@jollyballoon - my son is a dancer, and he has doubled up on dance classes just by dropping in on other classes with instructor permission, of course (jazz and ballet especially). Not officially enrolled in them and no additional cost. The only additional costs aside from tuition and the mandatory fee (of $1050) are optional extra voice lesson time (students get a 30 min voice lesson as part of the curriculum, and if you choose an hour, then there is an extra fee of $2125 per semester).
My son is a sophomore and I want to echo the supportive nature of the BoCo community. They are on break,and four students descended on our house Friday evening (we are one of the few Massachusetts families), stayed overnight, and all left early to audition for summer stock in Maine Saturday morning. Two of the four got call backed for Sunday and the support and grace that the other two demonstrated for the two who got called back was just wonderful. It’s a competitive business, but not cut throat. I too have been to several performances and even at voice recitals, the students all show up and support each other. When a student messes up, others take no pleasure in it and try and support the student as well. My son has enjoyed every minute of his almost two years. We are very glad he made BoCo his home.
@librarygirl8 Is your son a dance major or a MT major?
@jollyballoon - sorry that wasn’t clear! He is an MT major, but he has danced (ballet) since he was small, and dance is essential to his well-being! 
Does anyone have experience with asking for additional financial aid? Is it possible to get aid for room & board?
@jollyballoon agree with @librarygirl8 it does not cost extra to double up on jazz, tap or ballet. Students can just take the extra classes, as long as their schedule permits and they get the teacher’s ok. Availability is based on class size - there are two at each level, for each discipline. If there’s one jazz class that’s much bigger than the other one, kids from the larger class can double up in the smaller one, but kids from the small class can’t double up in the big class. re: voice - my D opted not to do the extra time (she’s had a lot of training) and it works fine. Plus there are choral classes and other singing opportunities. Sometimes she’ll book a longer lesson directly with her teacher (who is fantastic) and pays the difference.
re: financial aid - I don’t think there’s aid for room & board. But check with the financial office because each family is different and there are independent scholarships available. Kids live on campus for one year and then you’re done with room & board at the school. Rent is not cheap in Boston but there are lots of housing options.
@nikkiw13 Just came upon this thread… my D applied to BOCO’S dance program and has had a few friends from early off campus auditions get accepted. However, we have not heard of any acceptances from the few on campus auditions that they held… My D auditioned at the first on campus one on Jan 26 and we haven’t heard anything yet. Did they just do a rolling admission from the off campus auditions??
I understand they offered a couple rolling admissions but the bulk will be notified on April 1st… almost there!
For anyone from future classes checking this thread - the portal was updated Sunday 3/31 this year with all notifications. Just under the 4/1 deadline!
Hi! My daughter got her acceptance the other day and we were super excited! I do have a question for the current parents here…I have seen so much about the dance aspect and voice as well but what about the acting? My daughter is an actor first so I know she will benefit tremendously in her weaker area (dance) but acting is important to her. What has been your experience in that area?
Also regarding housing…I see that most (if not all) students move off campus after the first year. How does that factor into your overall cost for years 2-4? With rental rates being pretty high in a big city, did you find that the overall expense for “Room and board” ends up being the same as, more, OR less than the $18000+ cost listed for year one? We are trying to make a reasonable budget to see if it will be doable for us. Thanks for your input!
I am wondering the same this re: housing costs changing after freshman year.
I guess I should have tagged people for my questions post #29: @DramaLlama18 , @1bamom , @librarygirl8 @JWU1964 @Bogeyw
Thanks for your help!
I have a current freshman, and I am anticipating costs for next year to be similar to or slightly more than room and board this year. Although I’ve heard of cheaper rents, especially farther away from the campus, for budgeting purposes, I would plan on rent on the order of $1,000 if a student shares a room and $1,500 if not. Maybe someone more knowledgeable can speak to acting specifically (I know in dance they stress “telling the story”) but I know my son is growing all around as an artist at BoCo - he was in a MainStage musical and two student-directed plays this year. There so many opportunities for the students!
Boston rental prices are not cheap, by any means, but there are lots of different housing options at different price points. I think it’s safe to say you won’t pay any more for years 2-4 than you do for freshman year. Unless your kid has a very fancy apartment or opts to live solo. Our D’s room and board will be less for off campus years 2-4 than on campus. And she’ll be in an apartment, in the same neighborhood, that is still basically on campus.
The freshman meal plan is convenient and the food quality is good, but it’s not a bargain - there’s no way she could eat enough to equal the cost and she eats quite a lot! She’ll definitely save money there as well.
@MTlizard congrats on the acceptance! BoCo’s training is excellent across all disciplines, including acting. There’s great content on the site, starting here, that’s very representative of the student experience: https://bostonconservatory.berklee.edu/theater And see a production if you can!
Thank you @DramaLlama18 ! She was over the moon to be accepted and they gave her a nice scholarship but its still pretty expensive for our budget. So we are thoroughly evaluating the pros and cons. And benefit vs cost for all 4 years
@MTlizard, Congratulations!! My son is sophomore and the acting training is very, very good. He actually was cast in a Main Stage in a role that was primarily acting this spring and the improvement was so noticeable. It is a very rigorous, well-rounded theater education. He worked last summer in summer stock and just found out he will work again this summer. On the housing, we find that we spend less this year, but there are four in one apartment. He is good about making meals at home unless his schedule is crazy, so that costs less than the meal plan. However, I think it depends on where in Boston you live and how many you live with. The other cost that isn’t typical for most college students (my MT kid is my third of four kids, so his experience is definitely different from my older two in their college experience) is travelling for auditions during the year. While he stayed local as freshman, there was the added expense of travelling for various auditions to line up work during the summer. So, we pretty much ate up any savings with those expenses. Hope that helps. My S chose BoCo over three other programs and hasn’t looked back.
@MTlizard my daughter is an actor-center performer as well, and couldn’t imagine getting better training anywhere else. She calls me in tears (happy tears!) after classes sometimes to tell me about experiences she just had. I’d be happy to discuss that more if you’d like to PM me, but for anyone out there who thinks BoCo is only for “dancers first” and doesn’t give the same kind of acting training as other programs? My daughter spent a summer at BU, and one of her professors from that program is a professor here, and while she lived for that training (as I said, she is acting-centered…) she feels she’s getting just as good acting training where she is now.
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@getmeintoMT Congrats on your acceptance! Per others’ message over on the “venting” board - BoCo is not a cut program. Perhaps it was in the past, but that is definitely not the case now.
re: Senior Showcase - I don’t know much about it as my D is a freshman. I know there’s a showcase both in NY and also right on campus, where Broadway comes to Boston. Anyone else here want to elaborate?
Very excited that my D will be going to BOCO! She had 11 offers from great schools and choose BOCO! She fell in love with it the first time we visited! Any advice is appreciated from move in, classes, etc.