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<p>I don’t know how many end up eventually doing the work necessary for the BFA with the New School but we know two who did. Both attended AMDA years ago and had been working professionally for years before going back and completing the credits they needed for the degree. One just finished hers in the past month and she’s currently in a Broadway show. It does happen but again, it’s probably a small percentage.</p>
<p>"By the way, I am no dissing the actual training at AMDA. Some (some!) of it may be quite good. It’s the overall environment of a school that fills its ranks with as many kids as possible for whom AMDA is, as USkoolfish suggests, a “last recourse” school. "</p>
<p>I don’t know how to do that cool quote box, but this quote with the word “may” gave me the impression that this person has never actually attended AMDA and has no real knowledge. That was the only reason I said what I did. :)</p>
<p>I’ll just say I would find it very doubtful for someone to come onto a message board to ONLY post about this school and have NO prior experience with it as either an applicant, a student, a parent, or a faculty member. There would be no reason to post negative comments about one particular school and not discuss anything else on this forum. That’s my take based on experience of participating on CC for over eleven years. :D</p>
<p>Hi, Folks: I’m new to CC so my first posts have been about AMDA. I have experience with AMDA in a variety of ways, including knowing many people who attended and it was really painful to see what they went through, when it wasn’t necessary. What’s important is that if you look at this thread, what stands out is the encouragement to DO YOUR HOMEWORK! You guys seem very educated and really resourceful. But a lot of kids and parents here may not really understand the importance of LONG RANGE PLANNING – especially if there are questions about the institution. I’ve included several other links to other postings here on CC from VoiceTeacher and MTPragmatist, from Michigan and CAP21, and from AMDA itself. You guys are having the conversation. That’s good. </p>
<p>Again, it’s not the training per se. It’s the management of the students and who they let in. It’s the cost compared to accredited schools. It’s the “last recourse” reputation (not my words, by the way). By the way, did any of you read the lawsuit link? As you can see, I’m not the only one with these concerns: [Courthouse</a> News Service](<a href=“http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/06/04/58186.htm]Courthouse”>http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/06/04/58186.htm)</p>
<p>Hi, Sopranomtmom: Here is a link that I found VERY helpful, and one of the best analysis of how to prepare for MT auditions, including using coaching services or not.<br>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1348886-coaching-services-2.html?highlight=amda[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1348886-coaching-services-2.html?highlight=amda</a></p>
<p>My instinct is that you will be concerned about your daughter’s legit sound vs. her belt. She shouldn’t be encouraged to do anything that will hurt her voice. A good MT voice teacher will teach her to do a healthy “high mix” which will make her very marketable and attractive to good programs. It takes a long time to develop if you don’t do it naturally but it can be done, so it’s good you’re starting now.</p>
<p>EgyptianDance, I don’t think anyone is questioning your concerns about AMDA’s program. You seem to have intimate knowledge of the program and many here also share similar concerns and have done so for years on this forum. </p>
<p>Yes, people should research programs thoroughly and become informed. But you are sorta preaching to the choir here because the parents and students who seek out CC and participate, are the ones who ARE doing their homework, for the most part. It is the many others who are not here who may not be doing that. :)</p>
<p>Anyway, hope you will choose to participate on the forum with ideas beyond AMDA!</p>
<p>Thanks, soozievt, I appreciate your words. I agree with you that most of the folks here are doing their homework. But there are some who are just kids, or parents who want answers about the mixed reviews – and I feel for them. They seem so excited and star-struck and hopefully the honesty and integrity of the people on CC will steer them in the right direction. Of course, I intend to post about other schools/topics as well. I was particularly interested in VoiceTeacher’s post about pre-audition professional coaching services and gap year students. Really good stuff! What is your kid doing now?</p>
<p>EgyptianDance, </p>
<p>To answer what my kid is doing now is really getting this thread off topic! I have posted elsewhere when asked here. The short answer is…she is an Equity actor based in NYC and is currently in a critically acclaimed Off Broadway musical, is a singer/songwriter (published recordings and concerts in NYC and beyond of her original music), and a writer/composer of musicals with some significant commissions in progress. While too busy for “survival jobs” this year, she has taught/coached/accompanied in BFA in MT programs, musically directed shows, been an accompanist, directed/taught MT programs for teens and youth, etc. She is 25.</p>
<p>I am a graduate of AMDA (04) and I wish the information that I’ve read on here was available when I was deciding on colleges. I can’t believe what a nightmare the school was and how my life in utter shambles due to this school. Please let me explain:
I loved acting. I had been performing since the age of 15 and I wanted nothing more than to make a living respectably performing. Before I went to AMDA I was attending a Community College full time, working full time and maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Then I found out about AMDA (a professor told me I should look into the school). I completely bought into the hype. I got my 2 letters of recommendation, sent in my essay’s and auditioned for the school…and I got the acceptance letter. I was ready. (no websites like this existed when I decided to attend and pay for this ridiculous excuse for a college).
