<p>This has been one crazy marathon with auditions and applications. Thank heavens for CC.</p>
<p>My D received her first acceptance into the BFA-Acting program at
Marymount Manhattan College in NYC, yeah!! </p>
<p>She has one more audition this weekend @ SUNY New Paltz and she is burnt out.<br>
Do I encourage her to finish with this audition or just accept that
she wants to be in NYC and is delighted with MMC. </p>
<p>I know there is no guarantee to get into the New Paltz BA program however, how does
New Paltz compare to MMC? D was accepted academically to NP and we have
never been there. </p>
<p>Note of Thanks!! I could not have made it this far without CC, so thank you to all who
have been so helpful and informative. Good Luck during this final stretch.</p>
<p>My advice is to finish strong. The fist bumps and feeling of celebration after the final scheduled audition was great. New Paltz is so different from Marymount in terms of the setting that it seems worth seeing it and solidifying a decision. Congrats to your daughter on her acceptance.</p>
<p>I am not familiar witrh Marymount but my son is a student at New Paltz and I went to NYU, so some experience with going to college in NYC. They are very different experiences. New Paltz would be a great all around college lifestyle. Your D would meet loads of college students and have the college campus/college town, upstate in the mountains feeling. The students at NP tend to be artsy, quirky and friendly although there are all types. There is a real sense of community.</p>
<p>Living in the city as a college studet is just like living in the city and going to classes. It is almost like foregoing college and skipping to the after college experience. If your D is serious about theater and wants to try and audition for plays outside of college and loves living the city lifestyle, then Marymount may be the right choice. She may only have limited exposure to other students and college related activities. What is the program like at Marymount? Do they require a well rounded education? Is there a campus? Would your D live in a dorm?</p>
<p>laris - thank you! And yes, my instinct is telling me to encourage my D to finish this final audition. You never know, it might be nice to have an option. Also, it would be nice to see NP and give her the feel of a small college campus/environment.</p>
<p>Lilymoon - thank you too!! I just posted a question for you somewhere else too, so I’m sorry for the confusion. I do want my D to see NP and what it has to offer. She is a city girl and her goal was to be in NYC. I heard great things about NP too and would like her to see it. Can you explain more details about the program? Do freshman get cast in plays or musicals? We are heading up on Sunday morning and I hope the audition process will be relaxed also knowing it will be my D’s last one </p>
<p>I imagine you’ll learn more about the program on Saturday than anyone hear can tell you. We were there last week and found the people very nice, the facilities a bit plain but certainly fine, and the school perfectly lovely in general. You are absolutely right that it is a small college in a small college town, and your D will definitely get an idea about how she feels in such a place. Even if it merely strengthens her desire to go to MMC, that is a great thing - definitely an informed decision!</p>
<p>maggie3 - My D is a freshman at Marymount in the MT program so I can answer some questions about the school itself. You are required to take regular GE classes along with your major and some kids are able to double major at the school. My D received credit for all of her AP and college classes she took in hs so she is already at junior level in the second semester of her freshman year. What this allows her to do is to minor in Art History (which she loves) and next year she will start piano again at Hunter College.</p>
<p>The college experience at Marymount is very different from what your D will experience at a normal college campus. The freshman at MMC live in a dorm on 55th street so they are 16 blocks from the school. The school does not really have a campus, but there are areas in the buildings where the kids can get together. Also there is a very limited meal plan, but there are kitchens in the dorm rooms. The freshman share apartments that are 2 bedroom with 2 in the small bedroom and 4 in the larger bedroom. There is a kitchen and a bathroom shared by the 6 in each apartment.</p>
<p>D is very bonded with her freshman MT class. The MT students go to dance 5 days a week from 9am until 10:30 am before beginning classes. I would think the kids in the BFA acting would also be very close. A couple of D’s roommates (no performing arts majors) have found it much harder to make friends. D thinks that they do not really do anything to help themselves (join clubs, hang out at school more, etc) make friends.</p>
<p>D loves living in the city and takes full advantage of all the theatre, museums, etc. It is very expensive to live in NYC especially if you want to go out all the time. This is not what my D likes to do. She loves getting student rush tickets, going to museums when it is free or pay what you can, hanging out in the sun and doing homework on her favorite bench in Central Park when the weather is good or hunting for bargains at thrift stores.</p>
<p>In the end it comes down to not only the training your D will receive, but what kind of college experience she wants. My D is from Southern California so NYC is like another planet for her, but she adores it and feels very much at home there. Let me know if you have any questions about Marymount.</p>
<p>maggie3 - My son is not a theater major, so I don’t know the particulars of the program but here is the curriculum from the website. [State</a> University of New York New Paltz - School of Fine and Performing Arts - Theatre > Academics > Curriculum](<a href=“http://www.newpaltz.edu/theatre/academics_curriculum.html]State”>http://www.newpaltz.edu/theatre/academics_curriculum.html)
He has a good friend who is a theater major…she is studying abroad in New Zealand this semester.
