<p>Does Shenandoah hold auditions at Unifieds in Chicago???</p>
<p>No. Unfortunately they only hold auditions on campus, for those who pass their pre-screening. We had to remove that school from D’s list because of that…can’t fit in the on-campus visit! Sounds like a wonderful program, and I really wish they would participate at Unifieds!</p>
<p>While it can make things easier and more convenient for families when a school is at Unifieds, I have to say that going TO Shenandoah was really what got us ‘hungry’ for the school and solidified our goal for us. From the awesome, friendly, helpful Conservatory students working the auditions to the inspirational faculty and administration who addressed us and gave us info sessions while the students auditioned— they all just really gave us THE best audition experience of our whole go 'round. I wouldn’t have changed a thing.
We did Unifieds in NYC and it was a. discouraging to see so many kids (and treated a little bit like taking a number at a deli counter) and b. impersonal.</p>
<p>While I agree it’s far more personal visiting each campus, it would cost us over $2000 per visit to do so, and D has far too many schools on her list to make this feasible. We are thousands of miles from every one of the programs she is considering. The joy of living in Alaska…we WILL plan a road trip over spring break to visit schools, but can’t see them all in such a short time. Since that will be AFTER auditions are over, we’ll focus on visiting the ones that haven’t yet rejected her by then!</p>
<p>That’s the beauty (I think) of the video prescreen. ShenCo went to doing video prescreens for the first time last year, and I really appreciated schools who did this. If you passed this first ‘cut’ at least you know they really were interested.
I understand the financial difficulties that all of these auditions can bring. It’s super important to get a good school list and prioritize.
My daughter passed a video prescreen for Univ. of Colorado @ Boulder and we had a HUGE family decision to make due to finances. Good luck to you!</p>