<p>Why did you pick Fordham for theater? and are you happy with your decision?</p>
<p>My S as been accepted to both programs and is trying to decide on which program. He really connected with the faculty and students at both programs. Other then FA. What kinds of things should he consider.</p>
<p>Fordham’s core requirements are legendary and will give him an extraordinary experience, a broad reasoning and a Jesuit emphasis on his approach to life, serving others. </p>
<p>Being in Manhattan has extraordinary benefits as well. They are building a new law school and refurbishing Lincoln Center for 250 million dollars. He can be part of that.</p>
<p>Being right on top of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and adjacent to Julliard School has enormous cache.</p>
<p>Many famous actors have graduated from Fordham-Lincoln Center, and the contacts for professional opportunities fabulous.</p>
<p>He can also take courses at Rose Hill if he wants, and attend athletic events at Rose Hill. </p>
<p>Fordham Lincoln Center is a very small liberal arts college and the relationship he will have with fellow students, faculty and administrators will be simply amazing.</p>
<p>Fordham is a national university overall and has a growing reputation both here and abroad.</p>
<p>Excellent opportunities for graduate school.</p>
<p>Thanks for the comments…</p>
<p>My D and I had were invited to a personal tour of fordham today. She sat in on several acting classes and it was a great experience. Everyone was fantastic!</p>
<p>DS’s good friend chose Pace over Fordham due to MT opportunities at Pace that are not at Fordham. Felt that the music and dance was better there.</p>
<p>cpofthehouse, but Fordham is not an MT program. They do have a highly respected dance program, but I don’t think that it is connected with the theater program. Livysdad, can you tell us more about the acting classes?</p>
<p>Some of the mainstage and studio shows DO have some music and dancing in them, but they are not musicals and no, Fordham is NOT a MT program. Fordham has one “MT” class, Song as Scene, taught by two time Tony nominee Alison Fraser. My S is taking it this semester and it is his favorite class! He chose Fordham over NYU’s New Studio on Broadway for MT and he is happy with his choice BUT he does wish that there were more MT opportunities at Fordham. There is an extracurricular MT Society but basically they just put on a cabaret once or twice a year. While my S had hoped to take advantage of dance classes at Ailey (that’s right, glassharmonica, Dance at Fordham is a separate program) and perhaps some music classes, even finding a local voice teacher, the reality is that he has been far too busy as a Theatre major. Perhaps it would be possible for a Performance major to create their own MT program so to speak, but throw in the Playwriting major and it’s just not possible. </p>
<p>Fordham’s program combines high level academics with practical Theatre training and experience. If academics are a strong factor in the decision making process, then unless you are comparing Pace Honors and the perks that go along with that, Fordham’s Jesuit education and core curriculum wins hands down.</p>
<p>But you are also comparing BFA with BA. What my S found most helpful in making this same decision was thinking about how he wanted to spend his time. If your S wants to spend his days in Theatre and Theatre related courses with less study in other areas of interest, then perhaps he would be best served by a BFA. If he has a thirst for knowledge in a variety of subjects, then Fordham’s BA is the way to go.</p>
<p>Another factor to consider might be professional opportunities. I understand that Pace is more flexible and supportive of professional auditioning and performing while Fordham, like MANY other Theatre programs, frowns upon it. Does that mean that none of Fordham’s Theatre students pursue any outside work? No. It just means that the faculty doesn’t give you a break if you miss class and will be vocal about it. But my S, a former professional child actor, decided that his time in college would be just that and he really doesn’t have time for outside work anyway. He only does one professional Christmas show which does not interfere and requires only two days during the reading period before finals. </p>
<p>@Livysdad</p>
<p>It sounds like you are enjoying your visit to Fordham! Glad to hear it! :)</p>
<p>SandKmom, since you know a lot about the workings of Fordham, I will address this question to you. My daughter would like to visit during April, if possible, and would like to talk to someone about her schedule as a double major (and if she should talk summer classes locally to help fulfill some academic requirements. And which classes to take, etc.) Do you think she should set this up with the theater department or the school, in general? Do you have any advice for her on how to approach them with these questions. Of course, if possible she would love to sit in on an acting class and a playwriting workshop, too.</p>
<p>Thanks for any advice!</p>
<p>Definitely speak with Matthew Maguire, head of the department and also my S’s academic advisor so thoroughly familiar with the double major and scheduling issues. He also should be familiar with what institutions summer credits would be accepted from…the school is pretty quirky about that and you wouldn’t want your D to take classes for nothing! Otherwise, the option is remaining at Fordham and knocking off a few core requirements like my S did last summer.</p>
<p>glassharmonica: My S is a Fordham student who took a summer class locally over one summer – I remember that the class had to be from an accredited 4 year college/university (not a CC). He was able to get a description of the class in advance and have it pre-approved for credit from his dean at Fordham to insure that transferring the credit would not be a problem. If you do meet with someone at Fordham, it may help to have that information if it is possible, or at least find out the steps you can take as an incoming student to get the class pre-approved. My S is not part of the theater program, but I imagine things will work pretty much the same for your D.</p>
<p>Thank you, Happy1! It is good to know that they will not accept a CC class (too bad-- CC classes are much less expensive.) We do have some 4-year university options. Or I suppose, as an alternative, she could do some intensive language study to try to place out of or higher in her language test. </p>
<p>My daughter is trying to get in touch with the theater program but so far they have not responded to her email. I think she will call them today and see if that is a better way to get through. She would love to get their advice on this matter.</p>
<p>In general, schools are not very receptive to doing this. The reason is very simple: its about revenue streams. They want you to take any and all courses at Fordham, whether you take more credits during the semester or take a summer session. State universities are more flexible because they have a statutory mandate to accept community college credits, and because its hard for them to get kids out the door in four years due to classes filling up etc. and legislative budget cuts. </p>
<p>Check with Fordham and see. But I would surmise they will want you to take classes at Fordham. See if they will let you take a course this summer? Though I think most of those offerings are upper division courses.</p>
<p>^^^My S had no problem getting approval for the one class he took outside of Fordham. The school has to understand that not everyone can get to RH or LC for the summer (particularly as the school is expanding its geographic reach in terms of its student body). My S went to his dean with the other college’s detailed course description & course number. The dean read over the information and determined that it basically mirrored the Fordham course, and approved it. He had to send in the transcript from the other school with the grade (which I think had to be a C or better, not positive) and the credit was added on. The course shows up on the transcript as a transfer course and the grade for that class is not counted in the student’s GPA. When he applied to grad school this year, he sent a transcript from the school he took the one course at in addition to the Fordham transcript. You will not pay less for a semester as a full time student if you have 4 or 5 classes so other than not getting the money for the summer course, it should not matter a lot to Fordham. For my S, he had the time one summer before an internship began to take the intro class locally and it gave him the opportunity to take an additional upper level course in an area of interest at Fordham. I can see where taking a summer class would help double-majors as well.</p>
<p>My D chose Pace over Fordham for MT after really agonizing about it. She graduates this May and looking back, feels she made a good choice. The Honors program at Pace offers some great classes.</p>