Has anyone debated between the University of Miami and the University of Central Florida?

College Majors Musical Theater Major
1

If so I would really appreciate your feedback!

Here are some of the things I know:
*UM has a NY Showcase, UCF has a showcase in Florida. D’s eventual goal is to work in NY.
*UM doesn’t allow freshman to perform, UCF does.
*UM is more expensive than UCF, even though my D got a generous scholarships from both. D could graduate from UCF
debt free. Will have some debt with Miami
*My D got into the Honors College at UCF.
*UM was recently listed as an Honorable Mention in Playbill’s article “Big 10: The 10 Most Represented Colleges on Broadway in the 2017-2018 Season”. UCF was not.

Any thoughts or advice would be so greatly appreciated!!!

2

I don’t know anything about UCF, but I can tell you why my son chose UMiami. He liked the fact that all seniors perform in the NY showcase. One school we toured said seniors have to audition for the showcase and not all will be chosen to perform. The current senior class had a very successful NY show in March, and they got to perform at 54 Below at the end of the week.

When we toured UMiami, my son asked why freshman aren’t allowed to perform in shows. The answer? You won’t have time! With acting, dance, movement, tech theater, studio, private voice lessons, music theory and English, freshman take upwards of 20 units. Between the work load, moving away from home, getting accustomed to campus life, and all the activities UMiami offers, most freshman end up being thankful that they don’t also have rehearsals to schedule in. My son was encouraged to attend as many football and basketball games as he wanted this year, because next year many of his weekends and weeknights will be spent in rehearsals. He took full advantage of the free buses and free admission to the football games, participated in SportsFest with his dorm friends, and explored the surrounding area’s malls, restaurants, movie theaters, beaches, etc.

Freshman are required to work tech during both semesters. My son ushered for the fall musical and is working backstage for the spring musical. He also made sure to see every show presented on campus. At the end of each semester, the entire department puts on a showcase. My son was in a freshman class group number, and also got to perform a song with another freshman and two seniors. They are currently working on the spring department showcase. He was also chosen to sing a duet with another MT student at an on-campus benefit being organized by the seniors. Even though he wasn’t in the shows, he has had a few opportunities to get up onstage and perform. He was able to invite his dorm friends to come and see him (and video his performances for us!).

My son loves the campus and the overall vibe of the whole place. When we toured other schools last spring, he kept saying, “I could go here.” The minute he stepped onto the Miami campus he said, “I want to go here.” After shadowing an MT student, watching a rehearsal and touring the campus, he said, “I have to go here.”

He has been very happy with his decision.

3

Thank you thank you thank you @BFAMTMOM !!

I appreciate your insight!

My D loves the school and program at the U too. She is shadowing a student on Wednesday. I think that’ll be the deciding factor for her.

4

The only thing I can add to my wife’s post is that I think it is really important for them to be fully grounded that first year – build the foundational base of their craft and navigate the waters of college life and living sans parents without the added pressures of rehearsals and performance. Miami is certainly not the only school that prevents freshman from performing in shows. To me that was one of the positives of Miami, not a negative (the students will disagree, of course – they want to perform!).

5

D had a classmate at OCU who was from the Orlando area who transferred to UCF after her freshman year. She just wanted to be closer to home. Since transferring she has been employed steadily throughout her college years both at theaters in the community as well as at both Disney and Universal. So I think Orlando provides many possibilities for working and performing in addition to what is available at school. We also have a friend who got her Masters in TFY at UCF who now heads a high school drama program. I know she has UCF friends who are performers in some of the shows at the Disney parks. Both these people seemed to have really liked UCF.

I do not know personally anyone who has been in the Miami program so I can’t speak to it although I understand it is a very nice program.

Here are some other thoughts:

. as I’ve said elsewhere CC, I personally do not think showcase is a make or break thing and feel often times too much emphasis is put on whether a school has a NYC showcase. Don’t get me wrong. They are a fun experience. But many schools that do NY showcases find they do not necessarily translate into work or representation right away. And they can be a big expense for the students who participate. If a showcase is of great interest to you, I would find out what alums at each school are doing, where they are based, etc…and if that work directly came from being in their showcase.
. I’m also not too concerned about freshman performing. I totally get that all of these kids want to be on stage. That’s why they are pursuing this. However, many of the best MT programs in the country (including Carnegie Mellon) do not let freshman perform. In fact, CMU doesn’t allow them to perform until Junior year. When a school says this, it usually means not performing in MainStage shows. But often students are performing in classes and other places on campus. Just not in the main shows. It’s important to remember they are there to train and learn. There are many really reputable programs where students may only appear in a MainStage show once or twice throughout their entire college career. So I don’t think more performing = better training. But if this is important to you, it is definitely something to think about.
. Taking on debt is something to really think about also, especially if the goal is to move to NY. It would be much easier to move to the city debt free.
.That Broadway list of schools represented in current shows changes as quickly as the shows on Broadway change. All it takes is a few people from your school to be in current shows to make that list. So while it is fantastic to see Miami represented on that list, it is not the end all, be all. Again, since most actors may never grace a Broadway stage, it is important to see where all alumni are working and in what capacity. There is wonderful regional work and national tours etc… not represented by the Playbill list. So see if you can find out what all of their alums are doing.

Sounds like you have some great choices. Because I think the two schools are somewhat different, some other things to think about would be:

. campus life, what is it like?
. class size
. curriculum - I love the suggestions elsewhere on CC where you print out the 4 year curriculum for each school you are considering and give it to your student blindly. Have them choose which curriculum suits them best based solely on what classes they will be taking. Then see what school they choose. It would be an interesting exercise. Do you get more dance or more voice at one or the other? Is one more acting based? Are there study abroad opportunities? What classes do you most wish to take? Make sure the program offers what you are seeking.

Best of luck to you in making your decision!

6

Thank you @UMiamiMTDad! For what’s it’s worth, I agree with you!! :slight_smile:

7

Thank you so much @vvnstar!

It’s wonderful to hear something about UCF because there isn’t much information on CC about it.

You certainly gave us some things to think about. We will try to set up a shadow day at UCF if possible!

8

@MTMOM17, I was wondering what your daughter thought of Miami after her shadow today? My son said he talked to her in one of the classes she attended.

9

Really?? That’s so neat! What’s your son’s name @BFAMTMOM?

She loved the acting class she sat in on!

10

@MTMOM17 His name is Ryan. Tall guy with brown hair.

11

Yes!!! I know exactly who he is!!! He’s so nice! We met him right away… as soon as we got to the theater area he sent us in the right direction and my D said he was in the Acting class she attended! @BFAMTMOM

12

@vvnstar my D is shadowing at UCF tomorrow

13

A classmate of my daughter went to UCF. She won the starring role in the musical her first semester and I don’t think she was a theater major at that time.

I was very surprised she picked UCF because it is so big, but she loved it from the beginning and has done very well there.

14

@MTMOM17 Hope she has a great visit. She has two wonderful choices. Congratulations!

15

Thank you @vvnstar!

We know she’s very lucky to have options.

16

@MTMOM17 how was ucf?

17

@Danif99, she liked it. The kids there are super welcoming and Earl Weaver is nice.

UCF also offered her an additional scholarship.

This is going to be a very difficult decision!!!

18

Just curious as to which one she chose?

19

She chose the University of Miami @Danif99. She starts in less than 2 weeks. :slight_smile:

20

Now she’s been there almost 3 weeks and she absolutely loves it!!!