<p>Hey, gang,
I am beginning to lay out a plan (as organized as possible) for taking my D to visit some of the college programs (BFA in MT) that are on her radar. At present, the list is kind of long, and I doubt we will have the time of $$$ to visit them all. But we have to start somewhere, which is why I am coming to all of you wise people. :) :)
Does anyone have an advice about:
* how to winnow a list down so that it is realistic in terms of how many colleges to visit, and
* does it makes sense to try to visit -- on one trip -- several programs which are at least somewhat geographically proximate? and
* what should we make sure to see and do while on campus? Did/does everyone take the cook's tour, organized by the admissions office and <em>then</em> schedule a separate tour of the performing arts dept? (Of course, we would arrange this ahead of time)
* how important is it for an aspiring BFA in MT to see a <em>musical</em> production on campus while visiting?
* how long (hours or days) does the average visit last? I know I sound stupid, but I did not get to visit colleges myself before I applied, way back when. So I have NO idea how much time to plan when we embark on this venture.
My D is a rising hs junior, so at least we have some time. But my husband and I both work full time and have another child, so neither of us can just take off for a week at a time to do this. We also cannot afford to fly back and forth; all the visits will be made by car.
Anything else anyone can tell me about their own experiences is greatly appreciated. I really feel out of my league here.
Lisa</p>
<p>I just bumped a thread about college visits for you, which I hope will help. </p>
<p>I think the more the better - see a show, visit the dept., take campus tour. Ask the school how long the visit will last. </p>
<p>Yes, plan to do as much as you can while in an area geographically.</p>
<p>We visited schools any time my son was out of school, starting sophomore year but especially in junior year. It just became our vacation time.</p>
<p>At most schools it took a full day (arrive 9-10 a.m. tour, interview, lunch, meet with theater personnel, tour facilities). If you go during college session, add a class observation onto that. We would leave in the late afternoon and travel to the next school.</p>
<p>I think it's best to plan at least a full day. It is important to attend the session offered by the admissions office because you will want to make sure the application process runs smoothly. (It is very difficult for me to help a student if his/her application is not complete- even if we would love to have the student in the program.) Just as important is making an appointment to meet with someone in the Theatre department because in addition to obtaining information, you are trying to get a feel for the school. Attending a class or a production (or both) will help you do that; as well having the added benefit of meeting current students who can answer questions.
Of course, the above is a best case scenario and not everyone will be able to plan visits to every school during optimal times. I have met with many prospective students this summer while the Deptartment was very quiet and I think they found the time spent worthwhile, even though we didn't have anything going on MT-wise. Perhaps if you don't think you got enough of a feel for the school, you could ask to be put in touch with a current student. In my experience they are pretty honest and free with their opinions, LOL!</p>
<p>-Michele</p>
<p>At the beginning of our process we did the campus tours, but later we realized that our d would be basically living at the theater! So, I contacted the theater department and set up a time to sit and talk and we walked the campus. My suggestion is to visit as many campuses as you can...even if you "drop in"....we did that to a major university, and they took time to give us a "quick" tour and information about their program. It left a good impression with me when someone would take time for a "drop in"! We found most schools were very willing to work around our schedule. Just remember...this is the phase of the process where YOU are doing the selection!!!! :) In my mind I always had the thought: Tell me why I should let you have MY daughter!!
I still say that you will know...We would all walk away with a good or a not so good feeling. If it was a "welllllll...I don't know", it stayed on the audition list. There was no uniformity to her choices either: some were consevatories, some were universities, some in small towns, some in major cities...so do not rule anything out.<br>
Good luck...have fun and enjoy the adventure! It is hard to believe that part of the journey is behind us, and we will be moving our d to school in two weeks...time flies...too quickly.........sigh.</p>
<p>Another quick question for those of you who have done this already:</p>
<p>I have been given advice from others which says basically that admission to BFA programs in MT is so competitive that it does not make sense to invest time and money and emotion in visiting campuses and programs. Rather, it makes more sense to just wait and have my D audition for the dozen or so programs on her "list," and then, if she is fortunate enough to get into more than one, visit <em>them.</em> </p>
<p>What say you guys? I see the wisdom in that, but it also feels a little negative to me. Though I know it does not behoove kids to get overly attached to one or two programs, it also seems to me that visiting and learning about various places is a healthy part of the college admissions process. In addition, it could be that some of the colleges on her current "it" list will strike her, once we are there, as places she does not want to be, and others that are lower on the list might jump higher due to that "je ne said quoi" factor that we have all experienced.</p>
<p>I have had this same discussion as well. Actually I guess we reached a compromise - I agreed to take my D to campuses within driving distance if it fit into the schedule but the ones that were far were not getting a pre-visit. </p>
<p>For us, this means we saw a very near one on a Friday, and we are visiting Elon and Shenandoah on the way to our family vacation this week. She spent the summer at NYU and has already spent time on the campus at Penn State with Science Fair in middle school. So that leaves a very few she hasnt seen.</p>
<p>Our discussion centered around whether or not she could adapt to different surroundings. She is an adaptable person so she decided that programs of study were more important to her than physical surroundings.</p>
<p>So, our decision was to see about 50% due to geography. I didnt like the feeling of relying only on auditions either (I agree- seems negative).</p>
<p>Hoep that helps!
