Audition Planning!

It's THAT time of year again! If you're like me, you've already started planning which schools that you're going to be applying for and (hopefully) auditioning for this year. Trust me this is my third year doing so and it can feel soul destroying at times. These are only a few things I've learned for approaching the subject of applications and auditions:

Before applying:
-Read any material you can get your hand on about the courses you are looking at, read the prospectus, study the website, if possible speak to students or read their thoughts on the course.
-Know exactly what you're getting yourself into. You need to know how much the course is going to set you back, can you get student finance, how many contact hours are you getting per week (how much teaching you're getting for your money) and whether you're getting a degree or a diploma at the end of it all. These can all be deal breakers so take these into consideration when looking at the schools you want to go to, it would be heart-breaking if you got a place on a course that you then couldn't afford to pay for.
-Consider the price of living in London. I'll say no more but just remember that when you move away from home you have to start paying for a lot more than just your course. Is London going to be a realistic option or do you need to look outside of the capital?
-Know whether the school wants you to apply directly to them (usually online or in the mail) or through UCAS! You only get 5 choices on UCAS but you can send off as many independent applications as you like.
-Set a budget! Auditioning is expensive, if you need to set a budget for how much you can shell out on auditions then you might want to prioritise the schools that you most want to go for.

While applying:
 -Send off way before the deadline. I'm a deadline kind of girl, I have the habit of sending applications off so that they arrive at the schools on the deadline. Don't do this. It isn't worth the stress, I promise. And although I know from experience that the royal mail's guaranteed next day delivery does work, it's just not worth the hassle and there's always a chance that it won't get there.
-Make sure you know what you need for each audition. You could be contacted by a school as little as two weeks before they expect you to audition and if you still haven't learned the two monologues, one song, devised piece of drama and written the requested essay when they message you then you're going to have a lot of work to do.

Apart from those specifics you just need to paint yourself in the best light possible, send a neat application, make sure your application includes everything they ask for (personal statement, passport photograph etc...) and write yourself a fabulous personal statement that not just tells someone what you can do, but proves it to them. You need to convince the people who read it that you are truly passionate, anything less just isn't going to make the cut.

Everything that I write is from personal experience, I am by no means an expert. So if I have something slightly wrong I apologise. Happy auditioning!