Who is Doing the Leg Work...

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
1

Okay, I need some help here. Who has done the work with looking at schools, audition requirements, understanding the process? Has it been the parent, child, or both?

I ask because I am struggling to find my role as a parent. My generation understands how to research and solve problems. Where to start basically. I kind of wonder if my D generation understands this skill. Please help and be honest.

I know a father whose S is a sophomore at Anderson University in the MT BFA program and he mentioned to me that he did a lot of leg work for his S…Is this normal?

2

@StewNChelle , I did a lot of research/leg work last summer and early fall, then I asked my D about what kind of auditions she would like to go to and then I passed on info about schools that I thought she would like. It was her responsibility to fill out the apps etc. If there were schools she was interested in that I had not researched, it was her job to research them. She had no interest at all in attending any unified auditions. She was in a community theatre show in the Fall and a school production and she competed in Forensics tournaments, so not a lot of time to do a lot of leg work-it should be said that her Father and I advised her to not be so involved so that she could focus on applying/auditioning but she chose to still be involved with everything. She did 2 auditions in the Fall and got accepted to both programs. She is waiting to hear from UNCSA (dream school). She has a little bit of regret that she did not attend more auditions but in the end I think she already has 2 great choices and if by some miracle she gets accepted to UNCSA, all will be right with the world. All in all I think a good compromise between parent and child is what is best!

3

Last year I did pretty much what @CMB625 did. Researched some schools and new we were doing NYC unifieds so I came up with a mock schedule My D did all apps and had spreadsheets as to each schools requirements. She also researched schools curriculum etc and came up with her list to apply to. I did some suggesting along the way. Lol.
This is a much larger process than just college applications. A team Approach seems to work for many. Good luck

4

My daughter’s a high school junior, but I’m the kind of person who LOVES doing research and she doesn’t. So during her freshman year, I started reading CC obsessively and researching college programs. She already knew she wanted a BFA, but at first she wanted MT, so I did a ton of research on MT programs. By sophomore year, she realized she wants BFA Acting (but will still apply to a few MT programs too), so I plunged back into research for acting programs. She did tell me the things that are most important to her in a program, so I had criteria to use. So by the beginning of junior year, I had a long list for her. I went over the list with her in detail and told her why I thought each one would be a good fit for her, and she agreed with my points and approved of the list.

So, in terms of research, it’s been all me (but with input from her about what she wants). However, SHE’S been busy reading plays and finding monologues, so she’s preparing on her end as well! She also knows which teachers she wants to ask for recommendations, and will do that in May or June. This summer she’ll write all the essays, and then in September (or whenever the applications open) she’ll do the applications (no doubt with lots of nagging and reminders from me!) I’ll be the one figuring out which audition dates work best and working out the travel and scheduling.

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@actorparent thanks for the feedback. Everyone. else thanks as well. I believe I’m following the same game plan. I think my daughter is overwhelmed and because of that doesn’t know where she needs to start or continue on her end. The preparation part.

My daughter appears to be focusing more on the acting and not specifically MT. She loves that but she thinks she needs that foundation. Or more so, wants that foundation.

@actorparent , would it be okay to PM you about a couple other thoughts. It sounds like we are in the same boat.

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I’m starting on the path with my third arts major. I have/had done much of the preliminary research (and building of the initial spreadsheet) for all three. The initial list serves as food for thought and we go from there.

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I was definitely the administrator of the process, but I too thrive on research and organization. My daughters were in musicals, had voice and dance classes and coaching, so I felt they were doing their part. They made the final choice of course, and both picked differently than I would have for them.

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@StewNChelle, sure, PM me!

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It’s normal. For my son - it was was a division of labor situation - we were a team and each did what we were good at.

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Let the student take on as much as they are capable of doing, but in the end, I think MOST parents will have to take charge in terms of -

Figuring out possible audition dates in the various locations and determining what schools to audition for on campus vs. at a Unifieds or other consolidated audition venue. This is a BIG job requiring the organizational skills of an adult brain that knows all the details that have to be considered, such as high school exams dates & other important commitments, how to make hotel reservations and keeping track of cancellation deadlines and following up as your travel schedule changes, figuring out airline schedules/airfares, etc, deciding whether to drive (keeping likely weather conditions in mind!), managing the student’s audition schedule so they have enough time to be well-prepared, knowing whether your student is the sort that can do 10 auditions over 4 days in tha row or if they would be best off doing one per day.

My daughter does not have strong organizational skills and I do. Like many on CC, I created spreadsheets to track important facts regarding each school. I had columns for school name, location, whether it was a BA or BFA program, application deadlines (Note, deadlines are sometimes different for auditioned programs than for other students, i.e. U Michigan! Your school guidance counselor likely won’t realize this!), specific reporting requirements (do they require ACT with writing or not, or do they require Subject Tests and how many?), specific audition requirements, dates and locations, what the application fee is and what the audition fee is (yes, there are often TWO fees per school on top of the cost to send every single test score!), whether study abroad is possible for BFA Acting students, etc.

Organize all this early and you can add/remove schools as needed. (I found myself referring to the scheudle all the time in order to plan family vacations & other activities to avoid possible audition conflicts.)

If the parent does not make sure all the above is organized, things may slip through the cracks, which can result in lost opportunity or money, i.e, you paid to apply to a school, and paid to send SOME scores, but did not all the required test results, etc so money wasted since they won’t consider application since it is incomplete. Fees add up to a LOT and sadly, due to the very low chances of successful application to most BFA programs, you have to apply to many schools to try to ensure that your student gets accepted somewhere they will be happy.