MikksMom</p>
<p>I'm probably not in the majority, but I would be cautious about relying on first impressions. In some cases, one's "gut" is right on; in others, it's based on fairly superficial factors ("prettiness") or the luck of the draw. On one of our "major" stops our first term freshman tour leader came across as incredibly pretentious and was very condescending about "straight" acting students vs. MT. This left a "not so great" taste for a program which I know from others to be top notch... The school and student develop a relationship and that takes time. Look at the curriculum and the faculty. You can live in any conditions (at least for a time) when you're learning and engaged in what you love....</p>
<p>While I think that visiting colleges it a great thing we weren't in a financial position to visit then travel back for auditions so we combined it. While we were at audtions we also did the tour etc. and the schools were very accommodating We found many who were doing the same thing. It worked out well for us. The biggest thing for my son was the program, campus etc. was secondary, luckily he found both he liked.</p>
<p>We went through the same thing last year. We tried to visit the safety schools and were able to eliminate several of them. As far as the BFA programs that were more competitive, my D decided to use her time and energy to research from home and talk to others who had attended the schools. We then went to the Unifieds in Chicago and made the visits to the ones she was still interested in after the acceptances. She has seen several girls from her theatre school visit schools, fall in love with them, and then not get in. So...she decided to wait and see who really wanted her too and then choose from there. This worked out fine for us but it did make for a very FRANTIC April which is an already busy month for Seniors. Since we live in Montana there were some that we didn't get to at all. </p>
<p>I think it is different for everyone depending on where you live and how much time and money you have to spend on this adventure. We didn't have the money to spend on the trips to visit all of the schools. </p>
<p>I do agree that the visit is very important no matter when it happens. There is a certain feeling that they get about whether or not they belong. </p>
<p>Good-luck!</p>
<p>This summer, we visited a variety of programs in PA, NY, NJ, and OH. A two week whirlwind tour. All schools were small-medium size and residential campuses (our S's criteria). The value of doing this was that he saw that some of the BA theater schools we visited have very strong programs with admirable facilities and good financial backing. </p>
<p>After returning from CMU this weekend, and with some encouragement from two separate instructors that he consider directing, S is now leaning toward a more generalist BA program instead of a BFA. Final decision isn't made, but it did open his eyes to the idea that he doesn't have to go to a BFA to get a good education and good training.</p>
<p>NotMamaRose - </p>
<p>Everyone takes a different approach, and surely both decisions have advantages. Waiting to visit until an acceptance surely saves money on travel costs.</p>
<p>We approached it the other way and went to visit many schools with a variety of programs (straight theatre and BFA, BA, and BM programs). We also visited the potential safeties for my son. From these visits we narrowed down the schools to which my son wanted to apply and audition (he auditioned for 9 and applied to 2 more non-audition programs). Hating to admit the number, and some were done where a bunch of schools were visited in one trip, we visited 24 colleges from summer after 9th grade through 11th grade. Then, we went back to many of them for auditions. I think that having the 2 times on campus really helped my son know what he wanted to choose after his acceptances came in. We also believe, though we have no proof, that visiting campus ahead of time shows the department that one has a truly strong interest in their school. Surely that would weigh in one's favor if all other audition factors were equal. I think it probably helped at the audition to have met the faculty ahead of time, at least with helping the student feel a little more at ease.</p>
<p>Just my two cents worth. Most people would say we were crazy, but it was a great time! Lastly, audition trips are, in general, stressful times - no way around it. One has a more clear head when visiting without the stress of an audition.</p>
<p>A year ago at this time, we were beginning to plan some visits. Having made some of those trips, I can tell you that they can have a huge effect on your child! Our visits consisted mainly of a one night stay, seeing the college town that evening, perhaps a production as well which can tell you a great deal about the talent and training as well as facilities. The next day we visited the campus. We are located where we could drive to most of these schools which helps. At some we took the guided tour, but with all that you can learn on line, we found out that we actually enjoyed roaming by ourselves seeing what we wanted to see. As a result of these visits, D learned what kind of setting she wanted, that she absolutely did not like one of the ivies that we thought would be #1 on her list, and found a safety she loves!!! Our plan now involves auditioning only for the schools that she really likes which means a lot less stress for all of us this year. She has learned too that she doesn't want a conservatory approach and prefers a well-rounded college education. She knows that she would rather go to a school she loves, than settle for a school just because it has a BFA in MT. She has asked herself some tough questions that needed to be dealt with before entering this audition season. Our trips were a valuable learning experience and have certainly had a major effect on her future! I suggest you do what you can, when you can!</p>
<p>I really enjoyed doing the combo visit audition thing
You need to get a feel for not just the campus but also the staff, other students, the attitude of the program and the city it is in among other things. Besides it is nice to take a trip some times!</p>