<p>My S was one of the 4 freshman (2 boys and 2 girls) who were cut from CCM this year. Although he had didn't pass his December boards (he says that many in the class of 21 did not), he truly didn't expect not to pass his May boards, so he didn't think it was necessary to apply to other programs for the Fall 2008. I wish that I had pushed more on this issue, but hindsight sure is 20/20.</p>
<p>Well, he didn't pass his May boards, and was cut from the program. Now he thinks that he might want to audition at unifieds this season, and start at a new program in the Fall 2009. Does anyone know of a good program that would accept a transfer student as a sophomore, rather than making him begin again as a freshman? If he were starting this fall, starting as a freshman wouldn't be so bad, but starting as a freshman in what would have been his junior year would be tough (not the end of the world, but difficult).</p>
<p>Thanks in advance. This board is such a great resource, and I would appreciate any suggestions you may have. Also, if there is a program that would take him for Fall 2008, please let me know about that, too.</p>
<p>I had suggested that he transfer to a small liberal arts college here at home, and continue taking dance, voice, and acting, but he really doesn't seem enthusiastic about going to "regular" college, and I think it would be counterproductive for him to half-heartedly attend an academic program, and probably not do well in school. He has considered taking the leap and heading to NYC to continue training and to begin auditioning, but I'd really rather that he continue his education, even it is a BFA program and not a BA, or some other academic degree program.</p>
<p>JohnsMom, I am so sorry to hear your son was cut. Re: transfers -- Have you tried using the search function on this list for threads/posts related to transfers?</p>
<p>I am so sorry to hear about your son's cut (and the others) at CCM. For those who seem to still maintain that CCM doesn't have cuts, I hope they are reading your post. CCM does have cuts after freshman year. </p>
<p>As far as transfers, I would contact every school he is interested in, including any others that accepted him originally, and ask the departments directly that if he has one year in the BFA in MT program from CCM, what his status/year would be as a transfer in their BFA program. I am assuming that while cut, your son earned full credit for a year in the CCM program and was not failing, right? At some programs, while he may have to start in the first year of the program, he'd be a sophomore in standing and only have to attend for three years. Some may let him be a soph since he has a year of a BFA program already. Some may take no credits and make him start completely over. I believe at Tisch, he would be a soph in university standing (only have to go for three more years) but may be a freshman in the studio but then again, since he went to CCM, that may not even be the case, not sure. Best to check with each program. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, perhaps he could spend a year at Circle in the Square or other training as he goes through transfer auditions for Fall of 2009. I think it is too late to enter a BFA program for this coming fall though.</p>
<p>JohnsMom- Are you able to give us more information on the situation with the 4 students that were cut? Did they all not pass the Dec. boards? Were there others who did not pass in Dec. that passed in May? Were they all "surprised" that they did not pass in May?</p>
<p>Soozievt you may actually know the stats on how many kids are "cut/juried out" after first year. 2 boys/2 girls sounds like a neat package.</p>
<p>All 4 who were cut had failed the December boards, as it is the school's policy that you are placed on probation after failing boards once. If you fail again, you are cut. I'm not sure if there are upper level boards, or even if a failing board in freshman year carries on to sophomore year and beyond (meaning that a second failure in a subsequent year might still result in being cut). Yes, I know of at least 1 other person who failed the December board, but who passed the May board as was not cut, and there could be others. </p>
<p>Soozievt, yes, he was passing as of the winter quarter with a 3.0 GPA, with As and Bs in most of the "conservatory" classes (non-academic). We don't know what his grades are for the spring quarter yet, but I would imagine that he should end up with a full year's credit.</p>
<p>Actually, I sent the PM to JohnsMom. All I did was click on their name and it game me the option to send a PM. Then when one comes to you, I think you can click on personal messages at the top of your screen.</p>
<p>Wow, that's a horrible predicament to be in, end of the school year and cut out of a program.</p>
<p>Perhaps he could go part-time to the liberal arts college at home and just get more of his general education credits out of the way? Things like History, Psych, Biology, English, etc. transfer to any school. Depending on where he ends up he won't have to stay as long in the next school if he gets more courses out of the way.</p>
