Advice welcomed: LACs with active performing arts communities, theater and film major available

@sn189144 you are correct that the public transportation to Harrisonburg does not offer the widest range of options.
There is a bus that comes through daily with service to DC. The Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport bgg is only 20-minutes away and flies through DV and Chicago. Charlottesville airport is only 1-hr away. Many of the upperclassmen have cars, and I know some of mine have driven friends to/from the airport. Uber and Lyft are also pretty reasonable.

On breaks there are shuttles that transport students to DC to make connections.

JMU, still may be bigger than he is looking for, but if he checks it out and likes it, you may find the transportation issue is not as big as it may appear on paper.

Check out Mary Baldwin University in Staunton VA: https://marybaldwin.edu/academics/performing-arts/
They have a really good theater program, esp Shakespeare. It is home of the American Shakespeare Center.

Also, if he might be interested in a larger school, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro is worth a look. They have a very good theater program (arts in general) and many graduates have gone on to become professional actors, etc. https://vpa.uncg.edu/theatre/

Isnā€™t Mary Baldwin a womenā€™s college? Which would be a problem for OPā€™s son.

Mary Baldwin started admitting residential males in 2017.
American Shakespeare Center is great!

In that case, being a man would definitely help him!

Waaay out of range for my son, but perhaps another reader will check it out.

Waaaay out of range was the Oregon suggestion.

Waaaay out of range was the Oregon suggestion.

Thank you to all for your thoughtful, informative advice and links re specific BA programs, as well as things to consider about BA programs. Son 2 is finalizing a list to tour. Distance wise I THINK VA and Ohio are the farthest he wants to go, but there is interest in Chicago, which has spread into Illinois, and I threw in NC for him to look up and Willamette for him to look up. Has a GF starting at Muhlenberg next week in MT and Sociology. His interest in staying somewhat close, and in Muhlenberg MAY have something to do with that too. : ) Will post after visits. Thank you again!!!

Just a comment on boys applying to traditionally ā€œgirlsā€ schools - it does help, but being male doesnā€™t make getting in a slam dunk. Vassar (which may be an extreme example) has been co-ed for 40 years and their acceptance rate for males is higher than the acceptance rate for females - 32% vs 21% - but itā€™s still really hard to get into, no matter your gender! Their 25%ile for SATs is 1370. Yeep! They didnā€™t report GPA percentiles in their common data set but as I remember they are also very grade aware. For Mary Baldwin, on the other hand, because they just became co-ed, being male might be a big advantage?

Maybe this is a wacky suggestion but did he consider William & Mary? Itā€™s almost the size he wants, itā€™s a wonderful school and it was the dream school of a high school actress I knew.

Thanks CaMom13. No worries. Son 2 will apply to several schools of varying selectivity, all of which he will be happy to attend. Just have to figure out which ones they will be!! There are lots of wonderful opportunities at many schools from small state to Ivy . We are eager to see how he does on the SAT on the 24th as he has been surprisingly diligent in his review, as opposed to taking it cold turkey as he did last May. If the practice tests he did of late are truly indicative, I would not be surprised if he reaches that Vassar 1370!

His GPA and class rank over all, though, are not particularly notable. He was the type of student that one moment would have an A, and then focus instead on extracurricular interests, and did not write down assignments, forgot to do homework, etc, and earn a C in the next moment, but be perfectly happy with his over all B. Thankfully in 11th grade, a fire was lit by a confluence of experiences with a couple of inspirational teachers in an AP seminar class that was small and really peaked his interest in many subjects, his theater director, and lessons he learned through his part time job. He began developing his study habits and organizational skills, and now enjoys being proud of a job well done, instead of just being glad it IS done, which will be a great benefit wherever he goesā€¦and a relief to his mom and dad!!! But it is tough to find a good fit academically. We need a college that will accept him based on his credentials and evidence of performance to date that still provides academic challenge and opportunity as he continues to grow.

William and Mary was a dream of MINE, just a few yearsā€¦ or maybe many ago. Out of state applications have a lower acceptance rate there though. Not sure what they are these days. I think it may also be rather selective, especially if not a resident. And he remembered it from touring with his older brother and has not asked to go back. We never heard of Mary Baldwin, but will certainly check out the web . Thank you.

If he is open to a larger school, do check out UNC-Greensboro. I follow them online and one of their theater grads is starring as Aaron Burr in Hamilton on Broadway right now! I know some of their grads have gone on to Hollywood, too. It is larger than you are looking for, but otherwise I think it ticks all the boxes. It is not super selective, but they have an excellent theater program, diverse student body, many other strong degree programs, but especially good in the arts.

Just a caution for these types of schools. Besides a very few schools, donā€™t judge these schools on who ā€œwentā€ anywhere. That is just fun talk. Itā€™s more important to know what happened to the thousands of students that didnā€™t go to Broadway. What kind of art are they making now? Were they prepared to enter the work force? Did their school have connections /alumni to help in the job search. Many will never end up in their chosen fields but might use what they learned and their Liberal Arts education to get a job. If it involves the arts then all the better.

