My daughter wants to be near Boston or NYC for college. She is looking for a college that is academically competitive where she can get a generalist Theater degree (B.A., not BFA) with a little of everything - acting, directing, stage managing, some design and tech)
She wants to be able to double major or minor in English, and then go on and get a Masters in Ed. We’ve found some great possibilities in Ithaca and she is looking at Fordham. But so expensive - even if she gets a scholarship. Muhlenberg is out of our reach financially. She is in touch with two Ivies, but I don’t think she’ll get in.
Does anyone know some good affordable schools that offer a good generalist theater major? Everything in the Northeast seems to be quite costly. Thank you for any insight!
Drew University in New Jersey. She will get wonderful merit money and a great education. My daughter is a senior and is already employed when she graduates. School cost us $20,000 a year.
I have a ton of info on the department if you want it. My daughter is a tour guide and has written a nice description of what Drew has to offer. If you are interested I can send it to you in a PM
Maybe don’t count out Muhlenberg fully yet? They offer a few high scholarships not listed on their website, or at least they weren’t at one point, that bring the costs down to $20-25k if also offered one of their honor’s programs. I don’t know her stats or what state you are from, but if she has what they are looking for it’s something to consider. Oh and if she is really interested, be sure to interview. They track interest.
Hi. @momto3g We loved Fordham and our impression was that the student definitely learns all aspects of theatre. A girl who graduated from my son’s school last year is at Drew and she loves it according to her mother (who also happens to be a drama teacher herself). We applied to some BAs with theatre programs around the country to ensure that we had options. One in New England was Clark outside of Boston. Their price was lower than many and the financial aid offered in our case was among the best of any school. While not in New England, we were also very impressed with LMU and University of Denver. Son applied to both. He got excellent aid offer from Denver. Kenyon College was also very impressive and has strong connections to the entertainment/publishing industries. Vassar might be a possibility, although son did not apply so I don’t have any insight into their financial aid.
We were really impressed with Temple when we visited the Theater dept. They have several flavors of BA in Theater, including a Theatre education major and you can double major. Super nice people, happy students and the school was very generous with merit aid. Philly isn’t NY or Boston but it’s a great city.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, one man’s affordable is another man’s reach. Do the net price calculator for each school, a good calculator will have questions regarding the EFC/income and the kids stats. When I first started the searches, I chased my tail a bit because reading a kid on CC “got good aid” was connected to the kids stats and parents EFC, and if the kid is a 4.0+ kid and mine’s a 3.62… there’s need based aid and merit based aid, and some schools do both, so understanding which path is the better path to FA helps. Of course, there’s the talent scholarship, which is unknown and hard to predict.
Not sure how well regarded their theater program is, but I know the University of Connecticut has a good Acting BFA program that has been rising up the rankings. Since Storrs, CT is between Boston (90 minutes away) and NYC (a bit over 2 hours), it would also give your daughter a good place to be in terms of location. Can’t hurt to at least look them up online. We live in Connecticut and my daughter and I went to see “She Kills Monsters” there recently and were surprised and impressed by the quality of the acting. I think anybody from New England gets in state tuition as well.
@NewJeffCT I just did a college visit at UCONN. I am a college advisor specializing in performing arts and I was very impressed with their theatre program. In addition to it being a BFA Acting, there is an opportunity to minor. They accept 9-14 students for Acting each year and have a NYC showcase. A mandatory semester abroad in London is a part of the curriculum and they have Connecticut Repertory Theatre on campus (equity). Students are able to audition for their shows and they have a full summer season with multiple musicals directed by Terrence Mann.
@marg928 understood, but the UConn BFA does allow you to take a minor. Many BFA programs do not. UConn also has a BA Theatre program, but I was not sure if it’s as good as the Acting BFA program. (I had specified that in my response)
Thanks to @bisouu 20K is our budget (including Stafford loan) may be able to go a little over that if she gets outside scholarships or a good-paying summer job. She looked at Drew and really liked it! I think we will go visit.
Thank you so much, everyone! I have compiled these responses and will give them to my daughter. @DoinResearch yes, you are right - everyone’s situation is a little bit different. We typically do not qualify for need-based aid, our situation is a little bit weird. We don’t want to take out loans other than the Stafford loan. (we are older parents) So we look very carefully at merit aid and that will play very heavily into her decision.
If you go to the college specific section where it listed each school, some post their stats and FA offers, so it might give you a feel for merit aid. The financial aid section is worth reading, and while I find the Theater section to be kinder and helpful, the folks over in the financial section are knowledgeable. There’s the american opportunity tax credit as well, check to see if you qualify for that. I was nervous at first to post specifics in the financial section, but found the advise more helpful when I did. There’s lots of unusual scenarios, and the learning curve is steep.
