Office of Admissions Blog

by Alex Jones, 1^st Year Dancer 

To my dearest prospective fellow students……..I never imagined I’d be writing something like this. Not so long ago, it was I sitting at that computer, dreaming, researching frantically, looking up YouTube videos of Juilliard dancers, reading blogs instead of doing homework, quickly changing the window back to Microsoft Word as my mom walked in so as to make her believe that I was actually doing something productive with my life. But now I’m here – exactly where I imagined myself being.

My name is Alex Jones and I’m now wrapping up my first semester as a dance major here. Here………..yeah. I’ve been asked to share my audition experience with you all. Hopefully it will shed some light on the situation you’re about to throw yourself into.

I came pretty close to not even auditioning for Juilliard. Why should I even try? Why waste a 50 dollar application fee on a school I’m not going to get into? Why build my hopes up just to be let down? Why do that to myself? I was pretty set on that idea, especially given that I had another program lined up for me already at home. But, well, you know how moms can be sometimes. And with some convincing from her and a mentor and teacher of mine, I finally gave in and sent my application.  

I had a relatively heavy dance schedule at the time. I was dancing at my arts high school, my ballet school, and rehearsing for two “Nutcrackers,” which rounded up to a solid forty hours a week of dancing. I used a solo that I had been familiar with for a year, so I felt quite ready on that front.  Due to my heavy schedule and partially due to my own stupidity, I also had a very injury-prone year. I, luckily, was at a brief moment of healthiness at the time of the Juilliard audition – between multiple severe muscular injuries in my left leg and a compression fracture in my upper spine. Call it fate, I guess.

The time leading up to my audition, however, was not nearly as mentally stressful as it was physically. I still had a rather pessimistic attitude going into my audition and was thus, not very nervous at all. I was going for the experience. I expected to get cut the first round, no matter how much preparation I’d done……and I had done a LOT of preparation. Even during the time when I couldn’t rehearse my solo full out, I spent a lot of time with my music – figuring out musicality, intention, and focus. So despite my injuries, I still felt prepared.

 I remember my audition day quite vividly, but I’ll keep it brief… 

San Francisco, my hometown. San Francisco Conservatory of Dance.  I’d never been there before. My mom giving me quick advice before I got out of the car. Me not listening. A lot of people (57), stretching and showing off how flexible they are in a nice big studio. Me in a corner, eating snacks and giving myself a pep-talk. Numbers: 17. A very small studio with no mirrors. Ballet class….simple and not too stressful except for Larry Rhodes , Risa Steinberg and Alphonse Poulin staring at you the whole time. Me falling out of a pique arabesque and swearing right in front of the camera that stands in an obscure corner of the studio. Modern.  Again, very simple. Me messing up a very simple rhythm and being out of order in line. First round of cuts – remember how I said I wasn’t nervous? Well I was now.  34  gone. When I heard Katie call “17” I felt like someone had just taken a two ton truck off my back. Solos. They make you stand in front of a camera and say some stuff. I mess that up too. They also flip the studio so you’re now facing the long direction, not the wide way. How am I supposed to travel? My ballet slipper flies off during my solo. Oops. Next cut. Nobody gets cut. Next round: coaching. A simple phrase taught by the lovely Risa Steinberg. That goes pretty well.  She gives some corrections and you repeat the phrase a few times. Last Cut. “How am I still here?” There are ten of us left for interviews. Of course, I now have to face the director of the program, Larry Rhodes. First question: How do you think you did?

Oh no……..

“Not too good. …..My shoe fell off.”

“Yes,” he says, looking up poignantly from his notes, “We took note of that.”

But aside from that one moment, I felt that the interview went pretty well.  It was, perhaps, the best part of the audition for me. I called my mom and told her the news. My acceptance call came about a month later, but that’s a whole other story.

Yet the truth is that not all of you who are reading this will get in. In fact, most of you probably won’t. That’s no big secret, it’s just the truth. You can’t control the outcome of your audition.  In my experience, you can’t really even control how well you do either. A lot of it is luck, or fate maybe. All you can do is try your best. Bring the best of you to the table and show it honestly, truthfully, sincerely.  Don’t try to change yourself for the sake of the program. They’re not looking for that.

And as far as advice goes…….I guess I’ll just say this. Keep an open mind. Don’t try to do stupid tricks after ballet class. Stay healthy. Listen to your parents and your teachers because they tend to be right, even when you don’t want them to be. Trust yourself, trust your training, trust your artistry. Don’t hope too hard, but also don’t be afraid to dream big – because if you don’t dream big, then there’s no use in dreaming at all….

