Something to take your minds off applications, acceptances, prescreens, deferrals, and redirections...
Many of the programs have a type of mentoring thing, where the older students are assigned an incoming freshman to take under their wings. My D is currently a junior, and I realized that the kids who are auditioning now will be incoming freshmen when she is a senior next year - so one of them could be her Little! Each school does it differently, but I thought it might be fun to lay it out for you.
At Ithaca, each freshman MT or Acting major is given a senior MT or Acting major. (As I've explained before on other threads, Acting and MT are very, very close at Ithaca and take all the same classes the first 2 years.) The senior (the "Big") is basically responsible for the freshman's (the "Little") well-being the entire first year. They take them to parties, introduce them around, drive them to CVS, the grocery store, the movies, etc. They are a shoulder to cry on, someone to celebrate with, and someone they can trust and ask lots of questions. At the end of the freshman year, the freshman put on a big show for their Bigs to thank them and to wish them well as they enter the real world. Ithaca tries to match upthe Bigs and Littles by personality. It is so exciting for the Bigs to choose their Littles...and they are starting to get excited!
The relationship between the Bigs and Littles lasts well beyond that first year. The Bigs come back and see their Littles perform in shows...the Littles go down to NYC and see their Bigs perform. My D's Big was a girl she worshipped from afar at summer camp (Stagedoor) but never hung out with. They are now the best of friends, and when my D was going through a tough time her junior year, her Big drove up from NYC to stay with her and help her through it. It is so wonderful to see these kids support each other around the country beyond graduation...this past Thanksgiving, a sophomore boy missed his connecting flight home in Chicago, and he stayed with his Big from the year before...it creates a network of contacts and friends around the country. And, since most of the seniors live off campus in houses, the Littles get to know the other Seniors who live in that house...it's like a big happy family.
So...just something to think about, and something to put your mind at ease when thinking about your freshman at a school where they know no one. As I said, each school does it differently (and hopefully other people will chime in here as to how their school does it), but many of them have this type of system.
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