@myloves not to mention jewelry making and pottery! Wasn’t Observing Humans the best? My D loved it.
One thing that was important in our MT decision was whether or not the school also had a dance major. It was important to my D to have leveled dance classes. She did not want to take beginner classes. The dance program at her her school is top 3 and the MT kids can take all dance classes, including things like aerial silks.
Here is something I haven’t heard on here - I just re-read my D’s rejection email from BW and realized she was redirected to theatre (or whatever else). Anyone else get that? Do you think a theatre re-direct would be worthwhile there?
So many topics here!
That OU Drama Dept. letter is not playing by the policies of the National Association of College Admissions Counseling whereby colleges must allow accepted students until May 1 to reply to the offer of admission without losing their spot. I would point to that policy. If they won’t allow a student to go by that policy, I would likely hold the spot with a deposit, but actually then this college is encouraging families to break the rules whereby you are not supposed to double deposit.
For those with Northwestern acceptances…many congrats on that achievement. There have been many parents on this forum over the years whose kids have gone there, but many no longer participate. I know many students and/or parents of students who have gone to Northwestern for theater and had outstanding experiences. Many have done very well since graduating too. While a BA program, I think a student can be heavily involved in coursework in theater and MT, as well as a wealth of opportunities to be in productions, almost as much as in a BFA program if they wish. I have had many advisees choose to attend NU over their BFA acceptances and I have known some friends of my D’s who had the talent to attend top BFA programs, but wanted a BA program such as NU instead, and who are now doing very well in the field professionally. NU has appealed to those whom I know who enjoy a challenging rigorous academic environment coupled with a very strong theater program, as well as a plethora of extracurricular performing opportunities. My own D likely would have enjoyed NU but did not apply. She preferred to be on the East Coast and really wanted a BFA. She preferred a challenging academic setting, and NYU fit that bill instead.
My D does have 3 careers currently…performer in musical theater, writer/composer/lyricist of musicals, and singer/songwriter (pop/rock/folk/jazz/soul). HOWEVER, she went to college to study MT performance. She wasn’t formally trained in these other skill sets in college. She just happened to develop them later. She became a singer/songwriter after graduation. She did write her first musical in her final semester of college as an independent project she wanted to do for the challenge, never intending to write more musicals. But that original musical led to many opportunities after college.
However, I will say that at NYU, there are academic classes and also electives in Tisch too. As well, you can study in more than one studio and thus not be totally locked into a 4 year set of courses. You can flex your muscles a bit there and my D took great advantage of that, to get everything out of those four years that she could. She also learned a great deal from her four years in an a cappella group, as musical director, which is merely an extracurricular activity at college (this is big at NU too, btw).
My MT daughter made her college decision at age 16 and entered at age 16 1/2. My personal opinion (which doesn’t mean others should feel the same way) is that this is the first really major life decision that a kid gets to own. They may be young, but I think they need to own the decision of where they are going to spend four years. They will be adults. They are the ones who have to go. We let our kids pick any college they wanted to. We didn’t have a choice in our minds for them or try to convince them. We surely talked about it and heard their pros and cons and discussed it all. My MT kid wanted to go to NYU since age 12. She was open to all the schools on her list but when the NYU acceptance came, we never even discussed her decision because it was a done deal in her mind! (I think she is also an old soul) My other daughter narrowed all her acceptances down to three favorites and we revisited the three. It was at the end of the accepted student two day event at Brown when that D said she wanted to go to the bookstore and get the sweatshirt, that I knew she had made a decision. But I could tell it was well thought out. In the end, now that my kids have finished college, I really believe each daughter found her perfect fit. And if it should happen that they find the school is not the right fit, they can always transfer. It is not something that can’t be undone later. And remember, there is more than one place where they can thrive and be happy.
@missnypizza My S also received a redirect to theater or other from BW when he was rejected for MT. The theater major is a BA and non-audition, and I’m not sure if its the same staff or not. My son was already scheduled for the Acting BFA audition at BW when he got the MT rejection (he ended up being accepted to Acting BFA), so we didn’t look further into the BA program.
@toowonderful we too loved Syracuse until at the Chicago audition the head of the dept stated that MTers do not go abroad there junior year instead they do a NYC semester. That’s when my daughter decided Ithaca was a better fit for her because the MT kids go abroad for a whole semester. Also I did not like the fact that SU looked down on summerstock opportunities.
@lincoln56 - so I was remembering correctly? Yay - small victories!!
@lincoln56 my son has multiple friends at Syracuse and they have all done summerstock and were encouraged to do so- not sure where that came from.
Also talked to a parent tonight who has a senior and is currently doing the semester in NY and he says it’s invaluable. They are making him learn the business and audition so he’s prepared after graduation. Those 2 things really impressed me.
@JaneDo please let me know if your d picks Syracuse so we can link our kids up ahead of time.
Thanks @myloves - that’s a good point! I’ve looked at the curriculums online and there didn’t seem to be much room but we’ll make a point of asking when we visit and maybe we’ll find that there is flexibility to explore. And thanks @soozievt - that’s a good reminder that it’s ultimately their decision. If we pushed and it didn’t turn out well, there’d be the guilt factor added in as well so I’m thinking it’s best to step back and let her choose but we’ll visit all three and make some pros and cons lists with her to make sure she’s able to really know what’s she’s getting and what she’s turning down. Here’s hoping things become much clearer after the visits!
@ourturn2 …I think that is a good plan…to revisit…and also to make a pros/cons list, which can help clarify things. The visit also helps with the gut feeling part. This way, you’ll know she made an informed decision and it was discussed thoroughly. But I agree that if she were to not like the school down the line, and you had persuaded her to pick it, you would never hear the end of it.
