Just got acceptance from the New School, BFA Acting!
Question, So we have heard CMU is making calls, does that mean the portals have changed? If so, what does the portal look like if you are accepted? Rejected?? Does it just not let you log in in? I am confused.
@EMVP66 I don’t think anyone can really answer that question but why don’t you call or email Rachel Park? Maybe she can at least give you an idea of what has happened in past years and also how they go about pulling from it. Schools that are building a company (not sure if CalArts does that but I don’t think so) probably have alternates for each individual based on type. UNCSA told my D she was on a “very short” waitlist which was encouraging. Each school is different so I think worth calling to clarify. At the very least your S should email the director and tell her that it’s a top choice.
@twomonkeysnme I think the CMU portal changes on Friday at midnight. All at once for all applicants school wide. And you can log in even if rejected. They also make calls to accepted BFA MT/acting students in the week before. At least this has been pattern for a few years.
.bfahopeful answered better than I did, wish I could delete…lol 
Thank you ladies…
@marg928 Thanks so much - I will call today and have him send them an email!
Does anyone know, now that Emerson’s BA and BFA have merged, how large the freshman BFA Theatre Performance class is?
And did anyone that got into Emerson receive any scholarship/merit money?
@meggysmom - University of the Arts was my D’s very first audition back in December (and her only BFA Acting acceptance so far - go figure!) She auditioned on campus only for straight acting and there was a callback list posted after the 1st portion of their process was finished and she was on it. I remember this because that was both the worst and best part of the experience for her - she was not at all prepared for her feelings for the other kids who she’d gotten to know who were not on the list. (DePaul was her personal first experience with the reverse being the situation while we were in Chicago for Unifieds.)
Perhaps all auditions are not run the same - I’m hardly an expert - but my understanding, based on the way my D described it, is that not being on the callback list meant those kids were done. If you are unclear, definitely give the school a call.
Best wishes for a good outcome!!!
Congratulations on The New School @remartin67! Just to clarify, Their degree is a BFA in Dramatic Arts and doesn’t have a lot of acting, but does give a well rounded theatre education. I believe they will do a lot of directing and screenwriting which I think is great! I think they can take electives to supplement the acting classes to make it more intensive. They do have an MFA Acting Program though that focuses on just acting. I looked into this program for my daughter but she wanted to do more technical training so i couldn’t talk her into it.
@remartin67 Congratulations! How did you hear about your acceptance to The New School? D has applied there.
@WorkOfHeart17 - when we woke up this morning my S had an email saying to check his portal
@samigaga - Guess I didn’t realize that because looking back at the letter now it just says accepted for their “Bachelor of Fine Arts degree” - even tho my S auditioned specifically for acting. I did however know that New School does like their acting students to also explore another area like directing or playwriting and that the curriculum is pretty open so that you can sort of create your own. This didn’t worry me too much because, being that I was a theatre major myself back in the day, I feel I have a pretty good idea how to advise my S on what to take and we could compare curriculums at other schools as well. Seems they do have some amazing faculty who are all working actors (really impressive actually) and they bring in great guest speakers and artists-in-residence. In the end, I’m not sure whether we will choose New School, but I felt like it was worth looking at. The other issue is that the BFA program is so new–I understand they are just getting ready to graduate their first 4 year class this year–it’s hard to know how it stacks up. But I also understand the MFA program has been around for quite some time. Does anyone else have thoughts on this? Does the semantics of BFA drama vs BFA Acting really mean anything? I wonder where this school will rank in 5 to 10 years…
Does anyone know when BoCo notifications will go out?
@remartin67 congrats on New School. we know kids in the first three classes of the BFA drama program at the New School. It is not the title “BFA drama” vs “acting” that makes it different. It is the curriculum. I actually think CMU may do a “drama” degree with either MT or acting focus. UNCSA is “drama” too—but is super intense acting training.
The New School as mentioned by @samigaga is a BFA in dramatic arts (not drama). Meaning they do a curriculum more like what is “theatre arts” or general “theatre” at many schools. You dabble in a little bit of it all and, as you mentioned, students can focus in and design the program to meet their needs. They have classes in drama only a few times a week (unless something has changed). There is a lot more free time than most BFA programs. That is neither bad nor good -just different.
Some Kids we know like it a lot. Others feel it isnt challenging enough.
They do get great guest artist lectures, opportunities to create and perform, and can study in London if they want. There are a lot of pros to the program.
It is just a very different curriculum than an acting focused BFA so depending on the student it may or may not be a good fit.
@bfahopeful - thanks, I think I get it. I’m just wondering whether you couldn’t choose enough extra acting classes to make it more rigorous.
Fairly confident I got rejected from the CMU directing program — phone calls for acceptance appear to have been given a few hours ago, and I was not on that short, short list as I have not been called. Bummer.
@remartin67 I am not sure but you could look at course guide to see what is offered. I do know there are student productions and also shows produced by the school. Also know some kids who auditioned for a professional company in NYC while they were students there. So opportunities are around - may have to look a bit deeper but they are there.
I think it sounds like a good program with really creative students.
My D has been having a hard time finding others who were accepted to CaLARTS and there was no page on FB so she made one. If there’s anyone on here who’s child was accepted please ask the to join the group 