@monkey13, i apologize, too–I flew of the handle too quick. I should have realized this was a generalization–anxious mother-hen reaction. About to head off to a pre-unified audition this morning. S is fine, I am sick with nerves, realizing his auditions will be over in four more days and we may well be the family with no offers! Still, it will all work out–I looked back at my own threads and saw that one of my first was about taking a year out, so there is always that option!
@claire74 I apologize for bringing up that remark about not getting any offers. I don’t mean to post stuff and make everyone more stressed then they already are.
Breathe deep, everyone. It’s really going to be okay. The kids may not get into their top choice…but they may. They may get 12 offers, or they may get none. But MOST kids get at least one offer (if their list is well-balanced), and if they don’t, a gap year can do wonders. In the scheme of things, it doesn’t matter. There are plenty of different roads to success. My feeling is, if you all have your health, the rest is all icing on the cake. These kids have their whole lives in front of them…they will figure it out. Break legs to all in Chicago and beyond.
My D goes to a private arts high school in which at least two college counselors were admissions officers in college MT programs. Here’s what they’ve had to say generally about the process:
- College MT programs are much like a repertory company. They are looking to build a cast that will not only represent the diversity of that college's community, but that will also establish or expand the school's footprint on Broadway and beyond. So other things equal, if you're an African-American female, you have a much better chance at admission than a blonde or brunette. Similarly. if a program with 30 girls already has six leggy blondes heading into next year, they might take a pass on admitting blondes this cycle. Stated another way, you can't control what you can't control.
- Different schools care about different things. NYU and Michigan want artistic citizens, while Wagner and Pace could give a crap about anyone's GPA or test scores. Some schools would like kids who have less of a ramp-up time for dance skills (Penn State is one of them).
- Someone suggested that kids should have more time to strut their stuff. I agree, but resource limitations make that impossible. If you were to give each kid 15 minutes and allocate seven hours in a day for auditions, with two dance calls and breaks in between, and two info sessions, you could only audition about 15 or so kids in a given day. If a school doesn't have prescreens and gets 800 applicants (as CCM did this season), that's 50-plus days of auditions, which isn't realistic.
- In the end, this is art and not science. Art is not objective. Someone who could be blown away by a song or monologue might think it's just middling because they're sick of hearing Sondheim and Shakespeare. My D didn't get past the prescreen at Ithaca, Syracuse and Penn State but did get past that stage at Michigan and Penn State. Go figure!
My D has auditioned for nine schools and has five more to go. She’ll submit an additional three auditions digitally. That’s a total of 18 schools. If she gets shut out, the market will have spoken and we’ll accept its judgment (as if we would have a choice!). She’ll likely go on to get a master in education and will take her passion for theatre to the classroom.
I wish everyone and their parents the greatest success in this process, but always remember that the more you know, the less you really know.
@Lawfang I like the way you put it “the market will have spoken” - that’s how we see it as well and we have a plan if she doesn’t get in any of the auditioned programs (and in our case that doesn’t include a gap year)
@Lawfang , I totally agree with #1. There was a post some time ago about molding one’s school list based on points you made.
This is the “quiet” time when you all make yourself crazy! Relax! My son is a junior MT and I have watched and posted here before and after these horrible auditions. The fact is, most of you will get your best offers in May-June when the waitlists shake out. There are 30 kids out there that everyone wants. Just the way it is. They will get multiple offers. When they decide, the wait lists will open up. Sure, it’s great to have one you like early so you feel great. But that may not happen. But there are people on this site who have gone to Michigan, CCM, Texas State, Otterbein, etc after getting the offer in June- with no other top offers!! There will be a couple of kids with no offers. I know some. But they applied to less than 5 schools! Trying to guess what they want or how they select can be fun. If it’s not fun for you, sign off this and come back when you get an acceptance to post. THAT will be fun! BAL to everyone. Your child has a passion and will find a way to make this work.
May-June? Yikes. How would one deal with making a decision by May 1 out of the cards you were dealt with, only then you come off waiting list? Just like anything else, will you weigh pros and cons (including losing deposit $)?
