<p>As I understand it, NU is EXTREMELY generous with need-based aid. In fact, they are one of very few schools in the country to commit to meeting 100% of demonstrated financial need for every admitted student (and with an endowment capable of meeting such a promise).</p>
<p>What they don’t offer is any merit-based aid, as they rightly say that every admitted student would deserve it.</p>
<p>CCU is a completely different educational environment than NU (I’d guess that very few students apply to both schools), so I’ll bet your D will have an easy time deciding which is a better fit for her once she looks closely both schools. I have no idea which she’ll prefer, but I expect the differences will be very clear. </p>
<p>MomCares–Oh, that’s good–let’s hope they do give the generous need based You are absolutely right that the differences will be clearer now that she can look at them very closely. But it’ll be a very tough decision for her (if money is equal).</p>
<p>@hoveringmom - In case it’s a consideration, D says the serious NU performers who went through the full audition cycle (ie were not ED admits) were all admitted to top BFA programs and are very talented even before they start school. She had met many of them previously at the national Thespian festival in Nebraska, MPulse at UMich and YoungArts.</p>
<p>hoveringmom,
I’m late to your party but congratulations to your daughter. My son is a sophomore at NU in the straight acting track. As MomCares describes, towards the end of the freshman year the students observe classes taught by the different acting faculty and then list their choice of teachers. They can’t all get their first choice, obviously, and my son got his second choice but is absolutely THRILLED with his teacher who he will have through his senior year. He has been cast in student produced straight plays every quarter since he has been at NU. This quarter he is actually in a production written by a well-known NU faculty member. </p>
<p>I hope that NU works out for your family. It’s an amazing place.</p>
<p>Another thing worth mentioning, and that D and several of her NU friends who also considered BFA options have commented on, is that the BFA programs will be FAR more assertive in courting your child for the next few weeks in an attempt to get you to choose their programs. I would encourage you to be aware of that reality, and not allow your child (or yourself) to be unduly seduced by that early attention, which you will NOT get from NU before enrolling. As one of the world’s top universities, they aren’t in the habit of doing much personal upfront lobbying. While personal attention from faculty members before enrolling is flattering, four years is a big time investment and you want to be very clear-headed about choosing the strongest education and Theatre training you can find.</p>
<p>hoveringmom - Your daughter does have at least two great options, that is very exciting. If she feels equally happy with each then she needs to look carefully at the school gen ed requirements, the requirements of the major, as well as the potential electives. She should also look at the options should she (horrors!) decide that this is not the route she ultimately wants (it does happen). One school my daughter visited had a student panel who unanimously answered the question of least favorite thing about the college was the lack of academic interest of students outside the MT program. They were unhappy with most of their non-major classes level of rigor and student involvement. That was an immediate turnoff for her and she withdrew her application. She has found at NU that most (not all) of her non-major classes and major classes very rigorous with great student interest. She also likes that she has non-theatre friends as well as theatre friends; she finds the non-theatre friends keep her much more grounded. With two great choices you need to really dig into the daily nitty gritty if you will. (I’m in the process of doing that with my current non-acting daughter - she’s got 4 top choices and hates doing pro and con lists and digging deep but it needs to be done.)</p>
<p>Go to the admitted student days if you can and ask the hard, important questions. The ball’s in your court, take full advantage. Even if you can’t visit, call, speak to profs, students (both major and non-major), etc. Then she’ll know she made the best choice FOR HER (because no one else counts). Good luck!</p>
<p>This is all great advice, guys. Thank you SO much. We’re still waiting the financial offer and for a couple more colleges… The main thing, and I wish it weren’t so, is that finances will play a large part in the decision. Please, please wish us luck and again thank you so much! :-)</p>
<p>I don’t mean to imply it is the ONLY factor, because it’s not. CCU was also a really excellent program, especially for my D. It’s personal. What I mean is we’ll wait till the financial awards all come in and then weigh it all–thank you SO much for all your input.</p>
<p>Btw… I didn’t mean in post #25 to imply that NU is not personal once you’re enrolled. The teacher/student ratio is 1:7, which is exceptional, and D has already connected with most of the top Theatre faculty, so once you’re enrolled it becomes very personal and warm. One of D’s classes has 4 students every quarter!</p>
<p>One thing D loves about NU’s size is that there are ~40 theatre faculty members, plus music and dance faculty, so there is a great variety of training available. At a summer program in a small BFA program D attended she was worried that some kids might learn what the small faculty had to share in under 4 years. </p>
<p>Also a quick word about FA. We were SHOCKED when we initially realized what we’d pay for school, but have found it surprisingly easy to tighten our belts and have even gotten a year ahead in saving for tuition, so D will finish without loans. And the fact that she can have a dual major from a top school in 4 years is an added bonus!</p>
<p>I totally agree with amtc that as she looks closely at her options your D will find the fit that’s best for her. Exciting times!</p>
<p>There’s problems with my computer and the PM so I’ll send questions here. We are visiting Northwestern on Monday with my daughter. So here’s my questions:</p>
<ol>
<li> She has between a 4.1-4.2 GPA (currently a junior; taken almost all honors courses and now in some AP courses this year) and got a 32 on her ACT (98th percentile nationwide). Lot of extracurriculars, in the top ranked show choir at her school (choir is ranked in the top 5 in the country), has a reasonably long resume of singing/acting roles. From a purely acedemic standpoint will her grades/scores/record give her a shot at acceptance into Northwestern?</li>