What I experienced:
First off, let me tell you how BAD of an actor I was, I couldn’t believe I was accepted in to the school because my audition SUCKED so much. I didn’t realize this at the time but looking back, I was not a good actor. I had stage fright that made me shake like a chihuahua, I couldn’t sing to save my life and I was so unsure of myself when I was onstage that I made the audience uncomfortable. I was terrible, yet for some reason wanted to be an actor and I thought “hey, maybe they see something in me”.
Student housing was my first look at AMDA. My room was 7ft by 10 ft cell and it smelled. In fact the entire apartment complex smelled like rotting garbage and cigarettes. I was shocked to find out that this place used to be a brothel and a hostel and that there were crazy people living there (literally crazy, mental illness) they were referred to a “residents” and they hated the AMDA students. We also had to share bathroom facilities with these people. The building was so unsafe that a student got mugged at gunpoint, in broad daylight, right in front of the building and the school did nothing. Plus we had to deal with the “residents” setting things on fire, screaming at 6:00am every morning, starring at us like we were the worst things in the wold and hitting us with their walking canes. Not to mention the rats and roaches, everywhere.
Now lets talk about the school:
There were a handful of instructors that were teaching because they truly loved the art and genuinely wanted their students to succeed. (Those teachers were awesome and I have much respect for them and they are not to be included in the rant the I am about to unleash)
Favoritism, greed, bitterness, arrogance and insecurity were just some of the traits that our teachers offered. The students were called up on stage in front of the class to preform their piece and then made to stand up there while the instructors referred to them as hideous and atrocious, while comparing them to the “better” students in the class. Everyone of my classmates were reduced to tears, in front of the class, at one time or another. I thought “they are just trying to toughen us up for the -real world-” I couldn’t have been more wrong. I can’t tell you of anybody in my graduating class that has found major success after leaving the school. In fact most, like myself, are still so far in debt that living a normal life is impossible. I work a bunch of different PT jobs and can barely afford food. I manage to pay my student loan every month but most of the alumni can’t or don’t because it was a wasted education. No one takes a certificate from AMDA seriously. I’ve had potential employers laugh at me and thought I was telling a joke when I told them what college I graduated from. And even artistic directors/agents think it’s a nonsense.
Surprisingly, my acting did improve and my stage fright got a little better at AMDA but I can think of thousands of better artistic programs to attend that will teach more marketable skills and not scam you out of ten of thousands of dollars. My suggestion: look into a State school that offers a degree program. </p>
<p><a href=“no%20websites%20like%20this%20existed%20when%20I%20decided%20to%20attend%20and%20pay%20for%20this%20ridiculous%20excuse%20for%20a%20college”>quote</a>.
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<p>I just want to point out that College Confidential DID exist when you were applying to AMDA. I have been on CC since 2002 and it existed before that. There was a long continual thread on MT programs on CC back then. </p>