@soozievt I completely agree. We decided early on, as hard as it has been, to keep our mouths SHUT and let S come to his own conclusions. They are adults now (gulp) and we have to trust them after 18 years of parenting to make a choice about what is right for them. And yes the benefit is not having to hear the end of it. One thing I do remind S of is that I know it seems like the next four years are the be all, end all. Not true. Many things can change between now and tomorrow, even! And I will also agree about the visit. S had heard great things about a school and just got a not so good feeling about the fit for him. Although it’s a great school and would definitely be wonderful for some people he knows, it just didn’t do it for him, and he knew it after visiting. I think,especially in this unique set of kids we are so blessed to have, that they know what they want and where they feel comfortable, challenged, and welcomed.
@milmom2 - Yes! I sure will. That would be wonderful! Thank you…
I want to make a general comment based on an earlier exchange regarding certain schools (one of which was deleted by the mods.) Piece of advice when it comes to really deciding about programs based on what people tell you which you might feel compelled to cling to as gospel.
Every program will have their detractors and their cheerleaders. If you are lucky enough to be one of the chosen few in a program which = gets great access to all of the best roles all 4 years, seem to be the faculty’s pet (every program has pp in this category), then sure, you will review your college through a set of rose colored glasses and so will your proud parents. And if you are at the other end of the spectrum, never ever cast, never seeming to be seen while you watch the usual suspects yet again be invited to the grown-up table, the review of your experience will be at the other end. In the middle is where most students will be. Which means things will run hot and cold depending on the year, semester, week, and day. Buckle up because this will be the case for most you or your kids beginning freshman year.
If you are relying on hearsay to make a decision about a college program, consider the source. Is this the “it” person (which doesn’t necessarily mean the most talented person nor the person whom in the real world will book… so there is that too) or is this the person in the weeds or is this coming from someone in the middle (who is having a good day/week/moment or not) where by sheer numbers, provides a better sample? In my experience as a market researcher, it’s so easy to get info out of people at the extremes (the lovers and the haters). These are the same pp that write Amazon reviews with little prompting and maybe post a lot of opinion in social media. What is more representative of the normal experience is taking the time to parse out what people in the middle are telling you and in most cases, not telling you because they don’t volunteer it as easily. The long-suffering majority who stick with these programs through to graduation even when things are not perfect. Nothing is perfect.
So I’ll leave you all with this. My daughter graduated in 2016 from NYU. She has a ton of friends from that program but also she lives in NYC, and has made some very wonderful new friends from every program talked about here in CC since many of them have now moved to the city. On any given day, the same smack that one might hear spoken about any program (including the one she graduated from – Tisch), will be said by these SAME graduates about their own programs. Or some other version of smack that is equally egregious. I’ve been in the room to hear it. Enlightening, tragic and sometimes funny. And trust me, I’ve heard the NYU smack too. The struggle is real and the bill was big 
Make up your own minds and if you are taking outside feedback into consideration, keep it in proper perspective. Wishing you all the best as you wrestle this bugger to the ground. Home stretch.
Great post, @halflokum. I agree that I would not base a decision as to which college to attend based on lots of hearsay. Some hearsay simply isn’t true…or are, well, “alternative facts.” :))
Another thing to remember is that one kid’s experience is not going to be the same as your own. What one kid loves, another may hate. Different strokes for different folks, and all that. But this is true.
And I agree that no program is perfect. I think my kids found schools that fit them well. Are they the best schools on the planet? Of course not. But they were happy there and that was the main thing I cared about.
My S is wait listed at Otterbein. Anyone know how many are on WL? They only accept 4 boys so we are wondering how many backups they have have waiting in “the wings”? He has been accepted into another BFA MT program but Otterbein is definitely very appealing! Help!!! Any info appreciated! 
I’ve been reading this thread for months. Congrats to the hard working talented kids who have earned their offers.
I’d also like to congratulate all the parents here who have put themselves in a position to be able to afford to pay over a quarter of a million dollars to fund their child’s dream.
@halflokum you are so right! I can relate to that personally…I have that situation with my D21 in her dance program. She’s following the Performance track at Pace and has not been cast much. That being said, I feel that dance and MT are totally different. What would it take to choreograph a dance with lots of students in it to give many more of them a chance? To me that’s a no brainer…so when I go see a show (or don’t go because my kid isn’t in it!) and I see the same kid in multiple numbers and mine is in one then I don’t feel a great desire to talk up the program. I’m sure when the mom of that other kid goes she leaves beaming! So yes, you have to take it from where it comes.
@2017MTMomma My D was on the Otterbein wait list last year. It was our understanding that the priority wait list (I think that is what it was called) was 8 (one for each offer) and each waitlisted student stood behind a student who was offered a slot. They may also have a general waitlist but we didn’t get that far. Whomever she was standing behind took the offer and she was out. She had a friend who turned down the offer but my D was apparently not her stand in (for lack of a better term).
@marg928 we had the exact same experience with a summer camp my D attended for 4 years. This camp would go to several cites throughout the summer. Every year a handful of kids were featured and then all the other campers were thrown into large ensembles. My issue was that many of the featured kids came in from different cities and were in most cases featured in those cities as well. I was getting tired of not seeing local talent and the cost for a week wasn’t cheap! My D loved it and while disappointed by the lack of opportunities to perform she did make good contacts and some great friendships. The truth is unless you are on someone’s radar - then you are not!