<p>Opinions on all which school would you go to and why???</p>
<p>I have heard many great things about Montclair’s program. And they definitely have the advantage of being only 20-25 mn away from NYC. Plus they put a lot of money into their theatre program and I believe they perform over 6 shows a year. I have heard not so great things about Riders. And I believe a lot of the kids transfer after the first yr. Rider is a really easy school to get into academically. Also the biggest downfall is that if you are not a super great singer then most of the MT kids that get the leads are from their neighboring music school Westminster Choir College (the singers are AMAZING!) Sorry I have not heard much about Coastal.</p>
<p>Ready, I think you the things you have heard might refer to Rider before this past year; Rider’s program has undergone quite an overhaul and the MT students are a very strong group.</p>
<p>Personally, I would rank Montclair and Coastal over Rider just from what I’ve seen and from kids I know who go to Rider and Montclair</p>
<p>bwayboggieboy - I think the real question is what do YOU want in a program and which of the programs you have listed best meets what you want. </p>
<p>Once my D knew her choices, she went through the curriculum of each program and looked at what classes she would be taking for the next 4 years. She also looked at the number of productions staged each year and the rules for auditioning and casting at each program. She looked at things like whether or not the program had a senior showcase, offered master classes, brought in guests director or other teaching artists, seemed supportive in helping the students with finding summer work, had good facilities, required tech work, etc. Things that were important, at least to some degree, to HER. That process helped her narrow down her choices. We did factor in the cost of the schools, but had decided there was a way we could make any of her choices work, but I know she did think about post-graduation debt during the process. The most “unknown” of her choices, to us, was Coastal Carolina. So we scheduled a trip and went out to see the school. All it took was seeing a production and more importantly, sitting in on classes and talking to the students and faculty, for her to decide that CCU was where she wanted to train. </p>
<p>So far, 2 years in, the program has been everything she wanted. Could she have been happy/gotten great training at one of her other choices? Of course! But once she made the decision to attend CCU, she didn’t look back and I truly don’t think she has wondered “what if?”</p>
<p>One thing I will say about Rider. My D had the privilege of working with both Robin Lewis and Mariann Cook when she was in high school. They are both absolutely wonderful. Had they been on the faculty at Rider when she was going through the audition process she definitely would have included Rider on her list. </p>
<p>You can find lots of detail in the subforums for all 3 of those schools. And you can get a great deal of info about what it’s like at CCU in the Freshman Experience thread. </p>
<p>Best of luck with you decision!</p>
<p>Rider has a completely revamped program, but it has also been a great performing arts college even when I applied there back when dinosaurs roamed the earth. I would NOT say it is easy to get into academically either, but quite the opposite.</p>
<p>Montclair also has a great program…I would rank them tie in as far as what you’re going to get, but as far as location, Montclair is closer to NY. I know nothing about Coastal.</p>
<p>One more thing about Coastal Carolina that doesn’t seem to get mentioned. There are professional theatres in the Myrtle Beach area. And CCU students do cast in shows there. In some cases the pay is very good. Of course if you accept a professional job you take yourself out of the casting pool at CCU for a period of time. But I know students who make it work.</p>
<p>Regarding CCU…my concern would be academic acceptance seems way too easy to get into the school…Are basic core classes outside the MT program challenging? Just wondering…any insight to this concern would be so appreciated.</p>
<p>In all honesty, no- they are not that challenging. The basic requirements for our core classes are not difficult. You take predominately first and second year courses. With a total of 125 credit hours required to graduate, I think that 30 of those are “core” credits, pretty much one class of every “subject”. I have taken ethics and 2 sections of history since being at Coastal, and they were not easy but they were not difficult by any means. I was honors in high school with almost all AP classes, and some of the things I take at Coastal might even be easier than those. </p>
<p>However, if you are interested in taking on a heavier course load, you are welcome to do so and encouraged. You can test into higher level courses, and some of the academic departments here are FANTASTIC, such as our marine biology program. If you’re interested in science, there are some incredible opportunities. I am also a part of the honors program at CCU, which has made all of my classes more challenging automatically, and offers me some cool opportunities. I barely have time with the heavy BFA load to get these “easier” core classes done, so I give a BIG kudos to people who handle that.</p>
