<p>Which school has the better theatre program?! I love em both but I don't know which one to pick!</p>
<p>Montclair is much better known and is quite likely more selective. Some people like the fact that it is near NYC.</p>
<p>If you can only apply to one of these two schools, study the curricula and programs closely and see which one seems better for you personally.</p>
<p>Thanks so much!</p>
<p>Would it sound frivolous to mention the matter of climate? People might not think of New Jersey’s weather as being radically different from New York State’s, but Buffalo’s winters are notoriously brutal, whereas NJ’s aren’t too bad. I don’t know anything about Buffalo State, although I know that there’s some pretty good regional theater nearby. Montclair State has a wonderful, highly-selective BFA program. You have to be accepted into the college, first, in order to qualify for an audition. The college is on rolling admissions, though, so you can get that out of the way quite early if you’re seriously interested. They participate in the National Unified auditions, but conduct their first on-campus auditions before Thanksgiving. My son chose not to apply, because he just didn’t care for the general campus environment at MSU, but they are very strong in performing arts. I will warn you that they offer very little financial assistance to out-of-state students. When we visited, the representative explained that they are at a disadvantage nationally because of that. They still cost less than most private colleges, but cannot meet the offers that students might get elsewhere. We live in NJ, and so that was not an issue for us.</p>
<p>Devonte - good luck in your search. Are you going to be applying this year?</p>
<p>I’m presuming that by U of Buffalo and Buffalo State you mean SUNY Buffalo. I looked at their website. I would say that there are a lot of similarities in the programs there and at Montclair State, except for the admissions requirements. Montclair State requires an audition for the BFA, and it is very selective. It requires an interview for the BA; I don’t know how tough a hoop that is to go through, but probably less stringent. You do both of these before you can enter the school as a theatre major. (On another thread you mentioned BU - there it is only an auditioned BFA, very selective, no BA option, but I would agree that its curriculum has a lot in common with the other two.)</p>
<p>SUNY Buffalo has a BA and a BFA also, and you don’t have to audition before you can start your freshman year. It looks like you take some foundational theatre classes, then interview spring of freshman year to continue with the BA, and/or audition to get into the BFA. So while there aren’t the initial hoops, you might find after a year of work that you are unable to do a BFA program. It would be worth asking what the statistics are for getting approved for either degree. There has been discussion in this forum that a good number of students who audition for BFA after a year like this at other schools do tend to get accepted, if they work hard and contribute positively to the department, but every school is different.</p>
<p>It will help us help you if you would give more information about what you are looking for. Simply asking “is X a good school?” is not specific enough, since there are lots of different ways people feel schools are “good.” What is important is if it meets YOUR interests and needs. </p>
<p>Students who are interested in a BFA generally want training in and, not just education about, theatre, and they usually want to spend more than half, maybe even most, of their time in college in theatre classes and activities. Some BFAs have a particular focus (such as classical, experimental, etc., or are based on a certain teaching, like Meisner); some include or require tech and design classes; some have more or fewer general education requirements; etc. They are all very different, and lots of them are “good.” It just depends on what you want.</p>
<p>Most BFAs do require an audition, either before admission or after a year or so in the program. Some BAs also require an audition, or a detailed interview. All auditioned programs are very selective artistically, and many are also very selective academically. Many BA programs allow a student to spend about as much time in theatre as a BFA, and there are BFAs that do not require an audition, so it isn’t very hard to find non-auditioned programs that are good back-up options.</p>
<p>There are lots of other questions you surely are asking yourself (and your family), like about location, cost, size of school, study abroad, career assistance (such as a Senior Showcase, internship availability, etc.), and other aspects of your college experience. Your academic stats would also give us an idea about where you might want to look, and what kind of scholarships you could get.</p>
<p>If you let us know what you are most interested in, and what schools you like, and why, we can help you much better. This is a really difficult process, and we are happy to try to make it easier for you. Also, remember that right now you are selecting a list of schools to apply to; it isn’t necessary - or even perhaps beneficial - to decide among them which one is your favorite. If you make a list of approximately 6-12 schools to apply to, where at least two of them are non-auditioned academic and financial safeties, all of which you like generally, you can spend almost a whole year deciding which of the ones that accept you meet your needs best. Some students decide that if they don’t get into the selective programs they want this year, they will take another year to keep auditioning, so you definitely don’t have to decide on anything right now, except your application list. Just focus now on finding schools that YOU like, and keep asking good, specific questions.</p>
