Hi! I applied early decision to Brown and got deferred. I love Brown, but I also love Wesleyan. I’m now debating about whether or not to apply early decision II to Wesleyan. I can see myself at either place. I want to major in theatre and history and I know Wesleyan probably has the better ba theatre major (for performing since that is what I want to do) with all of Second Stage’s shows, but I also know Brown has sooo many theatre clubs. I do not want to make any rash decisions that I end up regretting. I am just afraid that if I apply to them both as regular decision, I will not get into either since an admissions officer at Wesleyan told me applying ed is really really helpful. Both, I know are great schools, but I am just stuck. Which one will give me the better education? All academics and theatre-wise? I know Brown gets a lot of kids into Yale School of Drama for perfoming and that is where I want to go to grad school. Does Wesleyan also get their students into top theatre graduate programs? Any advice on what I should do would be fantastic!! SOS
Before submitting an ED application, make sure you know you really want to go there. I know being deferred is rough (deferred from Dartmouth this year) and it makes you question if your going to get in anywhere. Don’t make a decision you’ll regret. But, if you feel passionate about going to Wesleyan then go for it. I’ve been to the campus and its beautiful and has an excellent theatre department. You can get into the Yale School of Drama from either Wesleyan or Brown, both are top notch. Just consider your options carefully and and don’t act hastily.
Perhaps relevant: your chance of being admitted to Brown following a deferral is very, very low.
^Read, basically, forget Brown. Focus on Wes now.
So usually no one gets in from a deferral?
Because if there is still a small possibility, I don’t want to risk it
Don’t know much about theater at Brown, but Wesleyan definitely has a very active theater scene (Lin-Manuel Miranda went there!)
There’s no rule that says you have to apply EDI or EDII anywhere. Personally, I think your chances of getting into Wesleyan either ED or RD are about equal.
If you’re not set on Wesleyan, don’t apply ED. That said, I agree that a deferral at the most selective universities typically leads to a rejection or waitlist these days.
Look into Muhlenberg as a safer option in case neither Brown nor Wesleyan works out.
Lin-Manuel Miranda is the reason I looked at Wesleyan in the fist place!
Which school is better for theatre? Brown or Wesleyan
When we toured Wes the guide very much emphasized the thriving theater scene. All kinds of tv writers, actors, playwrights, etc…have gone to Wes. I am sure Brown has good theater too, but is that what Brown is known for? I don’t think it is, but I am not an expert. Wes definitely has a reputation for theater.
Someone above suggested Muhlenberg. If you have stats to get into Wes or Brown, then Muhlenberg is a total safety for you, but I think better schools should be considered before that one. Clark University has a feel much like Wes and Brown, and would be a safety, so consider that. I know Clark kids are arty and liberal, so perhaps a better fit than Muhlenberg.
Wesleyan vs. Brown is a tough decision. They are similar in their vision and style, besides one being an Ivy. What I love about Wesleyan is that the arts people who have gone there are entrepreneurial. What I mean by that is that they aren’t waiting for something to happen. They’re forging out on their own and creating. Besides Lin-Manuel, Tommy Kail and Bill Sherman (who also created In the Heights) are Wes. Joss Whedon, Sebastian Junger, Amy Bloom, and Carter Bays are all Wes. These people understand the value of creating opportunities for themselves. Whether they learned this at Wesleyan, or whether Wesleyan is good at accepting students who want to make their own opportunities, I don’t know. We toured Wesleyan a few years ago with my daughter and last year with my son, and the same prevailing theme was present each time–that Wes people create.
(I am not saying that Brown doesn’t foster creative self-starters, just that Wesleyan does and is a very good option to have in your pocket).
Not true at all. Google “Yale School of Drama Showcase” and you can see which schools the students are coming from - Brown is not at all over-represented. If any school is, it is NYU . However, Brown did last year have a guest director from the Yale School of Drama and one of her undergrad Brown actors was admitted to YSD. But that might not happen again anytime soon.
Brown says deferred students are accepted at about the same rate as all other RD applicants
Brown does have a vibrant undergrad theater scene that includes talented students from all academic disciplines and from adjacent RISDI. “Production Workshop” (PW) is a sizable two-story building completely controlled by the students. Notable PW alum include Emma Watson and John Krasisnski.