But most of all, listen to the ads. Imagine yourself here. Because I’ve found that sometimes when you imagine something hard enough, it becomes real. 

Merde!

(good luck)

by Mary Chieffo, 1^st year actor

I spent much of my winter break last year in my garage with a punching bag, four monologues and endless trepidation.

When I returned to school in January, I entered full throttle rehearsals for the Spring Musical and review classes for first semester finals. I was, without a doubt, stressed to the max. I would go home after rehearsal and drill and drill my monologues – instead of counting sheep, I whispered the words of Antigone until my nerves finally gave way to a much needed slumber. I realized this was not a healthy way to function around the time I ripped a hole in the knee of my pajamas out of pure panic. That Friday I approached my drama teacher.

“Mr. Adell, I was wondering…well…I mean…I am really…struggling with…anxiety about…college auditions.”

Tears began to swell in my eyes.

“Sit down, let’s talk”

And we did, and my wonderfully insightful drama teacher reminded me that college does not define the entirety of my life or the overall value of my character. It will encompass much of the next four years, yes, but whether I become a success or failure is more dependent on what I do for myself within those four years wherever I end up physically. I decide what external forces can say about who I am as a person. If a school “rejects” me, that does not mean I am not worthy – it means that I am not the right fit for this particular year and class. So many incredible actors have auditioned for Juilliard Drama multiple times before they entered the program. I don’t think they let their first tries make them feel inferior enough to not try again.

My teacher also reminded me that the application and audition process are not a one-way street: the school is auditioning for you too. Maybe it isn’t the right fit for you right at this moment. Most importantly, my teacher made me realize that my audition was in the simplest way an opportunity to act in front of people who love and understand the profound beauty of theatre. What could be better?

So I decided to come in with the attitude that I indeed was auditioning Juilliard just as much as it was auditioning me. This mentality combined with the excessive amount of butterflies in my stomach morphed into a sort of false self-assuredness that could have been my demise had I not been exposed to the generosity of spirit emanating from Kathy Hood, Richard Feldman and Becky Guy at the beginning of my initial audition in San Francisco. They were everything I could have hoped for: from the moment the audition process began, I felt safe, appreciated, and at peace. Kathy was so gracious – she walked around the room shaking every single person’s hand, looking him or her in the eye, welcoming and acknowledging everyone for putting themselves out there. I fell in love with the program all over again.

It feels dangerous to fall in love with a program that you haven’t been admitted into yet doesn’t it? But there is something so exhilarating about knowing you would truly love to be a part of an institution because it appreciates all artists for their art as well as their humanity. This intrinsic sense of belonging and trust helped me reach a serene mindset I have experienced only once or twice before in my life: I would be satisfied with whatever happened that day because I knew I was going to give it my all and learn something in the process.

Because sure, eighteen people are selected out of thousands, but that still leaves eighteen spots to be filled – why shouldn’t you be one of them?

by Lee Cioppa, Associate Dean for Admissions

As I’m sure you all know by now, great ideas for your music-making can come from anywhere – your teacher (obvious), recordings, friends, hey – YouTube! and hopefully many seemingly far-flung places – paintings, a novel or biography, a snow fall…

When you are lucky, great ideas are handed to you on a platter.  In Juilliard’s case, a colleague at the Eastman School of Music’s Admissions Office wrote two wonderful blogs on audition preparation.  I’ve done some blogs on this (see February 2010), and if you go back into our archives you’ll see a lot of wonderful advice from students, alumni and faculty about auditioning.  But these blogs have some great, very practical tips – my favorite is to jog up some stairs to elevate your heart-rate and get short of breath, to mimic how you might feel when very nervous!

Many thanks, Christina Crispin – and to all of our music applicants, here you go, on platter!

http://www.esm.rochester.edu/admissions/blog/

by Max Woertendyke, 1^st year Actor 

Just over a year ago I woke up early, took a shower, got dressed, packed my lunch, shoveled the walk (it had snowed terribly the night before), and headed into the still cold morning to my audition for Juilliard’s drama division. 

I had been gearing up for this over the past month, and as I rode the subway up to Lincoln Center, I did my best not to let my nerves get the best of me.  I had worked hard on the monologues and song I needed for my audition and I felt confident in my preparedness.  None the less, it was impossible to not feel a little anxious; I found myself scoping out other commuters on the train trying to guess whether they too might be headed in the same direction as me.

