BA vs BFA decision

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
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<p>Well, after much research, advice, intuition, my S has decided on doing a BA in theater, and he will be dropping his BFA audition schools. He is now 100% sure of his path, although he knows anything can happen. We actually traveled to OH this past week to look at some schools, and it was really nice to listen to his ideas, and why he chose the BA route. I think it all boils down to flexibility, and wanting to be a big fish. He loved that Wooster and Kenyon only had a small amount of theater majors, but tons of shows and student run groups. He attended a theater class at Wooster and the professor actually spent an hour with him after the class going over all of his questions and showing him around the facilities. I think he likes the nurturing environment and doesn't feel he is ready for the intensity and competition of a lot of the BFA schools. He also decided he wants a small, intimate LAC with a thriving theater dept. for his undergrad experience, a school where there aren't tons of theater majors, where he could work in all aspects of theater, directing, writing, tech, where he would have chances for self-directed projects.</p>

<p>He came to this after much debate and introspection, and is very sure now. He hopes to apply to an MFA for grad school in a big urban city, maybe even abroad. He is aware he will be giving up the training that a BFA gives you, but in return he will have more academic options that he wants to explore. I see him as a Theater/English double major. I am a little disappointed because I was looking forward all the hoopla of auditions and spending time with him, but really happy for him!!</p>

<p>So here is what his list looks like now, starting from the west.....</p>

<p>Occidental, USC( he will audition for their BFA but will switch to BA if he gets in( they let you decide after acceptance), Whitman, Wooster, St Olaf, Macalester, Muhlenberg( probably not staying on this list if he gets in Wooster as it has too many theater majors), Lafayette, and Conn college.......BUT....</p>

<p>he will be applying ED to Kenyon...gulp:)</p>

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<p>Sounds like a great list 5boys! Good luck to him!</p>

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<p>Very glad he conducted his research on site, so to speak, and can feel confident moving ahead with his plans. Congratulations and good luck! :)</p>

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<p>Has your son visited Occidental yet? What are his impressions of their BA program? This will be a possibility for my D once we visit in December. We looked at the instructors and the classes offered at both Occidental and Cal Poly Pomona. Have you looked there as well?</p>

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<p>bisouu…he has visited Oxy and liked what he saw. He really didn’t get to talk to any theater students or faculty. He is going in Nov. for their theater day. I think he will get a much better feel for it then.</p>

<p>Times…Thanks… I think your D went to Kenyon if I remember… I might be asking you questions in the near future. On another note, I thought Kenyon was waaaaaay to isolated for my tatse, I would have to go kicking and screaming, thankfully I am not the one going to college. My S was more interested in the theater opportunities, classroom experience, faculty and students.He felt he found all of what he was looking for. He spent the day and night on campus, spending the night on the cold hard linoleum floor of one of Kenyon’s drab,dank( in my opinion) dorm rooms. Earlier, when his host was busy he wandered off by himself introducing himself to everyone he met and ended up having a fantastic night with a fellow Cherub alum. Not one person said they weren’t happy there. He said everyone at Kenyon was like him, passionate about many things and up for anything. To me they all looked like unique, smart, artsy, unpretentious, poet types, that you could stay up all night with discussing literature snd listening to someone sing with a guitar in a dark, smoky room…LOL!!! He said even the football player he met was also a dancer…</p>

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<p>Hey, 5boys, yes, my D went to Kenyon, and by the way her dorm rooms were generally cozy and cheery (although the weather could certainly be grim). With Mt. Vernon 10 minutes away and tons going on in at the school and in the village, it definitely never felt isolated or boring–my daughter always felt she had TOO many choices on the weekends! And we’ve made two or three quick trips over there while visiting Otterbein, just to walk down Middle Path and eat lunch at the Gambier Deli. Glad to hear it appealed to your son–just goes to show how much it’s about the people and finding your tribe. My D didn’t spend too much time discussing literature in smoky rooms, but she sure spent a lot of long, long nights in the theater building. And a nice crew of those “unique, smart, poet types”–all unique. smart teachers, grad students, musicians, writers, etc. now–held forth and had a great time at her wedding this past summer. Nothing made me happier than to see how strong those Kenyon ties still were. :)</p>

