There’s a lot to be said for being a big fish in a small pond 
@CourtneyTheatre You may get tons of opportunities for stage time which can be invaluable. My daughter is in a very small department ( I think a total of 40 ) and she has made wonderful connections with teachers, mentors and professionals in the industry. Good luck with your choices.
@bisouu That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking. Otterbein of course is none for producing extremely talented performers, but with all that talent in one place it may be hard for a non-performance major to break in. Austin is very much a city where connections are to be made (in all aspects)- I think I’ve pretty much made my decision, just time to re-review financial aid!
From what I can tell you have found a real gem there @CourtneyTheatre
We are in a similar situation to @CourtneyTheatre
My D is trying to decide if she should go with the BFA Acting at Point Park or the MT BFA at LIU Post - a program that is under development but seems to be quite an up and comer and it’s close to NYC where she’s always wanted to be.
PPU offers such a great Acting program though and with 28 gen ed transfer credits, maybe she’d have time to fit in voice and dance in her schedule.
Other option is to go to Point Park and switch to BA Performance with a minor in MT. But she really wants the 3-letter degree.
@CourtneyTheatre: Okay, I understand gap year issues. I think you have a great option in St. Edward’s. We live in Austin, and I know lots of kids who have gone to St. Ed’s (in fact, a young woman down the street who used to babysit for us went to St. Ed’s and loved it). Actually, St. Edward’s is not that small – it’s bigger than Otterbein and certainly larger than the small liberal arts college I went to in Oregon! We also see A LOT of theatre in Austin, and we see St. Ed’s graduates performing. There is one fellow in particular – I think he graduated 8 or 9 years ago – who we’ve seen in several productions. For the size of the school, St. Ed’s has a fairly large theatre faculty. Plus, Austin is a great city! St. Ed’s is close to South Congress, Zilker Park, and downtown. It really would be a fine place to spend four years.
I suspect that work ethic and drive weigh heavily in the BFA decision by St. Edward’s faculty, since they apparently like to get to know the students before admitting them to the BFA, and you seem to be strong in both, which is a definite plus for you. Also, it sounds like you wouldn’t enjoy being a BA at a school which also has a good BFA, and I think that’s understandable; my D wouldn’t have wanted that, either.
Good luck with your decision, and great job getting through this process and really thinking it through!
@CourtneyTheatre I just happen to have the playbill for the main stage show that closed at Otterbein last night. While the tech jobs were split between BA and BFA students, everyone onstage was a BFA. I don’t know if that is always the case, but it does give you some information.
@bisouu I think the program is definitely up and coming, I’m surprised it doesn’t get more buzz on the boards, as it’s entirely possible to graduate with an Equity card (or retain those points)
@foulandpestilent Yes! Austin definitely isn’t a bad place to be a performer.
@myloves I thought that was probably the case too, weed out kids who may have dual interest, or lack the ethic. And as @Reckless said it seems at Otterbein it is the BFA’s doing most of the performing. Even if I pursued a BA I’m not quite ready to give up acting, which unfortunately seems the case at such a talent heavy school such as Otterbein.
Thanks everyone, I think I’ll be posting in the final decision thread very soon!
D is closer to making a decision on Belmont. If anyone’s D has decided to go there, could you private message me.
@connections Thanks for your very helpful posts about LAMDA. My D was accepted last weekend. I have a bunch of questions ranging from how tuition is paid to how my D would access money while studying in London plus how accommodations are handled, etc. Did you find any particular resources helpful to you with respect to LAMDA or studying in London?
Hey guys! So I am in need of more help. So I am hoping to commit to Shenandoah University for Acting. I really love the school and I truly believe it is the right place for me. However I am $12,000 short on the cost. I have asked them to reconsider my conservatory scholarship, but my financial aid counselor just told me she has no idea when I will hear back and it could be as soon as next week or as late as the middle of May. Should I just commit now even though i don’t know how much more money the school might give me and I may be in debt $12,000 my first year? ( As a side note I have submitted numerous outside scholarships for months. I should start hearing back from them now and into May. I am also working 40 hours a week this summer and I was planning on using that money if I had to towards the $12,000 bill.) Am I crazy thinking that I should move forward to committing even with this $12,000 debt hanging over my head? Should I just wait a little while and see what happens in the hopes that I magically hear back from some outside scholarships??? I am so confused and slightly freaking out!!