Upon arriving and signing in, I was ushered to the 3^rd floor, where I was dropped off in what can’t be described as anything other than a holding pen.  There were about 100 of us in the room.  A room down the hall held about another 100 hopefuls.  A strange nervous, excited energy permeated the rooms – some people were goofing off and performing for anyone who would listen, some were running through their monologues in harsh whispers, others sat quietly and seemed to be working on staying focused and relaxed.  Current Juilliard students were there to answer any questions we might have – both about the school and the audition process – and I have to say that despite the odd energy coming from the auditioners (myself included) I was immediately struck by the warmth of current students.  I had expected them to regard me with a kind of suspicion and superiority, a kind of “So…you really think you can get into Juilliard…?” mentality.  What I found instead was an incredible openness and generosity of spirit.  I felt welcomed and encouraged.  It was the attitude of these students (along with the faculty) that helped make my day such a good first experience at Juilliard. 

The morning ticked by slowly – I was one of the very last people to go.  When my turn came, I walked into a room that I now know like the back of my hand, but then it was just a huge, daunting, white room, with four people sitting behind a table at the far end, including Richard Feldman, the associate director of the division.  I won’t lie.  Standing there, I was nervous.  It felt like this was the moment of truth, and I didn’t want to disappoint myself with a less-than-stellar audition.  I took a deep breath, gathered my focus and dived into my monologues and song.  And that was it.  My audition was over.

The next two hours, waiting for the afternoon call-back list to go up, were the slowest and most stressful of the whole day.  My monologues had gone well, but I couldn’t say they were a sure thing; I was hopeful, but not certain.  When the list did eventually go up, I took a deep breath, walked down the hallway and scrolled down the list of names.  At the very end, in alphabetical order, was my name.  I had made it to the second half of the afternoon.  The hardest part of the day was over.

The second half of the day was less nerve-wracking but proved to be an exercise in patience and perseverance.  A lot of the pressure to prove that I was good enough had been lifted and I was able to have more fun, but there were a lot of hours of auditioning to go before the day was done.  One by one we did our audition pieces in front of the entire faculty – about twenty-five people or so.  We were asked to write a short essay about a creative experience, and fill out some paper work.  We had group game time, where we played theater games, improv games, did movement and vocal exercises.  And between it all we waited: we talked to each other about our audition and where we were coming from, we talked to current students about what they liked most and least about the program, some people took short naps on the benches in the hallway to rejuvenate themselves.  We alternated between auditioning and waiting for a few hours until a second cut was made.  Of the twenty people that had been carried through from the morning auditions, about ten of us were asked to stay for interviews.  We were told that being cut at this didn’t necessarily mean you wouldn’t be invited back for the Final 40 weekend – but I was happy and relieved when they asked me to stay.  I waited some more, trying to fight off the headache that was beginning to develop, and finally around 10:30pm I walked into the head of the division, Jim Houghton’s office. We chatted for fifteen, twenty minutes about why I wanted to go back to school, what my audition experience had been like, about Abe Lincoln and Tony Kushner. 

After my interview, almost fifteen hours after I had first arrived at the building, my audition had finally come to an end.  I grabbed my stuff, said goodbye to the faculty and friends I had met over the course of the day, and started home.  It had been a marathon.  I was exhausted, but I had loved it.  I had felt so comfortable in the hallways of Juilliard.  I had felt at home, and I was hopeful that I would be invited back to the callback weekend, which would make this first audition day seem short in comparison.  I had had a great day…and now all there was left to do, was wait some more.

by Tina Gonzalez, Director of Financial Aid

Now that your application has been submitted, it’s time to start thinking about financial aid.  Most students are unable to afford the cost of college without some form of financing, and Juilliard students are no different.  In fact, about 90% of our students receive some form of financial aid, and almost 80% are receiving scholarship assistance. 

Here are a few key points to keep in mind during the next few months: 

Scholarship awards at Juilliard are based on a combination of financial need and merit.  This means that if you want to be considered for scholarship, you must complete the full application. Due to the School’s high level of selectivity, we do not offer merit scholarship.  We encourage you to apply even if you think you won’t qualify for need-based aid.  Although assisting students with need is our top priority, other factors also plays a role in our decision-making.

Financial Aid applications will be available in January 2012.  The Financial Aid application may be submitted online through a separate link on the Admissions Application homepage. We strongly encourage students to use this application method. A PDF will also be available on our website. 

U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents will also need to complete the FAFSA, using their most recent tax information.  NEW THIS YEAR: Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool when filing your FAFSA to save time and reduce errors.

Finally, we require copies of the student and parent 2011 tax returns (or 2010 if 2011 is not available). International students must send official documentation of their parent’s salaries, such as a tax form or letter from their employer(s). 