Personally, as having gone to school in NYC, I would encourage your D to go a place like New Paltz and have the total college experience. She can always move to NYC after graduating but can never regain the experience she missed. I transferred to NYU, so had 2 years at a campus school and a little more maturity before moving to the city. Living in Manhattan is not always easy. I can talk to you about it further if you like. Please feel free to PM.</p>
<p>showmom - thank you so much for all your feedback.<br>
As emmybet said, I think visiting NPaltz will re-inforce the already positive feeling my D has with MMC and living in NYC. </p>
<p>Since 14, my d loves being in NYC and starting small will be a stepping stone to the big picture yet to come. MMC sounds like a fine, small unique program and knowing this, she
is very excited. I will be in touch if she has more questions. Thanks :)</p>
<p>Also check out students review dot com (no spaces) for students perspective on MMC. There are both positive and negative comments but sounds like a good overall assessment.</p>
<p>LilyMoon - Thanks for suggestions the review site. I wonder how reliable and true the feedback is. There were way too many negative comments about MMC. </p>
<p>I’m not sure if I could actually encourage my d to go there knowing what I read.
Now, I am truly at a loss. Thank you for opening my eyes. Let’s be honest, I saw how small it was at the audition however, I didn’t observe the dorm life, etc. What’s sad is my d is leaving a small public hs where she felt different. Allowing her to attend MMC
makes me feel like it can be a repeat performance except. It’s concerning to read the negatives about the social life and how they describe the students there.<br>
Even to read the transfer rate is so high. I am concerned and will do some more research. Thanks</p>
<p>maggie3 – don’t put too much stock in the student reviews websites. Usually that’s where malcontents grind their axes. My son is a first year BFA student at MMC and absolutely loves it. We were initially concerned about sending him to live in NYC before he even turned 18 but he has completely adapted to the culture change, has made many close friends and is thrilled with the program. Please send me a private message if you’d like more info.</p>
<p>maggie3 - My D read all the negative feedback about Marymount and still decided to go there. She talked to people who were actually in the program for MT right now as well as a couple of professors before she made her final decision. I did not discourage my D from attending, but I did tell her I thought she should seek out additional feedback besides a website like this. Many of the transfer students are not majoring in theatre. Many transfer students are similar to my D’s two roommates who wanted to come to a school with a place to party. D says that she cannot believe how many people come to MMC and don’t really understand that college in NYC is not like going to other colleges. My D and all of her friends in MT and her BFA acting friends are extremely happy with the training they are receiving and are loving all that the city has to offer.</p>
<p>D has two friends from our hometown that are at NYU and one at Fordham and all of these kids are having a great time living and learning in NYC. Feel free to send me a pm if you have any questions about the school or living in the city.</p>
<p>Showmom - thank you for your post and advice. I will not discourage my D, I just want her to go visit with her eyes open. She is very excited about MMC. She is not a partier and is eager to learn, train and meet new friends with similar goals. </p>
<p>I have to find out about accepted students day and encourage her to be there.
The information and reviews on that website was too old for me to believe. You do have to take some things with a grain of salt. </p>
<p>If you have any additional information about the program, please share :)</p>
<p>Yes, take everything with a grain of salt but do go in with your eyes wide open. Living in the city and going to college, especially one that is far from the dorm is going to have its challenges. Don’t get me wrong, I loved living in the city…lived in the village for 14 years. But as a student I was fiercely independent and didn’t have many college aged friends. I never participated in any college activities, choosing instead go to foreign films, nightclubs, museums, gallery openings, etc. Many times I did these things alone with no problem. I learned to keep safe on the city streets, having to walk places alone at night…I always knew what was around me and crossed the street or went into a store if there was anyone suspicious nearby. I always walked fast and with purpose. I got used to bums begging for money. I met lots of interesting people - all much older than myself. My parents had no idea of most of the things I did.
Just giving you a glimpse into living in the city as a student…it is a very different world than a day visiting.</p>
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