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<p>That’s EXACTLY what I kept telling the D and the parents of the seniors at her high school going through the process this year!</p>
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@eveilqueen - knowing how small the theatre world is (until you’re in an open call of course), maybe they already are. ;)</p>
<p>Well said @KaMaMom! I agree, life is too short not to pursue what you love! My daughter is well aware of the difficult road ahead. My advice to her has always been to go for her dream…fully! Like your daughter, I feel like performing will always be a part of my daughter’s life in some way. If she didn’t try for the ultimate dream she would always have regrets and what if’s. In the end she will have a college degree under her belt (God willing ;))I would hazard to say that most people end up doing something completely different than they thought they would at 18 anyway. She can always make adjustments to whatever life throws at her. Twenty years ago, most kids in this business just moved to NYC to start right out of high school. At least nowadays most kids value the training and education they receive in college and choose that road first.</p>
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@MTRaleighmom - I agree! But I hope no one on cc automatically assumes that MT kids who opt for BAs or even double majors are pursuing their ultimate performing goals to any lesser extent than those who opt for different educations. I don’t think it would be possible for D to be any more committed to performing – she’s had two big auditions in just the past two days on top of classes - and her friend who will take the MCAT when he graduates is equally serious and took his Equity card this summer. Many roads lead to the same destination!</p>
<p>There are audition-based BA’s in Theatre with less flexibility and more hours in the major than some BFA’s. There are BFA’s in Theatre with as few as 60 hours required in the major and BA’s in Theatre with 90 hours required in the major. You can receive a BA in Theatre at some schools and end up taking the majority of your electives in Theatre, so that total hours in the major approaches or even exceeds 90. There are BFA’s in Theatre with enough flexibility to permit double-majors.</p>
<p>I fail to see how one could make implications or draw conclusions about someone’s college experience or approach to a career in theatre based on the letters on their degree.</p>
<p>For instance, even though I tend to refer to d’s desire as, “an audition-based BFA” for brevity, she is actually applying to audition-based BA and BM programs as well as BFA’s. When people ask me if she wants “a conservatory program,” I usually reply that I am not even sure what that means, because it is used to describe such a wide range of theatre curricula and some schools offer what many or most would say is a conservatory program but choose not to attach that label to their offerings.</p>
<p>The benefits that d derives from her college degree will depend on the specific program she chooses to attend, the classes she chooses to take, the structure she pursues in her degree plan(s), and how hard she applies herself - not what letters are on her sheepskin.</p>
<p>As a corollary, I try to never conclude anything about a theatre student’s objectives or approach to their art form based on the letters on their degree plan.</p>
<p>For instance, a BFA student at 90+ hour “conservatory” could take summer classes at community college and get an AA in marketing. A BA student in Theatre with a minor in marketing could spend their summers in extended theatre training at professional conservatories. I would hesitate to attempt to differentiate between the two approaches in any general sense of being more or less flexible or better or worse at preparing for some particular plan for an acting career.</p>
<p>Likewise, @MomCares, nobody should think that someone who opts for a BFA is any less interested in other subjects and the world around them than someone that chooses a BA. Or thinks that they are any less academically inclined. Just as you feel there is sometimes a stigma that those who pursue a BA degree are less committed to performing, I feel there is sometimes a stigma that those who choose a performance degree are not as bright, or they are less interested in academics. I can tell you that is not the case. There are many incredibly bright students who choose to pursue a BFA or a BM degree. It does not preclude them from pursuing other interests later in life. Or even while in school. Like any undergraduate degree, most likely they will need more education if their career path takes a turn. And like BAs, many of them do go on to receive other professional degrees. You can have a BFA and still become a lawyer or a doctor or an investment banker or whatever you want to do.<br>
I know I’ve given this example a number of times, but it illustrates this point so well. I do have a friend who was an economics major in college who is now a dentist. She might as well have been a BFA. She still had to go back to undergrad and take some prerequisite science classes before applying to dental school, just like a BFA would do if they suddenly decided to become a dentist. We also know someone who graduated with a dance degree from CCM. She is now a lawyer. So her performance degree did not hold her back either. There is no one right way to go about this. Each person has to choose the course of study and the school that suits them the best.
So all of this to say, I’m in agreement with you: There are BA students with incredible amounts of commitment and passion for performing who will go on to successful performing careers. And there are performance degree students who have strong interests in academics and the world around them who will go on to be doctors and lawyers and bankers. It is unfortunate that people are stereotyped because of the path they choose. They are both good choices. And none of us should think one choice is better than the other or more limiting than the other.