Brown University theater productions are run by a joint student-faculty board,so students have a say so over what is produced by Brown - and are heavily involved with overall production. I think Brown produces about 3 or 4 a year a year - plus there are many other student run groups. There is student theater happening almost every weekend and it’s well attended.
From Wiki:
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Question: Amongst the small liberal arts colleges with a strong theatre department. Would one put Weslyan and Brown near the top? Swathmore? For us, while the present goal is a profession in MT and Theater, to look for programs or conservatories which only produce that laser focused skill set, I just have to wonder that over the long haul, going to a top notch liberal arts college, with a powerful and well respected theater department with connections to graduate programs is the wiser option. Does a casting director care? I doubt it. Does Yale Grad. Drama care, I think yes. Trying to compile the top five wish list small liberal arts colleges who dump large money into theater and also the community that surrounds the campus embraces this art form.
Love to see a couple punch lists?
Is Swathmore on this list? Tufts? Amherst C.
Love a couple of opinions from folks who know the ropes on this topic. We are in Seattle. So visiting cross country we need to target closely where we visit.
Or finally, would an acceptance at U Mich MTD or Carnagie, trump all of this logic of mine completely.
Thank you wise parents or admission directors!
Tom
@tommcqueen wrote:
Brown is a university, not really a small LAC.
We visited both Amherst and Williams, and found theater to be big priority at Williams, but not so much at Amherst.
Williams has a fantastic facility http://62center.williams.edu/about/ and is host to the Williamstown Theater Festival. Here is a clip about the department: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWBvBFyxk18
We toured theater departments two years ago and the ones my daughter really liked included:
Brown
Northwestern
Williams
Fordham at LC
Barnard College
Departments I’ve heard a lot of good things about, but we couldn’t visit because we ran out of time include: Wesleyan, Vassar and Princeton.
I don’t think there is really any specific ‘feeder’ schools to the top three grad programs (Yale, NYU and Juilliard). Google their senior class showcases and you’ll find the students come from a wide variety of undergraduate programs.
Those two programs along with maybe Juilliard and UNCSA are likely much quicker routes to the professional stage or screen than any BA program.
Here’s a good article on BA vs BFA programs http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2012/04/23/up-close-for-thespians-yale-degree-not-enough/
Best of luck!
@tommcqueen If you are looking at Brown, then you may want to look at Harvard (new Theater concentration), Yale, Princeton, and Northwestern, although all of these are obviously not LACs. In addition to the schools @arwarw mentioned above, you could also take a look at Skidmore and Connecticut College for less reach-y options, and Oberlin and Kenyon if you are open to the Midwest. Have you considered UCLA and USC? These are also not LACs, but maybe fit what you are looking for? As to whether to choose MT at UMich or CMU over these liberal arts, I would say apply to both types of schools if both appeal, and then cross that bridge if you come to it!
I read the YDN article and couldn’t help shaking my head at how complex the theater scene seems on just one campus. The active Yale Drama Coalition is the closest thing to the theater scene at Wesleyan: extracurricular, inventive, largely self-reliant. It’s odd that the presence of a world-class graduate program in the form of the Yale Drama School, just a stone’s throw away, adds so little to the overall experience. One would think that the undergraduate program would be a feeder for the graduate school, but that doesn’t seem to be the case either, So, in effect, you have two sets of graduates - one highly trained and pre professional and the other pretty much sui generis - both competing with each other in the job market…The single best lecture I ever attended at Wesleyan was one delivered by a highly regarded alum in the talent agency/management end of the business and his message (he was addressing an audience largely composed of film majors) that you should major in the performing arts because that’s your passion, not because you have any realistic expectation of making a living at it even after you’ve landed your first job (and, long after you’ve figured out how to staple a headshot to the back of a resume.) Sounds like Yale could use a similar intervention.
@circuitrider said
It doesn’t really surprise me. It’s two separate schools with different missions, different faculty and a different type of student. I would compare it to say an undergrad biology major experience to the medical school experience.
Just out of curiosity I googled Yale School of Drama class of 2015 to see where they came from:
Temple
NYU - 3
Fordham - 2
Lipscomb
Vassar
Marymount Manhattan
Western Mich. U.
U of Oklahoma
U of Montana
Oberlin