<p>So we r just beginning the college search. I have spent the past 6 months reading every theater post on cc. We are very clear that son's top 10 is pretty much the same as everyone else's top 10. He is a junior with a 3.5 unweighted from a rigorous private Christian school in Georgia. First SAT score - went in blind to see how he would do - 720 reading, 520 math, 560 writing. Act 29. Has been in several productions at school and in the Atlanta area.
We r trying to find schools outside of "The top 10" that offer bfa straight acting. He can sing very well, but does not want to attend a school where straight actors are second fiddle to MT bfa's. Have toured 3 schools in NC. Uncsa was probably at the top of his list, but we were not impressed with the tour. Obviously we know how great the reputation of the program is, but just didn't get a good feeling. Anyone else have this experience? He has been accepted to AMDA already, but we just cannot get a good vibe on that school either as to whether it's "scamy" as another cc poster called it or worth it.
Any info regarding amda, uncsa, or other non top 10 bfa programs will be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Well- my son chose NYU for many reasons but my daughter is attending Northern Illinois University this fall. She loves NY but she also really loves Chicago. She figured her brother could make his mark in one place and she could in another. She decided she wanted a very strong BFA Acting program where she can also take dance (NIU also offers a BFA Dance)and voice. She was also impressed with the fact that as a junior, she will study in Moscow- that was the only program she found that did that. She also wanted a full college experience- sports, Greek life, a real college campus…and she wanted a school that offered other courses besides theatre- so no conservatories. NIU is close enough to Chicago but far enough away to stay focused on her studies. She also applied to Rutgers and Penn State for MT (she’s a musical theatre major at a performing arts high school.) Anyway, your son will need to decide what kind of college experience he wants and where. The school doesn’t make you. As far as AMDA- the only thing I know about it through here and Broadway World is that many people call it SCAMDA. If you only want theatre classes and no academia, then I suppose that would be the place to go- the NY branch. Hope that helps. Being a boy will definitely work in his favor and it’s nice that you’re not focusing on the stereotypical top lists. Seems like almost everyone we spoke to at NY Unifieds were all auditioning for the same schools and those schools only take a handful of each gender. Oh- and also, some of the schools on the top are extremely expensive so you definitely have to look into that. Anyway- my daughter is very happy with her choice and the instruction she will get from top notch professionals. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you, supportive, for the insight. I definitely think he would appreciate the full college experience. We r trying to plan a Midwest trip and niu is on our radar.</p>
<p>You’re welcome! If you put in the name Kathryn Gately on youtube, you will learn more about NIU. My h and d visited the school last year and my daughter fell in love with the campus and the warm and welcoming feeling she received from the people. They are also very easy to work with administratively! (plus- she’ll get to see snow for the first time in her life!) Good luck!</p>
<p>Dramamamma…The list of acceptances on this board will give you a great cross-section of many BFA and BA programs. Not knowing the schools in your son’s top ten (but guessing…) I would also look into Webster, University of Evansville, CCPA (@ Roosevelt) amongst others.</p>
<p>Hi dramamama–sounds like we’re on somewhat similar quests–my son’s a junior at an independent school, GPA more in the B/B+ range, and we’ve been looking since last spring so are somewhat further along in the search. Obviously CC has been a huge help. My S has attended a couple of summer theater programs–he’s kept in touch with friends from there and has a good sense of where seniors are being admitted. He’ll be at the BU precollege theater intensive this summer and I hope will get more help there with shaping his final list. One thing that’s helped us plan has been to organize the list–currently pared down to a mere 22 schools!–according to type of degree and trying to assign an approximate level of competitiveness. So if he applies to, say, 10 schools, at least two must be in the “non-auditioned safety” category, and he’ll have to include some audition BA, audition BFA, and über-competitive conseratory programs. I honestly expect he’ll end up applying to more like 12-14, but they can’t all be from that tippy-top group, and I think this way of organizing it has helped him begin to put together a balanced list. We’ve visited some and eliminated others based on things like location (North Carolina was too far south for this Virginia boy) and school environment (he prefers a BFA program that’s part of a more “normal” college or university environment). More visits to come this summer. Good luck, and I’m sure we’ll be keeping an eye out for each other as the 2013 application process begins!</p>
<p>Thanks times3. I have to admit one of the biggest points of conflict with us is applying for non auditioned and auditioned bas. He only wants a bfa and wants a program that admits from audition for incoming freshmen. I think that is far too limiting. Just worried that it’s am awful big decision for the school and the applicant to base on one visit/audition. Wish the process was easier. Would love to keep in touch on the journey!</p>
<p>MY son only wanted an auditioned BFA program too, and that’s the only kind of program he applied to. This is okay if you are willing to take a gap year, continue training, and try again, if you don’t get in anywhere. It’s what some students do. There are threads on CC about gap years; they are not at all a dreadful thing.</p>
<p>Hart 54. Thanks for those additions!
