<p>Well, add my 2 Ss to the list of those who didn't attend a PA high school! </p>
<p>SUE</p>
<p>draMOMMAqueen--Did you find the Elon thread? Elon has its own thread that Ericsmom started, and the administrative assistant even posts on it and reads the thread. I think you'll find that Elon is a program that is becoming very well respected. I've heard a lot of great things about it from other people who have visited or auditioned there. I don't think the programs at James Madison or Catawba are in the same league as Elon. </p>
<p>And, for the record, my D does not attend a P.A. high school either, but rather a large public high school in a rural/suburban area. She's pieced together all her training and experience at the expense of her sleeptime. That's why she can't wait to get started in an MT program that offers one stop shopping!</p>
<p>MTMommy, since I have a kid one year ahead (in terms of school, not age), I can assure that your D is going to be in HEAVEN next year like mine is now. It is like everything they wanted in one place and they are finally living it. I'll admit my D felt that way at her summer theater program but it was always over too soon....this is all year and just like a dream come true all in one place and on their own as well. I almost feel like she is at camp. The intensity and immersion for a kid who loves theater....it is more "fun" than regular school as they are studying what they love. Yes, it is hard work and all consuming of their time and still no sleep. In my D's case, tons of walking has replaced loads of driving. But the constant going going going is that same deal....but they thrive on it. The immersion is 24/7 and they juggle many responsibilities but they want to do these and enjoy them. Your D is going to LOVE it, just you wait. I've seen my D refer to her studio as "CAP twenty-fun". :D
Susan</p>
<p>My D is at a performing arts school-urban, public, day school- and there are definte advantages and disadvantages just like everything else. The school has had an off and on MT program, that D was still too young for when it was in existence. However she would not have been a MT major anyway. She currently is a dance and vocal major and in the past did manage to squish in drama. There are 2 primary reasons D is there. Currently she gets 3-4 hours daily of good ballet instruction free. This allows us to send her to other programs and fill out her dance training with tap and jazz elsewhere. We could not afford this otherwise. The second reason is academically D is a good student but does very poorly in academically competitive environments. The PA school provides an adequate education that will get her into most State universities. If she wants an NYU or such she will have to do alot of test prep work. But the PA school keeps her academically motivated - because she is a top dog in a little pile there. I know there are other academically competitive PAs and some maybe publics schools but this is not where we are. </p>
<p>Does this help their graduates get into MT programs? I don't know too many specifics but we are in the same city with one of the top MT programs in the country and in the 5 years she has been at the PA (it's a 4-12) no students have been accepted into this program that I know of. There are other parents on this board from the same school who may no more. Much speculation locally why the program seems to never take local kids (from the PA and elsewhere) but it may just be how things go.</p>
<p>My D's PA school brings many, many students into the arts who would never have the family resources to train in the arts without it and for this we are very greatful. However, it does not really provide sufficient training for students unless in MT and for D it is actually almost an obstacle since she cannot train in all three areas. On the flip side, D loves going to school and except for all that learning they expect she would spend her entire life there.</p>
<p>WOW!!! I really did not expect such an immediate response and from so many people. Thank you all. I will definitely look for the Elon thread. I am aware of the BIG LIST. There are several problems I am dealing with unfortunately. The first is that my daughter would prefer to be in a city environment. NYU would be great, Boston also. In addition, while we know the reputation of the likes of Otterbein, Oklahoma, Cincinnati, Carnegie Mellon etc., she doesn't want to be that far west. Why 8 hours north is okay I am not sure, but anyway. She would prefer a BFA (but maybe they all would) and to top it all off, she wants a small environment. Can anyone say particular? Since she is aware of the odds, I have talked her into looking at options like Elon, etc. At this point she is applying to Emerson, NYU, American University, UArts and George Washington although I think that is a waste of time but it's not a BFA and there is no audition. It's also not a musical theater degree so this is a back-up. Although Florida State is huge, it also looks like a great program so we are looking there. All of these schools require auditions (except GW). Her background (no laughing now) is 4 years of tap, 3 years of voice and acting limited to what she has done in high school, six shows so far. She is in all of the upper level choirs at school and she is enrolled at Studio Theater in D.C. (professional) in a 12 week audition class. She is extremely passionate about this endeavor which is why she really doesn't want to consider anything other than a BFA. My husband and I put our feet(?) down