Unifieds 2008 - a question

<p>NotMamaRose: You are right. I am not sure what led me to that assumption. Florida State only conducts on site auditions. In MT, there are multiple dates. For acting, only a single date is designated.</p>

<p>No problem, briansteffy. I got very excited for a moment, thinking that I just missed FSU's listing on the Unifieds site, because I had looked it up before and noticed that everyone apparently has to audition in Tallahassee. I am sorry you were wrong. Would have made it possible for my kid to audition there.</p>

<p>I thought I'd heard that there's no real difference between auditioning at a regional site, like the Unifieds (or Syracuse's NYC center, I forget the name). But for some reason, after my D and I visited Ithaca and Syracuse last week, I got this gut feeling that auditioners might improve their chances by auditioning at the campus. Anyone have any experiences or opinions about that?</p>

<p>Does anyone have any suggestions on cheapest places to stay in NY for the Unifieds? Also, I have that some schools have walkins? A few of the schools I have contacted say you need at least 4 hours for each audition, which considerably cuts down on the number of schools you can audition for. I figure we could only get four schools in.</p>

<p>Since we have to apply at each individual school for an audition, what happens if we get two or more at approximately the same time? Are schools willing to change audition times? Juilliard for example requires that you not plan anything for the afternoon in case you get a call back. I hate to waste that precious time when my son could be auditioning for another school, especially since J is such a difficult school to get into and the odds are not great. But my son still seems to want to give it a try. We are going to the NY unifieds. Also, does anyone know approximately when it will end on Sunday, Feb. 3? We would like to make plans to return Sunday evening, but aren't sure when to make plane reservations back. With hotels being soooo expensive there, I don't want to stay more nights than necessary. He also wants to audition with Purchase, Webster, Otterbein, DePaul, North Carolina-Arts, and maybe BoCo although they don't seem to offer very good financial aid. I heard some schools allow walkin auditions. Anyone hear about those?</p>

<p>Some schools do offer walk-in auditions. Each school will have different regulations. At The Hartt School of the University of Hartford we require that you complete the application and fees (ON THE SPOT) in order to schedule a walk-in audition at the Unifieds. Walk-in auditions are VERY limited. I suggest following the regular application process if you would like to be sure you have an opportunity to audition for a school.</p>

<p>Which schools will be at Unifieds in Chicago for MT? I thought that I had heard that even though some of the schools who offer MT degrees will not be auditioning MT candidates. Is this true?</p>

<p>Also, I know before you audition, you must apply to your desired schools and notify them that you will be present at the Unifieds. But then will you just be auditioning in front of the reps from schools you contacted, or all the school reps but only those you contacted will be paying attention?</p>

<p>Thank you to anyone who can clarify for me!</p>

<p>Artesia -- sorry to be so tardy in responding to your question re: onsite auditions -- when D & I visited Syracuse pre-auditions, they suggested that it is indeed an advantage to audition on-campus. Reasons? 1. Less stress for the faculty, so they are more inclined to have a positive attitude. 2. Fewer students, especially at the earlier auditions -- so they're less likely to rush you through the audition. 3. Obviously, it gives you a chance to get a feel for the campus. You'll also have an opportunity to interact with students in the department, as well as possibly see a production, which can tell you a lot about a program.</p>

<p>It's a lot more time-consuming but personally I think it's worth the effort if you can swing it.</p>

<p>In fact -- my D significantly revised her "favorites" list after auditioning on-campus at all of her choices. There was definitely a difference between schools in the general atmosphere, comfort level, etc. -- which we would not have noticed at a unified audition.</p>

<p>^^My D also reordered some of her preferred schools after the visits/auditions on campus.</p>

<p>Artesia,</p>

<p>My daughter did the regional audition for Syracuse in NYC and was accepted as were a few of her friends from the NYC audition. If you have already seen the school, I don't think your odds are necessarily greater auditioning at that location. Syracuse spent a lot of time with my daughter at her audition and she never felt rushed or hurried at all in the process. She also did some unified an on-campus auditions and did pretty well. If you can't make the trip to the particular school and have to do the unifieds, I really think it's ok. My daughter is now attending a school that she was accepted at by auditioning at the unifieds so it worked out just fine in her case! Good luck! :)</p>

