Class of 2018 (yikes!) - Sharing,Venting, Etc

College Majors Musical Theater Major
901

<p>I’ve been sort of watching this debate with interest and I think I can chime in as someone whose kids have been on all angles. This is a long post, so if you aren’t interested, please feel free to skip!</p>

<p>My S is my third child to apply for acting programs. Each of my kids has had different goals and different needs, so what they want is individual. However, here’s my two cents:</p>

<p>First, for us, cost is not just a consideration; it is a deal breaker. My non-theatre D was accepted to her then-top choice, RISD (a top art conservatory), but they gave no grants/scholarships. At the price then, $56,000/year, it was impossible, and my D had to decline (she ended up at Williams, where she is about to graduate this year :slight_smile: </p>

<p>So yes, cost matters. However, it is impossible to know beforehand which colleges will end up giving you merit/need based/talent grants, and which won’t. There are three factors: how much they want you, how much money they have at their discretion, and your need. Our own strategy has been to apply to programs first and see afterwards whether it ends up being affordable.</p>

<p>Secondly, about reputation. My kids have all had the fortune of getting into top-regarded colleges— My oldest went to a top ranked school, my theatre D is at Northwestern, and my S is currently fortunate to be accepted to top conservatories.</p>

<p>That said, I honestly think fit matters the absolute most. Above reputation. As someone said here, what good is being in a top program if you are miserable? This is NOT - repeat NOT - a criticism of his school (this could have happened at ANY college) - but it was not a match for my S. It was such a bad match in fact that not only did he end up leaving, but he is no longer pursuing acting at all. Of course, this may well have happened in any case, but it certainly didn’t help that the school wasn’t a match. In retrospect, it would have been a lot better for him to have gone to a nurturing, liberal arts school for his BA in theatre, probably not a top competitive one–something very different from what he applied to. So for him–what was the good of being in a top program if he wasn’t suited for it?</p>

<p>If you are in a ‘lower’ ranked school but you are thriving, and it is the perfect place for you, you may very well end up not only healthier and happier your four years of college, but more successful once you graduate. I realize there is a desire to categorize acting like sports - I have seen it before here - but trust me, the two career trajectories are entirely different on many levels. </p>

<p>My older D carefully considered fit for her applications and fortunately wound up at Northwestern, where she is very happy, thankfully. There are some programs my S didn’t apply to because the fit would have been wrong for him, including some top places. And I’m sure there are places he didn’t apply to where he would have been very happy. </p>

<p>No matter what college, there are almost always professors who can mentor you.It’s hard getting a job at a college no matter what its ‘rank’. If the student cultivates connections, has a positive learning attitude, takes advantage of all the college has to offer, he/she can get an absolutely top experience pretty much anywhere. Honestly, even if you major in non-theatre at a ‘regular’ university, you can easily get a top education; if you need to, you can enhance your education with voice and dance lessons, either on campus or off, apply to summer stock and internships, and if you can, to a semester abroad for further training. There are just <em>so</em> many different paths to success. Yes, being in a top BFA MT program gives you the leg up in some ways. But it has to be a good fit for you and you have to cultivate the connections there. And if you’re not in a top program, you can truly find success–which anyway is different for each person.</p>

902

<p>@cheeseheadmike my D’s current school and Webster were similar in total cost. So we took the financial award letter from there and Ball state along with letters of two other schools that offered nice scholarships and they were willing to give us the extra amount needed to be comparable to them. As @flossy said all you can do is ask and that doesn’t hurt</p>

903

<p>This is likely a dumb question, but when you’ve gone back and asked for more money, who exactly do you ask? Admissions or MT Dept?</p>

904

<p>Good question! I was just thinking the financial aid office.</p>

905

<p>where ever your S or D end up, will be the place GOD as decided is the best place. But you still have to look at what people are doing after graduation. the bottom line is more graduates from schools like CCM,CMU,
U ofM, Ithaca, elon, NYU, etc are getting more opportunities then graduates from the other schools. so one of two things are happening . Are the top schools just getting the top candidates. People who are the best of the best and will be stars no matter where they go. Or are the teachers at these programs so good that they are making the kids successful. maybe a little of both. I can tell you for a fact at the CMU and CCM senior showcases the top casting agents in the country attend. and most of the kids leave with representation and work. That doesn’t men a smaller school can’t deliver the same product. For example East Carolina University doesnt pop up as a big time program. But it produced Sandra Bullock ! FYI my D has been accepted to 3 of the top BFA programs and most likely will not accept any of them. Will probably go to Columbia and get BA and be able to do outside acting and vocal training in NYC</p>

906

<p>@DoReMiMom and @AMothersLove I dealt with the admissions counselor who took it to to the financial aid director. If you are dealing with an admission person I would ask them - if not I would go directly to financial aid</p>