about a conservatory environment because we wanted academics as well so that she might have something to fall back on, assuming she gets into one of these schools. By the way, I hate to say this, but when we visited Emerson I was not thrilled. The facilities are beautiful, but I have to say that the two kids who did the tour we very unimpressive, very blase. We also have an appointment with the performing arts department which consisted of one student who gave us info. I don't know if that is the norm, but I thought we would get to meet a professor or two. This happened to be a Friday and there were NO students to be seen. We were told that most students do not take classes on Fridays? After reading in this thread that they had dropped one of the acting majors(?) and that there were concerns about more being dropped I got a little worried. Anyway, I got off task. I find myself doing the research on other schools because she is deadset on her own requirements. I do appreciate all of the insight.</p>
<p>Does anyone know who is in charge of the FAQ page right now? I would like to make some changes/updates on the dance section. Yoohoo, anyone out there?</p>
<p>Hi draMOMMAqueen--i understand that your D has set up a lot of stipulations as far as where she wants to go to school--it is really hard to convince our kids that 4 years goes by so quickly, and that the right MT program has very little to do with where the college is located (or even what it looks like!) as opposed to what they will be learning within that college. i told my D's that they have the rest of their lives to live anywhere they like, but only 4 short years to accumulate the wherewithall to live there successfully (professionally speaking). If there are schools that so obviously fit your D's needs which are not exactly where she wants to be, but will truly function as safety schools (and provided she has the time to audition), you should consider "suggesting" she apply to one or two, especially if you feel your D doesnt have enough safety padding already from the schools in the "right" geographical area. In a case like MT where so few kids are accepted at each school, it is always better to have more choices than less. D#2 is applying to two safety schools in locations she has no interest in, but we are both sleeping better at night as a result of a great compromise: I know those schools are there for her if she needs them, and she knows she has no intention of choosing them!</p>
<p>HI draMOMMAqueen,</p>
<p>We live not far from Elon and Catawba and I can tell you honestly they are NOT in the same league. Elon has become very competitive in recent years and has a fabulous program. Their shows and training are wonderful! Their kids have a great relationship with each other and the faculty and are a very close group. Many of my d's friends that did not gain admittance to Elon all went to Catawba or Lees Macrae. They are fine programs I'm sure...just not competitive. </p>
<p>Please read the Elon thread. The campus is beautiful and it's in an area with a lot of great theater. Good Luck and welcome to cc!</p>
<p>Kaysmom</p>
<p>What do you suggest for my son who lives in East Texas? We have traveled to University of Central Florida and OCU and loved them both. He is considering Texas State in San Marcus as a back up. What other options should he consider?</p>
<p>Dear Sareccasmom and Kaysmom: Again, thank you for your assistance. My daughter and I have had long talks about her priorities and she is coming around to realize that her training is paramount. We actually attended an open house for the visual and performing arts depts. at James Madison Univ today. This would definitely be a safety school for her. Their board and gpa requirements are below where hers are (by enough to probably get her a merit scholarship, but not low enough that it would not be challenging) and although there is an audition for the MT program, there is no cap on the number of kids they take. They offer a BA and a BM in MT. They have about 200 kids total in the theater dept 50 of which are in musical theater. They will be building a new theater to be done by 2009 (her senior year). The kids there are happy with the program and although the course requirement seems adequate, I know there is no comparison to some of the other schools mentioned in this discussion. I am happy to have found a back-up that she liked. No, it's not in a city, but I think it would be okay although it is rural Virginia. It is larger than she wanted (16,000 undergrads), but, it may have to do. Anyway, thanks also for the info on Elon vs. Catawba. The websites kind of lead me to the same conclusion but I am happy to hear it from someone who really knows. Again, Elon might be a challenge to get into, but I did like the numbers I read in the Elon thread. What a great resource; 8 pages on one school! Catawba may be more along the lines of JMU, although I know for a fact that the academics at JMU beat Catawba hands down. We have also thought about Muhlenburg, but I feel that she would not have an edge academically. It sounds like she falls right on target there. Does anyone know how tough the audition is or how many kids they take into MT?</p>
<p>Thanks so much to those who took so much time answering my obviously very newbie questions! Everything each of you said was very thoughtful and I appreciate having the benefit of your combined experiences and points of view. Your answers underscored what my gut and my common sense were already telling me, which is to continue to allow my daughter to participate in the musical theater and drama activities that are available and right for her, and when the time for college comes, she will find the place that is appropriate for her (and that she is appropriate for!)</p>
