<p>Thanks for the thoughtful reply. My experiences with folks from Utah are overwhelmingly positive (I visit monthly on business). That LDS members comprise only 17% of the student population surprises me; however, the few colleagues I know that are Utes wanted a more broad experience than what you would find at BYU an hour south. </p>
<p>With 1st class skiing 30 mns away that also makes The U pretty attractive. With that written is there a prohibition on skiing for fear of injury?</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the insight here. I had a student do a walk-on at Unifieds and she had a really, really great experience with her audition and Utah very unexpectedly has, I believe, become one of her top choices.</p>
<p>I will admit I knew very little about this program before she did the audition. I’m curious, whenuwereyoung, what has you experience been like with the grouping of students into either “dancers who sing” or “singers who dance”? I also understand that Utah has a pretty strong acting program- can MTs elect to take more advanced acting classes through that program as upperclassmen (as I noticed that students receive consistent dance and vocal training all 4 years but receive acting as freshman, then move on to stagecraft, directing, etc)? Just curious! Thanks again :)</p>
<p>txtxyeha: There is no ban on skiing or snowboarding; outdoor sports are a big deal here. Just be careful, since classes are so physically demanding. It would be frustrating to break anything. </p>
<p>MTCoach: Not a problem! The singing/dancing track hasn’t been put into place yet. It’s one of the changes coming to the curriculum, and we won’t be put on tracks until the end of sophomore year. As of this year the only 3rd year acting class is through the Actor Training Program (ATP) and you can’t take it as an MT. Instead we have studio and audition techniques, which is where we apply what we’ve learned in freshman/sophomore acting.</p>
<p>I would email Denny Berry and ask her about what acting classes will be offered next year for junior and senior MTP students. We won’t know about the curriculum changes until April at the soonest.</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply! That gives me something to go on anyway. I did email Denny last week and haven’t heard anything back. I’m sure she’s got a lot going on with auditions and such, so maybe I’ll try again toward the end of the semester if I haven’t heard anything. Thanks again! :)</p>
<p>My D just got her acceptance email today! I did notice in the email that they “expect” an answer to the department by March 30th. Does anyone know how much they hold to that? We can not visit until April and want to see all offers before making any final decisions. This is in my D’s top 5 but obviously we don’t want to commit before we know all options.</p>
<p>@broadway95 - Its really a shame to hear about schools “expecting” answers by March 30 (I saw another recent example in a post asking for an answer by March 31). While it may be totally cynical on my part, this seems to me as obvious attempts to “game” the system by these schools in two ways:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If they collect responses by March 31, then on April 1 they can extend additional offers to fill turn-downs and be in line with other schools that don’t extend offers until April 1.</p></li>
<li><p>They can forestall an applicant waiting to see offers from other schools that wait until April 1 to extend those offers.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The March 30 and 31 dates are just too close to April 1 to be coincidental. I totally sympathsize with the complexity of this process for schools trying to fill their classes. However, obviously gaming the system against applicants seems to be outside the bounds of propriety. Why can’t they just say something like, “we extend offers early to help you know where you are in the process and minimize the dreaded “waitlist” and “priority hold” that you might see from other schools. We really would love to have you as part of our program and it would really help us in our process to build a great class to have a decision from you by March 30.”</p>
<p>I am not an expert, but you should be within your rights to call and say that you need to wait until after April 1 but you can comply with the commonly accepted deadline of May 1 to make your decision.</p>
<p>My son was accepted by Utah (BFA Acting) yesterday as well, and this is the second program he has been accepted into that requires a March 30 answer. I have heard that while the schools must adhere to the May 1 deadline, the departments do not always follow this. I also heard they are not supposed to but do it anyway. I contacted the other program and explained we just were not going to be able to respond by their deadline and was granted an extension of about a week. </p>
<p>As was explained to me, when a department has an early deadline, it means they do not over accept to get to their magic number. The first wave of acceptances are only the number of students they want in their program and they accept only as they receive declines…</p>
<p>It is frustrating on both ends, I can see the school’s issues but still, it is so hard on these kids to make such quick, gut decisions when they may not have all their school responses.</p>
<p>My D did email explaining why we would need an extension so hopefully we will get a positive response. She loved the faculty she met at Unifieds and it quickly jumped to the top tier of her list. I just have to believe all things will work out. I finally was able to breathe because there was an acceptance now I have to worry about making decisions before I have all the financial aid information and options.</p>
<p>If you factor in the possible complexities scholarship and fin aid offers that are not finalized, then these “early acceptance” demands are even more unreasonable.</p>
<p>I hate to say this, but an acceptance to a departmental offer is not binding, so you can always game the system yourself and accept an early demand and then rescind your acceptance based on offers that follow the conventionally accepted process. This seems terrible, but these departments are gaming the system, so …</p>
<p>We are facing the same dilemma. My son is interested but was waiting to visit and because of his spring show there is no way we will be able to go before March 30. We emailed to find out when financial aid/scholarship offerings were coming out as it is impossible to even consider without that information.</p>
<p>Here is what we were able to find out…departmental scholarships “might” be awarded but would not exceed $500 for out of state students. Nobody can say for sure when financial aid packages will be sent (or if they will arrive before there March 30 deadline). The MT program curriculum is definitely being revamped and will not be finalized prior to March 30. Request to notify on decision after an April visit to tour and see departmental Spring Awakening production not possible. Reason given was that the university had moved up all notification dates but I can’t find that in writing on the website. Bottom line is it sounds like the request for a commitment precedes having most if not all of the info necssary to make an informed decision.</p>
<p>So if no extensions I guess we will accept but possibly decline before May 1. We can’t possibly decide without any financial information. Or seeing the campus. I like the faculty but I don’t like this hard sell. If we can’t afford it we would have to decline anyway. I’m not sure what to do.</p>
<p>I would contact the academic admissions office and ask them their refund policy on deposits made before May 1. I would also ask them if they are aware that programs on campus as requiring students to make a decision before May 1, and are not offering to grant an extension to May 1 when asked. </p>
<p>Is the program requiring you to make a deposit to the university by March 30 or simply let them know if you will accept their offer in the class? In either instance they should offer you an extension until May 1 if you request it.</p>
<p>If they will not budge on the March 30 date you could accept your place in the class and then go back and change your decision at a later date once all your decisions and financial aid information is in. This happens to schools even after May 1 as students get off the waitlist at other schools on their list.</p>
<p>I am sure that schools asking for a commitment before May 1 are not trying to be difficult. They are just trying to figure out how to manage enrollment. It is very complicated.</p>
<p>At least by looking on the website, talking to admissions, and talking to the programs you will be able to get a full picture of what the options are.</p>
<p>If anyone has questions about the MT BFA program, PM me with your questions and email and I will answer that way. I am not able to PM apparently because I haven’t posted enough on CC, but anyway, my D attended fall semester, it was not for her and she has returned home. Good luck to everyone on their search/acceptances!!</p>
Thanks!</p>