Should I audition at the earliest date or wait more towards the middle of audition dates?
Ask this question of ten different people and you will get ten different answers. A lot depends on how many schools you plan to audition for and the logistics of getting them all in, your family resources, your senior year schedule commitments, anticipated weather patterns (Ha!) and the audition dates for the schools you are applying to. Many MT CCers feel that the early auditions should be used as “practice” for the later ones that really matter, to make you more polished/confident for the ones higher on your “list”. Others refuse to consider fall auditions because it interferes with senior year commitments. My S is a current MT junior at an audition BFA program. He chose to forgo his senior musical in order to get two “practice” auditions done in November. Those two programs turned out to be his top two choices when all was said and done after seven total auditions. He had the “security” of one acceptance and one wait list before the holidays, letting him go through the rest of the season knowing he would be in a good MT program no matter what happened in January/February. Unfortunately, due to unexpected higher-than traditional demand, some of the schools that used to give out November/December acceptances no longer do so (S’s first acceptance and current program is in that category). Given the current climate, my S thinks it’s a good idea to put the schools highest on your list in the middle of the season. It’s his belief that the earliest auditions are good practice and you may run the risk of being “forgotten” later in the season, while at end-of-season auditions you run the risk of faculty having chosen the bulk of their class and by then are only looking to fill in a few “holes” in type/gender/vocal range. If you have a highly desirable type, it probably doesn’t matter when you audition. This scenario fit my S’s and our family’s needs and expectations. Others will have totally different priorities. Do what feels comfortable to you and your support network.
Here’s a thread that doesn’t specifically address your question, but does show some insight into how people made their scheduling decisions. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1902016-auditions-p1.html
There are so many variables and possibilities in this process that trying to figure out “optimal” scheduling will probably do more harm than good. For example, you may catch a cold the day before your very-carefully-scheduled audition date at your favorite school, you may do a spur-of-the-moment walk-in a Unifieds for a school you have barely hear of and decide that is absolutely the best program for you, the department head may announce they are leaving in December, snow storms may disrupt your audition schedule, etc., etc.
Most people try to schedule auditions for the programs that they are most interested in somewhere in the middle of the “season” rather than in the fall or at the very last audition in the spring. Some people think that it is better to schedule auditions earlier rather than later for schools with rolling acceptances. In the long run, it may behoove you to just work out the audition sequence that works best with your senior year schedule and let the chips fall where they may.
We fell into the “get a couple practice lower ones early” category- and I liked it. BUT - with that said, the kid I know who had the most low stress audition season did his #1 school 1st (they had a Nov audition which would let you know a couple weeks later), rocked it, got in, and cancelled everything else. Goes to show you never know 
@toowonderful I am loving that scenario! Just sayin
Yes, so much better than having to wait for the fourth wave of Syracuse notifications.