<p>One reason I asked about a regular high school versus an arts high school was, frankly, because so many people gave us such a hard time when we allowed our daughter to leave her "elite," private, college prep girls' school for the urban, public, but by-audition-only arts high school she now attends as a theater major. People just couldn't believe we would allow our daughter to make that choice, because it is quite hard to get into the private school, it's a beautiful campus, the floor is so clean you could eat off it, etc., etc.) (I always want to point out how hard it was to get into the arts school. But I restrain myself. <g>)</g></p>
<p>These people (most of whom never attended a public school in their lives!) kept telling us how difficult it would be for our daughter to get into college from a public school, etc. etc. Of course, we know that's ridiculous. The majority of people who go to college in the US come from public schools. The upshot, however, is that my daughter is even happier now that she can spend half of each schoolday doing theater, and have the time afterschool (her new school doesn't assign four hours + homework as does the private school many days!) to take more dance lessons, continue her voice lessons, and even participate in community theater productions. (I have to admit it was flattering to have so many people -- including the drama teacher, the music teachers and the head of school - phoning us to try to talk us out of letting my daughter transfer. But in the long run, we had to allow her to go where she would be happiest. Now, she is surrounded daily by a very diverse group of people who have one thing in common: love of theater.)</p>
<p>I asked about whether attending a precollege program at a given school would be an advantage because I had been told it was and that we should move heaven and earth to get our daughter into a good precollege program between her junior and senior years in high school. I was worried about this for a few reasons, mainly the cost. Those programs are expensive! I also did not want my daughter's last summer in high school to take on a pressurized feeling of "I HAVE to go here or there to help me get into college." I want her to have a wonderful summer and to be involved in whatever theater-related activity seems right and is affordable and available. </p>
<p>Let me tell you another big advantage of my daughter's public PA school over her prep school: the parents at the PA school don't spend every waking moment worrying about college and SAT scores the way I sometimes felt happened at the prep school. I know parents of third and fourth graders at the prep school who already talk to their kids about the importance of getting into the right college! It's a little insane. It's also kind of contagious. In that environment, you begin to think there is something wrong with you if you are not stressing over grades and standardized test scores, or how many
AP or honors classes your kid takes, compared with his classmates. But then again, I always felt that some of those parents thought <em>I</em> was crazy because my daughter plans to study theater in college (how impractical!) and my husband and I believe our job, as parents, is to encourage her and to help her -- within reason -- get experiences and the training she needs to be the best she can be. It's about her, not about us. </p>
<p>Thanks again for welcoming me to this board, and for being willing to give me the benefit of your experiences. It's amazing to have that resource. </p>
<p>LD</p>
<p>Keepingcalm (I love your screen name, btw!)</p>
<p>Your daughter's PA school sounds great. It's wonderful that your daughter can take classes in several arts areas. My daughter's school is less flexible: kids can audition for acceptance in theater, dance, vocal or instrumental music, theater tech and visual arts, but can only be admitted to ONE program. In other words, if a child auditioned for voice and theater, and was accepted to both, he or she would have to choose one. Period. It's different at another, nearby public arts magnet high school, where a drama major could end up taking a few classes in voice, etc. if their schedules permitted and they were good enough to be accepted. But that's not how it is done at my daughter's school. The kids get about four hours a day in their arts area (in this case, drama and acting training) and the academic classes are taken one right after the other in the afternoon. No free periods. No phys ed (which was enough right there to make my D jump for joy!) The actors do take movement and dance, but not with the intensity that the dance majors do. </p>
<p>Thanks for your response to my questions. I am learning quickly that there is a lot that will go into college acceptances and that SAT scores, while important, may not matter as much as do the auditions, etc. (I do realize, however, that at bigger, more academically competitive schools, the SAT or ACT may well matter.) As my daughter is only a sophomore and just took the PSAT, I have no idea whether that will be a challenge for us. At her private school, she was an honor student and is doing just as well, if not better, at the urban public PA school. (She still loathes math!) Well, time will tell. </p>
<p>LD</p>
<p>notmama...
