<p>My son is going to attend the Unifieds and other auditions in New York at the end of January/beginning of February. We've run into a snag scheduling his Carnegie Mellon audition because there are only four sections for Acting and they are all marked "closed." By contrast, there are eight sections for MT, fourteen for design/production, and twelve for directing. There is still space in all those.</p>
<p>I called the admissions office and was told, "Oh, just check back every day."</p>
<p>We should have scheduled the audition earlier, and would have, except that I misunderstood the process. I thought CMU would send my son a unique CMU identification number to use, and we were waiting for it to come via e-mail. But it seems that it's just the Common App identification number that is needed, so we could have scheduled the audition weeks ago.</p>
<p>I really don't want to drive up to Pittsburgh for this audition, even though it's one of his top three schools.</p>
<p>Can you schedule an audition on campus just in case, then keep an eye out for an opening at Unifieds? (He couldn’t audition for MT and say he’s willing to do acting, could he?–I think they do that at CMU, but I could be wrong.) So frustrating…My S still has one school left to schedule, and I’m afraid he’s going to run into the same problem. Good luck, and keep us posted.</p>
<p>I would imagine that it’s fairly unlikely for a spot to open up for CMU. It’s a very popular, and much desired, school so I wouldn’t think that too many, if any, kids will change their minds about auditioning. Maybe if someone got an early acceptance to another school that was higher on their list. Now that I think of it, the year my D applied, many moons ago, she was applying to NYU ED. The only other app that had to be in and audition scheduled prior to when she was scheduled to hear from NYU was CMU. Her audition scheduled was at their regional date in NYC but it could have been at Unifieds. Her CMU audition was then cancelled when she got her Tisch acceptance so that spot opened up. </p>
<p>I think, though, if it’s one of your S’s top choices, you should speak to someone there about maybe scheduling an on-campus audition while waiting to see if a spot does become available. I wouldn’t just hope that one does and then possibly be very disappointed.</p>
<p>Sorry this has happened to you, but it’s a good lesson to future applicants who may read this thread. It’s why it’s always recommended that you schedule auditions as soon as the dates are posted. In our experience, by this point in December is usually late to be scheduling your auditions.</p>
<p>It’s always possible - my daughter went to their overnight prior to auditioning and disliked it so much she canceled her audition, so it does happen. I would do what they say and then about two weeks prior give them a call again.</p>
<p>I’m guessing something will open. Lots of people cancel auditions after an early acceptance or a change of heart, and some drop at the very last minute. D cancelled 3 auditions last year, just 2 weeks before unifieds. I do think they could do you the favor of keeping a waiting list and calling if someone cancels. You could ask about that. (You might get a more helpful person the next time you call.)</p>
<p>But–depending on how important CMU is to your son–no harm in scheduling one in Pittsburgh later on. No you don’t want to travel, and you probably won’t have to. But that way the chance will be there if it’s absolutely necessary.</p>
<p>Times3, I actually did sign him up for a Musical Theatre audition, just so he doesn’t get completely locked out! He’ll be annoyed if he has to dance, but he’s an excellent singer, so it will be OK if it comes to that. Meanwhile I’ll keep obsessively checking. It seems so odd that there were fewer acting slots than anything else.</p>
<p>My D has a slot at NYC Unifieds that we are in the process of cancelling since she was accepted into NYU Tisch. We are also cancelling 7 other auditions at NYC unifieds and I’m sure there are others like us who are cancelling now that they have their ED decisions. So I would agree you should keep checking every day over the next week or so.</p>
<p>Progress report: Nothing. I got a cryptic e-mail back from the admission office saying “Pay for your audition and you will be fine.” So we paid for the Music Theatre audition, and who knows what will happen next? I am sure the hardworking admissions staff members are off until January. No openings in the acting category have miraculously appeared online.</p>
<p>I will continue to update this cautionary tale…</p>
<p>Hmm…clearly someone has a future writing fortune cookies. I feel sure you will be fine…after all plenty of MT auditioners are offered Acting spots instead of MT. But some dark part of me feels the underside of the great BFA Oz is exposed here—pay, pay, pay, and the man behind the curtain will give you a turn.</p>
<p>Mmhmm. And don’t expect to see that audition fee again if you don’t go. I’m still waiting for my D’s promised refund from the 2002/2003 audition cycle! ;)</p>
<p>As I recall, Carnegie accepted walk-ins (with diminished priority-- meaning you had to be in the right place at the right time and could only go when they had a free slot) during the second day of Chicago Unifieds last year. It’s not unreasonable to believe they might repeat that if they’ve got unexpected openings, but it’d probably be worthwhile to schedule an audition on-campus in Pittsburgh just in case.</p>
<p>Good news, apparently all my son has to do when he arrives is to say that he’s there for acting, not musical theatre, and all will be well. Still, if you’re reading this next year, learn from our mistake and do not delay in scheduling the auditions!</p>
Her CMU audition was then cancelled when she got her Tisch acceptance so that spot opened up. </p>