Ithaca, Elon or Rider, any advice!!

Forbes agrees with US News overall - Elon is #150, Ithaca #237 and Rider #333.

@NewJeffCT I agree with the reputation of Elon and its academics but again it depends upon what kind of program your D wants this is MT BFA not Med school.

My D was a top student at her HS but wanted a true conservatory style program. Elon and UMich both allow you to minor in another major which is great if that’s what your seeking. Ithaca is more impressive and has more industry connections than Elon simply because its a older program.

We loved Elon and thought that the singing that we heard was very impressive. Coming from the North East (New England) it felt very southern to us and the campus very very remote no college town to speak of.

When deciding among programs I was also concerned of launching my daughter into NYC after 4 years at IC the kids are well established in NYC and help one another with apartments etc… (its called the Ithaca Mafia)!

I know you are coming from Flordia so weather is a factor I am not going to lie the weather in Ithaca is cold as heck! But… there is something so amazing about the place, the kids and the faculty that is so warm and everyone is singing and dancing all over the place.

Thank you @lincoln56 She does feel Elon is remote in comparison to Ithaca. I am more concerned about the winter than my D is. She loved Elon’s campus and the performers were amazing when we went for the audition. She has not had a chance to visit Ithaca unfortunately.

Thank you again for all the advice and information. We are still deciding and have to look at the financial piece as well. We hope to have a decision soon and all of your messages are so helpful

@mandidnam just so you know you can negotiate with the 3 offers we did big time and got the price we needed. Good luck both schools are great she would be happy at both.

We just toured Ithaca a week ago, for a different major. The campus is relatively recent construction, on a hill overlooking the lake and the small city of Ithaca. There are lots of outdoor activities in the area (hiking, boating, etc), but since Cornell is in Ithaca, there is a robust college scene with lots of intellectual and artistic activity. Students at Ithaca can take courses at Cornell, and the two campuses overlap for festivals.

I have liked Ithaca since my older daughter had a summer program at Cornell. It is a center of art, the local food movement, and intellectual innovation. If you do go, eat at The Ithaca Bakery. I was disappointed in the Moosewood Restaurant.

oh, I understand that Elon might not be for everybody. I don’t know if the statistics have changed over the years or if it is different for MT majors, but about 50% of kids will change their majors while in college.

I totally think that Elon would be a good choice in that A) the MT dept is top tier as everyone has said 2) you are also getting an academically challenging and well known academic school…seems likes a win win to me…So if your kid bails from MT (which you can never say never…) then they would have the benefit of having Elon on the resume which would be a sweet set up. No guarantees of course & again no disparagement to Ithaca or Rider. I will say I recently saw Rider’s senior showcase site/class pic and boy are there a LOT of kids in it!

So hard to decide these things! Hope you get clarity soon and your daughter can look at her choices objectively @mandidnam Plus financially of course is so important!

My daugther did not love Rider when she did a summer program there. But is in LOVE with Elon.

So I would favor Elon over Rider.

I have read a couple of times on CC that Rider is not close to NYC.

I took the train from NYC to Rider a number of times. It is easy. less than an hour. Which in NYC terms is close.

@mandidnam congrats on choosing Ithaca you will have zero regrets it’s truely an amazing program! The only bummer has been my D is too busy to call home good problem to have lol!

My S got in off Ithaca MT waitlist but for acting not MT. Anyone with info on this program or have any idea on how they help actors with musical ability?

@DramaMan congrats! @Lincoln56 will have better fist-hand knowledge, but my understanding as the Acting and MT kids work side by side for the first two years. 3rd year, one group goes to London in Fall, and the other goes to London in Spring. Of the MANY schools my D applied/auditioned at over the past 2 years, Ithaca was the only school that she would have been happy with either an Acting or MT acceptance. At other schools-Penn State, FSU, Michigan, etc-she would only consider MT. And this year she added Acting BFAs to the list-but same thing: She would only consider them for Acting.

@owensfolks thank you very much for that info. My S is very much an MT lover so the voice lessons and some dance training are essential to him.

@DramaMan unlike many program IC differs because MT and Acting train side by side! I have seen many musicals at IC with Acting kids and you can’t tell the difference. I would urge you to get on the website and compare the class schedules side by side. Ithaca is an amazing place because MT and Acting are one big happy family we love how small the class size is 15 MT 15 Acting lots of personal attention.

@lincoln56 thank you for the comments. S is contacting Theatre Arts regarding some of the questions he has. We know Ithaca is a great program. Feel lucky to have the option!

@lincoln56 -I had no idea you could negotiate tuition among the schools that accept D! That is fascinating! Did you negotiate with the admissions department or the finance department or some other department?

Yes you can but you have to have the offers to send over to the finance department . It is wise to have a monetary amount in your negotiation letter . Hope this helps.

@DramaMan - Your S can take dance as a minor if he is an acting major at Ithaca which gives him even more dance. But voice lessons he would have to find a teacher and pay for. That said the Whalen School of Music (Ithaca’s school of music) has many graduate students who give voice lessons and then I believe, but don’t quote me, there are many people in town associated with Cornell who give voice lessons as well. That said in the Spring of 2017, the lead in one of the musicals was an acting student and the lead in one of the plays, which was in heightened text, was a musical theatre student. It happens all the time. As @lincoln56 said - one big family.

I take back my response from earlier. I had thought Elon was an elite school academically, like top 25/30 overall. However, in looking at some college guidebooks, if it was an elite school academically, it has slipped in recent years:
The Wall St Journal rates them #145; and Forbes rates them #150. Barron’s rates them in category 3 “Very Competitive” which is below Most Competitive and Highly Competitive.