<p>I just got back from Chicago Unifieds where I auditioned for 10 different MT programs. I'm a little skeptical however, because out of those 10 auditions only once was I asked for a second monologue and worked on with it. Along with that, only about half those schools asked me questions, and they were short. A lot of the time they would just say "very nice voice" or "great job" and one told me I had "quite the instrument". I was just under the impression that if a school really liked you they would probably want to get to know you as much as possible in the audition. I know very well that I am not supposed to read anything into what the auditors do/say, it was just weird for me to not get a variety of different reactions like so many other kids did. I know none of my auditions were perfect, but they were a lot better than i expected them to be. I was also complimented multiple times by multiple people after i came out of a room about how good i sounded, which i took as a big compliment because there were a lot of other talented kids there that could be heard through the doors. I am just really freaking out way more than I should be and I just want to be reassured by someone that at least one school will hopefully want me!</p>
<p>See Post #5 from “Is is a bad thing to have the judges re-work your monologue during the audition?”</p>
<p>The Unifieds are the equivalent of a cattle call audition. They see hundreds of students in just a few days. In that type of setting it is very difficult to spend time with everyone. Do read the post mentioned above and do not dwell on this. </p>
<p>This next statement has nothing to do with you specifically, its just a general statement that I think ALL young people need to remember during this process and the rest of their lives.</p>
<p>Those who make it in this business are not necessarily the most successful right out of the gate. Usually the successful people are the ones who never give up, never stop re-evaluating themselves, and never blame others for the things that do not go their way. The most successful people in this world did not necessarily go to a specific university, in fact some are drop-outs or went to no-name schools: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckermann, 50 Cent, Bryan Adams, Ben Affleck, Woody Allen, Jennifer Aniston, and Peter Jennings all dropped out. In fact, there is an entire website devoted to college dropouts who are ridiculously successful - [The</a> College Dropouts Hall of Fame: Famous college dropouts, successful college dropouts, and rich college dropouts](<a href=“http://www.collegedropoutshalloffame.com/]The”>http://www.collegedropoutshalloffame.com/)</p>
<p>My point is not that you should drop out or not go to college, I actually think that would be a bad idea. However, I think high school students and parents overestimate the value of specific schools and college in general. College will not make you successful. What you do with the information you are given within the structured setting of a university system is what will make you successful. Are some programs better than others? Absolutely. Are those programs the famous programs? Not necessarily. There are wonderful faculty at many schools and if the students are willing to do the work and listen, they can succeed whether or not the school is one of the “Big schools”. If you can get into one of the top schools and afford to go there - AWESOME! If you don’t get in or can’t go, it is NOT a big deal. Try again next year. </p>
<p>Knowing your worst case scenario can often make people feel better, so here it is: Move to a big city, go to community college for your gen eds, and study at a top notch acting school and take lessons with a top notch teacher. If that is your worst case scenario you could actually end up spending less and learning more than going to a university. You could take:</p>
<p>Chekhov $240 for 12 weeks on Wednesday nights - [HB</a> Studio in New York](<a href=“http://www.hbstudio.org/]HB”>http://www.hbstudio.org/)</p>
<p>Improv $240 for 12 weeks on Sunday nights - [HB</a> Studio in New York](<a href=“http://www.hbstudio.org/]HB”>http://www.hbstudio.org/)</p>
<p>The Art of Musical Presentation $336 for 12 weeks on Mondays - [HB</a> Studio in New York](<a href=“http://www.hbstudio.org/]HB”>http://www.hbstudio.org/)</p>
<p>You could then take lessons with one of the best voice teachers in NYC for $120 a week and coach with a top notch person for around $80 every other week.</p>
<p>You could enroll in the professional dance training program at the Broadway Dance Center for $3,475 or pay per class per month at $428 per semester.</p>
<p>If you add all of this up, you’re looking at around:</p>
<p>$4,320 for voice lessons
$900 for vocal coachings
$2,448 for acting
$3,475 for dance</p>
<p>Total: $11,143</p>
<p>You could find an apartment with other actors for around $500 a month and pay your other expenses with another $500. Since you have no student loans and would still be covered by your parents insurance, you could pay all of your expenses for one entire year with around $23,143. If you earned $100 a night waiting tables 5 days a week you could pay the entire bill! That entire bill is way cheaper than tuition, room, and board at many universities. So your “worst case scenario” is actually not worse. You would end up spending more time in classes that apply to your craft than you would at most universities. I put together an extreme example, the reality is you could do a fraction of what I listed and end up learning a ton. But I wanted to show you what the equivalent of college tuition can pay for, and its pretty impressive.</p>
<p>Back to your audition: First of all, they could have loved you and did not want to spend anymore time with you because they were already behind schedule. Second, they may have really liked you, thought you were really talented, but had no spots left for your type this year. </p>
<p>There is no way to know and no benefit of trying to read into things and figure it out. If you do not get in to any of those schools, do not be bummed. Think outside of the box, create your own training program, and audition again next year. If this is what you really want, you can make it happen, it may just take a little extra hard work on your part. And if that’s the case, that makes you just like every other person on that list of Famous College Dropouts - and it would be hard to argue that any of them have it bad.</p>
<p>VT</p>
<p>^amen!!!</p>
<p>Thank you, VT. I let my daughter read your piece to put things in right perspective. Just completed a 7-college auditions and she had mixed reactions on her songs and monologue; she is consistently strong with her dancing. Despite of that, we try to remain positive through this whole experience, including being delayed in our flight back from Chicago to Honolulu and missing our flight back to Guam! Thus, it’s 7 college auditions, 5 hotels, 2 cities and 1 beach resort!</p>