<p>CCU is a state school. The case above would be similar for a place like Texas State I would say. I would not say that CCU would be the perfect fit for someone who wants a heavy liberal arts education with challenging core classes (Elon comes to mind, but it’s not as light as a conservatory program. It’s what you make of it.</p>
<p>Here is a link to our basic course catalog for a BFA in MT: <a href=“http://www.coastal.edu/theatre/docs/musicaltheatre-bfa.pdf[/url]”>http://www.coastal.edu/theatre/docs/musicaltheatre-bfa.pdf</a></p>
<p>Thanks AlexaMT…lots of good info. One thing that jumped out was the stats of the required SAT or ACT scores to be accepted into CCU in general. However…we all have learned that with MT programs they seem to somewhat stand on their own and are basically their own entity at alot of the schools.</p>
<p>With regard to austinmtmom’s excellent advice, because the program at Rider is currently undergoing/has undergone a MAJOR revamp, transitioning from a BM to a BFA, it is my understanding that the curriculum listed on the website is for the old BM. </p>
<p>To my knowledge there is no curriculum listing for the new BFA. If anyone has that information, it would be great to include it here on the Rider subforum.</p>
<p>I have noticed that to momofstar. In one large school my D did not like the school ( 2 seniors gave our school tour and had never gone to any kind of production-it was all about football) but she liked the theatre department and those students she was able to meet. Since it is a BFA it has remained on a maybe list instead of throwing it out. She will decide once our list gets more finalized and if we want an extra on there then she will apply</p>
<p>I would like to reply to the comment about Rider. As one of the current professors at Rider, the facts you mentioned about many kids transferring to Montclair after the first year is false. Actually, there are some students from Montclair at Rider, and have students transferring from many other top major schools. Rider has gone under MAJOR change with Professional Faculty and all have Broadway and National touring experience and Rider is in transition to changing over the BFA. Rider is also close to NYC. Rider does 6 mainstage productions and all MT’s are required to audition for the plays as well as musicals. We have had many guest artists this year visit - Ben Vereen, Donna Mckechnie, Rachel Hoffman, Rachel Rak, Nikki Snelson, plus many others. Rider also has students going to the finals at the ACTF Kennedy Center and many current students have already booked summer work in regional theater across the country and have students currently on Broadway and National tours. We are currently accepting a class of 25-30 in the Freshman Class. It is a very exciting time to be a Rider student. If you really want to know what is going on at Rider try “student for a day”. You can take classes meet the faculty and the students. You should always visit the school you are considering as it is 4 years of your life and all schools have wonderful things to offer, you just have to see what fits you best as this will be your new “home”.</p>
<p>@fosseguy, since you are on the faculty, perhaps you would be willing to go over to the WCC/Rider subforum and answer a few of the questions that people have asked.</p>
<p>Ultimately, no one can answer this question except you. Each program has something to offer and each has a very different ‘feel.’ It’s really ultimately about the match for YOU.
I’m in a fairly good position to answer this from my OWN point of view as I’m familiar with all three programs; if you want you can pm me. From my D’s own perspective and mine, Coastal is extremely impressive, and if this were my D’s choice, she’d choose Coastal. Sorry to repeat myself, but it really depends on you. Have you visited all campuses and talked to current students? Also, are finances an issue? Coastal is much cheaper, even out of state, than the other two.</p>
<p>Which one will put you the least in debt? That’s how I’m deciding.</p>
<p>I think you have to visit and decide since there is no obvious frontrunner here. Rider is new so I’m curious about it. It’s close to NYC if that matters to you. One thing I have figured out is that talking to current students doesn’t help much. They all seem to really like the programs they are in which is nice but doesn’t really mean anything at all about whether you will grow and develop at the school.</p>
<p>Actor12 makes a good point. I encourage everyone to talk to current students, but ask them to be honest with you and give you the true ups and downs of a school. If you attend the school, you will eventually find out what the “weakpoints” are, so there is no point in someone trying to lie to you. I’d rather be honest with a student before they end up at a school that’s not right for them, so you have to even the playing field as much as possible.</p>
<p>All 3 schools are strong. I know less about Montclair than I do Rider and (obviously) Coastal, but I have no doubt someone could get a well-rounded education no matter which one they chose. Think about location- they are in 3 completely different places, that could definitely come into affect. Price is also important if you are really struggling to make a decision.</p>
<p>Alexa what do you some of coastal weak points are?</p>
Anyone with opinions of Rider vs. Montclair for MT this year (class of 2019)? This is for a male student. Any insight would be great!