Discussion about choosing to leave a BFA (or other program)

<p>This topic has come up on other threads, so I thought I'd give it a home of its own. I think it is very helpful for anyone with experience to help give us all perspective on why a theatre student in particular might choose to leave a program, and when, and what they might do instead. No judgments here - just honesty, with the intent to help our young people grow.</p>

<p>I don't know much about this in theatre, but I certainly know lots and lots of kids who have made changes in their college plans - whether it is a gap year, time off, transferring, changing majors, or even just making smaller adjustments (choosing to live differently, or shifting their focus within their major). Family issues, money and health cause many kids to leave school abruptly; I think there are more than we probably hear about.</p>

<p>From reading this forum for a few years, I believe that it is common for students in a rigorous BFA to find out that it is not right for them. It's a huge commitment of time, energy and emotion, much along the lines of studying pre-med, engineering, architecture, etc. They give up a lot, and their passion for theatre has to be sustained constantly at an enormous level - a quite different experience than many of them expect, even if they have spent years really loving being in shows, seeing theatre, reading about it, etc. I think many of them are surprised also by the natural simmering of competition and ego, and of the shifts of friendship and intimacy.</p>

<p>I don't have any real statistics, but I have noticed that many BFA programs that take 20 or more have perhaps only a number in the teens as seniors. I guess I'm not surprised. I'd like to think that the 10-20% of BFA freshmen who do not finish the program do so in a confident, organized way; I hope they are finding other pathways that suit them better, on a reasonable timeline (such as not dropping out mid-semester). At some schools, it simply means adjusting their curriculum to a different plan (like a BA from a BFA, or a new concentration). At some schools - or for some kids, for many reasons - making such a change means they have to transfer.</p>

<p>My hope is that kids who choose to leave intensive programs like BFAs for other options that fit them better feel successful in following their own path to achieve their own goals, especially since "success" in theatre can be achieved in so many different ways.</p>

<p>I’ll bet some of the dropouts have left to pursue a professional career and not finish college… </p>

<p>When I saw this thread, I thought that your D was thinking of dropping out! You scared me, EmmyBet!</p>

<p>Yes! I tried to title the thread in such a way that it would seem benign, but I guess it didn’t work. I almost wrote “Don’t Worry - Let’s just talk about XYZ” but that seemed silly. Maybe I should have gone with it! My D is doing just great, very thrilled with her choice and eager for her opportunities and experiences ahead.</p>

<p>However, I have watched her nurture and tend her passion for theatre this year in a whole new way. She has always spent a huge amount of time in theatre - she doesn’t have the hours clocked in performing that many of the other kids do, because she spent years and years focused on music and other activities - but she has read about, seen, obsessed about, talked about, dreamed about, and analyzed theatre for probably half of her waking life. She was never happier than when she was in a play, doing tech, or directing.</p>

<p>Yet still I wondered - how would she do, week after week, with the intensity of a BFA, the pressures, and the unrelenting schedule, combined with the personality issues, the lack of sleep, and all of the other worries that college brings? I have been grateful and happy that her passion for theatre has only increased. But I have been prepared at any time for her to tell us that she wants to make a shift - either within theatre, within academics, or in other aspects of her life. </p>

<p>As much as I knew she wanted this kind of BFA, last spring as we talked about choices we were very honest with her that there would be no shame if after trying it for a year she wanted to change. It wouldn’t reflect how much she cares about theatre at all; it would just mean that the particular experience of a BFA didn’t suit her needs at this time. </p>

<p>I think as decision time comes around, this kind of talk could really help our kids here, and help them have empathy for their peers who do make alternative choices. </p>

<p>Sorry again for the scare!</p>

<p>I think I read somewhere that 60% of all college students switch majors during 4 years of college. I’d expect that number to be lower for kids like ours who have had a particular passion for theatre since birth, but they are so young starting college that they can’t know everything about what they’ll want from life as freshmen. </p>

<p>This was one of many reasons that we were so thrilled when D made the surprising decision to forgo all of her BFA options and apply ED to Northwestern, where 97% of the entering freshmen will graduate and many with a double or even triple major. We really wanted to her to have space and opportunities to explore other options - particularly since theatre is such a grueling employment world. I asked her awhile ago if anyone in her class was considering switching majors or schools, and she said no at the time but I’ll ask her again.</p>

<p>We do know kids at top BFA programs who have had serious second thoughts part way through. One has largely switched from MT to opera, some are trying to transfer to BAs this year (but haven’t yet heard if they’ve been admitted), some are switching to different BFA programs and starting over as freshmen (5+ years of tuition) and I think a couple are still in shock that they find themselves once again not being cast as they would like even though they were admitted to a BFA program.</p>

<p>I went to a Conservatory when I was young, then later got two completely different degrees, so I can fully understand how natural it is for interests to evolve as we go through life. It’s a shame that tuition is so high now that for many kids multiple degrees or extra years of school won’t be an option.</p>

<p>My D knows a number of kids who have started BAs in Theatre and added a second major - often because either they or their parents want them to have more “employable” options. Usually this is much easier with a BA, and it’s definitely an important reason to make a careful decision between BAs and BFAs. </p>

