@marg928 How do you classify a “true conservatory program”?
@marg928 My daughter attends a conservatory not on your list. What about CCM, BOCO and many others?
I had the same question. Seems like many schools have conservatory programs that the poster neglected to mention.
Someone might tell Boston Conservatory they have to change their name …
In her defense, I think @marg928 may have been referring specifically to acting programs as her D has been focused on straight acting auditions this season. She has been a welcome poster here on our boards as many of the schools she was considering also had MT, and I believe there was more conversation on our boards than the theater board. That may be why the omissions of the great MT conservatory programs?
Many schools do have conservatories and/or offer training like conservatories (my S is in one). However, there are five (four?) programs in the nation (Purchase and UNSCA as @marg928 mentions) that meet the standards of the “Consortium of Conservatory Theatre Training Programs.” Perhaps “true conservatory” is not the correct vernacular.
Well after some of the most recent Final Decisions posts, ours seems like small potatoes. Still and all, we have arrived…actually, S decided before prom. Second campus visit at the end of this month, and this time, it will include registration.
We looked into that Consortium designation pretty deeply during our college search. As I understand it, they are similar programs that have partnered up for the purpose of consolidated auditions. Please correct me if I’m wrong on that. I could not find anything that defined the specific standards that the programs meet, other than they all have conservatory-style training (i.e. very little core liberal arts requirements).
In fact, I’ve done a good bit of research for conservatory v. college arts programs as part of my both my S’s (now a jr vocal perf major) and D’s search. I was hoping to find a standard definition and some type of overarching accreditation body, but it seems that doesn’t really exist. Though, there are accreditations for the particular types of training programs - music, theatre, etc. Please let me know what I’ve missed! 
The common theme seems to be that the training and coursework is approx. 95% arts related (be it acting, MT, music, dance, etc.) with only a very few (if any) traditional liberal arts core requirements and the training is provided in a defined school/college with its own dedicated faculty (not shared with other university programs).
What have others found? I’ve seen several older threads on this topic on CC, but none seem to have clear consensus.
^^^ That’s what I concluded, as well, when I researched it a bit a few years ago.
committed to nyu (mt bfa) about a week ago and i am so happy. congrats to all of you!
I am referring to straight acting since Purchase and Rutgers do not have MT programs. I did forget BOCO is one as well…but not every BFA program is a true conservatory program. When we visited Purchase the director specifically said this to us and mentioned the schools in my post above. Thanks @artskids I was referring to The Consortium of Conservatory Schools. There are only a handful but it’s hard to get any info online of which schools belong to it currently. I will say that those particular schools do not attend NYC Unifieds but hold their own auditions the weekend after and the only schools who did that this year were Purchase, UNCSA, Rutgers and CMU. Juilliard held theirs both weekends on campus.
Right from Purchase’s website:
https://www.purchase.edu/academics/theatre-arts/
I can understand why the director at Purchase would want to mention their membership in the Consortium of Conservatory Schools. It makes them look special. In reality it is a voluntary membership that they apply for. They are not chosen. It would be like saying that all talent managers who do not belong to the Talent Mangers Association are not real managers. Again, they choose to not apply for membership. The acting program at my D’s school (my D is MT) is absolutely a conservatory, as are most BFA programs. There are no liberal arts credits, it is a separate school, with separate faculty and offers training in every area of acting. Every method, including classical. They take stage fighting, aerial silks, tumbling, and a lot of other interesting things related to theater. They can minor in MT and take those classes, too. While Purchase has an excellent reputation, i wouldn’t judge membership in that fraternal organization as making it better than others.
@japbmom Thanks for your input! I see a lot of successful grads out of both programs at OCU.
I’m quite nervous though as I think I received a comparatively low scholarship, and the acting program could have as many as 45 students in this year’s class. I want to be able to perform while I’m in college but that seems so impossible when up against all the acting majors, MTs, VPs, dance majors etc. When I visited, the play I watched was almost all MT majors (and all the leads were MT). Gosh, if I had been accepted to MT at either OCU or a different school that redirected me to acting this decision would be so easy…
I feel pretty terrified that none of my schools are the right place for me. Everyone seems to be able to find somewhere perfect that ticks all the boxes and I can’t seem to. May 1st is far too soon…
@hopefulthtr tit looks like you are comparing OCU and Temple. One is acting. One is MT. I have a question? Do you think you won’t get cast because you think you got a relative low scholarship and there are 45 in class. I’m not sure how they cast at OCU but it would be a good question to ask if MT’s get priority in main stage productions. Also remember in most programs there are many different types of opportunities to hon your theater skills other than main stage productions. These are two great choices.
@hopefulthtr You can take the casting and programs into your decision, but don’t look at the scholarship as some sort of artistic validation. While I suppose there are some pure “talent” scholarships, most are likely academic or need or some combination among these. Scholarships are helpful to incorporate in your decision financially, but not as a value judgment on who you are.
Also, I’d caution against the impression that everyone is finding the perfect school that meets all their needs. First, because the ones who are in the midst of compromise may be less likely to post here or on social media. Second, because once someone has made the decision and shared it, they are focused on the positives of the choice - and that’s all you are going to see. Not the internal struggle.
If you have two or more good programs, which it seems like you do, think about the environment in which you would best learn and grow as a performer and a person. It may not be perfect, but you can make it work.
Ditto everything @MReader posted in 4675!
@hopefulthtr Agree with the others offering advice. Compromise is the name of the game. The perfect “fit” school often becomes that only AFTER the decision has been made. Don’t forget to focus on the positive: You have choices. Not everyone does. Best of Luck!
I am not a believer that everyone lands where they are supposed to- many people say that is what happens with this process. Selling yourself in 10 minutes is not always possible. I do believe though that you can make the best with the cards you have been handed. For my own son he was lucky to receive multiple offers but honestly his #1 choice didn’t happen for him. He now needs to really study what he is being offered and find the best fit with those choices. I do believe though that his choices can definitely be as rewarding if not more so than what he thought he really needed. So many of these programs are outstanding and produce amazing performers. I think it will come down to positive attitude, hard work and dedication. I am trying to help him see that a school’s name isn’t everything and that some of these smaller programs afford much more attention and opportunities. I know a network is important after graduation but I think the strong training is even more valuable.
Has anyone seen anything on Texas Tech University? I can’t find anything.