PAGE 5
HOLIDAY 2014
Feature
‘Tis the Season to be Applying
Joe Vinci
Staff Writer
Ah, the fall season! Brown leaves,
a breezy overcast,
autumnal gourds,
and the crippling
fear of being denied
by universities.
For seniors, this
season annually turns
from cheer to fear as
they scramble to get
their standardized
testing scores, applications, supplements,
auditions, and letters
of recommendation
in on time.
Students infamously
lose sleep, fall behind
in school, and make
personal sacrifices of
free time (days without Facebook and
Netflix).
But at OCSA especially, many others
feel double the pressure, not only applying to a college or
university itself, but
specific art programs
within the schools, as
well.
Performance arts—
such as theatre,
opera, instrumental
music, and dance—
generally require
applicants send in
a video audition,
résumé and other
supplements. If the
student passes that
round and moves on
Senior Celine Alvarado (CW), dressed as the College
Board, won Scariest Costume during the Halloween
Costume Contest
Photo Courtesy of Cheryl Walsh, Alt. Senior
to live auditions, they
must again wait to
learn if they will be
accepted.
Senior Clancy
Karotkin (ACT), who
wishes to major in
theatre, shared that
his auditions “can
require a lot of time
and effort. This month
I have to fly out to
New York for a live
one.”
Senior Ashley Santore (IM) said of her
experience applying
for the music program “I have to go
out to Texas for my
auditions, so that’s
always fun.”
While non-performance art majors get
to avoid the dreaded audition process,
they still have to
submit extra supple-
ments. Majors like
creative writing and
visual arts require
portfolios for review.
Senior Nicole
McLendon (CW)
explained that as an
applicant for screenwriting she’s required
to submit to some
schools additional
pieces such as “10
pages of both old
and new screenplays, 800 words of
prose, three majorspecific essays, and
two creative résumé”
along with the mandatory personal
statements.
The college application process
can be stressful, but
seniors should remember to stay cool
and collected in this
annual process.
As senior Natasha
Heim (CW) said, giving words of encouragement, “Although
it’s a lit ѱ