoever about the kids’ talent or appearance or anything else, just the stories of their experience - yet it still mostly seems to make sense in the long run.</p>

<p>The best advice I’ve seen is to have a lot of options, a lot of realistic options. The only really sad stories are 1) too much cost and 2) didn’t get in anywhere. The first is just lousy and unfair. But the second one could usually have been prevented by applying to a broad range of schools. </p>

<p>I’m pretty open-minded about, and impressed by, kids who decide to transfer, or take a gap year and reapply. That shows amazing strength, and again shows that eventually they will end up where they belong. The scariest problem is thinking it all has to happen a certain way to be “right.” Lots of variables here.</p>

<p>This forum is amazingly helpful at showing all of the different options, pathways, points of view. This is not a linear process - people end up in theater from so many difference places and programs. The more knowledge we have, the more open our minds, and the better chance for a nice resolution.</p>

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<p>About Northwestern Subject Tests. I just copied this from their website.</p>

<p>Does Northwestern require results from SAT Subject Tests?
Northwestern recommends that all applicants take three SAT Subject Tests but requires scores from SAT Subject Tests only for applicants to the Honors Program in Medical Education (HPME), the Integrated Science Program (ISP), and applicants who have been educated at home. See the chart below for specific exam requirements.</p>

<p>This is of interest to me as well because my D really likes Northwestern and wants to try and position herself to have a shot there. She actually signed up to take a 3rd Subject test this go-round but doesn’t feel prepared for one of them so it looks like she will have to take it in the fall. I really wish all the testing could be finished this year!</p>

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<p>I stand corrected, just know that my daughter and many other Freshman at Northwestern only took 2 as most college only require 2 since the writing portion of the SAT has been added.</p>

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<p>Things seem to be changing year to year! And different schools have different requirements. We just got a mailing from NYU that they are changing their test policies for the fall. 2 does seem to be much more common and its good to know that kids did get in with two. I wish the schools would standardize “standardized” testing. Yeesh.</p>

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<p>Last night my D said she really doesn’t want to go to two of the safeties on her list. In particular, they were theater safeties, with the auditioned BFA option in the second year. Darn. She may change her mind, but she’s been kind of lukewarm about them anyway. What swung her is that people she knows will be there, and she feels the theater depts are too close-knit. One person she definitely does not like; the other two she likes, but I think the whole thing just makes her want to try someplace new.</p>

<p>She has two other safeties - an excellent BA in a large state school and a BA-with-BFA option at a medium-sized state school, both in great theater cities, so I guess this is fine. I don’t think she’ll worry so much about people she knows going there (because there will be), because there’s very little chance they’ll be in the theater dept. She likes places where there’s a “family” feeling, and I can see where some already set relationships could bother her. </p>

<p>But we’ll be looking for some more non-auditioned schools now, maybe a couple of low matches. I guess if I’m looking for advice, I should say what schools are and aren’t on the list now:</p>

<p>Off: Columbia College Chicago, Hofstra (both BA w/BFA option)
On: UMinn-Twin Cities (BA - might go for BFA, too, but the BA is the safety; she knows someone doing it who is very very happy); UW-Milwaukee (BA w/BFA option)</p>

<p>I’d love to hear about one or two more BAs w/BFA option. They don’t have to be in cities, but she does want to be within an hour of a city with things going on. Temple? I think that’s a lowish match for her now that we have the ACT score. I think I’ve read that the audition is for certain high-level acting classes only.</p>

<p>She does have some of the slightly easier audition schools, as well as some very selective ones. As a mom I’d really like to know that she has a few schools she can really depend on, and I think she’d like the choice of a little more excitement in her safeties than just the same-old instates (Minn basically is for us) that everyone goes to.</p>

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<p>Temple is one we are going to take a look at, as is Drew, although I can’t recall if either of them has a BFA option. Finding safeties our kids love is tricky.</p>

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<p>My daughter had several safeties at different levels of riskiness. Later, after she had been admitted to all of them, I wondered what we had been thinking. I suppose it was possible that one of these schools could have turned her down but, allowing for one strange exception, two safeties is really all you need and a school that you are fairly certain will accept you is a safety even if you really want to go there. I know the whole process is scary and an excess of caution seems advisable but save your slots for schools your daughter really likes.</p>

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<p>I cannot tell you what is a safety school for your daughter as that term is relative to each person’s qualifications and so it would be irresponsible for me to say what is or is not a safety. </p>

<p>But if you are looking at some BA non-audition schools that have a BFA Acting Track option by audition after a year or two…some possible ones might be (besides the ones you already mentioned):</p>

<p>Tulane
UC-Santa Barbara
University of Colorado-Boulder</p>

<p>I would not limit the non-audition BA schools to just ones that offer a BFA track later on. If looking at BA non-audition schools, what about:</p>

<p>Indiana University
Drew University
Muhlenberg College (optional audition)
Manhattanville (optional audition)
Sarah Lawrence
Rollins
Northeastern
Goucher
Skidmore College
College of Charleston (optional audition)
***I did not bother to mention much more selective BA schools.</p>

<p>Also, while I do not consider any audition-based programs to be sure bet safeties, you may wish to round out a list full of BFA programs with some BA by audition programs, as the odds generally are a little better. For example, Chapman University is a BA by audition but has a BFA Theater Performance option after the second and third years. They also have an option for a BFA in Screen Acting.</p>

<p>BA by audition schools without the BFA option might also include:</p>

<p>Emerson
Fordham
Penn State
Fairleigh Dickinson
Temple
American
James Madison</p>

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<p>Thank you for the thoughtful advice, everyone.</p>

<p>The number of schools to apply to is a puzzlement. I think theater/arts kids have 2 lists - the audition list and the non-audition list. So it’s not easy for them just to have 6-7 schools. So far she has about 6 auditioned and 6 non-auditioned (including ones where you can move into the auditioned program later). She’s also trying for geographical diversity, so even though she has 2 safeties that she’s happy with around here, she’d love another on the east coast. But she’s not comfortable looking all over the country; she’d like to go east to be near family as much as to be near “theater hubs.”</p>

<p>Soozie - thank you for the help. You’re right about where she is in terms of academic selectivity (probably based on my first post, but also now adding that she has her first ACT of 27). She does like Sarah Lawrence, and Bard. She talked to Goucher at a Colleges That Change Lives Fair, and it may go in when she’s putting together her non-auditioned BA list. She’s decided against Drew and Manhattanville so far - for her taste, she likes them a little quirkier. Skidmore is a possibility. These are more like matches, I think, which is great, and I do think she’ll have better luck than we’re fearing, yes. True safeties are hard to find, or even define. </p>

<p>Way crazy, this planning time. At least we’re finally near the starting gate, not just dreaming all the time any more. </p>

<p>I might start another thread about scheduling auditions for this gang. All the best advice says to try to have a few early on, at schools they’re not “dying” for, as practice. Easier said than done … I do have her promise that she’ll have all rolling and EA apps done ASAP, mid-Sept if possible. That way she can make use of some of the fall audition dates, especially at schools that don’t do Unifieds. So the trick is to find schools that 1) have rolling admissions or EA, 2) have an early, preferably fall, audition date, 3) aren’t her first choice, and 4) she can get into academically if they require that before allowing her to audition. Wow!</p>

<p>Actually I think that will work for her - we’re thinking of a trip in the fall to Adelphi and New Paltz, which fit all of those 4 criteria, maybe even a couple more when we’re out there. Hopefully we can schedule it between the school musical in October and the “Madrigals” season (a big deal for top singers at our school) in December. This is a dilemma I know most people will be dealing with, too. Tips are welcome! Good luck!</p>