<p>Welcome MTPapa! You are right that this site can be addicting but surely quite the resource, let alone a great way to connect with others involved in similar processes. </p>
<p>I'm in between both my kids' college drop offs and barely online but will try to reply to your post and will check back in a few days when I get back from the final drop off...</p>
<p>You asked for a ballpark number of schools that one should consider to apply for admission....</p>
<p>This is a tricky question. If you were asking about a college applicant who was not going for a BFA in MT....here is what I would have advised....</p>
<p>An applicant should have a balanced list of reach, match/ballpark, and safety schools. Depending on the level of the schools and selectivity, the total number of applications would vary. For some applicants, six schools might be enough...two reaches, two matches, two safeties. For students applying to the most selective or elite schools in the country (ie., Ivy Leagues, top 20 schools or liberal arts colleges), the odds of admission become a bit of a crapshoot and cannot be counted on even for the most qualified candidates, so for that sort of applicant, they might need MORE colleges on their list because of the odds. For instance, I have a daughter who was that type of applicant and she had 8 schools on her list: four reaches, two matches, and two safeties (not counting was offered a free ride at our state's university which she had not originally intended to apply to). For me, this was about the right amount and she could devote the requisite attention to each application. She is attending one of her reach schools. I would say that MOST candidates need not have more than 10 schools on their list. Even for the most elite schools, I cannot imagine anything over 12. I feel that 8 is about right. If the schools are less competitive, then six might do it. The balance of the list is what is needed. </p>
<p>Now, let's talk MT BFA applicants....ANOTHER situation all together. In my opinion, MOST of the BFA programs are reaches because the admit rates are so low (in most cases in the single digits) that they cannot be counted on even for the most talented or qualified applicants. In this scenario, you almost need MORE schools to increase the odds. But then one must self assess and get professional opinions from those in the field if the student is a reasonable and appropriate candidate for these schools. If so, I'd say about 8 schools should do it. That is how many BFA programs my own child applied to, and was similar in number to all of her theater friends, give or take one or two schools. What was unusual compared to a normal applicant to college, was that the list was NOT balanced and really all schools were difficult odds in terms of selectivity. I believe if the candidate is reasonably qualified for these selective schools, at least one should work out. This held true for my own child, as well as every friend she had who applied to these programs (these other kids were very STRONG candidates). Most had a choice of admittances. But for others, it would be important to add non audition schools and/or some of the least selective (but still selective) BFA programs to the list of very selective ones. </p>
<p>One thing about your interpretation of selectivity.....it really is NOT accurate. You cannot go by the quantity of kids accepted (size of program). In other words, a program with 15 kids in it is not necessarily more selective or harder to get into than one with 50 kids in it. What you MUST look at is the admit rate...the percentage of those who audition, who are accepted (also do NOT look at the YIELD which is how many slots they will fill because MOST programs accept more than the number of slots available because not everyone will accept the offer if they have more than one offer). So, you must look at the total number who applied/auditioned and how many they accepted and figure out the percentage which is considered the ADMIT RATE. For example, Syracuse's director said at the audition day that they would audition 400 kids for the MT BFA program, accept 40 to yield a class of 20. That is a 10% admit rate. Most of the selective programs have admit rates between 3-10%, no matter the total number of slots in the class. So, you need to go by that figure. </p>
<p>With regard to your question of which types are they looking for to fill slots in the class....no, they don't really let you know ahead of time (sorry) but they do try to create a balanced class because as you noted, these kids will be the ones filling their casts too. So, each class will need boys, girls, character actors, ingenues, sopranos, belters, and so forth. Therefore, if the class will have just 15 kids in it, your kid is not necessarily competing for any of these 15 slots. Maybe they will take 3 legit soprano ingenues and your D is one of those and so she is only vying for a couple of the openings. The only thing you may know ahead of time is something like...does this program value dance skills? Are they heavy on acting training? Do they have a reputation for preferring the legit soprano voice? Do they want triple threats? Do they care about academics? But other than knowing about a particular leaning of a program, you really do not know how many of any one type they want. Just know that many factors come into play.</p>
<p>Hope this helps. Back to packing my kid up....
Susan</p>
<p>PS, I agree with Dancersmom that when auditioning to get into college, it is impossible to do TOO many auditions in terms of travel/time. My child did 8 auditions on 8 college campuses which was a lot of travel in a short period of time (roughly two months). I suppose with Unifieds, more can be done but then it goes back to putting the requisite energy into each and every application, essay, and visit and to get to truly know each school enough to figure out where you want to be too.</p>