@momcares, yeah… I had another paragraph that made that point too but deleted it. I also lived the lifestyle disillusionment factor myself. First career was in the hotel/restaurant field which was actually what I studied in college. You work when everybody else plays. That schedule got old too and led me back to grad school for career reboot which was much more conducive to the life I sought. (And it paid way better.) It’s an equally valid point but still think the work content and quality also matters in the happiness factor.
Agreed!
All I can do is share my daughter’s experience, your kid’s experience may vary and you have every right to disagree. One thing she liked about NU was the level of intelligence surrounding her regardless of what the major was and she found that not to be the case in the “real world” of actors.
Theaterwork - No, we never saw it coming. (Although in retrospect, she did win awards with her Science Research project with the American Museum of Natural History on something about planets.) She had acted professionally when she was younger, mostly tv and film and she loved it. She also insisted on NU vs Yale because it was a more formalized MT program. And she did give lots of things up both in high school and college to pursue this profession, by her own choice.
But she’s her own person, always has been and, as I mentioned, very active in Improv which is perfect for her creative expression right now and is looking at getting back into Musical Improv which she loves even more than straight improv. But mostly she’s done with acting and appears to be very happy with that decision. We’ll see what happens as she moves further into Astrophysics.
@amtc your story is interesting and I wasn’t personally offended by the unintelligent actors comment…there are dumb people everywhere and we all know that! LOL The Astrophysics thing is amazing and blows my mind that your D went from one to the other but you having said she did science things beforehand makes sense then that she had interest elsewhere. We are trying to tell my D that now…that its OK to have other interests. She loves fashion and has interest in that, etc. She also like photography. I think she will always perform but I could be wrong. A lot happens as our children mature that is for sure. I have no other kids so she is my only one to go by! I dont envy her decision making here next year as I just went to my local in state college and was just glad to do that…I also did not finish college so I am just glad she will go to school at all and have to pray all the right decisions will fall into place!
One personal observation is that 5 years after graduation many MT kids really value skills in both fashion and photography, as they can be leveraged into full or part-time work doing head shots. If she hones those skills in college, and builds a portfolio, she could be in high demand!
@MomCares Since you asked I will share my older D’s story and I must say I have learned a lot from it in regards to how we are approaching our rising seniors college search and criteria.
As I stated older D is a dancer, she had her heart set on one school that she visited her friends at several times. She loved the conservatory program and that was the school she wanted. We booked an early audition date.Unfortunately my mom, who lived with us passed away the weekend before that audition and we did not think to reschedule.Needless to say she did not get in. Heartbreaking news right before Christmas! So scramble for another that she would feel happy at. We signed up for a Jan. audition at a reach school that was holding auditions in our city, the acceptance rate was extremely low and you guessed it,she got in!
The day after high school graduation she moved into NYC to begin a dance internship program, she loved it and it culminated with an audition for an agent and out of 65 kids she was offered to sign with them. So again time to scramble as it was two weeks before college move-in. She decided to stay in NYC and deferred her college spot for one year. She then booked a tour, so had to give up her spot at the college. She has lived in the city ever since and done different dance gigs,some on tv some for free, a couple of videos, live shows etc.As I said she will be in West Side Story this Fall. She is signed on both coasts and has come close to booking huge gigs so she beleives the big one is close.
Lessons:
- Do not put all your eggs in one basket of hope for one school.
- Do not audition early if not completely ready, emotionally or material wise.
3.There are many many routes to live your dream,college may be for some its ok if its not for others. - She did miss not having that college experience, like living in a dorm with other girls,the college parties, the opportunity to create shows with other students.
5.She loves that she has been networking in the city since she is 18. The dance world is quite small so pretty much she knows almost every dancer from here to LA, those on big tours,on award show, Broadway dancers and choreographers.She has had job opportunities simply through these connections that at just 22 she would just be starting to cultivate if just graduated.
6.As a parent watching her journey and aiding financially where necessary, it would have been nice for her to have learned an additional skill set through college. This is why, yes I know I will get flack for this comment, I am looking at BA’s for my younger D. not BFA’s. Again this is our journey I am not knocking any one else s choices.
7.Every single day that she gets to dance is a successful day.If you do not count the small or free jobs as success’ you will always feel like I have not made it yet, or achieved my goal yet. - These art careers(as others) take enormous self motivation, dedication and constant training and growing. As well as a great attitude so rejection does not wear you down.
I am sure there are many other lessons here.I am so proud of her journey and her hard work and for her this was the way to go. We shall see what roads my younger D chooses within her Musical Theater passion.
Oh and 9.Do not rule out impossible reach schools because you simply never know.
@joyfulmama I really enjoyed reading your post about your dancer daughter’s journey and lessons learned!
Certainly, no flack is warranted and everyone should make the choice that fits them the best!! That is what is most important.
My opinion is that a BA is a great option for someone seeking a MT career. I know many who took the BA route and are now quite successful in professional musical theater.
