As the college application season wraps up, ETHS theatre and music students are still scrambling to get their extra workload finished.
“We talk very generally about ‘get your applications in by November 1st’ for all students, but what a student who’s going into theater or music needs to do regarding the timing of their application is very specific,” Ms. Arey, the ETHS College and Career Coordinator, explained.
Colleges often set different or extra deadlines for students applying to schools for their theatre and music programs. Keeping track of those deadlines is only the first challenge of the application process.
“I feel like a lot of people don’t realize how hard it is,” said Mara Matthews, a senior at ETHS who has spent the last couple of months applying to different colleges’ theatre programs.
After applying to a college through the Common App, the college will send theatre and music students a link to their ‘Artist Profile.’ This profile is where students complete their second application to the college’s music or theatre program Here, they can schedule auditions and submit prescreens, extra supplemental essays and any other materials the application requires. The one exception is if a student applies to a conservatory; these are often separate from universities, and intended mainly for theatre students, although they sometimes offer joint majors as well. Conservatories’ applications are through their websites, not the Common App – yet another hurdle theatre and music students have to pass through.
Before students can audition for a school’s program, they have to submit a video of themselves performing for a prescreen. If they pass, only then will they be offered the chance to audition. Some colleges require students, like Matthews, to audition in person.
“I got a call back for New York University two days before I needed to go audition. So I had to miss school, fly out to New York, audition for NYU, and then come back home. It was like a day trip,” said Matthews.
Lucienne Juhnke, a senior at who just finished her music program applications, agrees that the process is challenging for students, especially economically. “If you don’t have the funds to travel all around the US, but you want to apply to a lot of schools, it’s hard to do that.”
Luckily, lots of schools offer alternatives for auditioning. For theatre, one of those opportunities is Chicago Unifieds. Dozens of colleges fill the Palmer House in downtown Chicago and hold auditions for local applicants who cannot travel very far. Music students are offered a similar opportunity through events called regionales.
Some colleges offer virtual auditions as an alternative solution to this problem.. Still,, auditioning in person is generally considered preferable by theatre and music students alike. Juhnke explained, “When you go in person, it’s easier to play face to face. You can also feel out the school’s environment more.”
She added, “Luckily you can apply online, that’s still an option, and you can still get accepted and get other opportunities by doing that.”
This is why Ms. Arey encourages students who can’t afford to travel to audition in person and can’t attend regionales or Unifieds to reach out to the college directly. “If a student really can’t finance the trip to go to an in-person audition, that’s where you really have to put yourself out there and be willing to engage with a school to ask those kinds of questions about finance and things like that.”
Another financial concern for many theatre and music students is the cost of scheduling an audition, especially on top of the college’s standard application fee. Matthews gave an example: “For NYU, I paid $90 for the application fee, and then I had to pay like $145 to schedule an audition.”
Preparing for the auditions themselves is another part of the process that many students find challenging. Most colleges have their own musical excerpts and auditions they require students to perform, meaning applicants have to prepare and memorize multiple sets of materials.
“I think it would make the process easier, especially for those applying to a lot of schools, if colleges could have their excerpts overlap, versus students having to learn different ones for every school,” said Juhnke.
Although ETHS currently doesn’t offer any individualized support for theatre and music students’ college application process, other local programs are available to those who can afford it.
“Me and a handful of people from ETHS theater do a program called Actors Training Center because they do a college clinic,” said Matthews. “It’s very expensive, but I did actually get the proper help I needed.” The clinic photographs headshots for students, films prescreens and virtual auditions, holds coaching sessions, and more.
Whether by Zoom or in person, the college application process for theatre and music applicants is nonetheless stressful. These selective programs are competitive and can quickly become pricey. However, the price and stress prove ultimately worthwhile, allowing students to pursue their dreams.