<p>What a shame for your son. It's too bad that an advisor didn't offer some advice. Maybe the school can help. There must have been students in previous years that were "let go", and the school would have the records of where they transferred to. </p>
<p>Bythe way, what are "Boards"? Is this a BFA thing? Do all schools have "Boards"?</p>
<p>In any case, good luck and let us know where he ends up.</p>
<p>Marymount Manhattan accepts transfers into their MT department, and I think into the BFA acting and BA Theater too. Call them, and talk to the "theater recruiting department." They will be able to tell you if and how. </p>
<p>Also, I know it isn't exactly what you are looking for, but check out American Academy of Dramatic Arts (LA and NYC.) They are a two year conservatory, after which you can transfer to St. Johns for the Bachelor's Degree, with the credits. Since your S will have some of his academic credits from CCM he will have fewer to take later.</p>
<p>And AADA is rolling admission, so he could start in the fall if he gets on the application quickly, and they also start in the spring, and they have a "third semester" where he can finish his first year by the end of the summer.</p>
<p>I know that Michigan accepts a transfer or two for each class, and those transfers come from other BFA programs (I'm sure that the CCM credits would transfer over). Depending on the program and what credits they have, they may be taking some classes with freshman (there's a transfer from Ithaca in the Class of 2010 who took ballet, theory, and piano with the freshmen last year) but they generally maintain their year status, I believe.</p>
<p>I am so sorry to hear about your son's cut. I am also wondering what the "boards" you refer to involve. It's very distressing to hear of a kid who has been accepted to a top notch program, gotten a year under his belt and did everything in his power to succeed there....then gets cut from the program. The fact that it was an even 2 girls and 2 guys does sound a little too neat and tidy, doesn't it?</p>
<p>My understanding of boards at CCM is that the students perform 2 songs and 1 monologue in front of certain faculty members. I'm not sure who among the faculty are present, but I believe it is the head of the program, along with the acting, dance, and voice instructors. I don't think that there is dance component to boards.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if I could honestly say that each of the 4 (or any of the 21 for that matter) "did EVERYTHING in their power to succeed there." They are still kids, and I'm sure that most of them made mistakes, although I'm not sure if mistakes are what caused any of the 4 to be cut. I really don't know. </p>
<p>Although it does seem suspicious that 2 boys and 2 girls were cut, I really don't think that CCM was trying to cut to a particular number. In fact, the class had 13 boys and only 8 girls, so it's surprising that an equal number of girls and boys were cut, although I hear that Miss America will be joining this class next year, so there will be 7 girls and 11 boys, for a class of 18.</p>
<p>My goal in posting was to explore options for my S, not to bash the program, which my S felt was second to none. He was very happy there (with both the faculty and his classmates), felt that he received excellent training, and did not want to leave. </p>
<p>We should have been smarter about exploring other options at the first sign of trouble in December, but no one thinks that they will be the one(s) to be cut. S said that only 1 girl was cut the previous year, which probably lulled him and the others into a false sense of security. So, if anyone can take anything from this, if you are in a program that has cuts, it's a good idea to have a back-up plan in place early in the year, especially if you are given notice that you could be cut. Even if you aren't given the courtesy of notice, consider having a plan anyway.</p>
<p>You have approached this with nothing but professionalism. I am glad that your son is handling this in a respectful manner. Good luck with future plans. There are plenty of good options.</p>
<p>Well, I know it's kind of late, but Muhlenberg College has a June 15 deadline for transfers, and they may extend that date for receipt of transcripts, etc. They have an excellent, but non-audition, theater department, and while no "musical theater" major per se, they have very good voice and dance departments as well.</p>
<p>JohnsMom, another thing might be to think about the other schools to which your son was accepted back when he auditioned and contact some of them. I recall that a guy from this list, screen name mattsingsalot, originally matriculated at CCM but left (I think) the second semester there and went to BoCo, where he also had been accepted. Mattsingsalot was not cut from CCM, but he did not feel the program was a good fit for him for whatever reason, but apparently is very happy at BoCo. That said, BoCo has cuts of a sort, too.</p>