<p>Part of our personal story is that our D’s current BFA program happened to be her LEAST expensive option. It gave her a chance to see how a BFA worked for her, with an extremely low financial risk. That was a big element as she decided among BFA and BA options last spring; most of her more appealing BA choices were very costly (and none of the expensive BFAs ended up on the table in the end). This is a good reason for looking at low-cost BFAs - or theatre degrees anywhere. For a lot of kids, then can then afford another “day job” kind of degree if they want one later, or at least just not be in debt trying to get into a low-paying profession.</p>

<p>One reason some kids transfer from Acting BFAs is because they find they would rather do MT, and vice versa. We hear about that a lot here; for many kids their interest is strong in both, and it’s hard to know which suits them better before they try one of them.</p>

<p>This is why going the conservatory route can be problematic. If the student is only taking theatre classes and hardly any general ed classes, if they choose to transfer schools or majors they have so few transferable credits. We felt it was important for our kid to be in a university setting where she would take academic classes as well, and if she decided theatre was not for her, she would already be in an excellent university… so all she would have to do is switch her major… not the school.</p>

<p>@MOMMY5 that is exactly why I chose universities over conservatories when creating my list!</p>

<p>There are so many reasons why kids enter BFA or BA programs and then switch out and it’s not all that uncommon. Some kids discover that it’s not “fun” when you have to learn to perform in a more professional environment or they see the seriousness of the program and other kids. We know a kid from Emerson who dropped out for just that reason, she wasn’t having fun putting all that effort into the classes. Some kids discover this when in Summer Stock - 8 or 9 shows a week for 3 or 4 weeks, not quite the same as 3 shows/weekend for 2 weekends and switch when they return to college the following Fall. Some discover they suddenly fall in love with one of their required or elective courses and see that as a more appropriate “route” for them to pursue. Some kids do not get cast and decide that the competition is way more than they had anticipated. There are as many reasons as there are kids. </p>

<p>Momcares - we know of three kids who have switched out of the Acting major at NU but they continue to perform on campus in one way or another; they just found the program too close to a BFA with it’s intensity. Some try to do “less” but then realize they’re doing “more” in other areas and decide to focus on those other areas.</p>

<p>Pre-med majors have larger drop out rates after these kids have worked so hard during high school, “unusual” schools (Hampshire for example) also have a good number of kids who transfer out. </p>

<p>These kids are 16 and 17 when they decide on a major and reality does not always match their dreams.</p>

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<p>This is so true. I don’t think that one can generalize the reasons that kids change their minds. In addition to all the reasons already listed, one extremely talented young woman who we know, transferred out after one semester at Tisch. She made the decision after realizing that pursuing theatre as a career would mean that she would be at a distance from most of her family for the rest of her life. She wasn’t willing to make that sacrifice. This was a young woman whose family was very involved in the theatre world, who certainly was well-versed in how theatre works, had been familiar with the city since a young age, had attended an excellent arts high school, and had worked professionally prior to college. She wasn’t a novice and even then, she found herself not fully understanding her future. It wasn’t a matter of the BFA being too much for her because she had lived and breathed acting for most of her life to that point. She was used to the rigor of a BFA from her experience at her arts h/s. She was the top academic student admitted in her year so it wasn’t an academic struggle. It was just a change of heart and mind. It happens. </p>

<p>She took the rest of that year off, worked, and transferred to a university closer to home the following year. She continued to do theatre there, extracurricularly, and in other productions in her city. Recently, she graduated from law school and is currently clerking with a Federal Court justice. I saw her recently and she noted that she has never regretted her decision. I don’t think it’s a surprise that kids who might not be as prepared, or as theatre-savvy, or as used to travel, or as independent, might make a similar decision. </p>

<p>The attrition rates at some schools will include those who leave when cast in professional shows. This is a small number, though, and my guess is that most who leave or transfer are not in this category. Some kids who leave when cast, will return and finish their degrees. Most probably will not. The ones we know who have returned to finish are all strong academic students. Whether that’s a coincidence or not, who knows.</p>

<p>“The heart has its reasons, the reason knows not of.” - Blaise Pascal.</p>

<p>Thanks for the responses, everyone. Definitely I agree that there are so many reasons, and they are all personal. I’m glad we can talk about this as experiences, rather than statistics. I think it really helps the students and families going through the process. </p>

<p>The system makes it too easy to think you don’t have choices - but it helps to keep perspective when you hear about all of the options that really do exist. And I think it helps any college student to hear that someone who made a change did so for positive reasons and is happy it happened.</p>

<p>My D has to make some decisions at some point about how she will balance theatre and academics. We have given her full permission to decide what’s most important to her. The Honors College “degree” would be a great accomplishment, but if she chooses to use that time to pursue other electives instead, that is fine. If she finds the classes make it too stressful for her to maintain the GPA she needs for her scholarship, that’s also a valid reason to change paths. So far the BFA feels really right for her - partly this is because the nature of this particular program really suits her tastes and needs (broad-based theatre training, and lots of theatre history/literature). Kids sometimes do even transfer to another BFA, because of what they learn about what matters to them most.</p>

<p>Having my second child in college, and having seen dozens of nieces, nephews, friends’ kids, etc. go through college, I really hope any student understands that they can follow his/her heart and make changes if that is necessary. No one at age 18-22 should ever feel s/he is a “failure” at life already. I see that far too often.</p>

<p>I have known classmates who have been BAs and become BFAs. I know the reverse: BFAs who chose to be a BA. I have classmates who transferred schools, dropped out altogether, got out of the theatre department entirely to major in music or English. Statistically, the college considers them to be failures yet I realize their triumphs in what they did next.</p>