The deadline to apply is March 1, 2012.  It is extremely important to apply on time to be considered for all available funding!   

Use the Net Price Calculator to estimate your potential financing options.  Beginning fall 2011, all colleges are required to include this tool on their websites. While this does not represent a guarantee of a scholarship offer, it may assist you in your college planning. 

Visit our website for additional information.  We especially recommend our frequently asked questions (FAQ) page and Facebook page.  If you still have questions or wish to discuss your specific situation in detail, we encourage you to contact our office and speak with a counselor.  We’re here to help!

by Lee Cioppa, Associate Dean for Admissions

Here we are again, just before Thanksgiving weekend – which means, of course, that this is the last weekend before Juilliard’s application deadline.  It’s always a curious time in college admissions – those few days before a deadline when application numbers start creeping up – and then astonishingly explode!  Although our offices are closed and all uf us really need these vacation days before the deadline, I always find myself logging on to our online application from home over Thanksgiving – just to have the fun of hitting “refresh” and watching the application numbers go up.

There are a number of things that we are watching carefully this year regarding our applicants – certainly, what our application numbers will be for our new M.F.A. in Acting is a big unknown.  It’s also our first year with a “received-by” deadline – which we discovered (painfully) with our first deadline of November 1 for our Opera Studies program seems to be a surprise to a lot of folks – despite it being all over our web site and application materials!  It is a big change, and in fact we are sorting out lots of administrative issues on our side as well.  We have to go through mail in a very different way – not sorting by a postmark, but by when it actually arrived at the School.  Rather than anticipating dozens of bins of mail a few days after December 1, it’s (hopefully) going to hit early next week. And then, of course, our applicants are very eager to confirm the arrival of their materials by the deadline – which will be tough for us to do because of the sheer volume of mail and time it will take to simply open envelopes.

All of that being said, these changes are very exciting – new programs and new processes, new applicants and eventually new students!  I hope that all of you reading this who are applying this year are going to get a lot done this weekend on your applications – it’s the perfect few days to wrap everything up and beat the deadline without any last minute stress.  I’ll be doing a lot of napping and yoga, in anticipation of all of your applications – and, of course, hitting “refresh” on the online application every once in a while!

by Luci Rosa, Assistant Director

Hello Prospective Students for Fall 2012!

What should you be doing this month?  

RESEARCH! RESEARCH! RESEARCH!

What to be looking for:

• Faculty Bios @ www.juilliard.edu/about/faculty/index.php
• Application Deadlines
• Pre-Screening Procedures
• Required Repertoire
• Standardized Tests @ www.juilliard.edu/apply/program-information/index.php
• Check out our FAQ’s @ www.juilliard.edu/apply/faq.php

You should be:

1. Passionate about applying
2. Disciplined in organizing your research
3. Motivated to provide your best work
4. Confident that you have completed all the necessary requirements.

And finally…IMAGINE  YOURSELF  AT  JUILLIARD!

Good luck on your application process,

Luci

by Mónia C. Estima (aka “Mony”), Associate Director of Admissions

It doesn’t, really, but I’m on a Harry Potter kick for this blog. Anyway, chiming in on our “What’s New for 2012” series, I write today about our new “received by” deadline policy and its implications for our applicants.

How do you know what to submit and when things are due? My colleague, Katie Friis, and I slaved over our cauldrons this summer to provide concise checklists and application information for you on Juilliard’s Web site – please click here to learn what’s what and when it’s all due.

What do we mean by a “received by” deadline? We mean that the application, application fee, and supporting materials must be received by the Office of Admissions at Juilliard BEFORE or ON that deadline. If materials are received by Admissions AFTER the appropriate deadlines, then they are LATE.

Let’s look at the online application itself. What you submit online must also be received by the corresponding deadlines and, generally, Juilliard does not accept late applications. Why? Because, after 11:59pm on the day of a deadline, the application will disappear faster than Professor Snape can snipe, “Evanesco!” And it won’t come back no matter how loudly you cry, “Accio application!”

Another thing about submitting your application – be sure you actually submitted your application. Submission of the application occurs over several steps. (In the past, some folks thought that once they submitted credit card information, they were all set. In fact, they were not.) And if you’re paying your application fee by check, or if you’re a high school senior submitting documentation to request a fee waiver, these also must be “received by” the appropriate deadline.