I even made a gofundme because I am that desperate! If anyone wants the link just message me!
Thanks for your help!
@WhiteRaven1 - you should wait. It is not unusual for additional funds to open up around May 1st. There is no rush on your end to commit; your spot will still be there. My suggestion would be to wait and see what additional outside sources come through and give SU time to reevaluate your package. Debt is a scary thing and $12k your first year is quite a bit. $48k total is not too bad, but it would be nice if you could get that number down into the 20s or low 30s. ~ VT
@VoiceTeacher- Is that true that you don’t have to commit by May 1st? Wouldn’t the school offer your spot to someone else if you don’t commit by the May 1st deadline? I have been trying to figure out how to hold my son’s spot at three schools until he has time to visit campuses, thinking he would have to “commit” to 3 schools and pay the non refundable deposits.
@VoiceTeacher It seems to me that you are giving @WhiteRaven1 misleading advice. If they don’t commit and pay the required deposit by May 1, their spot will not be there, unless they have a special agreement in place with the school. @WhiteRaven1 I hope additional scholarship funds become available to you, but be sure you don’t blow any deadlines based on advice from this community. Speak to the school and be guided by what they tell you about committing and paying your deposit.
@tabers and @CATenorMom - I read it as @VoiceTeacher saying it’s okay to wait until May 1st, rather than needing to commit now… I am sure he will come back and clarify
@WhiteRaven1 - as a student I believe you will only be able to take the $5500 direct student loan in your name with out a co-signer. Have you discussed with your family if they will take a Parent PLUS loan or take or co-sign a private loan? Does the $12,000 in debt for the first year include the $5500 direct loan, or in addition?
In terms of your question… you have until May 1 to pay your deposit, and hopefully will know if Shenandoah is affordable by then. If it is not, do you have a plan B that is affordable?
@KatMT So here is the part that kind of gets tricky. My parents are only supporting me for my first two years of college and only up to $20,000. So the $12,000 that I still need is after the conservatory scholarship and my parents help. They do not want me to take out any loans now because I will already have to take some out on my last 2 years of college. I do not want to jinx anything but I will say that I have 2 interviews for outside scholarships next week and I am in the final round of consideration for a big scholarship. (Knock on wood!!!) So I am crossing my fingers that something pulls through. As for a backup plan I have been looking at Point Park for their BFA in Acting. I am still $5,000 short at that school but financially it is more reachable.
@WhiteRaven1 Reach out to Troy Centenfanto at Point Park and tell him about your circumstances and need for additional aid. It can’t hurt to ask. IF you love that program as much as Shenandoah, it seems that financially it would make the most sense. Best of Luck!
@tabers - that is not completely accurate for SU. If the student stays in touch with us and lets us know they are interested but working on funding, we will hold their place and their scholarship money past May 1st. If a student does not stay in touch and we reach the May 1st deadline, we reserve the right to re-allocate their scholarship funds. However, they will still be able to attend if they change their mind. If the student commits to another school before May 1st, we will relocate their funds, but if they change their mind, they can still commit to us for the fall after the deadline. Each school may be different, but that is how we do it at SU. I do agree that the students must reach out to each individual school. There are regulations that we are all supposed to follow to keep accreditation, however some schools do not follow those rules. ~ VT
@WhiteRaven1 – You will only be able to take out the Federal Loan amounts ($5500 year 1, $6500 year 2, $7500 year 3, and $7500 year 4. If you do not take the amount one year you will not be able to take it at a later time (meaning.,… you cannot choose not to take the $5500 and $6500 loans the first two years, and then take $13000 and $14000 in your third and forth years.
If you ave not already done so you may want to go over to the financial aid forum. There are a bunch of really knowledgeable posters over there about financial aid, even some university financial aid officers. They may be able to help you strategise and look at all of your options.