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<p>Now that’s a fantastic testament Times… makes my heart happy to hear. Although my S’s choice seems different than what I would have expected, I think I can somewhat understand where he is coming from. He has a strong passion for writing, and literature… and you can almost smell books at Kenyon. If he does get lucky enough to get in, I am very sure he would thrive there. I think he has a decent chance ED. He talked to his admissions rep and she said they would take a supplement, resume and rec form his drama teacher. I don’t know if al of this will factor into his admission decision, but they will at least know he is passionate about it. He had a great interview with a gal that was actually a theater major, and she seemed positive that he was a great fit for their community.</p>

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<p>One of the most talented actor/director/writer/poets from my son’s high school chose Kenyon. The one-person show she created and performed for her senior high school showcase stands as one of the best theatre productions I’ve ever seen. So, lots of talent, lots of creativity and lots of smarts there! Best of luck to your son!</p>

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<p>Thanks Uva:)… that’s funny… my S is producing, directing, and performing his own independent project this year. It will be the highlight of his 4 years in HS I am sure.</p>

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<p>Wonderful news! Having a set path helps the decision-making for sure. Best of luck with his list - it looks great!</p>

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<p>Thanks for keeping us up to date and let us know how it turns out. I’ll write more later but mine is very likely to go BA route too due to flexibility and for him, he liked the idea of taking theater classes with the whole student body rather than primarily with fellow BFA students(had he gone BFA route). We also want to keep the semester abroad option as open as possible which seemed more doable with a BA. Eager to hear how Kenyon turns out! And for a long time, I thought this was your second son, not the youngest! Take care :)</p>

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<p>5boys, am I correct in remembering that you have an older son at St. Lawrence…which makes Gambier, Ohio, look like a bustling metropolis? :smiley: Maybe one of your kids will go to grad school someplace warmer and more, er, inhabited (I went to Middlebury, so I relate to your boys’ choices). It really is funny to see how different their inclinations can be from ours.
Congrats to you on being the kind of parent who can see that your kids are not your clones!</p>

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<p>Thanks for the support ctl…glad I will most likely have a fellow BA mom on here to talk to.
and this is my #5 boy… my baby…</p>

<p>Times… yes, you are correct, I have a S at St Lawrence… and Canton, NY does seem like a metropolis compared to Gambier. It’s funny that we live in So Cal. and it is anything BUT rural, but both of my kids decided on a small rural school for college. It might be that they went to a very small HS, and wanted the same type of undergrad experience. I imagine they will both go to more populated cities for grad school. My S at St Lawrence is pre-med and will most likely come back out to the west for med school.</p>

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<p>5boys, I grew up near Canton and I am stunned to have it described as a “metropolis” - but it is one of the larger towns in Northern New York! St. Lawrence is lovely though :)</p>

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<p>song… I was actually just kidding when I was referring to Canton as a " metropolis"… It was in reference to my visit to Kenyon with my younger S. So many people go on and on about Canton being in the middle of nowhere, but when we visited Kenyon, I was stunned with how ting Gambier was… and then I mentioned that Canton seemed like a 'metropolis" compared to Gambier…LOL!!! At least Canton has some great restaurants, stores, a movie theater etc. Gambier doesn’t even have a pizza place!</p>