Had to smile. My s discovered and reported (with glee) that NYU tisch did not require any college math!</p>
<p>Howdy! Im in Texas.
Does your son want to stay close to home? Is he interested in musical theatre or straight acting.</p>
<p>xxx,Mary Anna</p>
<p>MTMommy: Regarding the FAQ page, doctorjohn is the main person when Shauna is not there. Shauna also gave me the publishing codes, but I have been reluctant to touch the page at this point. So I would ask him to make t he changes first. Then if you get nowhere, I will dig up the old email from Shauna and do it (or try to do it...)</p>
<p>A recently retired theater teacher has made a recommendation (messaged through my mother) to check out Houston. I can't figure out what he's actually talking about. The rationale is that this school offers both theater and TV majors/minors so that a broader base can be developed. Do you have a clue??</p>
<p>Thanks, nytheatermom! I thought it might be Doctorjohn, but I know he's probably busy since he hasn't been posting much lately. I'm just a little concerned because we're always telling new people to check the FAQs, but some of the FAQs are out of date. Anyone else have any thoughts on this subject?</p>
<p>Hey all-
I am a multi-racial, male junior in high school in Tucson, AZ. I found this thread three months ago and it has been a godsend. I would've never known where to start otherwise. Thanks to all. Anyway, I want to try to start seriously thinking about college but I don't know which schools I should be looking at. I don't know which ones would work with me. I am primarily a singer and then, right behind, an actor. Not to sound pretentious or anything, but I've been very blessed in those two areas and am rather good. However, I am currently taking some dance classes (tapp and jazz) and I'm not very good at all. I would be willing to learn but, as of yet, I'm still in the very basic levels. Money wouldn't really be an issue (I mean, the less expensive the better but it wouldn't be a restricting factor). If anyone had any suggestions for colleges that seemed to fit with who I am, they would be greatly appreciated. Also, any suggestions on things I'd need to do or have under my belt (like specific dance classes or something) in order to be successful in auditioning would also be very helpful. Thanks again to all.</p>
<p>hi danimal88! when you are applying to colleges,dont forget to look in your own backyard! The University of Arizona (right in Tucson) has a wonderful MT program, merit scholarships and is very reasonable for Arizona residents. Definitely put it on your list. meanwhile, if you have not availed yourself of the many productions there, run on over--you can still catch "Side Show", so that you can get an idea of what they produce. "She Loves Me" will be the spring production. Many kids want to go away from home for college...an excellent idea. However, with such a quality MT school so nearby, it would be prudent of you to put it on your list--even if it is at the bottom. Cant speak for any other programs--i have at daughter at UofA and she is really happy there. I really do advise you go away from home for college, by the way--but it will be easy and wise for you to audition at UofA just in case. Break a Leg!</p>
<p>oh hi again! i thought of something else i wanted to say. you asked if there is something you should be doing right now to get prepared for your auditions. if you do not have a voice teacher and/or vocal coach, i would say that should be a top priority. Also, you can casually start thinking about monologues--they always a concern--and just keep up with your dance classes--not all MT auditions include dance, but those lessons will make you a more graceful person even when just walking across the stage--a big self-confidence booster. Hopefully you are participating in your high school musical productions, and if not for some reason, you are fulfilling your needs elsewhere--all that stuff will be asked for on your college applications.</p>