His top 10 - not in any order:
Nyu, cmu, u Michigan, depaul, purchase, marymount, smu, Webster, rutgers, Ithaca </p>
<p>Njtheatremom: good point!</p>
<p>Another thing he is looking for is a “toolbox” approach in the schools curriculum. We discussed one school - cant remember the name - that only taught meisner and that was a turn off for him.</p>
<p>Pace has an up and coming BFA program. My son auditioned and was accepted this year and is very impressed with the faculty.</p>
<p>Rutgers still only teaches Meisner, so far as I know. Some of the NYU studios (Meisner, Atlantic, Adler) also train in one technique only, though it is possible to attend more than one studio.</p>
<p>Boston University tends to end up on a lot of people’s top ten lists, and also of course Juilliard, but it sounds like you are trying to add more schools with slightly less selective admissions.</p>
<p>NJTheatremom beat me to it but I agree that BU should be on his list. Although the conventional wisdom is to have non-auditioned ‘safeties’ on the list, many kids make the decision not to include such schools. As long as they know going in that that may result in no offers, and they’re willing to take that chance, I don’t see it as a problem.</p>
<p>One thing your son should do at this point, if he hasn’t already, is to carefully study the curriculum at each of the schools on his list and compare what is offered and available at each school. He should talk to current students and, if possible, visit as many schools as he can. If you’ve read the entire forum, you know what type of detailed research is necessary in this process and I imagine that by this point, you’ve done a lot of that, so I won’t repeat all that has been said many times over on the forum. Once he has his final list of schools where he’ll audition, then it’s time to determine the audition requirements and develop his audition material for each. The search for audition material should start earlier than that with the reading of plays, seeing shows, discussing with his teachers, etc. As to AMDA, it has been discussed extensively here so I think it’s pretty clear how people feel about the school, both pro and con. I have to wonder how he’s already been accepted if he’s still a junior?</p>
<p>My D was also looking for an Acting program at a school where MT was not dominant. She was looking for a toolbox approach as well. </p>
<p>She is in an auditioned BFA at Adelphi University on Long Island and is very happy with their program. There is no MT major; many of the kids enjoy MT, and there are music and dance classes/training, but the program is focused on Acting and theatre arts. Train to Penn Station is 3 blocks away and takes 40 minutes.</p>
<p>All auditioned programs are very selective - I presume your S is aware that he basically is trying for an Ivy-like set of schools with no safety. His experience and resume will help a little, and academics count at some schools (usually more for scholarships than admission - my D’s stats are similar to his, and she has essentially a full-tuition scholarship at Adelphi). The most important thing he can do is work on his audition material. Some schools ask for a “why theatre/why this school” essay, and he should try to stand out with that, too. </p>
<p>Good luck to him!</p>
<p>As has been stated, there are already a plethora of opinions about the four and five letter acronymed non-scholastic conservatories in New York. I’ve mostly ignored those, but will now say NO … Non, nein, nyet. Don’t do it. They’re overpriced and they’re NOT taken seriously by those in the industry. Having their names on your resume won’t help you in the slightest. In fact, some will consider you a sucker. Do they have some successful alumni? Sure, but there are also successful people who never trained anywhere and it could be said they are successful DESPITE having gone to them as much as anything. </p>
<p>If you decide to take the non-scholastic route, you could get better training by going to one of the two year conservatories that doesn’t frequent high school theatre conferences and advertise all over the place while simutaneously taking a light academic courseload at a community college for a lot less money. Some worthy places to consider are …</p>
