Hey guys, I just published this criticism of the college audition process on The Odyssey. It is a realization that has slowly dawned on me over the last two years of auditioning for and attending a BFA MT program. Essentially, I loved the process when I was going through it, but in retrospect it seems unreasonably demanding (read: expensive) to the point of being elitist. After a recent in-class discussion about this (GO UARTS for letting us talk openly about these issues!!! I genuinely believe the people here are doing their absolute best to combat this), and an amazing article I read on the American Theater Magazine web site (I will link it below), I thought it was a necessary topic to breach with people who have been through the college audition process. Aside from CC where everyone is more or less anonymous, there is very little frank discussion of finances for artists or criticism of this arts education system that blatantly favors upper class students, even more so than in regular admissions. Actually, this is also the one place I’ve seen real complaints about the cost of auditioning for college. And I really appreciate that.
And here’s the article in American Theatre that partially inspired it: http://www.americantheatre.org/2017/01/24/how-to-make-it-as-a-poor-theatre-artist-in-new-york-city/
Great article:) I agree with you. Early in the audition process, my daughter got accepted into her “safety” school not far from home. After much thought, she decided to accept that offer and be done with this process. She wanted to enjoy her senior year and really did not see the point of going through all emotional turmoil of auditioning for a ton of schools. We were very open and honest with her about how much we were willing to pay for college. We did not want her nor us to have huge student loans after college. The college she will be attending is affordable and we will be able to pay without taking out loans. She is viewing college as her training time. If she chooses to move to NYU and give auditioning a try then she will be able to do so without debt. We will be able to help her since we will not have college debt. I will say that her goals are not focused on Broadway, although that dream exists. She loves to perform, but loves all aspects of theatre and will be happy just being in the industry in one way or the other. I honestly feel that she will get top notch training even at her lesser well known college. The staff and facilities are wonderful. . I am so thankful to be done with this process!! However, I am checking these boards periodically to see how everyone else is doing! It is hard not to get “caught up”. 
Thank you for sharing your heart!
@MTVT2015 - FYI, CC doesn’t allow many outside links posted ( you will notice yours for Odyssey was removed). But anyone can go to The Odyssey and search college audition process and the article you wrote will pop up.
Great article. I was having a very similar discussion with a couple people the other day. We didn’t go the “huge list of schools” route for a couple different reasons and I am eternally grateful to my D for understanding and being content with her choices!
OH my gosh…the truth is spoken!
Yes, sorry I didn’t know we couldn’t post links! If you’re interested in reading it, go to the odyssey online . com and search “why the college audition process is bull****” and it should come up.
Can you guys tell me how to access the The Odyssey? TIA!
@beachymom If you just google The Odyssey online it will pop up.
Just read it, very nice.
Good article.
Thanks guys!
My daughter came home and said she read a great article today on the Odyssey about what the college audition process sucks. Funny, I log on to CC and there you are :). Bravo and well said! I still don’t understand why this process doesn’t happen earlier in the year so students going this route don’t miss housing deadlines, etc. We did a much small version of the process than we originally thought and now we are getting close to a decision. I just feel for all of the families that are on waitlists or still waiting to hear from 12+ schools. It’s awful when all of the other “regular” seniors already have their schools, their room mates and their housing lined up and you are just waiting… There has to be a better way!
I agree with that @brightstaral especially about starting auditions earlier. There’s so much money at stake in college selection and this process has even more stress and anxiety on top of it with the two fold process.
I agree with the expense points and how yes it does take $ to travel to auditions & get someone to help you with material & if you are planning on hiring a coach, headshots, clothing and dance stuff if needed, having parents who do have work schedules that allow said travel, it’s a lot of $$ and we are not rich by any means. I’ve blocked out the last 6 months expenses to be honest!
That being said…I do love the fact that you can’t buy your way in to a college mt program. It’s you standing there in front of the auditors and at the end of the day if they don’t want you they don’t. You may have had more money for training then the girl next to you but if she has what they’re looking for …your money didn’t mean squat! So to all the kids out there who are madly talented & doing this on their own with little support and little money, I’m rooting for you :x
@brightstaral OH MY GOSH I love that!!! I’m so happy people are talking about it! Ahh!
On one hand, the process is a good test for your student: Are they really good enough? They could be a lot better than their peers in high school; however this gives the parents and the student a chance to see how they stack up against other students across the country. It’s a very competitive industry so if you are going to spend the money and major in this, it’s good to know if they have a reasonable chance to be successful. If they can’t handle the stress of the auditions etc… then they may not be cut out for this life.
On the other hand, it is totally elitist. The amount of money to pay for the college applications and then again the prescreen review fees is by itself a lot of money. Then traveling to schools is very costly. We went to two campus visits, sent one video audition in and had 7 auditions at the LA Unifieds which saved some money … but we spent thousands on this process. To top it off - the performance scholarships for schools out of state don’t get anywhere close to paying for the cost of the school. So unless you have a lot of money saved for college, your student or you will be in debt. That’s not even considering that to be at the level most schools are looking for - you have already spent a lot of money on dance lessons, voice training, etc… Something that is out of the question for economically challenged students. I find this a sad fact, but not sure how this can be changed unless our public school systems start investing more in the performing arts. My state is one of the worse for education funding - so there is no money available for the arts. To be poor and to make it into one of these programs is virtually impossible.
