younger guy maybe Grant Kretchik… Older guy Jorge Luis Cacheiro @katew529
@KarenK99 were those Rejection or Acceptance letters from Bill Poole ? [-O<
If anyone is waiting to hear from Chapman Screen Acting, the admission tumblr page said that the results would be rolling in the coming weeks. There may not be an email alerting you to an admission decision so maybe check the portal every once in a while.
@actingdreams Thank you!
@katew529 I’m glad to give you a window into the journey of changing minds. I wanted Kid1 to apply to BFAs (like an anti-parent!) because he is just so good. I still feel an ache in my heart thinking about some BFA programs in Chicago to which he did not apply. That ache is still there, I think I’m in mourning it a bit (MFA anyone?). When we driving in WI this weekend, and passed a sign for Ripon College, I have an internal checklist that goes something like “Ripon College, Harrison Ford, flunked out”. Always reminding myself that college isn’t the only way as well.
Truly not trying to start an argument but it’s important to change our mindset that “he is just so good” so therefore belongs in a BFA program. Again, tons of great training in both BA’s and BFA’s. BFA is not a greater definer of talent. JMHO
@actingdreams, @bisouu, thank you for sharing! Laughing at the painful familiarity of the idea that something counts so much more to these kids if someone other than their parent says it . . . sigh.
Clarification - I didn’t mean to make it sound above as though most (let alone all!) of the blame for the blinders anyone (kids or parents) might be wearing lies with CC! Obviously, there are many sources of hype, and of course plenty of it comes from the buzz created by the increase in applications that schools get simply by participating in Unifieds (or auditions held concurrently with Unifieds).
I’m thinking this phenomenon is similar to the way that “regular” schools’ application numbers increase dramatically when they start using the Common App…with the result that schools reject more & more students…and then everyone gets to look more selective for the damn US News ratings. Such a ridiculous rat race.
And (on a separate topic) I completely agree with @techmom99 that it’s human nature to buy into the common fallacy of equating cost with quality. Particularly dangerous when it comes to the arts, where people aren’t likely to rake in the bucks after graduation.
Question for y’all: Does anyone know if there’s a thread like this for performing arts programs specifically, or whether the info is usually the same for theater programs as for the schools in general? It would be so nice to not think about this stuff for awhile.
@katew529 oddly, I just noticed this thread on the main page.
I’ve just been going back to old threads, to get a rough idea.
@bisouu I have been honest about my own bias during this process. When I started, I did have a bias that BFA were a more talented bunch, and who knows where I came up with that idea. Now that I’ve been on this journey for 1.5 years, I know longer have that point of view. You may have a changed mindset, and I may have a changed mindset, but there’s no requirement that the folks on CC have to comply. I post my story so that the next time a kid flips from BFA to BA to LAC undecided with strong theater program, hopefully it will resonate with those on the journey after us. On college visits with programs that have BFA and BA programs, I ask about the dynamics between the groups. I think everyone should. Talent bias is real.
Plot twist: my D LOVED Purchase! So much so that it’s now jumped to No. 1 on her list! (Which is fine by me - I certainly wouldn’t mind only paying $20,000 a year total for tuition, housing, and meal plan!)
And to tie in to @katew529 's excellent, thoughtful post: we had gotten a somewhat negative impression of Purchase from some posts on CC (some from previous year’s threads), a vibe that it was harsh and kind of mean. But the students at the audition were very friendly, and the auditors were very interested in “Why do you want to be an actor?” (not just “why do you want to come to this program”) and seemed to really want to know about her as a person and what made her tick. There were a LOT of aspects of the program that she loved. And the performing arts center was beautiful, with floor to ceiling windows and skylights, very light and airy.
My S auditioned today too - I haven’t posted about him much after the first two rejections because it’s just been more of the same and I found it too disheartening to post about, so I figured I’d just post his full story once it’s all over. Anyway, he doesn’t expect to get into Purchase because it’s so selective, BUT he found it to be his warmest and most positive audition experience so far. They gave him some positive feedback, and like D, he too liked that they wanted to get to know him as a person
Definitely not what we expected!
So it does go to show that while CC absolutely IS a valuable source of information and a wonderful place to commiserate and support each other, you also can’t just take one person’s opinion of a school at face value - you really do need to visit and form your own opinion, because as is so often and wisely said here, it’s all about fit, and a school that’s all wrong for one student could be a perfect fit for another.
@kayew529 So following your post, I posted my S acceptance for MT, since they represent the less known programs.
It’s a good point not knowing about viable programs that are out there. He’s also got a few Acting auditions in the mix so I follow both majors
@actorparent1 my D is a sophomore Acting major at SUNY. She was working auditions today. She is very happy at SUNY - take what you read here with a grain of salt.
Your comment about bias is interesting. I encouraged my S17 to do a BFA program (he’s in theater tech, lighting) because I perceived it to be less challenging academically due to the lessened requirements for gen eds. My son is dyslexic and dyscalculic and foreign lang is a challenge as well. As a BFA, he only needs 10 gen eds and he came in with 3 from AP tests. As it turns out, the BA at his school also requires the same number of gen eds but also requires general electives and doesn’t offer the indepth training in his hoped for specialty that the BFA does.
What I didn’t count on was how much more challenging the BFA is time wise - he has to put in so many hours per week that he doesn’t get credit for but if he doesn’t show up, his grades will be reduced.
I’m glad your kids liked Purchase. My son liked the campus. However, the theater tech program required you to read a play and be prepared to discuss it at the audition. As mentioned, he is dyslexic. He tried for 3 months to get through “Night of the Iguana,” which is a horrid play about Nazis vacationing in Mexico! before he decided that he was just not going to go to Purchase. Are your kids looking at other SUNY schools?
D2 did a walk in for Purchase at Chicago Unifieds but no other SUNYs. Have you had your son listen to the play? D1 has a slight learning disability. She will listen and read. She can get many classic plays on OverDrive from our library. Others she downloads into
Audible. It is a life-saver.
@techmom99 my daughter wanted a BFA for the exact reason you described. She was sick of classes that were not in her desired area of study. High school AP’s burned her out. She said she never wanted to see another math class! But her BA ended up letting her meet the gen ed requirements within the major. ie, writing intensive for english was satisfied in the playwriting class. Math requirement was met in Arts admin and theatre design. As far as hours go, you are so right. The number of hours spent outside of the classroom as a theatre major are astronomical. Unless my daughter is sleeping she is in the theatre space doing something…these kids never stop. 
I did get the play on tape, but it didn’t have the cues and the descriptions that were in the written play, things like “character X sighed heavily” or “the branches rustled” and the like and my son was afraid that they would ask him about that sort of thing to catch up the people who listened instead of read. He is one of the kids who was told that Purchase is very cut-throat by several people who had transferred out and I think he took it to heart. In addition, Purchase is relatively close to home and he wanted to be further away. Also, he actually likes working on musicals and I don’t think Purchase does as many as his school does.
@bisouu -
A couple of S1’s gen eds will be satisfied in the BFA. I think Western Civ and maybe one other. S17 has already said he plans to live on campus all 4 years to lessen the travel time. Last semester, he literally lived in the drafting lab and he still barely got a D (needed a D- to advance in the program). A couple of his cohort have already transferred to the BA, but he is very happy.
@actorparent1 cheers for purchase!! It has always been near the top of my sons list. One of my favorite actresses is a Yale Graduate (MFA) and happens to teach BFA students there so I’m a bit partial to purchase. My son also enjoyed his audition and seem to like the auditors very much. Hoping you have found your school