When you go to Connecticut you can visit Wesleyan and Trinity.

Visited James Madison and Franklin and Marshall last week. The good news is that DEFINITIVELY large schools are out of our list of potentials, which at least helps greatly in narrowing the search. He liked a lot about JMU but said the size is just too big for his taste. Their new performing arts building is just gorgeous and he sat in on an intermediate acting class with a professor that he really liked and had a ball meeting some of the students and taking part. Met with admissions too. Everyone we came into contact with was friendly. Chatted with some nice kids in the dining hall who seemed very into partying ( a little more than I liked) but also serious about school. Butā€¦He likes small LACs . 1 to 5000 . Firm decision. Nothing not to like about JMU, but the size for us. Thanks for the suggestion, and we enjoyed a little tourist time in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley!

Likes everything about Franklin and Marshall!! . Waiting to get SATs from Aug. 24 back. If solid, Iā€™ll call the financial aid department. We are in a tough spot, qualifying for no needs based aid, but not making enough to pay full freight there without debt which we will not do. Also a firm subject. There on line calculator puts us at almost full freight which would be too high, but perhaps I missed something. It will be worth checking on anyway if his scores come up to where he thinks they did. (Very confident after sitting for this last SAT) He loved everything about the visit as did weā€¦except the price! He really liked Ursinus as well, at which his GPA and current SAT scores qualify him for merit already that would make it affordable to us. Who knows maybe heā€™d win the acting scholarship available too. He is going back to see if the very small theater department would satisfy that part of the equation for him in just a couple of weeks.

The number of people that actually work as actors from his undergraduate program is not as important to him as the over all quality of the education and options to combine with other majorsā€¦he likes creative writing, English, film, philosophy sci even environmental sciences. He is interested in so much and so active, that a small LAC where he can explore his interests really would be good for him. We are in agreement with our son on that.

Headed to Juniata next.
And going to visit son 1 in Worcester Mass in a few weeks and are going to tie in a few visits on the way up and down. Thinking of Clark in Worcester too.

My brother who lives in Jamestown, VA said that they go to Christopher Newport University plays and are impressed. Anyone know anything about CNU? I think it still fits his size requirement, but would not have the same philosophy as LACs I donā€™t think. Not sure. We could tie in with a family visit. Tuition room and board there is appealing if it turns out to be a desirable option.

Iā€™ll post the latest SATs when we get them, which will help narrow down too, and again, appreciate all of the help!

By the way, I was just reading over the thread. To CAmom, I wrote " there are lots of opportunities at schools from small state to Ivy. " I did NOT mean to imply that Son2 would be accepted into an Ivy!! He would NOT! I just meant that we see benefits and opportunities in most colleges and will definitely evaluate and apply to several colleges with varying levels of selectivity. We look for a fit specifically for our kids and examine the factors that go into the rankings. . Also we are not motivated by the fame of the name, but how programs specifically benefit our student.

William and Mary is definitely a huge reach for his stats, as is U Richmond. Since you mentioned NC, Iā€™ll throw out Elon, great school, good performing arts, I am NOT sure if Elon has BFA/BA or both (as a mom whose D is pursuing an Acting BA, I agree that BA definitely sounds like the way to go for your S, and my D is VERY happy with her BA decision).
I visited CNU with my non acting son. The campus and facilities themselves are EXTREMELY impressive, beautiful, large buildings. The nicest dorms we saw at any school were here. It is kind of new, which is probably why you havenā€™t heard of it a lot. I do recall being impressed by their performing arts facility and the acts they mentioned. The students seemed friendly, and a strong sense of community, but son was underwhelmed. I guess I came away thinking it was ā€œniceā€, ā€œprettyā€, but nothing about it really grabbed me, or my son.

Elon has come up on his search. Looks good in their flyers and online. Not sure if heā€™d want to go so far. Where is your daughter studying for her BA?

I agree re William and Mary and U Richmond. If his SATs come back as high as he thinks they will, he may apply to U Richmond as a big reach, due to their leadership program, and more. Went years ago looking for another student. He remembers it from then and there is so much that fits for him there, but he did not take studying too seriously until this past year, sooooā€¦He could sell ice to Eskimos though as they say, so maybe heā€™d find a way. In the meantimeā€¦have to find some realistic places to apply!

Denison. I know a film grad who is currently making quite a bit of money in his field (a more commercial version of what he was doing undergrad). Amazing new arts building just opened and thatā€™s a physical demonstration of the importance given to drama, dance, music and film at Denison. For a small school, some pretty impressive actor/director/executive grads - Jennifer Garner (who spoke at graduation this year), Michael Eisner (primary donor for the arts center with his name), Steve Carell, more if you go back further in time.

Located 45 minutes from Kenyon in a bigger town.