As you said, many roads lead to the same destination. And my wish is that each of you finds the path that is best for your child and family.</p>
<p>Anyone hear from IU or Baldwin Wallace who sent in prescreens? If so, when did you submit? Ugh…the wait</p>
<p>It just all comes down to fit and what your child wants. My D wants to minor in French and study abroad. So she’s looking at schools that would provide her that opportunity as well as study what she loves, Musical Theatre. So as we look at schools, mainly I do most of the looking LOL, we look for the things she’s looking for. We definitely found some BAs, BFAs and even a conservatory that would provide that opportunity for her. With the conservatory, it would take a couple of AP classes and a summer semester for it to happen but she knows that upfront. The only thing I want for her is to find the place where she fits. Not only do I want good training for her but I want her to enjoy her experience as well. Right now two of the schools she really likes that will provide what she’s looking for are BFAs. In the end though, what does it all mean? As long as she got great training, an great experience and isn’t left with a whole lot of debt, debt-free would be my choice 
, I’m good. School reputation will only really matter once they start booking. At that time the school will be able to put their faces on their website and say “Hey! Check out what our Alumni are doing!” </p>
<p>No, @tmygirl … nothing from BW yet. </p>
<p>Thanks @MTmom2015 when did he submit? Ugh the wait… I forget, are you doing MTCA? If so, are you guys going to Mocks this wknd?</p>
<p>Education has far more value that just as preparation for employment. Studying outside your primary area of interest mustn’t be framed as a ‘backup plan’. Any actor who has a rich and broad education will be more valuable than one who has not read or written or theorized outside of a niche interest. The same is true of a med school applicant who has studied only lab sciences. There are many ways to become a deeply thoughtful, creative adult. Some may not even involve college at all. No particular degree carries with it a guaranteed superior education for those who earn it. The quality of the education is far more likely to be determined by the devotion of the student and his classmates than exactly which degree they are earning. The one thing that may be concerning is how a 17 year old will make the choice between a great theater program at a not-so-great college versus the meh theater program at an amazing school. That’s a tough one, even in creating an application list. What the kid puts into it will be the controlling factor but, to be brutally frank, the quality of the discussion (the level of diction alone) at our finest universities might weigh more heavily in the development of an artistic mind than any number of vocationally-oriented classes. </p>
<p>The reason a kid aspiring to a career in medicine is seldom asked about alternative plans is because our nation does not suffer from a glut of physicians. There is, in fact, a dangerous and growing shortage of primary care providers in America. Likewise, the demand for engineers is insatiable. By contrast, our labor pool is oversupplied with artists who are not subject to any licensing tests or board exams that might weed out the weakest among them and direct those folks toward different aspirations. Since there are no real barriers to entry in the arts and inexhaustible media-stoked fantasies of fame, our children (however talented and well-trained they might be) will merely add to the oversupply that precedes them. It’s not unreasonable (though certainly rude) for people to challenge the kids’ beliefs that they will succeed despite all odds. I recommend responding, “Why do you ask?” which is generally a good way of shutting down rude lines of inquiry. Because, really…isn’t “What’s his backup plan?” just another way of saying, “That’s a stupid choice!”</p>
<p>Hope I didn’t offend anyone wth any of my earlier comments. Definitely not my intention! I was just speaking to encouraging our kids to go for it…no matter what “it” may be. This is the time for them to take chances and not be discouraged by nay sayers and also to feel good about changing direction at any time. Not to “do it” for someone else or “not do it” for someone else for fear of failure or disappointment. I just know that people who love what they do live an infinitely happier life.</p>
<p>Nothing from BW yet. Submitted the 30th.</p>
<p>But i did talk to the school and they said we will hear by the 15th</p>
<p>Sent 9/29. @tmygirl We are not doing MTCA. Wish it was in the budget… Hope you have a wonderful weekend. </p>
<p>I don’t think we will hear from IUB until December – at least for the February dates. That is what I gleaned from last year’s posts. We submitted back in August.</p>
<p>Thanks @tylerjohn @Divamamacita my son submitted for the Nov 8 audition (Oct.6th prescreen deadline). He is handling this way better than me!! Still a good amount of essays to finish. I gave him a Nov. 1st deadline for everything to be submitted for my sanity LOL!</p>
<p>For the Nov 8 audition, I read somewhere that IU said it would respond in 2 weeks – I don’t know if they meant 2 weeks from submission date, or 2 weeks after the Oct 6 deadline. D submitted right on the 6th. So I am expecting to hear by the 20th. </p>
<p>Thanks @tramsmom BW and IU said dance prescreens were optional, so my son submitted his monos and songs. Last night he finished filming his dance prescreen! Yay! One more thing checked off! Kind of a hurry up and wait situation… Happy Friday everyone! We leave tomorrow for MTCA Mocks in NYC… Here we go gang…barf</p>
<p>Also waiting for IU for the Nov 8 audition. I took it to mean two weeks after deadline like you @tmygirl. I gave my D the same deadline for getting everything in. She has the SAT’s this weekend so I have backed off of the essay nagging till next week!</p>