Know a girl who didn’t get in her top school, but had another option. Committed to that option, paid deposit, housing… got the call from her top school mid-July that they had a slot for her. She will be graduating from her top school in May. Anything can happen!
While there are kids every year who come off wait lists after May 1- I would say they represent a relatively small % of the BFA “class”. I have known more people who got an offer in mid-late April, and had to rush to decide. And just anecdotally - I think people waiting/hoping for a spot off a waitlist after May 1 have a deposit in somewhere else… you just have to think if you are willing to let that $$. And again anecdotally, I have known numerous people who get off waitlists- but have already mentally/emotionally “committed” to their deposit school - and don’t want to change
That was my daughter’s situation…she came off the waitlist of her #1 school but had emotionally committed to her safety. I had no problem letting go of the deposit monies, but she was/is happy with her choice of sticking with her new #1.
@Guppie: having dealt with being on 4 waitlists last year, I can say that it can be somewhat nerve-wracking (ok, maybe very nerve-wracking). In April you face not only the “Do we”/“Don’t we” dorm deposit issue, but early orientations sometimes start in April or early May, all your friends are wearing school sweatshirts, buying bedspreads and selecting roommates, etc., while there you sit wondering whether to do an initial commit to a bird-in-the-hand or wait until you hear back from your waitlisted schools (which are invariably your top-choice schools). This can be compounded by pressure from some theatre programs to commit prior to May 1 (not kosher under the NACAC Statement of Principles for Good Practice, but it happens every year). All this is compounded by the fact that not all waitlists are “cleared” by May 1; many stretch into the summer months.
I don’t think that there is simple, stock answer on how to handle waitlists, but thinking about possible scenarios ahead of time and then internalizing that maintaining flexibility along the way may help alleviate some anxiety. Some families do the “early commit to the bird-in-hand,” some do multiple housing deposits, some wait until May 1, some ask for extensions. We set an April 20 deadline for making an initial deposit and luckily d’s top-choice waitlist came through that day.
Note that you should never double-deposit for school academic acceptances, this is a big no-no (only housing deposits). You can however, easily cancel an acceptance and deposit to another school (but you may lose some money).
Regarding the practice of asking for a commitment prior to May 1, here is an excerpt from the NACAC SPGP regarding the May 1 deadline:
My daughter was on 2 waitlists, had 2 auditioned acceptances, but also went with her safety. She fell in love with it and has not looked back. She took herself of the waitlists as soon as she made her decision to go with her safety.
D got a “priority hold” from Texas State. Auditioned about 3 weeks ago. Any idea what this means in terms of being considered? Is this like a wait list where we don’t see any definite news until after April or is this something else?
Anyone have experience with this?Thanks.
@mtmcmt My son is at Texas State. Priority Hold means you are in the 40 or so students that made their final cut. The offers and wait lists will be chosen from the “priority holds”. After the last auditions (which are on the weekend of February 20-21) Kaitlin will select those she will give an offer to and who goes on the waitlist. This usually happens the last week of February - first week of March, but there is no set rule on this. Be proud! Your D made it to the next level and is in the pool of consideration.
@MTDadandProud
Thanks for that info! I’m glad to know this!
Congrats @mtmcmt! That’s great news!
@EmsDad - Thanks for posting the rules.I feel like I read this in earlier threads somewhere, but what did people tend to do when presented with a college which insisted on an earlier than May 1 “we need to know or we can’t hold the spot” date? And is there a thread anywhere which identifies any schools which did this last year?
My D auditioned for Texas State yesterday at Unifieds. She was VERY impressed! Sounds like everyone is thrilled with their program! We’ve never visited the campus. I guess we’ll plan a quick visit if we hear positive news! Appreciate any advice/opinions you have about TS!
I keep hearing about “Safety Schools”. Does that mean nonaudition? I’ve discovered CC late in the game. D auditioning for 10 schools, but now I’m realizing they are all tough ones! Made it thru prescreens, but still have a long way to go. All of your stories are encouraging! Thanks for sharing!