<p>I was wondering if any of you have any experience with Ithaca College? I would really like to get more information about it. It has some really notable alumni at far MT goes, but is their program really THAT good? Any information, pros/cons, etc. would be helpful!</p>
<p>My son is a MT freshman at Ithaca. They have a large freshman class this year because there was a very high “yield” this past year – an indication that it’s a bit of a “hot” program. Several of their recent grads are in “Newsies” on Broadway, other are booking leads in national tours, and one was in the TV show “Smash.” Nobody has said so, but I suspect they will be accepting fewer students at this year’s auditions.</p>
<p>Ithaca’s MT program is very acting-oriented; the Acting majors and the MT majors are all taking the acting classes together for the first two years. The MTs are essentially double majoring in Acting and Vocal Performance with a minor in Dance.</p>
<p>That said, my son says it is a very supportive community. Each freshman is assigned a mentor who is a senior. The dance and movement classes first semester were very much oriented toward avoiding injury. The voice teachers are first rate and teach in Ithaca’s opera program in their music conservatory, as well as the musical theater majors. All students are eligible for mainstage performances even in freshman year (though most of the freshmen would tell you that they couldn’t possibly have managed performing in addition to their coursework and adjustment to college life).</p>
<p>There are a couple of Cons to consider. The town is in the middle of nowhere without good access to mass transportation. It’s very cold and snowy in the winter. Also, it is an expensive school, though there is plenty of scholarship money available.</p>
<p>The BFA students, and particularly the MTs, take very few general education classes. They are staggeringly busy (this is probably true of most BFA conservatory-style programs). My son is taking eleven classes this semester. The number of credit hours is often completely disproportional to how much time a class requires. Basically these kids work 14-hour days and have no time for extracurricular activities at all.</p>
<p>Are there specific questions I could ask my son about?</p>
<p>My son is a Freshman MT this year and I can tell you that yes, it really is that good.
The program is structured very much like CMU in that acting is at the core of the training.
There is phenomenal voice and dance faculty as well but becoming the finest actor you can be is the primary goal. The kids are all very close and the bonds are strong between all classes. It’s tough! It’s not a school where your going to be performing in shows constantly. The talent is far too deep for that, but if you are looking for the best possible training available I wouldn’t hesitate to audition.
Ithaca is a really great college town too which is icing on the cake.
It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty fantastic.
PM me if you have any specific questions.</p>
<p>There is a sub-forum for Ithaca full of lots of posts that are going to be of interest to you:</p>
<p>[Ithaca</a> College MT - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/ithaca-college-mt/]Ithaca”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/ithaca-college-mt/)</p>
<p>If you click on the schools listed at the top of the main MT Forum page you will reach the sub-forum for that school.</p>
<p>Do remember that most of the Ithaca sub-forum posts are from previous years. As with all these programs, they change over time. In particular, this is the first year Ithaca has a pre-screen for MT.</p>
<p>Lol, ellywelly, you are getting a rather biased view here from all us Ithaca moms. But yes, it is that good. My D loves Ithaca and believes she is getting stellar training there. There is a heavy emphasis on acting, which I think is crucial. It is a tough program, but a great program. Yes, the location and the weather are two cons, but the town of Ithaca is a really nice college town, and frankly, the MT kids don’t have time to do much of anything else.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if you’re admitted for Acting but not MT, is it possible to take lots of dance and also keep up with private voice lessons (it would be no problem paying extra for that).</p>
<p>I do know that the private voice lessons are an option for acting students (at least that was the case when my son auditioned last year). The hallway bulletin board had many flyers for voice teachers, too! Not sure about dance but I expect somebody will know. :)</p>
<p>Acting majors are required to take a certain number of dance classes in any case.</p>
<p>By the way, it is not a bad thing to take voice lessons with a grad student, because they are typically getting advanced degrees in vocal pedagogy and in many cases have taught for years before returning to grad school to get that additional credential.</p>