The monthly planning guide for performing & visual arts students

March is a month of transition. While the seasons are changing, students are growing. Our goal is to help foster that growth with easy-to-follow, monthly advice regarding college preparation for students and parents. As winter turns to spring, simple steps can help budding performing and visual arts students blossom.

Senior Arts Students — Watch your mail for college notifications. You should receive an admissions decision by March or April if you applied under the regular application process, and notifications of financial aid awards should arrive by the end of April. If you’re put on a waitlist, examine your options. Being put on a waitlist is not an acceptance or a rejection, so keep your options open in case you don’t get in. Check out schools with late or rolling application deadlines.

Senior Parents — Now, all you have to do is wait. It’s not always easy to display patience, but high school is almost over, and so is the wait. Some decision letters may be arriving this month and, hopefully, they will bring the news that you and your student have been waiting for!

Junior Arts Students — Organize and begin to narrow college options. To help you easily locate the information you need, set up a filing system with individual folders for college correspondence and printed materials. Make sure you have all of the key data for the colleges that you are considering (entrance requirements, tuition, room and board costs, course offerings, student activities, financial aid, etc.). Then you can begin to compare the schools by the factors that are most relevant to you. This is also a good time to review your resume, and for performing arts students, review your repertoire list as well.

Junior Parents — Help plan and prepare. Spring vacation is a good time to visit colleges, so plan for it. Encourage your son, or daughter, to start a college binder with a list of target schools. He or she should begin to contact colleges to request materials and set aside an area where they can be easily referenced. Also, if you didn’t do it last month, check upcoming SAT or ACT registration deadlines for tests your child still needs to take. Make note of the test and registration dates on your calendar.

Sophomore Arts Students — Check in with your counselor for advice. Meet with your guidance counselor to make sure you’re on track and planning ahead. You can also talk about your PSAT scores and ask about postsecondary enrollment options and Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Remember to read. Developing reading skills will help prepare you for tests and make you a well-rounded individual, so strengthen your routine for reading.

Sophomore Parents — Consider additional testing. You and your child, along with the school counselor, should discuss SAT Subject Tests and APs, although many students wait until their junior year. The typical test period is May and June.

Freshman Arts Students — Start your achievement file. 
Keep track of academic, extracurricular, and arts awards, community service achievements, and anything else you participate in. It will come in handy when you want to highlight your accomplishments on college applications or your resume.

Freshman Parents — Support student participation. Help your child begin keeping an activities record that lists participation in activities as well as accomplishments, awards, and leadership positions. Be sure to keep up regular conversations with your child about his or her academic progress.

For all high school performing arts students, both spring and summer are right around the corner. This year ArtsBridge Summer, the one-of-a-kind 2-week intensive for acting, dancing, and musical theatre, will take place in Boston, August 3rd-17^th.