Received an acceptance in the mail for LIU (Long Island University) Post’s BFA in Theatre Arts with a concentration in musical theatre after a walk in at Chicago Unifieds. I had a few questions about the program that immediately came to mind. I plan on hopefully visiting later this month to get a better sense of the school.
-how many students are accepted? How many students enroll/end up in the class?
-besides the yearly musical, what are performance opportunities like?
-anything else that makes this program one worth looking at?
-any warnings about the program
Following this. My daughter is also admitted at LIU. Just a few thoughts, but I do not have a kid IN the program, and I think that’s who we REALLY want to here from!
- One thing I've heard described as a plus is the Suzuki training.
- Also, the kids work with NY directors.
- They are known to be generous with financial aid.
Downside? Facilities aren’t great. I’m not sure what that means.
We don’t know a lot more about it. We really have to visit this school if it comes down to it. Still waiting on 11 decisions.
Best of luck in deciding…
PS, why isn’t there an LIU heading in the Musical Theater Schools listing? Is that something any one of us can fix?
Okay, I’m going to share some bad impressions that I got at Unifieds. I’m sure that it’s a great school for the people it’s great for, and honestly if they accepted my S he would consider it, because there are definitely some strong features to the trainings. But we would look VERY closely at that school before picking it because we came away with super mixed feelings. Like, I think it could be fantastic or it could be horrible - you can find other people telling you the fantastic, so I’ll focus mostly on what gives me pause.
I felt really mixed about their info. session at Unifieds. David Hugo, running it, clearly is very passionate about intense and thorough training, but listening to his veiled and not so veiled insults to other schools was discouraging. He basically said that the only worthwhile trainings out there are Carnegie Melon and LIU. I even asked him after the session if he could name any other schools he recommended and he could not. His advice about what to look for in a training program was awesome and it changed the way that we have been approaching schools, but listening to him say stuff like “Boston is great…if you want to be in ensemble, they make great ensemble members” which was such a back handed compliment, and listening to him openly tell everyone in the room that he had just told a girl in the last dance audition not to bother coming back - he’s telling this to kids who auditioned with her! Those kids at Unifieds were getting to know each other, so on top of the cruelty (I’m sure he saw it as tough love or just being honest) of kicking her out, he then basically publicly shamed her - all of this left me with really mixed feelings about their program.
Something else that was a red flag for me is he spoke about a nearly 50% attrition rate as if this was proof of how great it is that they are such a tough program. Personally, I wouldn’t brag about 50% attrition rate. I’ve seen how smart and dedicated and hard working MT kids are, and these schools are picking the creme of the crop; I find it hard to believe that 50% of them just can’t hack it. Also, there was a moment during the info. session when his assistants were communicating something to each other a few feet behind him and he snapped at them in what I perceived to be a very rude way and I saw one of his assistants actually roll her eyes at the other in a way that made me think that this is not uncommon.
Lastly, they kept my kid waiting for over an hour past his audition time, giving all of the kids ahead of him like, 15 to 20 minutes, people walked out saying they talked to them and really got to know them. Then right as my kid went in, the woman running the table outside of the audition room informed them that they were running really late, so they rushed my kid, gave him about 5 minutes, didn’t look at him, and ushered him out the door. I also read in another thread that at Unifieds a few years ago he made someone’s daughter leave her audition in tears with the same behavior of not looking at her, and not responding to her hello and goodbye, like she didn’t exist for them. But I also see people raving about him, so I’m sure he has a really good side. He seems to be the heart of the program. I have a feeling that if he likes you it’s awesome.
Oh, I guess I have more. At the end of the last day of Unifieds I wandered down to their room hoping to chat with the assistants or with David Hugo just to try and get a better feel for them than what we had experienced so far. Everything was quiet, all auditions were done. The woman who had run the outside table saw me walking down the hall with no other place I could have been walking to than their room, and she turned around, and walked into the room. I thought “okay, she saw me, I’m sure she’ll be right back out to see what I want” and I sat down outside the room. She never came back out, but I could hear her and David and the other assistant talking. All they did was talk about other people. Mostly people in the program I think. I thought it was ironic that during the info. session David talked about how while kids are waiting in the hall for their audition they are being watched, and that if they are not being wonderful with one another, that information will be reported back to the auditors. He stressed that they should understand that they are “always being watched”. As I sat out in the hall listening to their cliquish conversation, I thought maybe they should know their own lessons, because I came down there hoping to get a better impression of them, but decided not to bother knocking on the door to go in, because in that moment of “watching” them, they didn’t seem worth it.
We have not heard back from them, and honestly I don’t think that they will be accepting my S given his audition experience, but if they did, I would want to go to the campus, watch classes, really talk to as many students as possible, not just the ones they pick to talk to guests, and try to get a sense of the culture of the program. It really and truly might be all that David Hugo says it is; the best possible training you can get if you don’t get into Carnegie. I could actually see that being true while I was listening to him. But I could equally see it being a lot of hot air and ego and cruelty. It could also be both, depending on who you are, how you get along with David Hugo, and how hard you work. I suspect that in truth it’s a great program, but there may be a high emotional price. I wish I could talk to some of the 50% who didn’t make it through.
And now I’m full of doubt as to if I should have written all of that. I am someone who never ever writes bad reviews of products, books, places etc. I know that everyone is just trying to get by, and I don’t want to play a part in hurting anyone’s life or livelihood. But we are here trying to make really hard decisions, and I saw so many red flags as well as appealing things about LIU that it just didn’t seem right not to share. But I honestly wish everyone there well, I hope that all the kids who go there have a fantastic experience, and I hope that their program thrives. And I really hope that the things that struck me as alarming about them were really nothing and not reflective of the program and that the things that looked good about it are truly wonderful.
Hi. My S was admitted to BFA MT at LIU and I’m having a difficult time finding out any substanative information about the program. Anyone out there have children attending and what are your thoughts? We live on the west coast, and may be making a trip out there soon but in the meantime any information will be helpful, please. Also how generous was your financial aid or scholarship package? My S has a high GPA & ACT. He’s been getting emails that he’ll receive a talent and academic scholarship but nothing in writing yet of what that will be. Thanks!
There’s a helpful facebook group with some current students, it’s just for prospectives, not parents, but I’ve found it very informative