Colleges For Musical Theater - Part 40!

<p>I guess they changed it this year. Last year, that date was rolling.</p>

<p>Last year CCM did ED for the first time. It's eary December and we have a friend who was accepted from it and headr before the school break. The famioy had a more relaxed holiday than they had planned.</p>

<p>Yeah, I would guess being offered early decision/action from a favorite school would make for a more relaxed holiday! I am guessing that there are some definite disadvantages in going that route and will have to look more into this to find out what they are. I would guess that the main one would be that if a student is accepted, he or she is locked into that program, right? Does being accepted early change/damage changes for financial aid/assistance? It would certainly preclude a student from seeing if he or she got other, better financial aid offers down the line.</p>

<p>Freelance, thanks for adding that CCM now has an ED option too. (PS, my D is HOPEFULLY enroute to NYC at the moment to meet your D to see History Boys). </p>

<p>NotMamaRose, </p>

<p>ED is a binding contract. It has its pros and cons. It really should only be considered by students who are CERTAIN that they wish to attend a particular school. Also, for those who wish or need to weigh financial aid offers from various schools, ED is not a great option as it doesn't allow one to do that. Entering into a ED application is also best if done by a student who has thoroughly explored schools by summer before senior year and has visited more than just the favorite school for comparison. And yes, the student is locked into that program if accepted. The amt. of FA offered shouldn't differ for an ED acceptance from RD if it is need based aid. </p>

<p>PS...Freelance, I spoke too soon as my D called as I am typing this. Her first train wasn't running and so she is on a bus to the next train station and this means taking a different train to NYC than planned and it is later which has her worried but I think it will work out to get to Broadway to meet your D on time. I have felt tied to the phone with both my kids calling several times about their plans and arrivals this afternoon, one traveling within France on trains and subways to Paris this evening (it is night there) and the other traveling to NYC on busses, trains and subways. They may live far from home but this stuff never ends :D.</p>

<p>Elon offers early action.</p>

<p>The MT schools I can think of that were rolling admissions last year included OCU, BW, and PPU.</p>

<p>Is Elon's EA binding?</p>

<p>No, Elon's EA is not binding.</p>

<p>My understanding is that, in general, the term EA used at any school is never binding and that ED is always binding.</p>

<p>BTW believersmom EA at Elon is not always actually Early Action! My D was put on the waitlist from an EA application/audition. She was eventually accepted, after the RD deadline, and now happily attends.</p>

<p>Good info all around. Am visiting Elon with D in October (a VERY quick, almost drive-thru). I am excited to see the school after the rave reviews it has gotten here.</p>

<p>Please keep us posted on your children's experiences, maybe we'll see them in a show.</p>

<p>NMR needs your guys's expert advice on how to best handle college visits. I plan to take my D to visit three colleges this fall, and have managed to get time off from work so that those visits tentatively coincide with productions at the three schools. Now, my ?: is it best to call each school's admission offices and schedule the official tour for the day(s) we will be there, and even ask whether my D can perhaps sit in on a class or two? Or is it better to, well, wing it? Or a combination thereof? Also (and this question will reveal my absolutely startling stupidity ... :)) but do most colleges sell tickets for their productions online, so I can just click away and buy them that way? Help! It has been a looonggg time since I was applying to college and even when I went, I was a commuter. So this is a whole new ball o' wax. I need assistance from those who have trod this path before us ...</p>

<p>Lisa</p>

<p>I suggest a campus tour AND a department tour. At our school, they are different - one is run by the campus, and the department tour we arrange ourselves.</p>

<p>Go to the schools' website, and look at their "prospective students" (or "future students," etc.) link. They should have info on tour days/times, and the means by which you should make an appointment. Unless it is a huge campus, the tour will last about one hour - and you can sometimes do a "self-guided" tour using the school's resources (in the event you don't have the time to do the group, scheduled campus tour).</p>

<p>Then, contact the head of the program that your child is looking at, and ask for a department tour (with a current student in that program, if possible). Also, ask if you could observe some performance classes on the day of your visit. If the tour of facilities is not led by a student, ask to be connected with current students to ask them about their own experiences there.</p>

<p>Best wishes, and happy shopping,</p>

<p>eve</p>

<p>On the "online box office" question, go online to the department's website and follow the links to productions. They should have ticket info online - often, a small service charge may apply to reserve tix online with a credit card.</p>

<p>If there is not an online box office, there will likely be a phone number by which you can reserve tix.</p>

<p>eve</p>

<p>Re: most of your questions, I have no idea (although I'd call ahead if possible). If visiting NYU, I just learned about getting tickets to HAIR, so ask me if that one your interested in.</p>

<p>Hey jasmom! I'd like tickets to "Hair". Embarrassing, since my d goes to CAP21 and SHE didn't even tell me, lol! HOW DO I GET THEM???</p>

<p>I would definitely schedule your visits through the admissions offices. You'll want to do the campus tour, the admissions interview, and the department tour and meeting. Every one does it a bit different. Some offices will schedule all of these things for you, others will give you a contact person in the department to schedule that piece on your own. We also found that if our visit coincided with a production, that we were offerred gratis tickets. Plan to spend at least a full day at every school.</p>

<p>My d and I visited 3 schools last spring. We called the admissions department and each MT department seperatly for info and tours. At each school my d got to meet with a MT admissions person or the administrative assistant for the MT department (AAs seemed to know everything you need and were very helpful!). We scheduled way in advance with NYU
Tish for group meeting. We had an individual MT tour at Ithaca through the admin assistant, and a VPA depatrtment tour at Syracuse through the admin assistant. Some allow class visits, some won't. Ask before you go.</p>

<p>We've arranged two visits so far...one for UCLA and one for Oklahoma City University. I was surprised how easy it was at OCU..they have a visitor's department which arranges everything from visiting classes and arranging meetings with the musical theater director. They even gave us discounts on a hotel stay. UCLA has been quite a headache as I have had to go to one department after another and piece together a visit. But I know UCLA is a much larger school.</p>

<p>Has anyone tried to arrange a visit to UNT?</p>

<p>Should your student end up at OCU I think you'll find that they go out of their way to make everything as easy as possible, from finance to room assignments, we have been amazed and very pleased. They may be picky about who they take, but they have a policy of being as pleasant as possible. And expect the same from the students.</p>

<p>I second that, SRW. We visited OCU and another well-known school in the area on the same trip one summer, and the difference in the atmosphere was night and day. My D did not even apply to the other school. Luckily, she got into OCU because she was completely sold and would not consider going anywhere else. We visited again in the fall with some other students from our high school and sat in on some classes, watched a rehearsal, etc. We were really impressed with the students who invited our kids to play football and let them into their dorm rooms to look around. I felt good about leaving her there when the time came to drop her off.</p>

<p>We are looking forward to seeing OCU. Am I very interested in seeing the new music school. We heard from a family that went there a few weeks ago and was AMAZED at this new facility. They have visited U of Michigan, NYU, Shenadoah and Elon and said that the facility was the most breath-taking music school they have ever seen. They found the instructors to be just as you said..friendly and accommodating.</p>

<p>Musicmom, since you live in Texas, have you ever visited UNT? We may be in the area in November and wondering about scheduling a visit.</p>