What happens if your application materials are late? We send you a Howler. (J/K) In the case of late application fees (for those paying by check) or fee waiver requests, your application is late and you will be considered for an audition ONLY IF there are audition slots available after we’ve scheduled all on-time applicants. The same is true for late pre-screening materials (this applies to some applicants for the drama and music divisions); those applicants’ pre-screening materials may be considered ONLY IF there are audition slots available after all on-time applicants have been screened. Be aware, though, that some departments’ audition slots fill up fast and, in that event, regardless of why your check or pre-screening materials were late, we will not be able to schedule you for an audition.

So, rather leaving things to the last minute and winding up feeling like you’ve had a run-in with a Dementor, get your stuff in on time so you can focus on getting ready for your audition!

by Mónia C. Estima (aka “Mony”), Associate Director of Admissions

Today we say goodbye to our much admired Admissions Associate, Toni Rosenbaum, who leaves Juilliard to embark on her next great career adventure. Toni has been the face of Juilliard for literally thousands of applicants (and their parents!) for the past four years and, as happy as we all are for her success, we are also sad for our loss. I wrote a little something for her goodbye party, which I share with you all here.

***
Toni,

Lee* asked us if we’d like to say a few words here today, and I did. But then I had to determine how I’d arrange words that could adequately address what your four years with us have meant to me. And then it hit me – I’ll write a poem! Here’s my first attempt:

Roses are red,
Now I am blue,
We’re losing Toni,
And that really stinks.

You like?  No, I didn’t either – too sappy.

Then I pondered what style of poetry would lend itself to a little less sap and realized that a limerick would do the trick!  Here’s my second attempt:

Our Toni is pretty terrific
With problems abstract or specific.
She’s charming, she’s sweet,
Wears great shoes on her feet,
And her patience with folks is prolific.

…meh. It’s O.K., but still not quite right.

THEN I remembered that a couple of years ago I challenged my colleagues in Admissions to come up with application related haikus for our blog. I thought maybe the haiku format would work, so here’s that effort:

Just four years ago
You entered our lives, and now
You leave them better.

And with that, I was back to sappy.

So I decided to give up on poetry and simply say – we’ve been so lucky to have you, Toni. Thank you, for everything. And good luck.

*Lee Cioppa, Associate Dean for Admissions

by Katie Friis, Senior Assistant Director for Dance and Drama Admissions

Hello, Everybody!

As we kick off another exciting year in the Office of Admissions, I’m thrilled to share with you three major changes in the Drama Division:

First, we have announced the addition of a Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) track within our Actor Training Program.  This doesn’t change the total number of actors in the program (still 18 per year) or the length of the program (still a 4-year acting curriculum), but it does mean that students who have earned a bachelor’s degree prior to enrolling at Juilliard will now have the opportunity to earn a graduate degree here.  Also, there are some special M.F.A. Seminars that have been added to the curriculum, which you can read about here: http://www.juilliard.edu/degrees-programs/drama/mfa-seminars.php And of course, we still have the Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) option for those actors who haven’t yet earned a bachelor’s degree!

Next, we have introduced a mandatory pre-screening video requirement for all acting applicants who reside outside of the U.S.A.  You can read the specifics here: http://www.juilliard.edu/apply/program-information/actor/index.php#pre-screening This process has been implemented because we realize that there is a great deal of time, energy, and expense required of any applicant who has to fly to an audition site, book a hotel room, eat at restaurants, etc.  For applicants who reside outside of the U.S.A., this expenditure is usually the greatest (and realizing that it’s not terribly convenient to fly in from Alaska or Hawaii either, we’ve offered the option to pre-screen to these applicants).  We hope that through pre-screening, we can save some applicants an unnecessary voyage, and confirm for others that it is indeed worth their trouble to attend the audition.  Please keep in mind that the faculty will be reviewing the pre-screening videos with an eye towards who might be a good fit for our program and the School at this time – it is not a judgment of your overall talents or future prospects as an actor!

The final change is a much earlier application deadline for our Playwriting program: NOVEMBER 1!  We do realize that this is quite early compared to other programs, but we have a small group of readers who read each and every applicant play in its entirety, and each play needs to be read by two separate people.  This takes time and organization on our part, folks!  Therefore, we decided to bump the deadline up so that we can get started on this process sooner, and hopefully notify our finalists earlier in the spring as well.  The good news is, playwrights no longer need to send a hard copy of their play – we are asking for an uploaded copy of the play in the application, and an e-mailed “blind” copy for our readers.  You can find complete application requirements here: http://www.juilliard.edu/apply/program-information/playwright/index.php

I hope this helps to explain some of the new processes for Drama Division applicants, but if you have additional questions, you know where to find us!