<p>If you search discussions on this forum, there are various pros/cons of attending Unifieds vs on campus auditions. But the one thing that is equal is the chance of admission. Students are admitted from Unifieds all the time, as well as from on campus auditions. If colleges didn't put as much stock into Unifieds, they would not bother holding auditions there. </p>

<p>My D did all on campus auditions but our reasons didn't have to do with any perceived acceptance advantage.</p>

<p>Does anyone know if need based merit/scholarship awards are in addition to financial aid? I am a little confused looking at the numbers on college board - they will give a figure for financial aid, then merit base/scholarship amounts. I am wondering if the merit aid is in addition to federal aid.</p>

<p>I do not know if it is too early, but I went ahead and made resevations for the Palmer House Hilton. We live within a three and a half hour drive from NYC, but decided to go to Chicago because we know that, at least last year, one of the programs we were interested in was at Chicago but not NYC.
My question is this. We will be there all 3 days. Is it too much to expect to audition for 8 schools? We plan to visit our two preferred schools, but given that we are applying to programs between Salt Lake City, Norman, OK, and the East Coast, we have to take advantage of the convenience afforded by Unifieds. Note, my S is applying to straight acting programs; perhaps the presuure is not as intense as compared to the MT students.</p>

<p>Brian, I will be interested in hearing the responses you get. My daughter is tentatively doing four schools at the NYC Unifieds, which is one down from her original plan. (Of course, her plans are still in a state of flux, with her essential list solidified but a few other schools going on and off of it!:)) One mom with whom I spoke about Unifieds and the number of schools which would be appropriate, etc. reminded me that if a kid is registered to do a great chunk of her/his schools on one Unifieds weekend and gets sick (God forbid), what then? Hopefully, it's not something that will happen, but you might want to plan for "worst case scenario." On the other hand, I am told by others that straight acting auditions, while intense and very competitive, might not be as time consuming as are MT auditions (with their usual three parts), so perhaps 8 would indeed be fine for your son. Another possibility might be attending both Chicago and NY Unifieds. I think at least one girl who used to post here (and is now at Indiana U) did that. You might want to noodle around this list and see if you can find what she posted. Good luck!</p>

<p>hcpss,</p>

<p>Each school is different. I would contact the admissions office at each school you are interested in to confirm the answers. </p>

<p>At The Hartt School of the University of Hartford our students are considered for the Talent/Merit awards, and as long as the FAFSA forms are filed by the deadline the student will also be considered for Financial Aid. The University of Hartford also allows students to put outside scholarships toward their accounts. Outside scholarships can even go toward room and board if the student is awarded with a full-tuition talent award. Check out <a href="http://www.fastweb.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.fastweb.com&lt;/a> for information on scholarships available to students throughout the nation.</p>

<p>I was just curious. With those involved in unifieds for some time, what happens when, in Feb., Chicago gets clobbered with a serious snowstorm? Surely, most university participants, and many students are flying. Do they reschedule or do all involved do what needs to be done to ensure that the show goes on?</p>

<p>To my knowledge.....Unifieds go on despite rain, snow, or sleet. :D In fact, one of the cons (though there are several PROS) of Unifieds is this issue, for anyone who has to travel very far to either NYC or Chicago in inclement weather with many auditions on one weekend.</p>

<p>Just reviving Unifieds thread. What's confusing you? I would love to know more. Is it reasonable to audition (acting only, but may also apply to MT) with 8 programs in the three days at Chicago? Do programs do callbacks at a time (say the next or same day) that may conflict with another prearranged audition? Is there kind of a natural order to the process since many of the same programs have been doing this for many years? I've read the previous threads re: unifieds. Thanks</p>

<p>I'd like to know the same thing. Some schools say they will send you the time, others tell you to pick a time. But what about the callbacks? If you audition in the morning for a school that may have a callback, do you have to keep that whole day free just in case?</p>