907

<p>Is there a way to read folks’ former posts in this new format? We used to be able to click on the user’s name and it led us to their other posts and I don’t see that option any longer. I was curious about a poster and couldn’t see his other posts. </p>

<p>Are you all sure there’s not a ■■■■■ under the bridge??? Just sayin’ that there’s a lot of jabbing and digging going on that is pretty uncharacteristic of this group regardless of the tension at this time of the year . . . and that last post. Hmm. </p>

908

<p>@kksmom5 if you click on their name and look in the upper left hand corner you will see a spot that has their posts and threads. </p>

909

<p>@kksmom5 Click the person’s name. You will be taken to their “Page” – on the left side, click on “replies” and you’ll see every post they’ve ever made. </p>

910

<p>Regarding financial assistance, I would approach both departments - financial aid and the arts department, depending on the schools. I would always consider the FA department first for additional assistance, but many arts departments have a range of what they can offer and it might turn out that you are at a point where they can allow for more. Also, if you have special circumstances such as unemployment, recent layoff, disability, extraordinary business decline in the case of 1099 parents,etc, don’t presume that both departments have this info. We did menton this at one school, and, although there was no possible increase in the arts scholarship money, we did receive additional grant money. It doesn’t hurt to explore at least one time with each department. Finally, it served us well to research the increase in overall tuition at one school over a four year period, especially since it gave less aid and scholarship money. I know it’s not a perfect forecast, but it certainly solidified some decisions once we noticed that trend.</p>

911

<p>@MTTwinsinCA @broadway95 Thanks! My tired eyes were looking for something familiar and I was not succeeding! </p>

912

<p>Well @neuroticstagedad; if that is indeed what happens with your D; then how lucky for the student(s) who will move off the waitlist when she declines her spots at those 3 top BFA programs. See how it all trickles down? </p>

913

<p>Alrighty then…just got home from a long day and caught up on the CC threads! Yeeowzer! Looks as if you neuroticstagedad, set out today to ruffle some feathers. This thread has turned into a Facebook political discussion gone wrong…seriously people? neuroticstagedad, I get it…you stated the same things differently a dozen times. LOL. Fine. That’s about as much as I’m going down that road. Thanks for the financial aid tips from a bunch of you, you asked questions I wasn’t sure how to ask or if I even should ask. Very helpful. Our kids are awesome, who knows what their lives will be like 10 years from now. I wish for all of them happiness and fulfillment and the continued desire to dream. And may all of them make a positive difference in someone’s life. </p>

914

<p>AMEN @Puma69</p>

915

<p>Puma, didn’t set out to ruffle any feathers . Just stating what many insiders have told me about the reputation of the top programs. I realize finance, location and fit are all important factors , but if all else was equal , majority of applicants and their parents would want to be in one of the top programs . Do you know any high school football players who don’t have the dream of playing at notre dame? Alabama? Michigan? Florida? Or any other top 20 program? </p>

916

<p>Don’t the top football schools take the best players in some elaborate, highly regulated system? It’s not as though 1000 players and their parents are trekking across the country from school to school so they can run, throw, and crash into padded posts for 3 minutes while a panel of coaches picks the 50 they like best.</p>

<p>Yes CCM, CMU, and Michigan are the trifecta. Funny enough, my D was told that when she was about 14 by a Broadway performer who coincidentally attends the school she chose after not getting into 2 of those programs. She didn’t apply to the 3rd. </p>

917

<p>Apparently not “Amen,” DoReMi, we need to hear it a few more times. Message me when the subject of this thread has changed or burnt itself out.</p>

918

<p>@flossy, and plenty of people would not consider all of those schools to be in their trifecta and would choose not to apply to one, more or possibly all. That’s the beauty of choice and why this thread has become so full of irony. </p>

<p>Let’s start a new thread entitled: Auditioned BFA MT schools that you know you’d prefer less than attending the local college across town and majoring in math (love math so sorry to pick on math). That would take the attention away from this thread pretty quickly. I know there are candidates that are considered “top programs” that would make that list in my daughter’s eyes.</p>

919

<p>@neuroticstagedad - all things are not equal. All things are never equal. If all things were equal I would choose a Ferrari and an unlimited membership on NetJets.</p>

<p>Frustrating thread today. Get a good night’s sleep and back off on the coffee.</p>

<p>In the end our kids will end up where they feel they belong, for a whole host of reasons. And we will love and support them no matter what.</p>

<p>Can I get an Amen?</p>

920

<p>It doesn’t matter what people consider to be the trifecta , the truth of the matter is the industry insiders consider them the trifecta . Your only lying to yourself f you don’t think their graduates have a leg up on others. </p>