<p>My dd is in a quandry--probably my fault. If it were up to her, she'd go for a BFA in drama/acting and apply to conservatories or places like NYU (Tisch) or BU. Since my husband and I are footing the bill for this experience, we'd like her to consider an LAC with a drama major--she's visited BC, Skidmore, Vassar, Conneticut College, and Barnard--Skidmore was her favorite. Our view is that in the future, she'll go further with a BA should she not want to pursue a career in theatre/acting. Any advice on how to help a kid make this choice?</p>
<p>soozievt should be your "expert of choice" on that one...</p>
<p>I'm no expert on this one, but here are a few ideas:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>A number of kids (and adults) I know who were in this position chose Northwestern or Carnegie-Mellon (in most cases not having gotten into Tisch, or not feeling ready for NYC). Both of them have serious acting programs with serious alumni, but in the context of a broader university experience (and maybe somewhat greater freedom to transfer within the university). I don't know anything about the BU program. One of the Northwestern "kids" I know went to Stanford Law School, straight out of college, so there's something working there that provides an exit strategy if you decide not to pursue acting as a profession.</p></li>
<li><p>If you are looking at LAC drama programs, look hard at what the graduates do. That may provide some comfort to you and to your daughter. Or not. Or not both. </p></li>
<li><p>At some level, I question the value of LAC "drama" programs. Conservatories and Tisch/Northwestern provide real professional training and real contacts. And the audition process to get in is a real barrier (at least at the good programs); if your daughter gets accepted you have some objective confirmation that she's on a feasible path. A lot of people I know who have had theater careers -- both onstage (or camera) and backstage -- went to colleges that maybe did not offer "drama majors," but that had strong theatrical traditions. They did a lot of theater in college, and made contacts, etc., that started their careers. So maybe you shouldn't restrict your LAC search to colleges with drama programs.</p></li>
<li><p>Remember, there are also really good MFA programs in theater. If she chooses the LAC route, she could still get first-rate professional training over a shorter period if she's still committed to an acting career at 21 (and she's done a lot of theater in the interim).</p></li>
<li><p>Wesleyan? Oberlin?</p></li>
<li><p>A few weeks ago, I met some people whose child is a theater major at Arcadia University, a small school just outside of Philadelphia. They could not have been happier with the program and what the kid is doing (and apparently the kid is very happy, too). That's 100% of what I know about it, but I'm passing it along.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>My S was in this same dilemma last year and I think you have to know your kid and their wishes. My S ultimatelly decided to go for the LAC with a strong theater department. After touring many of the BFA programs he decided that to never be able to take a Sociology or Psychology (or whatever) class just bothered him. He wanted to know that if he took a "left turn" away from theater, he still had options. Some programs are predominately BFA with some liberal arts thrown in-NYU, Emerson so you still can take some courses out of the major. Most BFAs have 4 years of required courses. But I think you have to know your child-if they can't see doing anything BUT theater than the BFA route may be fine. If they have any desire to study other things than maybe a BA route is better. You can read more about the different programs on the musical theater site and like the previous poster said, Soozie is a wealth of info.</p>
<p>Happymom, I would love to help you and have so much I could share with you about this topic alone. For one thing, I am a parent of a child pursuing musical theater and she attends NYU/Tisch and got into several other BFA programs. However, I also work as a college counselor for College Confidential and advise students and their parents about all types of college admissions but ALSO deal with students pursuing both BFA and BA degree programs in theater. I fully discuss the issues of BFA vs. BA as they relate to individual needs and interests. I am currently doing that with several clients in fact and some are applying to some of each and several are grappling with this decision. I also have a niece who is a rising senior who will be applying to both BFA and BA theater (acting) programs who is a very good student as well. </p>
<p>Problem is, I don't have time at the moment to get into all of this topic for you as I am dealing with several emails with clients, etc. as I am leaving on vacation for a week and will have no internet access during that time. If you'd like to contact me, feel free to do so at <a href="mailto:susant@collegeconfidential.com">susant@collegeconfidential.com</a>.</p>
<p>A quick remark about some "information" in JHS's post...
-Not true about Carnegie Mellon....Carnegie Mellon is not only a BFA program and not a BA one, but it is 90% conservatory with hardly ANY liberal arts. Several BFA programs have substantial liberal arts such as NYU/Tisch where you can minor or even double major. </p>
<p>Also not true about Northwestern in terms of there is NO audition to get into the theater/acting major. </p>
<p>Again, I have LOTS I can share with you about this issue and schools that fit various criteria as I not only advise students who are pursuing theater in college, but went through it all with my own child and have visited many of these programs. Sorry about my time constraints at the moment. Contact me if you wish. Some parents just engage me to do an evaluation and college search and the BFA/BA issue is part of that process. Others do an entire package of counseling services for the year. </p>
<p>I urge you to go visit the forum on College Confidential on "Musical Theater Majors": <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/forumdisplay.php?f=501%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/forumdisplay.php?f=501</a>
While your child may be pursuing straight drama/acting, not musical theater, this forum is a wealth of information and has had many threads on just the BFA vs. BA topic alone and we also have information there in the FAQ section on that topic as well. There is another forum for Arts Majors that has a long ongoing thread on Colleges for Theater/Drama Majors which is up to PART 9 but isn't as active as the musical theater forum and is not broken down into further subject topics. Here is the Part 9 thread which contains links to earlier parts: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=166214%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=166214</a> Do some searches on those forums.</p>
<p>Thanks for the information--I'll check the threads you mentioned.</p>
<p>Thanks for the information. Where did you son end up going to school (if you don't mind sharing)? How was the first year? What he expected?</p>
<p>Ok--I'm slow when it comes to messages boards--my first reply was to soozviet and the next one to AudiB4.</p>
<p>Happymom, I look forward to hearing from you while I am away on vacation. In case Audi doesn't return to this thread, I know her son and have done some work with them, and he is about to start his freshman year at Brown, where my oldest D also goes. She has stated this also on CC's forums. Brown is very strong in theater for a liberal arts theater degree.</p>
<p>I am sorry that I have been away from this thread but yes Soozie answered you. My S will be a freshman so we can't comment on how his first year was....yet. My S loves theater but wanted to study other things as well. Ho chose Brown because he can do both. There are many acappella groups and musical theater organizations as well so in addition to taking theater classes, he hopes to become involved in many of the clubs - he will fullfill his love and hopefully meet other kids with common interests. There are other schools that were recommended to us with strong theater departments, such as Tufts and Brandeis, Boston U, Cornell and others. For some, this is a viable route.</p>