<p>Michael Howard Studios
Maggie Flanigan Studio
Atlantic Acting School
Circle in the Square Theatre School
William Esper Studio
Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting
The Neighborhood Playhouse
T. Schreiber Studio </p>
<p>That being said, I wouldn’t recommend doing that to any but the most emotionally mature and street smart kids. Most 18 year old Americans need more of the structure provided by academia. I’m glad I didn’t try that …</p>
<p>Wow. Thanks to all for the advice. I knew I would get some great info here.</p>
<p>Kcdunlap: our first thought about pace ( and nyu honestly, but everyone needs a reach) is that he is not strong enough academically. We will check into that further .</p>
<p>Alwaysamom and njtheatermom: thanks for the info about bu. and as far as him being accepted to amda already, they were in Atlanta for auditions and he was invited to audition as a junior. I don’t know if it had to do with some awards he won this year, or that he was at some conferences and competitions this year. </p>
<p>Emmybet: I have adelphi on my list to look into thanks! I didn’t realize about the lack of mt. That is attractive. </p>
<p>Fishbowl: i honestly agree about the 18 year old and structure. I am scared to death to just send him to NYC and him not be at a college “campus”. And I know I have read many of your posts. Can u refresh my memory on where u r attending?</p>
<p>^ I graduated in 2010. I’ve always avoided saying from where and would prefer to keep it that way partially as a way of maintaining my anonymity and partially from not wanting to be a spokesperson for my school. It was one of the good ones. :)</p>
<p>My son also wanted only a BFA. One nice thing about applying to non-audition BFA’s is that if you apply early, you find out early and it gives you some confidence knowing you can go SOMEWHERE as you head into audition season. My s was accepted early to URI and UNCG. We visited UNCG when we visited family and he liked it (though you do audition for BFA acting in freshman year) and URI gave him a huge scholarship and a professor called and talked with him. It was nice to have this tucked into his repertoire when the early rejections came in fast and furious too!</p>
<p>Another thing to consider asking (which we didn’t) is whether there is some consideration given to theater majors in holding housing spots if there isn’t guaranteed housing for freshman. My s had to let go of one of his choices because by the time we found out he was accepted to the BFA program (and that was early considering some still haven’t sent out their decisions), housing was already full.</p>
<p>Hello! I am a freshman at Ball State University, and I know that the BFA Acting program here is very strong. I am not sure if my school is in your “top ten”, but it was in mine! My friends who are in the acting option are certainly pleased with their experience! They are challenged in every aspect of acting, and leave the program prepared to have a successful career. The faculty here are certainly nurturing and help the students to grow.</p>
<p>Abtsmom and taylor11: thanks for the advice!</p>
<p>My D is a sophomore MT major at Coastal Carolina University. CCU also offers BFAs in Acting and Physical Theatre. The acting majors are by no means playing second fiddle to the MTs at CCU! All the BFAs audition for all the shows and there is lots of cross-casting. My D was cast in both a straight play and a musical her freshman and sophomore years. One of the reasons she picked CCU was the very strong acting training. It is a relatively small program and one that works very hard to create an ensemble of actors.
[CCU</a> Department of Theatre](<a href=“http://www.coastal.edu/theatre/html/bfa-acting.html]CCU”>http://www.coastal.edu/theatre/html/bfa-acting.html)
[CCU</a> Department of Theatre](<a href=“http://www.coastal.edu/theatre/html/bfa-physical-theatre.html]CCU”>http://www.coastal.edu/theatre/html/bfa-physical-theatre.html)</p>
<p>Best of luck with your search!</p>