<li> Her plan is to do music theater and she is particulalry interested in the dance training, as she knows most places do pretty well with the singing/acting training (and singing/acting are more her strengths). How is the dance training there?</li>
<li> Now speaking as a dad, my big concern is her safety, so I’m interested in your thoughts as to how safe you feel the campus is for your D.</li>
</ol>
<p>Those are the big questions right now; I’m sure we’ll have more after Monday. Maybe we’ll see your daughter there?</p>
<p>I saw you answered my questions about GPA etc in another thread, so thanks. Looking forward to any other advice you can give before our visit on Monday.</p>
<p>2) Dance: Hope others at NU can add more here… NU offers a Dance major, and many Theatre kids minor in dance, so kids in the Theatre program have access to a full menu of dance classes. D has enrolled in at least one dance class every quarter so far and she knows kids who enroll in 3 dance classes per quarter. I just saw a video of a “Showchoir Smackdown” that D was in, and although they had only 4 days of rehearsal I was impressed with both the (satirical) choreoghraphy and dance performances. They also do a mainstage performance - Danceworks - every year devoted to dance, but I haven’t seen it. Dance level placement auditions are held during the first week of school for new freshman. Since NU offers a BA program, there is NOT a defined progression of dance classes that all Theatre kids must take. Some kids also take dance classes at off-campus studios. That said, D has been told by many MT professionals that unless you plan for a career in the chorus, singing and acting are the two key skills an MT must perfect, so dance was not D’s top consideration in choosing a school.</p>
<p>3) Safety: I had a bad experience when I was in college, so it’s also a HUGE consideration for me! Things can happen anywhere, so I always urge D to be VERY aware of her surroundings and make smart choices, but we feel extremely comfortable with her safety at NU. First, the campus is a contained area which feels very comfortable and safe. Evanston is an upscale suburb, so I have never felt unsafe in town even walking to my hotel from campus after late performances (though once I stayed at the Best Western and didn’t love that neighborhood). D has a cappella three nights a week until after midnight, but the kids always walk back to the dorms in groups and they feel quite safe. We’re allowing D to move off campus next year to an area near her current dorm, as it’s right on the lake in a very quiet comfortable upscale neighborhood and many Theatre kids (including many from her a cappella group) live in the same building. D and her friends often take the train into Chicago (there’s also a free inter-campus shuttle) and they’ve had no problems. We have friends at other schools who can’t ever leave campus, so D is very grateful to be at a place like NU! I am also really glad she’s near a big city though (and so is she) as MT kids really need to develop street-smarts.</p>
<p>I hope this helps and that you have a great trip on Monday. I’m jealous as I’ve loved every visit to Evanston and can’t wait for my next trip there!</p>
<p>jaffanddann - Honestly, the dance is not what the Theatre/MT Dept. would like it to be - it is run by the Dance Dept. so it’s focus is a little different. However, they are making changes every year to better accommodate the Theatre/MT kids and my daughter has done very well for herself dance-wise (she’s a junior). Last summer she was in Summer Stock and actually had 2 dance solos in the show even competing against BFA students, so something is working well!</p>
<p>NU and Evanston are very safe. Like most campuses they have a student saferide system so if your daughter ever feels the need she can call them and have a car drive her where she needs to go. Most kids use it to get out of the cold not for safety!</p>
<p>In terms of admissions, there’s no way to tell. If she doesn’t apply she definitely won’t be admitted.</p>
<p>Good luck and enjoy your visit.</p>
<p>Cross-posted with MomCares - Just one correction - Evanston is a mixed neighborhood, still safe but I don’t want you to be misled, it is economically mixed. The Jewel Supermarket neighborhood and some other areas are not what you would consider upscale.</p>
<p>Thanks amtc - I always hope others will chime in as my experience is still limited! I’ve never been to Jewel Supermarket (nearest grocery to D’s dorm is Whole Foods) so I don’t know that area.</p>
<p>Whole Foods is great but for basics when she moves off campus, Jewel is the way to go. A little far if your daughter is moving into the building I think she is. We got our daughter a bicycle Freshman year and then when she moved off campus we got her saddlebags and she loves using her bike to get groceries at Jewel. Whole Foods she uses to pick up ready made and other specialty items on her way home. Although some kids do PeaPod which is home delivery, my kid can’t plan like that though.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input, very helpful. My daughter has been advised to look for a program where she can get training in her weaker area, which is dance. She has been evaluated by a number of professionals who say her singing and acting should get her a MT spot, not that she won’t need to learn/develop a lot more in those areas! Just that one of her goals is to work at Disney and she has been told having good dance skills helps there. </p>
<p>Tell your daughters we’ll be there at 1:00 Monday afternoon. If they see a 5’9" young lady, with a dad that loooks old enough to be her grandfather (stinks to be an older dad sometimes), it’s probably us!</p>
<p>I think my D has a dance class that gets out around 1:00 on Monday, so if you see a sweaty kid that might be her! ;-D</p>
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<p>I think kids who look for training in their weakest area are SO smart!! D felt she really needed strong Acting training which is part of what led her to NU!</p>
You are absolutely right that the differences will be clearer now that she can look at them very closely. But it’ll be a very tough decision for her (if money is equal).</p>
but congratulations to your daughter. My son is a sophomore at NU in the straight acting track. As MomCares describes, towards the end of the freshman year the students observe classes taught by the different acting faculty and then list their choice of teachers. They can’t all get their first choice, obviously, and my son got his second choice but is absolutely THRILLED with his teacher who he will have through his senior year. He has been cast in student produced straight plays every quarter since he has been at NU. This quarter he is actually in a production written by a well-known NU faculty member. </p>