@laylamom your daughter is amazing talented and beautiful your good karma is playing out can’t wait to hear your final decision 
@lincoln56 you are kind and lovely and I appreciate this. I will always have a special place in my heart your daughter (and her Mom). She knocked it out of the park last year with her mega- watt talent! THAT was amazing and well deserved#lifetimefan
@jbcat and @actorparent1 - replying to your comments on class size from the Final Decisions thread.
First off - I am deeply grateful that NYU-Tisch accepts a lot of students! 
I do understand the desire for small programs to keep themselves small. It’s a little analogous to the liberal arts academic experince vs the big research university. When you visit a SLAC all the students say “I am so close with my professors, we have dinner at his/her house and I am comfortable going to them with any questions / they have a personal interest in assisting my career”. The intimacy of a program where the dean of a department knows each student’s name and every thesis gets personal attention from an invested professor is fantastic. I know a lot of parents (again using the academic analogy) who feel their kid would get lost in the shuffle at U.C. Berkeley and I think that fear is quite valid - a lot of kids do. The desire for that kind of focus is that much more of a concern in the arts where “personal attention” means actually having your education validated because your “person” is really the expression of your training! So the desire for a school with a small PA enrollment is quite legit, imo. But there’s the other side of the coin, which is breadth of opportunity and connections. The smaller the school, the smaller the cohort, the narrower the options for study and the the fewer other students to whom you can create close connections. For programs that “open the door” with a big name or a well-connected teacher, the networking concern might be negligible but it’s still something to consider - some students will feel perfectly happy studying with their 25 “closest friends” and some will feel socially and professionally constrained by that.
For my kid I am thrilled to know she’s going to a larger school because I think she’ll find a way to get personal attention and I know she’s a natural networker. But I personally think the “cocoon” of a smaller arts program probably ensures more uniform excellence in training.
@CaMom13 I think your last sentence really sums it up for me about the reasoning behind a smaller program and something I had not thought about – excellent! Thank you!
I think that big programs and small programs each have their own advantages and disadvantages - as is so often said -it’s all about fit 
Thank you all so much for your suggestions, advice and kind words. My D didn’t even tell me she got the email until around 10:00 last night (I probed), right before she was face timing with her potential new roommates. She doesn’t want to talk about it until it becomes real. That’s fair. And even after that, I am not sure she would change her mind. We will do our due diligence, but her young, not fully formed brain is in deep love with one program and to sway her now may be impossible. This is where some serious parenting is going to be needed, but ultimately the choice is hers.
I will keep you posted!
Honestly? If she’s so in love with BU that it turns out she doesn’t change her mind even when offered a CMU acceptance, I think that’s wonderful! It would confirm that BU really IS the perfect fit for her! People tend to get caught up in the “brand name” and prestige of CMU, and certainly that’s worth something and of course the training there is fantastic…but it’s STILL all about fit, so don’t lose sight of that! The most important thing is for her to go to the school that she WANTS to go to, whichever one that turns out to be.
(I know you already know that, of course! I’m just making a general observation!)
I agree - I think if that’s the case you take the CMU acceptance (if and when it comes) as a major compliment to her talent and move on. CMU is a wonderful program but it has its down-sides as well as its up-sides so it’s not like your D would be choosing badly, regardless.
@owensfolks Hi, would you be willing to share what bfa acting programs you found that allow the acting students to also take voice, dance, and audition for musicals? My son is looking for such programs as he wants a strong acting curriculum. Thanks so much!
My daughter attends UNCSA. They have very strong voice and dance programs plus they do musicals. If your looking for the whole enchilada then UNCSA should be one of the schools your looking at. Just this year they added Cameron Knight as an acting teacher and he was the formerly the head at Depaul University & Carnegie Mellon.
Otterbein BFA MT and Acting are required to audition for all performances, including the Dance Concert. My son found the Dance concert audition to be a fun, but humbling experience, lol. All freshman take daily dance class, and BFA Acting students may continue to do so the following three years. Son also took private voice lessons through the University and was cast in a few musicals as well as plays.
@entertainersmom Is your S doing musicals as well as a BFA Acting student? Their site says they only accept 4 MT BFA and 4 BFA Musical Theatre/Dance - 2 each boys and girls - each year. Incredibly small number. And the BFA Acting isn’t many more.
@afterp89, my son graduated this year. Full disclosure, my son auditioned for MT and was redirected to Acting. He had two other artistic admissions, both for MT. After visits he made the decision to go to Otterbein as a BFA Acting major. He was cast in a supporting role in a musical Sophomore year, and in a leading role in a musical both semesters of his Junior year. For last show Senior year, he was cast in a supporting role in a musical. All in all, he was cast in more musicals than plays. My son came late to the MT major quest, had no dance experience and only 1 year of formal voice lessons prior to Unified auditions. You never know what a program is looking for, but the programs that accepted him saw something they felt could be nurtured and developed. Otterbein helped him develop as an actor, dancer and singer, but most important to me, as a wonderful adult.
@entertainersmom Congratulations on the graduation! I think you’ve hit the nail on the head, development not only in craft, but as an adult.
My daughter graduated in May from Drew and had 5 days off before getting her first professional gig…that one ended this month and she goes to her next gig (in a equity theatre) in less than a week. Drew was monumental in her getting these jobs!
ooops put this in the wrong place 
@entertainersmom, look at Wright State University. My older D was MT, but both Acting & MT majors audition for all shows every semester, and actors are cast in musicals and MTs in plays. Acting majors are required to take dance classes freshman year, and can continue them if they choose to. Actors also take voice lessons, although fewer hours than MTs, but they can pay for extra lessons/time.
@MTmom2017, I think you meant your comment for @songbird17. My son graduated from Otterbein this year.
Haha - oops! @entertainersmom - you are correct! I hope he’s doing well & is happy!
@MTmom2017 Thank you for the info on Wright State! Son is now focusing on BFA acting but wants opportunity to audition for the musicals too.