<p>EmmyBet…I have followed your many helpful posts across a number of threads for a long time. I only occasionally post. One of your comments struck a chord with me. You mentioned that there are schools that offer BA programs that allow students to spend almost as much time in theater as some BFAs. Could you site some examples? I assume UMinn might be one. Thank you, and I appreciate your input!</p>
<p>Thank you, OddDad! I am no expert, but I learned a lot from the wonderful helpful people here on this forum. I also learned a lot from my D’s experience last year - and from her continued experience in college.</p>
<p>BFAs can be really different. It is incredibly helpful when the schools post a 4-year curriculum on their website (or in other materials). We were able to make very detailed charts about what actually happens at the various programs. It was very important for my D to think about what she wanted - some things appeal to her more or less than others, and this is true for everyone, because there is no final answer to what makes a theatre program valuable.</p>
<p>We found two main differences between BAs and BFAs. One is the AMOUNT of classes you can/must take in theatre, and the other is the TYPE of classes that are available. BFAs typically require at least 60-70% of coursework in the major, and basically all BFAs have classes in training - Voice, Movement, Acting, Scene Study, plus Tech, Design, Directing, Acting for the Camera, etc.</p>
<p>BAs vary much more broadly. Some hardly offer any training classes; the major is more academic, based on observation and study of texts. Some have lots and lots of training classes, occasionally only in certain areas, but sometimes quite extensively. Because of other requirements, at some schools you just can’t fit in more than about 40-50% of your coursework in theatre, but at some schools there are very few distribution or Gen Ed requirements, or you can get them done quickly, double them up, place out, etc. Some schools allow enough electives that you can take a huge proportion of your classes in theatre, beyond what the BA requires.</p>
<p>My D did apply to UMinn and considered it until the very last. I have said that a student could have a “BFA-like” experience there in the non-auditioned BA. The reasons are: 1) there are a huge number of theatre classes, and they have extensive opportunities for training; 2) they are generous with AP credit and other ways to reduce distribution requirements (this is common at public universities); and 3) the BA Theatre department provides many valuable opportunities to apply their training in performance and production. </p>
<p>Lots of other BA programs provide a similar type and number of classes that a BFA student might take. I’m only saying “similar” - a BFA is different, by definition, and the “almost” means that in most BAs you will give up or compromise something that you might have preferred in a BFA. Or, perhaps, a student could realize that the breadth of choice is what he or she wants; it could be the best of both worlds for some individuals. </p>
<p>Other non-auditioned BA schools that we found that were significantly training-focused and allowed for a large percentage of courses in Theatre were Northwestern, Vassar, Brandeis, Bard, and Goucher. Others on this forum have talked about Muhlenberg, Temple, Skidmore, and others. Another factor that makes a BA more of a BFA-like experience is when the campus productions are guided by faculty; many schools that have “lots” of theatre turn out to have predominantly student-run productions, which are great experience but I believe not true training opportunities.</p>
<p>My D ultimately chose her BFA program because it guarantees her the broad and intensive training courses, the guided production experience, and the proportion of theatre and non-theatre in her life that she prefers. At the BAs (she applied to the first five I mentioned above, and was accepted to 3 of them, along with UMinn), she found she would have had to compromise. At UMinn, she felt she would have had to take strong, personal initiative to “make” a BFA-like experience for herself. The time and courses were there, but not guaranteed. It is true that the freedom of creating one’s own program also includes a high level of responsibility and risk.</p>
<p>Again, this is all a question of personal choice. I think some BA students spend lots of “time” in theatre, surely equivalent to BFA students, particularly in their participation in productions, and they learn a lot. But there are only certain BAs where the time spent training and in focused experiential learning could be considered at all equivalent. The degree requirements are usually strikingly different, by definition (a quick look at Montclair or Buffalo’s website will show that), but at some schools the BA students can take (if they are allowed) more courses in appropriate subjects that approximate the training received in a typical BFA. You do have to read and ask a lot! Schools are all so different.</p>