Applying for Visual/Performing Arts at Zoom University

Welcome back my couch potatoes! I hope you are all practicing social distancing and staying safe. I know this is all very frustrating for all of us but it's almost over so keep pushing. Use this time to do something you claim you never have time to do like read, cook, learn that thing, research this, watch that, exercise... just to name a few. Personally, I have been reading books that I bought from the book fair from like elementary school and middle school that I've never read (which are fast reads because I'm much older now lol) and learning things on guitar that I was supposed to be learning for the past 5 years (whoops). My little sister has been writing letters to her friends and baking (good for the fam) and my older siblings just sit on their computers doing nothing. It's because Missy and I don't have a Macbook, otherwise we would be doing the same thing as them.

I know many of us are going through struggles like not being able to see friends. Not being able to go  to a concert, a party, or on vacation. For upperclassman stressing bout prom and AP exams. And for Seniors, worrying about graduation, making the last moments of high school memorable, and picking a college... oh wait that's just me.

For me it's been difficult to choose which college I want to go to because I can't go visit them to see student life during a normal day or talk to the professors. Virtual decision days are not the same. And I definitely know it will be stressful for Juniors because you will probably have to do campus tours during the summer and fall of senior year if you haven't already gone to any. On the bright side, there are schools that will not be requiring SAT/ACT scores for your year of application and are even possibly adding a testing day in September.

And college is something I would like to talk to you, my couch potatoes about today. Even if you are a freshman it is never to early to start. You don't have to go into full depth but maybe start just looking at colleges you are thinking of applying to or what you could potentially major in. I will be talking more about the process for visual performing arts because there is much more to it than if you were to apply to be a biology major (and this is an entertainment blog so it just makes sense to center it around music, acting, dance and what not). However, I will still give some broader tips that can be useful for everyone. Also, I would like to say most of the things I learned to do research for college was from JBros so if you have any questions you can definitely ask her :)


First, I would like to point out that if you do not know what you want to study yet in college, like you are thinking that you will go in as undecided, consider going to CCM, the Community College of Morris. Many people think that it is the last place they want to go, but honestly, if you do not know what you want to do it is a cheaper option. You can attend CCM to figure out what you want to study, while getting the education that you will get from anywhere else you go, get your associates after two years and transfer. I personally think that is one of the best options if you do not know what you want to study.

But I definitely think you should start to think about what you would like to study. Personally you should find something that you know you would love to do, and what interests you as opposed to what will make you the most money. Because let's think about it, would you want to go study computer science and become a computer science engineer and hate to sit in front of a computer all day? Exactly. You don't want to be miserable. If you don't know where to start, take those tests about like future careers/jobs or whatever. I remember I took one like freshman year on Naviance or something but there are plenty on the internet.

Next I suggest that you look up colleges that have reputable programs for what you would like to study. you can jot down a few that you are interested and do research on them later. You can also use the college search on the College Board website. You can put in specific things that you want in a college like your major, housing, school activities, sports, location, size and much more. And consider looking at all of them, not just the big name schools.

The last thing I want to suggest that is for everyone before I get more specific, is to start the application early. Even if you do not know where to apply. Especially with the essay, do it in the summer after Junior year before your Senior year starts. You want it out of the way so you can focus on school work and have fun in the fall.

Now for those of you going to for any visual/performing arts, do your research early. Even if you are just considering it. If you are going for art art, you will most likely have to send in a portfolio so you want to be sure you are not cramming to finish everything before the deadline. But for all visual/performing arts, look up requirements from a few schools that you are thinking of applying. I made a spreadsheet of all of the requirements. See if you need to send in a prescreening, a portfolio, when the auditions are, what you need to do at the audition so you can prepare.

You want to prepare this stuff early so you have enough time to work and improve on it. For one of my auditions, I learned a song in two weeks which was a lot of work for me. It usually takes me a month to learn a song. And for me, I had to make a make a portfolio of 2-4 compositions for most schools. I remember I had to write one piece in about two weeks so I had to keep it simple. To be honest, my first piece I wrote took me a year to write so that was pretty impressive for me. But I was killing myself, doing the application process, learning new songs, writing new music, doing schoolwork, doing homeworking, and partaking in extra curriculars. Don't do that to your self. Do it early.

There was so much more work to do in this process that I did not know about. I personally thought it was just an audition and done but that is not always the case. It is important to keep track of what each school wants because you don't want to do more work than you have to. For all of my auditions except one I had two overlapping songs which was great. You also want to keep track when each audition is so you can account for their travel time if it is out of state and so you can figure out which auditions you can do live.

The average person would apply to about 3-5 colleges: a safety, a few target, and 1 or 2 reach schools. But if you are going into anything performing or visual arts, you want to apply to at least 7-10 schools because almost every school is a target to reach school, regardless of your grades. You have to be prepared for the the rejects that you might get. Every school potentially is a target to reach school so as a safety school, I would apply to 1 school that does not require an audition. but for me, I applied to 10 schools total: 1 not for music, 1 audition not required, 1 I didn't even complete, 1 dream/reach school, and the rest range from target to reach. In total I was accepted into 4, half of which I did the whole audition process and 1 I got wait listed for. For every school I was accepted because of my grades, but not all of them wanted me for music.

Last thing I want to say about whether you go into an audition or interview is relax. You got this. You've worked hard to get where you are. Somebody will want you. If you don't get accepted does not mean you are not talented. It just means you aren't what they are looking for. Remember, these schools are looking for potential, not perfection. They are looking for someone who is willing to learn and grow, not someone who is already there. If you are scared about the fact that you can't sing in your mix range, or don't have a vibrato, or you can't get that kick just right in the routine, work at it of course, but the people at your audition are experts. They understand that not everybody has the ability to do things, but they want to find the people who are willing to learn how to do those things.

Honestly, I hope the biggest take away from this to everyone is to start EARLY!!!!!!!!!

That's all for today couch potatoes. If you have any questions regarding the application process or audition process or anything in general don't be afraid to ask me. Until next time, look, listen, and lay low.

Images:
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hiro
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mike
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if I stay
rachel
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