Visiting a School Before Unifieds

College Majors Musical Theater Major
1

<p>When my son was auditioning, we considered the unifieds a way to audition for schools we didn't have money/time to visit. One school at unifieds was added because he was ill on the day of his campus audition.</p>

<p>But a friend just told me of her daughter's visit to a school she will audition for at Unifieds in January. Not only did she get a feel for the campus, but she met and chatted with the key players on her tour...now I am thinking this could be a pretty good strategy. They have prior knowledge of her BEFORE her audition. In your opinion, will this be a huge advantage over the "unknowns" who are being seen quickly and in and done? Because of her busy senior year, she is doing the bulk of her auditioning at one unified week, so this "strategy" was not really calculated, but the thought is interesting...</p>

2

<p>We did the same thing as you in that we limited visits to local schools only because of the expense. My D did visit the one local school she was interested in, sat in on classes, and met a lot of the instructors. When she auditioned, she did not feel like it was really an advantage, although she felt a little more comfortable because she recognized students and teachers. She was accepted but does not feel it was due to her pre-visits. She did the LA Unifieds for her other auditions. She was accepted at to all but one school, and did not feel it was a disadvantage to be an “unknown”. She did end up visiting the one that she was really serious about after she was accepted and ended up there -way on the other side of the country. We did our research over the internet and phone and could not have visited all of the schools beforehand. Visiting might have ruled some schools out, but we decided it was more economical to only visit after acceptance. I know a lot of people visit every school they apply to before auditions, and that is great if you can do it, but I don’t think it is a disadvantage to wait.</p>

3

<p>My daughter has visited all the schools on her audition list except 1 (U of Oklahoma – too far and she would not know if she could audition there unless called back from Unifieds). Most of her auditions are on campus as well. We did this for a couple of reasons. One, when she was a sophomore/junior (when we did a lot of visits), she wast sure she wanted MT, but not positive about the type of program (big/small, city/not…) she wanted. Meeting with faculty and students, seeing classes, etc really helped her with the list – and we visited several schools that seemed perfect…until she set foot on campus. With a college visit, you’re just window shopping – no stress. Knowing that some of the schools moved to a “no” list saved application fees and stress, and helped her really focus on the “yes” schools. </p>

<p>We’re heading to campus as much as possible because kiddo is a very strong dancer, and wants to be able to have the full dance call, in a studio, rather than either none or a hotel ballroom (I hear that some of the schools at Unifieds do rent a local dance studio…). </p>

<p>Finally, she worked really hard on her final list to find the 9 schools out there that clicked for her – professors, program, academics, location, etc. Ask her, and she does not have a “favorite” or “if I don’t get into X school, I’ll die”. That’s been helpful in this crazy year (auditons #5 and 6 this weekend…). She continues to reiterate that she could see herself happily at any of the 9.</p>

<p>Yes, it involved a lot of travel and some expense, but in the long run, much cheaper than d finding out that she hated a school she thought (from viewbooks, talking to others, etc) would be a good fit. </p>

<p>However, I think each family has to do what’s right for them. Strongly defining schools, programs, etc was incredibly helpful for us (she had a “prescreening audition” for the colleges!) Did it make her instantly “known,” having met with the professors beforehand? Don’t think so at all. But it made her know what and why she chose that school for an audition. I’ve sat in the “mother room” at a few auditions and, as parents talk (and you realize who you’re going to be hanging out with at the next city!) have heard of kids scheduling upwards of 20 auditions without knowing about the school except for its name/reputation. When asked why X school is on the list, unable to really say except “I hear it’s a good school.” For my kiddo, there were certain criteria she insisted on (strong dance, interesting academic options/honors…) that helped focus the list. (And besides, the poor kid wrote enough application essays, and I paid enough in app fees with the 9!)</p>

<p>Now she’s making noises about visiting again after acceptance(s) arrive. I think that’s a good thing, too, as your view changes from “I wonder if this school might be a good one for me” to “I wonder how I will fit in here.”</p>

4

<p>Although we did not do unifieds, I would say that visiting the school beforehand will have little impact on the decision. The schools must select such a small number of students from the number that audition that many many kids who visit a campus will not get into a particular program.
We eithered visited each school or auditioned on campus, and this was important for DD. Some were ruled out immediately, but for the remaining schools that she was accepted to, having been on campus, meeting professors, talking to people… made selecting a school rather difficult. DD is very relationship oriented and when the selection process was turned around and she got to pick a school, she was very concerned about hurting people’s feelings.
Visiting was very helpful for DD because it did eliminate some schools from the picture, but I don’t think it had any impact on the outcome.</p>

5

<p>My D had visited some but not all of her schools before Unifieds. It really did not make a difference. And honestly, at, for example, Emerson, we never met anyone that she auditioned with at the tour, and got in. She never toured CMU before the audition, and got in. (Acting…) She did not tour UCLA or CalArts and was admitted to both. So I don’t see it as making a difference. AFTER she was admitted, we spent siginficant time with faculty, in classes visiting, for all her schools. The schools were great, took time to answer all her questions, give her accessibility. It was kinda like she was an athlete being recruited. Very cool. Then she was able to make a decision. So don’t fret. I think you are fine. Money is tight. Spend it on the education you kid is going to get.</p>

6

<p>Just to clarify, my son is already a freshman MT student…and did well at auditions without the benefit of pre-visits. It was just a “hmmm…” moment.</p>

7

<p>My D auditioned last year and, due to financial constraints, was only able to do three on campus auditions (two in our hometown). But she didn’t visit any of the campuses, BEFORE she auditioned. The remainder (5) were done at Unifieds and she never had laid eyes on the campuses. IMO, there was no difference in acceptances. Accepted for BA MT at one on campus audition and one BFA MT Unified audition; accepted for BFA theatre at one campus audition; waiting list for 2 other BFA MT programs from Unifieds. Ended up a mixed bag. I think campus visits are good for determining which schools are ultimately a good fit - but I don’t think it is necessary to visit before you get an acceptance in hand. We just couldn’t have afforded it.</p>

8

<p>My daughter and I have managed to visit a few schools that are within driving distance and most have let us meet with the Theatre and Dance department directors. So that has been great and made us feel special. But it seems to depend on the school and the availability of the faculty. Of course, not all can do that. But I do agree with keepingcalm that visiting has been helpful for us but won’t give my daughter an edge of getting in. I hope we have reason to visit after some acceptances!</p>