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<p>5boys: the more I read your posts about your son, the more I think he is a male version of my daughter. every single thing you say has a familiar ring - as well as how he’s come to his realizations (which are the same as hers), and their lists are similar … though hers are all Central US/OH/VA-ish. I must say, we too, loved Kenyon with every fiber of our beings. lol. Esp that dining hall! Our tour guide won me over completely when we walked into a big theatre-style biology auditorium room and said, “on Sunday nights, they let us watch Game of Thrones in here!” when I gasped, he said, “you can come next season!” hahahaha. He was adorable. I could smell books at Kenyon, also :slight_smile: I almost was sorry we visited, as it may be a tad reachy for us…but they have bent over backward with their contact. Was your son’s interviewer a pretty blond senior with short hair and starts with a “K”? If so, we spent time with us also, and she was great to talk to. My kid is also a “out in the middle of nowhere” girl. Not going to phase her a bit to be in a location like that. She came very close to applying there ED, but didn’t at the last minute. But it is definitely among her top choices. I look forward to seeing how it plays out for your son…I sure hope my daughter just has a few choices. She has stuck with one BFA audition only … and all the rest BA’s.</p>

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<p>Hi. This is actually CTL. Could not remember password to get in so I had to set up alternate account. Looks like it will be temple for mine. Hoping he will at least apply to Calif schools… Cool to see how yours sorted through issues and yes kids are different from us… Your description of Kenyon was amusing! My kid and I def had different takes on schools he saw. Mine has been leaning towards ba all along. They are leaning towards east coast school to start off closer to home at least to start. They may transfer out to Cali at some point and will likely move out there after if not during college. For them, its boiling down to temple and Philly have a lot(altough not everything) of what of they are looking for in college, temple not only has a solid acting program, it also has an on campus studio for its mass communications degree and he is hoping he can get some classes or training in the media room too, he gets a lot of merit aid from temple, and he thinks it is best to mature a couple of years before heading to cali. He’s concerned moving from a small rural school straight to LA is a lot to take on. Philly and some other East Coast cities are a nice distance from home but only a bus or train ride home(not a plane ride) so he can come home on weekends if he wants to, and the 3 hour time difference between East and West coats would make it harder to stay in touch with EC friends. He learned this first hand when we visited Califonia. I for one still hopes he applies to Cali schools in part due to freshman getting a lot more merit aid than transfer. Also, and maybe I am making too much of it, there are very few acting for camera classes on the east coast. I certainly will fully support him if he decides next spring to stay on EC and like how he is thinking things out. I just wish he would keep all options on the table for now :/</p>

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<p>Hey, mommabear is actually me, not some imposter. Keep me posted on Kenyon. And if you want any east coast advice, let me know although you may have some idea on it from the other kids! Get him a warm coat for starters!!! :slight_smile: I think Kenyon is in northern Ohio?</p>

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<p>Thanks ctl…I will keep you posted on Kenyon… right now he is trying to get a couple of non-Common App EA app’s in before the 11/1 deadline. I think he successfully submitted everything but an honors college app essay to College of Charleston. He will submit his ED to Kenyon and EA to Wooster and maybe Wheaton by 11/15. So, he will have a good number of app’s in… he already submitted Southern Oregon and U MInn, both of which have good BA in theater programs… he should be hearing back from the latter two soon.</p>

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<p>I;m glad he is more on the ball with the common app than mine is! Charleston, WV? Good for him staying on top of his apps! Minn would have been on our list other than it’s too cold :confused: Yes, Phiily is not balmy(well, in the summer, it is but that’s actually a negative too :() but Philly is a lot warmer than Minneapolis!!! Who knows, maybe they will be in a show together after they graduate or maybe some summer program who knows where that they both attend!!! And seriously, any east coast or mid west advice you need, let me know :slight_smile: I have to admit that after being in Cali, neither my son or I could understand why people would leave there to come east! We’re both like, seriously??? But some around here think he’s nuts for considering Cali at all too! He’s gotten into one school already for a BA non audition program and should get into Temple without too much trouble. He also applied to St Johns(in NYC) and the Cali schools if apps get done are USC, LMU, and Azusa Pacific. I know the last is smaller but he met with the dept and took a tour and he just clicked very well with everyone there, both students and faculty. Some may not want to go there but for him, it would actually be a good match although the mandatory chapel did not necc land on the plus side when he made up his short list.</p>