@japbmom I agree with you on all fronts. I am actually really wanting to start some sort of parent talk at my daughters summer theatre camp that she has attended for years about the process and offer my help in terms of just educating the kids and parents on what is involved as SO many kids in our area really have NO clue as to how insane it is AND how expensive. There needs to be more info on the school websites too as to the numbers of kids auditioning etc so you know that up front.
I will say also that yes, if your kid can’t handle the rejection of the college auditions then they may not be cut out for this business… however… a student who is 21 and has graduated from a college mt program has had 4 years to grow and mature. My D is 17 and one of the youngest in her class. She is still a teenager and will have grown so much much by the time she leaves college that even though you do have some idea of your child’s resilience , I feel like they will be much more equipped to handle things when older. But I will say this process has been a great way for her to experience rejection! Lol
I agree that the process can cost a lot of money, but I do want to say that as a single mom of five with a very low EFC from FAFSA, I’ve been able to navigate it with my kids. Although we live close to NYC so the cost of auditioning did not involve airfare.
Don’t get me wrong, I think this is a great point to bring up. I remember going to the Rutgers audition - this doesn’t have to do with the school itself but its process included everyone waiting all together in one room, so you did have a chance to look around. And there was this one group of kids from a lower-income public school in NJ whose devoted teacher had taken them all to the audition. I noticed them at first because their clothes were inappropriate to auditioning—jeans, torn sneakers, sweatshirts etc. And I remember thinking how unfair this process could be–clearly they had no idea what to wear and I wondered how much else they were unaware of, and if the schools took into account lack of knowledge. I mean, I’m sure no school is going to say, “We discriminate against a talented low income kid,” but it’s never that simple. An upper class kid will have had years of training/coaching that a lower class kid will not, and then there’s the actual expense of doing this whole thing as the OP points out.
However, I do have a few points–
First, the college application process in general is not fair. Period. Wealthier kids have a huge leg up on multiple levels. It is what it is.
Second, if you are on free and reduced lunch, you can get lots of the fees waived. If you have special circumstances, as well, it never hurts to ask the college.
But also, there are many ways to save money in this process, and not spend as much. For instance, I could not afford a coach, but several do offer scholarships (Mary Anna Denard, for example), and also there are many coaches who will work for a limited time with you. You say, “Here is my budget, I can only afford 4 sessions,” and they will work with you. You just have to do more legwork yourself, eg more research on which songs to use or which monologues. It’s possible to do this yourself, though, especially with such sites as these as a resource. Same for voice lessons–I hired a wonderful teacher, who worked with my kids on a limited run.
My kids didn’t go to pre-college programs either, as we couldn’t afford that. They did go to a really excellent camp that the local regional equity theatre offered, and got a great education that way, and great exposure.
As for the colleges themselves, that is stressful. The costs can be considerable, but there are indeed colleges that do offer sizable talent or need-based awards. My D did end up going to Northwestern for less than our in-state university, and she was offered a sizable talent grant from another school. Other colleges were not possible though because of expense. This is why it’s really really important to have reaches and matches financially. Ultimately, you can go to your in-state university and piece together a great MT education, as well, even if it doesn’t have a strong MT program–particularly with outside classes and the many excellent summer courses/internships/summer shows out there.
I hear folks about expenses, and lack of institutional support, and agree, but I disagree that you need to have spent a lot of money on dance lessons, voice training, etc. It is harder to not have money, but it is possible to be a successful applicant while economically disadvantaged, as we were. The biggest problem honestly is not lack of training; it’s lack of awareness of what’s required. A lower income person may not be plugged into all that’s needed. If you are plugged in, though, you can navigate around the process.
Truthfully if you hate the audition process for college or in college. you will not do well if you aspire to be a performer. Sometimes you can spend an entire day waiting and not get seen. Sometimes you get seen at 10 PM after waiting in a corridor in an unheated building on one of the coldest nights of the year. Sometimes you may get a gig to perform in a warehouse space when it is 102 degrees. Sometimes you will get a gig in a church basement in the theatre district in NYC and later that space is shut down by the Board of Health for mold issues. Sometimes you sign in for an audition at 7 AM and at 11:30 they close for lunch until 2 PM but guess what you cannot stay because you need to leave for your day job. Sometimes you come back for a 5:30 PM call but because your day job employer is running late you arrive at 5:32 and the door is closed, no admittance. These are real life stories from my d and her friends in the audition wars.
My point is not that my daughter hated the auditions, she loved them and really got into them as she went, I just mean she will handle the emotional back and forth rejection /acceptance thing better as an adult, having gained more experience .
Wow @ MTVT2015, great article and super important thread. Already in deep with Junior daughter and so much of the process is rubbing me the wrong way. It is way too slanted toward people with money which can certainly be antithetical to making wonderful art (whole other conversation there). Even though in the audition room talent wins out…it is still an insane amount of money just to participate, travel, prepare, apply etc.
This should be talked about more. In the end it isn’t really fair and not so sure how healthy it is for our theatre loving kids.
@theaterwork great point also in the amount of maturing between years 17 and 21. Crucial maturity. Ability to handle and process rejection is very different at these two stages and ages.
I am really letting this sink in. Too easy too get caught up in the race. Humanity and mental and emotional health first. Thank you for this!