<p>Thank you DoctorJohn for pointing Jeremybeach and other newer posters in this year's admissions cycle to that lengthy discussion regarding the pros/cons of Unifieds. Most of these topics have had thorough discussion in past years and it is good for new posters to take a search as there is lots to be discovered. That discussion did indeed bring up what is advantageous and what is not about Unifieds vs. campus auditions. </p>
<p>But the one thing we do seem to know, as you also gave an example from your own college, is that the advantage/disadvantage is NOT tied to admissions chances. College programs accept from both the Unifieds and on campus auditions. The advantages/disadvantages are OTHER aspects of each audition experience, but not the acceptance rate odds as to where one auditions for a particular school.</p>
<p>Thank you so much - that is exactly the info. I needed. My D is finalizing her list, then we'll be ready to begin the application/audition process.</p>
<p>one last question. Maybe i'm under a false impression, but I keep seeing that most auditions at unified don't requirea dance component. Is this the norm? As in, if you are really good (or try to be) at acting, singing, but dancing is weak, and you go to unified auditions, do you have a better chance of admission?</p>
<p>I have never heard that there is a better chance of admissions at Unifieds than at on campus auditions. The reasons to pick WHERE to audition, either on campus or Unifieds, is based on other more logical reasons or benefits that differ between those two options, but not any greater or less chance of admissions, as it doesn't exist. Further, many schools require the same of auditioners whether on campus or at Unifieds in terms of what they are asked to do in the audition. Some schools require dance and some don't. But most require the same elements for their own school no matter where they hold the auditions. What you need to do is find out the audition requirements for ALL of your schools. You can ask at each if they differ as to what is required depending where you audition for them, but usually the requirements PER school don't differ no matter where you are seen by them. The requirements DO differ from college to college, however. By the way, many BFA programs require dance at Unifieds, but not all. Most who do dance on campus...also do at Unifieds, with some exceptions (such as Penn State for example in the past two years).</p>
<p>I was wondering what other schools hold their auditions in the Chicago Hilton beside the actual unified schools. Where would a student find NYU, Rutgers, CMU, Julliard, DePaul (on campus I assume :P), or Cal Arts?</p>
<p>I also wonder that. We are looking at the Chicago audition dates. When I go to the unified website, there seems to be fewer schools listed than past lists have indicated. I saw that Rutgers is auditioning in Chicago then, but they are not listed on the unified site. Does anyone know how to find out which schools will be in Chicago at Unifieds? And, are there other "group" auditions in Chicago at the same time?</p>
<p>GlimmeringRose and sarahlsmom, looking at the official Unifieds site, it would appear to be the usual group of schools participating. I don't think Rutgers has ever been a part of the Unified Auditions. The schools listed are the ones which will be at the Unifieds in 2008. Several others may be holding regional auditions around the same time as the actual Unified auditions, but they will not be listed on that website (as they are not part of the Unifieds!), and you will have to contact the schools in which you're interested to find out what the details are for their regional auditions.</p>
<p>We actually have added a couple of schools to the official Unified Auditions group. Cornish College of the Arts from Seattle and Viterbo University from Wisconsin are new in the last two years. To my knowledge, no one has dropped out. </p>
<p>As for the other schools who will be there, it's difficult to know in advance. That's because the Palmer House Hilton requires all of us to book rooms with them individually. The Unified schools have no way of knowing who else is making arrangements.</p>
<p>However, in 2005 I published a list of the schools who were in Chicago on the same dates. If schools were there in 2005, they're likely to be there in 2008. Almost all were at the Palmer House. Here's the list, slightly modified. I've marked the members of the Unified Auditions with an *:</p>
<p>American Academy of Dramatic Arts
American Conservatory Theatre (ACT)
American Repertory Theatre Institute (Harvard)
*Boston Conservatory
Boston U
Brandeis
Cal Arts
Carnegie Mellon
Chautauqua Schools
*Cincinnati (CCM)
*College of Santa Fe
*Cornish
DePaul
*Emerson
*Evansville
*Hartford (Hartt School)
Illinois
*Ithaca
Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts
*Miami
*Michigan
Minnesota
National Theatre Conservatory
North Carolina School of the Arts
*Northern Illinois
NYU (Tisch)
*Oklahoma
Old Globe Theatre in San Diego
*Otterbein
*Penn State
*Point Park (not there in 2005, but will be there in 2008)
*Roosevelt (not at the hotel, but their school is across the street)
Royal Scottish Academy for Music and Drama (RSAMD)
Rutgers
*SMU (Meadows School)
SUNY Purchase
Tennessee
UC Irvine
UCLA
UC San Diego
*University of the Arts (Philadelphia)
USC
*Utah
*Viterbo (not there in 2005, will be there in 2008)
Washington
*Webster
Yale</p>
<p>NOTES:
1. Juilliard was not there in 2005, but they usually are.
2. Several of these schools only audition graduate students: Harvard, Yale, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, among others.</p>
<p>I don't have time to do the research on individual websites to find out whether the non-Unified schools intend to come to Chicago this year, but someone certainly could. </p>
<p>Incidentally, in response to an earlier question, I have confirmed that all 21 of the Unified schools will be in NY, Chicago and Los Angeles.</p>
<p>Thanks! That is really helpful because most of the schools I'm auditioning for aren't participating in the "unifieds" but they will be in Chicago at the same time. It is nice to know that most of them will be at the same hotel...less running around!</p>
<p>DoctorJohn
Do you know why the Unifieds pulled out of San Francisco? All of the other tops schools (except CMU) will be in SF that weekend. Regrettably we Northern Californians will be forced to make cuts on our school lists, fly to LA or fly to the schools themselves. Surely there was enough talent in the northwest to warrant an audition day in the City by the Bay. Thanks for your thoughts.</p>
<p>actingmom - this is really, really unconfirmed at this point, but as a Seattle resident (and class of 08 MTer) I keep hearing talk of schools coming out to Seattle to audition this fall, with the possibility of creating a Unified stop in Seattle within the next couple years. This is entirely unconfirmed so take it with a grain of salt, but it could explain why SF isn't happening - maybe they're hoping to move farther northwest?</p>
<p>I'm pretty new to cc and have been reading these posts for the last several months. I really appreciate all the great information from those who have been there and those "in the know". thank you. I have a couple of questions.</p>
<p>My daughter wld like to audition at Unifieds in Chicago. I know someone asked earlier about who to contact to get the discount rate but I didn't see an answer. The hotel didn't know. Can anyone help?</p>
<p>Also, I'm wondering if March is still ok to do auditions. I know some schools offer these later dates but I'm getting the feeling from cc that it's best not to go that late. I don't know how you get it all done in Jan-Feb and still keep up your grades. Any advice?</p>
<p>First, you could cut down on the number of trips to fit into the schedule by going to Unifieds for some auditions which it sounds like you are planning to do. You also could do a couple in December, a chunk in Jan. and Feb. and maybe one in early March. </p>
<p>My daughter had 8 schools and did not go to Unifieds. She did one audition in December, three in Jan. , three in Feb. and one the first weekend in March. Two of the Jan. ones and two of the Feb. ones were combo trips on one weekend a piece. By the way, she was accepted to the school where she auditioned the first weekend in March (BOCO) and also at some schools where she auditioned on their final audition date. </p>
<p>I think if a school is bothering to offer particular audition dates, then they ARE considering candidates from all of those dates. I likely would not hesitate, therefore, to book an audition date on one of their last audition dates. Many schools don't accept any candidates until after all auditions are completed and thus when you audition does not matter. Some schools accept on a rolling basis as they go along, and also hold onto some candidates from early auditions until they have finished all their auditions. I suppose for schools that accept some on a rolling basis, you might not opt to audition on their last date but in general, for most schools, the date of the audition should not affect the outcome. There are a few schools (though this was NOT the case at any school my D auditioned at), who offer scholarships more toward the beginning of the cycle.....I've seen such reports of a few schools mentioned here who do that but again, scholarship offers were not contingent on when my D auditioned at any schools on her particular list and she was offered scholarships to all of them and was accepted at some where it was their last audition date offered, as well. </p>
<p>Space out your auditions accordingly. Consider Unifieds to cut down on some trips, particularly to schools you have already visited before now. It is a very full winter to be sure, balancing these trips with school and shows and training, etc. Everyone seems to make it through. You will too.</p>
<p>thanks for your advice soozie. It sounds like a sane approach. This weekend we're hoping to finish plotting out an auditioning schedule that that makes sense.</p>
<p>My S is looking at straight acting programs. In the case of Florida State, they go to unifieds for MT, but those auditioning for straight acting must come to campus - at least according to their web site. This surprised me.</p>