But I just wanted to point out something about what you mentioned about how you think a BA will allow your child to learn an additional skill set in college. No argument about that. However, it is ALSO possible in many BFA programs to learn skills other than singing, acting, and dancing! For one thing, in many programs there are liberal arts courses too. In some programs, you can minor in something else too. But even without a minor in another area, it is possible for a BFA graduate to come out of college with skills beyond performing! I think my own daughter has skills and works in the field of music and theater beyond performing in musicals. She has taught in college BFA programs and been a musical director of musicals and programs. She has been paid to write/compose musicals. She works in the singer/songwriter realm. That is just one example. But knowing many other BFA in MT peers who are now working, many do things and have skills beyond singing/acting/dancing in musicals. Some are making it as choreographers. Some are now working as directors. Some are producers. Some are make up artists. Some are working in comedy. Some are headshot photographers. Some are working in casting agencies. Some are doing well as singer/songwriters (not MT genre). And some are doing other sorts of jobs like yoga teacher or personal trainer. So, even if your D attends a BFA program for MT, she may come out with additional skills and be able to pursue a variety of jobs both in the theater world and outside of theater. I just wanted to point out that while a BA is surely a viable path, that a BFA can allow someone to obtain a variety of skills or jobs too.
@soozievt Yes I know you are so right. I want her to have something theater related since that is her love. I just hope she has room in her schedule so she can take extra courses outside theater, I guess is what I really mean.I know that even some of the BA’s we are looking at actually act more like BFA’s so have little room for extras. But for example she loves photography,she reads a book a day ( literally), she loves all aspects of the theater(teaching drama and dance to the little ones, lighting, even doing the mailings) it. So if she can take courses that include those areas and parlay those skills and interests into viable jobs, that would be great.
I love hearing all the ideas for jobs and all the different routes that the artistic world has to offer!
The best thing will be to examine the curriculum at every school closely because like you say, some BAs are almost like BFAs, but also there are some BFAs where you take a good amount of other coursework and can even minor in another area if you wish. So, I was just saying that I would not cut out all BFAs without looking closely because I’m seeing my D’s peers who have graduated from her BFA doing a myriad of things in the performing arts and even outside the arts and have skills beyond singing/dancing/acting.
You mention teaching and I will add that since graduating from a BFA program, my D has taught and/or directed in programs from infants to high school to college BFA programs. So, teaching in the arts is something you can do coming out of a BFA.
Great advice @soozievt , as you know reading and re-reading all the curriculums is so time consuming, but to find the fit it will be worth the work. Thanks for the encouragement! 
Everything becomes a blur after awhile so I found that actually printing out the curriculums and putting them in the folder we had for each school to be helpful.
@Calliene I just made the binder this week. It was all in my head and relaying it to D was not helpful, so now she can look through one place.
@MomCares . . . are you ready to share some of your thoughts, even though it’s just been a few months out, your daughter has had some great experiences. No worries if it’s too early to share.
@kksmom5 - I can almost guarantee that it’s too soon to have any real sense of what will ultimately matter most to D about where she went to college. Given that she’s only 2 months officially out of school and has so far experienced only 2 weeks of the gypsy subletting life and no periods of involuntary unemployment yet, I’m 100% certain that at least a few key formative adult experiences lie in her future… haha!
She was lucky enough to start working steadily and sign with a solid agency over a year ago, so I guess a few aspects of her school that supported that running start might (or may not) seem important to her when she looks back from 5 years out. The things that come to mind now are very similar to what others have already said. 1) Friends, 2) Professional Connections (and I imagine those will be amplified over time as her talented classmates permiate various aspects of the industry), 3) Proximity to a large theatre market (she never anticipated working where she went to college but it’s given her lots of great experiences) and 4) Flexibilty (both to double major and also to take quarters off for contracts).
Who knows what plot twists lie ahead, or what aspects of her college years will shape them? It will be fun to think about this 5 years from now, and I really love hearing the thoughts of those with more mileage under their belts!!
@MomCares your list is great and encouraging already! Its wonderful that she has been signed and working,that alone is encouraging. May I ask what did she double major in?
@Joyfulmama - MT kids in D’s program complete double majors and/or minors in wide array of subjects in 4 years. A few I remember from graduation included Biology (pre-med), Euorpean History, French, Cognitive Science, Math, Dance, Music… and I know there were others as well. The school is known for curriculum and scheduling flexibility, and most kids arrive with lots of AP and IB credits.
As folks with older kids have pointed out it’s highly unlikely for anyone to move seamlessly from one performing job to the next, so for all but the lucky few who land an endless contract with a blockbuster I’d guess the first 5 years out of college will include periods of unemployment and/or survival jobs. It will be interesting to see how their degrees prepare them to manage that ongoing uncertainty.
@MomCares Thats great that NU was so encouraging and flexible for areas outside of or complimentary to MT.
I think at most schools it is possible to get a double major or minor – just not in a 4 year time span. Most who do need to come in with AP or other college credits, do online and/or summer school courses, etc… to get it done within 4 years The other issue is whether or not the classes for your 2nd major or your minor are scheduled at times that don’t conflict with required classes for your major. Not an issue only MTs face. So one question you may need to ask yourself is if you are willing to go an extra semester or two if you need to in order to get the 2nd major or minor.
I should add that I’ll be a bit surprised if 5 years from now D says her second area of study was a thing that mattered most about her college years in terms of employment, since she in no sense pursued a backup plan (i.e. a marketable subject) but rather just dug into a non-MT passion in addition to performance training. It will be interesting to see how, or if, her classmates take advantage of their second majors. Maybe a couple were studying for backup careers, but I think most were just pursuing broad interests which may play little or no role in their professional futures. I don’t think most MT kids I know who choose a BA or double major do it so they have a backup plan.
Are there any older kids here whose second major turned out to be important 5 years out of college? I guess you could say @soozievt’s D’s second area of study was music/composition and that has certainly paid dividends!