<p>My D auditioned at BoCo yesterday, and for those of you that are interested, here are the numbers they gave us at the info session:</p>
<p>There were 776 MT applicants this year, 100+ more than last year;
They will accept between 140-160 in order to yield a class of 60;
At yesterday’s audition, it was fairly evenly split between boys and girls! I don’t know if this is true at all of the auditions, but I’d say it was about 60% girls to 40% boys. Nice to see.</p>
<p>Although the class size sounds large, they break these kids up into 4 or 5 “core” groups of 12 - 15 students who have classes together. </p>
<p>We fell in love with the program yesterday…and the dorm rooms are GORGEOUS! Seems like a fabulous school all around.</p>
<p>Caveat: someone who was at the audition on Saturday was told they accept 80 to yield 60…not sure which is right…this second number seems more realistic! But the 776 MT applicants is correct, and the class of around 60 is correct. :)</p>
<p>I would be surprised if they only accept 80 to yield 60 and when it was on my list I remember it being one of the schools that took a high number. In fact, I know a couple of people who were accepted there and nowhere else so I really wanted to apply but it’s just way too expensive. I could never afford to go and certainly not for all 4 years. Many kids apply here but then realize that they cannot pay for it so I doubt if the yield is actually that high.</p>
<p>They have 66 in this year’s freshman class. They also told us that they do give merit based scholarships, based on how well you do at the audition, in amounts ranging between $7,000/year and $22,000 per year. And, they have a robust work study program. One of the students there said he had 4 campus jobs.</p>
<p>My D did a lot of work study at BoCo. Some was office work, some with the Conservatory Cabaret, some tech stuff in the black box theatre. I don’t think any of it was onerous, she learned from everything she did, and she managed to fit everything in.</p>
<p>My daughter entered Boco in 2007 (their largest class ever) with about 74 freshmen. Their target during that time was 54 students. The problem was they sent out around 80 acceptances and shockingly almost everyone accepted admission. Now they make more use of the waitlist. So I can see 80 to yield 60 makes sense on the first pass, and given the economy and the cost of attendance, having to go deeper into the applicant pool. </p>
<p>Regarding work study: for our MT kids especially, picking up office and administrative skills via a work study job is a great benefit! My daughter is using everything she learned in work study in her admin position (aka survival job) in NYC.</p>
<p>BoCo was one of D’s top school last year and she was accepted for MT but was not offered any scholarship (despite our appeal and scholarships offered by other schools) - it made the decision easier for her to chose her other top school and no regrets. She really liked the dance program having attended the first Musical Theater Dance Intensive Program, Summer 2011. Good luck, monkey13.</p>
<p>My son has a good friend who is a freshman. We saw her last week and she is loving the program. Even though they accept a high number of students those small core groups work really well to make sure everyone gets the attention they need. She also loves her voice teacher.</p>
<p>monkey 13…consider this college is well over $60K/year after tuition/room/board/fees are added on AND that isn’t including transportation or FUN money. Even with the $22K scholarship potential that was stated, you are still looking at >$38K/year at a MINIMUM. The actual scholarships I heard about given in 2012 were MUCH LOWER and those to very talented kids. The point is, don’t believe what you hear until the offer is made in writing. It is typical for colleges to create “Financial Aid Packages” that count on the maximum Student Loan, a small scholarship…maybe, and make up the remainder in the form of a Parent Loan. If the parent doesn’t want to take on that kind of debt for their student, then the student is stuck.</p>
<p>It is for this reason that many students are forced to attend another school that fits their personal budget. Just keep your options open with other schools and what you CAN do at BoCo is ask them to match another school’s scholarship offer and they will do that if you provide a copy of the other offer in writing. Good luck!</p>
<p>My D loves every single college on her (long) list … and keep in mind that she has not been accepted to BoCo, she just loved it when there for the audition! If she has the fortune and luxury of deciding between 2 (or more) schools, money will certainly be a consideration. We want to send her to the school that is the best fit for her, and the one that she thinks will prepare her the best for the real world. But whatever that school is, we will do everything in our power to make it happen. At this point, I just want her to get in somewhere!</p>
<p>^^^I know exactly how you are feeling. Does she have any acceptances under her belt so far? If so, it takes the edge off of future auditions for sure. How many schools are on your Ds list? Is she doing any of the Unifieds??</p>
<p>She had 16 (I know, I know, it’s a lot). She got into Tulane for MT, and deferred from Emerson (she applied EA). She passed the prescreens at UMich, Indiana, Penn State and Steinhardt, and did not pass Otterbein’s prescreen. So, she’s doing 5 schools at Unifieds, and we are driving to two this weekend (Syracuse and Ithaca) and flying to the rest. But only one of her schools is truly a rolling admissions type of place (OCU), so we are probably going to have to wait until end of March before we really start hearing news. It’s going to be a looooong 6 weeks… :(</p>
<p>When my D was accepted to BOCO in 2005, I recall sitting at the presentation on audition day on campus and they stated the number they would accept to yield the number they needed and also stated how many applied and I recall my immediate reaction which was, “this school has a higher acceptance rate than all the other competitive BFA in MT programs my D applied to (even though it is still low, it was quite a bit higher than the others on her list).” Now, that could have changed since then but it sounds like what you were told was this same sort of thing. Still, it is obviously competitive to get into. My D got a scholarship there and I don’t recall the amount without looking it up, but she got more at some other schools. She went to NYU/Tisch.</p>
<p>soozievt, your D had some fabulous choices! And I know how successful she is now, so she probably made the right decision for her. I have no clue where mine will end up. I’m just happy that she has so many schools that she loves on her list…BoCo is just one of them. Just got my fingers crossed that she’ll get in somewhere. She would truly be ecstatic with any ONE of the schools she has applied to. If she gets into more than one, I don’t know how she’ll choose…</p>
<p>^^That is the best attitude to have going into this process. There is more than one school where a kid could be happy and thrive. Best not to focus on a single school. Hope to get into at least one. Having a choice would be great. Getting into a favorite is like a cherry on top. Your D has a LOT of schools on her list. I’m sure something will work out and the mystery is where that will be. My D only applied to 8!</p>
<p>Monkey 13
My D applied to 14, all audition schools. No safeties. After visiting 9 of the campuses all over these great United States, we could have knocked a few off that list because the feel just wasn’t right for her. Of the 6 that accepted her, she narrowed it down to two, Ball State and Elon, two very different schools in reality, but each having the BFA MT program components she desired within a liberal arts education and Honors College. She was not interested in a Conservatory setting, but did apply to CCM due to its reputation.</p>
<p>Since her audition for Elon was one of her latest and freshest in her mind, I bought her a plane ticket to Ball State for her Spring Break so she could revisit the school when it wasn’t raining, attend a show, some classes, and meet the other students to get a feel for fit. That trip changed her mind and life completely and she realized that Ball State was a perfect fit for her…despite herself. She hasn’t regretted her decision for one moment and is both challenged within her BFA MT program and within her Honors program.</p>
<p>Each of these performers is such a unique individual that what works for one, may not work at all for another. Best wishes for many acceptances and when the decision process comes you may benefit from sending your D to spend a weekend alone as she narrows down her choices. This can be money well spent in the long run.</p>