My daughter had plenty to do since she applied to 17 schools, with 11 auditions. She had to study for and take entrace exams, complete the common app, do supplemental essays for most of the schools, prepare audition material, including songs even though she is going for BFA Acting (some schools ask if you have a song, even though it is not specified on their website!), decide & prepare what to wear for each audition, keep HS grades strong and keep up with existing extracurriculars/community service, etc.

There is plenty of work to go around, and although I think I read on this message board that a student recently managed the entire process on her own, I personally find it mind boggling and extremely impressive that she was able to do so successfully!

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@LuvsLabs Fantastic information. Thanks. Everyone is helping me realize what I was thinking but needed some validation. It is a monumental task.

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I think it’s great for the kid to do as much research as he/she wants to. However, realistically, very few kids will be able to do this themselves. Indeed, it’s so complex there are many private counselors who offer services to help with the process.

Most kids simply do not have the life experience or skills experience to do a thorough search. There are too many components, & what usually happens when parents let their kids do everything, is that the kid applies to random schools he/she has happened to hear about in high school, on chat rooms, in camps. “Friend B is applying to Colleges C & D, and Online Friend Q is applying to programs F & A, and my high school drama teacher says I have to apply to College B and L! So those are the schools I’ll apply to!”–that’s usually how a student will approach the process. When pressed they may do ‘research’ which usually consists of glancing at a webpage, or looking at random online comments. Of course there are exceptions–very mature students who do this themselves.

But the majority just don’t have the experience. Heck, most parents don’t either!

So yes, there is nothing wrong at all with researching and helping. Where it goes overboard is when the parent does everything and doesn’t allow the kid to have a voice or stake in the process.

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Honestly, you will most likely do your own legwork, regardless of whether or not your D does. This process is a huge commitment of time and resources, and so much more involved than a typical college application. You need to know as much as she does. So don’t beat yourself up for doing your own research. I also think it’s important to assess the strength of counseling your child will get at school. If she is in a performing arts school, she will likely have a wealth of information available to her through staff, peers, and former students. Unfortunately, my D did not have these resources. She goes to a large parochial school with only one college counselor who has neither the time nor inclination to help performing-arts students find the right fit. She was on our her own. My D is applying for theater studies programs, rather than performance, but on the interviewing circuit, we found that students from performing arts high schools were infinitely more knowledgeable about the process and schools. So I felt that she was at a real disadvantage.

I suspect that if I hadn’t done my own research (mainly on CC), my daughter would have applied to one school. She visited one in the Spring of her Junior year and loved it. I had to provide the reality check. Students who have not seen friends go through this process have no idea how competitive it is. The more information you both have, the better off she will be in the end.

My D is very independent, but like most high school students, particularly in the performing arts, she’s too busy and under a lot of stress. She didn’t even want to discuss college. So, I did my own research and waited for the alarm bells to go off in her head. Once they did, I had a list of colleges for her to research. But that’s as far as I went until it was time to hand her the credit card to pay for her applications. All applications, essays, and correspondence were her responsibility.

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I’m a student currently going through the process. I did all my research on my own, applied to schools on my own, and did all the audition organization on my own. My parents helped me pay for apps. and booked lodging and place tickets for unifieds- but outside that I did everything. I can’t imagine my family being part of this, they’re not part of the arts at all, and would have an insane amount of research and catching up to do.

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@CourtneyTheater - Wow - take a well-deserved bow!!! =D>
(I mean that very sincerely - I hope it comes across that way!!)

I wish you all the best and hope you get into a BFA program you truly love!!!

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I did it all for my daughter except the monologue choices and the audition :slight_smile:

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@StewNChelle This is my third time and for the last two times (both boys) I found it VERY helpful to set up a separate “College” e-mail account we both have access to. All colleges, financial aid, scholarships,etc were given this e-mail and both myself and my child could see what was coming in whenever we wanted. I know several parents (some of MT majors) who are very nervous their child may not be organized enough to tend to all the e-mails or who have used multiple e-mails during the process. They are worried they are missing deadlines. Last year I helped my D with her OT program admissions and did the same, it worked very well. We would text each other to point out certain e-mails.

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@ANJALU, that’s a great idea. I wish I had thought to do that.

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My son, a junior, and I had a conversation about this last week while on a college visit. He very much wants to take responsibility for this process. I believe he will do a good job. However, as a parent with more life experiences and stronger organization skills, I realize he doesn’t fully understand all the tasks and how to organize them. For example, I know he’s thinking about the audition, and finishing his list, but there’s tasks having to do with letters of recommendation, travel plans, hotels, and the follow-up, confirmation of items received by college that he has never done before. Today I’m creating a “task list”, and then I will sit with him and we will decide who is the resource for each task. I know he needs to develop this skill, but he needs some “training”. It can’t just be stuff that’s held in one’s head, but rather a checklist by school that’s either using an application or spreadsheet.

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@DoinResearch, you might look at what program your son’s school is using and work within that structure. That way you’ll also know what tasks his school’s college counselor has assigned. My daughter’s school uses Naviance. When my son went through a similar process for voice programs, we had physical folders for each school. I created a standard checklist for each school and stapled it to the inside of each folder. As letters or brochures came in, we had a place to put everything. Also, he saved copies of any school-specific applications in the respective folders. When he went to each audition, he was able to pull the file and take it with him. This system worked really well for us because everything was readily available in one spot. Unfortunately, my daughter had no interest in this system. She is very independent and wanted to do everything herself, which is as it should be. But this process would flummox a professional organizer. In my opinion, it’s essential to have periodic meetings just to make sure nothing falls through the cracks.