<p>I currently attend Marymount Manhattan as a freshman, and I am very unhappy. I love the city, but I want to experience college at a campus with a diverse array of students instead of most theatre students. Many people here are rude, stuck up, inappropriate, and just not fit to be in the program. I feel very lost at this program and am looking for a small/medium school with a small MT program on the mid East Coast region.
I have been looking into Long Island University- Post, Rider University, Wagner College, and possibly Emerson. I don't know much about these programs, especially Emerson, so if anyone could please give me some information about these programs/other programs in my area that would be great!</p>
<p>Sorry you aren’t happy in your current program. What type of information are you looking for? My son doesn’t attend any of them but he did audition at Rider last year and was seriously considering it. I would classify it as a medium size school, the MT class this year was rather large, not sure if that is important to you. The setting is really neither a college town nor an urban one, its sort of in the middle. Very close to Princeton and a train ride from NYC. There is a section for each school, you may find the information you want there. Do you belong to The Unified group on Facebook? Lots of current students from many different schools on that site.</p>
<p>Curious what you mean by “not fit to be in the program”?</p>
<p>We have a friend who started in MT at Emerson but was “redirected” to a BA in Theatre Studies. She stayed, did a lot of dance, was in a sorority, helped choreograph and direct shows. Loved her time at school. And, she just booked her first national tour, 1 1/2 years after graduating! (I find that so interesting since she was redirected out of MT). But it still is an urban campus so not sure if its the type of campus you are looking for.<br>
You might also consider Muhlenberg? Not an MT program per se but great training and a really nice small college campus.
We did have another friend who was accepted as a transfer at Rider, but in the end, she decided to attend another school. But I do know they accepted her as a transfer.
Ithaca is highly competitive to get in but may be of interest to you. I don’t know their policy on transfers.<br>
If you are open to going a bit further south, I’d highly recommend you look at Coastal Carolina. We have a friend who transferred there this year and loves it. And CCU grads are getting good work. I know it’s not NYC, but it may surprise you.</p>
<p>Kirasinger, I feel your pain! There is much hype about kids “ending up where they are supposed to be” and that just isn’t always the case. Although I do wonder how did you end up at a program in NYC if you knew you wanted to be on a traditional college campus, let’s not dwell on what happened to get you here, but let’s focus on your current situation and your plans for the near future.</p>
<p>First, remember you are only one month into the program! I know many kids who didn’t feel the fit was quite right the first semester, and considered transferring, only to find that with time things got much better. Sometimes freshmen don’t realize they are going through a huge transition that they would be going through at any school. The old adage that the grass is always greener may apply here. Know that the other kids in our program are having similar issues even if it doesn’t seem like it. But…I know a student who left MM after first semester last year because she felt very much the same way you are feeling. She is the sweetest young woman and I had a hard time imagining how anyone could possibly have been mean to her, but it was the case. She didn’t love the school as a whole and just left after winter break. However, she chose to leave at a point that made it difficult to give her an opportunity to put her best foot forward at auditions and has taken a year off. (I am sure the school is a great fit for other kids - I am not knocking the school, but no school is right for everyone).</p>
<p>If you know deep down that you must leave, get help now! Have you spoken with your parents? If you are going to transfer, will you complete the year or just the semester? If you stay at the school and program next semester, will it be possible to audition when you are in classes? How about contacting MTCA, the musical theatre coaching company that is in the city? They would be a great help in helping you find a good fit and guiding you through the audition process. You don’t want to miss out on a full year because you aren’t prepared.</p>
<p>You may want to add Muhlenberg to your list and visit them soon. Since they don’t require an audition, maybe they would allow a Spring transfer??? There is so much info available on the programs you list. On their websites and on CollegeConfidential. Do your research!</p>
<p>Good luck!!</p>
<p>My dad wants my options to be as open as possible, so he told me he wants me to stay in the program the entire year (the fact that we had to pay full-year housing assisted his decision a little bit). </p>
<p>MTMajorCook: I live in North Jersey, so Rider is a nice and close drive from me. I’ve heard some scary things about the program but I am definitely open to looking into it.</p>
<p>vvnstar: I did look at Muhlenberg and loved the campus vibe and community, but considering the program is large and non-audition based I’d prefer a program that is small and slightly selective. I also applied ED to Ithaca and knew I got rejected the second I walked out of my audition. I’m also nervous about going too far from the city. What are all your opinions on that topic?</p>
<p>shaun0203: Similarly to what you said, my parents are also telling me that it’s only a semester in. I am trying to deal with the school as much as I can, but I was always looking for a campus and I kind of knew coming in that I was settling for this school.</p>
<p>Any more information you all have would be great-- thanks so much for your help so far :)</p>
<p>If you want a campus, Emerson would be a poor choice. </p>
<p>What about Montclair State?</p>
<p>or </p>
<p>Hartt at University of Hartford?</p>
<p>or </p>
<p>James Madison?</p>
<p>Personally I don’t think being in the city is necessary to accomplish your goal of working in the city after graduation. My D goes to OCU in Oklahoma. And many of last year’s graduates have already found work in NYC and/or on national tours, cruise ships, etc… And hey, it worked for alums like Kristin Chenoweth and Kelli O 'Hara too :). Also, my D had a dance teacher who started out at MM and transferred to OCU for some of the same reasons you mentioned. She has since been in numerous Broadway shows, so being in OK and not in the city was not an issue for her in getting work . But being that far away from the city is not for everyone.
Sometimes, depending on the student, I think it can be nice to distance yourself from all the distractions and hustle and bustle of the city and be somewhere you can really focus just on school. And enjoy some of the more traditional college things like Greek life, homecoming, etc. But there are pros and cons to both. You have to decide where you are happiest.
I do think giving MM a full year sounds like a good plan . But if you are serious about transferring, you still need to go ahead and get apps in now and get auditions scheduled, just as you did the first time around unless you plan to take a year off.</p>
<p>Also with regard to being in the city, being in the city is great! But keep in mind some of the most respected MT programs including Michigan, CCM, CMU, Baldwin Wallace and Texas State are not that close to NYC. Again, sounds like you need to figure out what Dort of environment you will be happiest in. Good luck to you!</p>
<p>
Well personally I love Emerson’s urban campus and cannot imagine a cooler place to go to school as far as campus goes. Being a college student in Boston is not the same thing as being a college student in NYC. You have a much greater awareness of being surrounded by students in Boston pretty much wherever you go vs. what it feels like to be a student in NYC. In NYC, you’re more of a student among the masses. It’s also cool but it’s different. I’ve got a kid in college in each city at the moment so I’m speaking from direct experience.</p>
<p>I agree with people that are suggesting it’s early to decide you need to transfer. I’ve attended more than one talk by a college expert to parents where we are advised, “give us until the end of October before you give into any noise about their wanting to come home or transfer.” Your Dad is probably channeling that as well as his thoughts about deciding not to move now given the prepaid housing. I can tell you that my daughter didn’t gush about her school the first semester (and this was her dream school and top choice) and when I pestered her for showing some love her response was, “Mom… give me time… I’m adjusting.” She’s now a junior at NYU now and I’d have to drag her out of there but I can also tell you, she doesn’t always love everything about it either. Adjusting to a first semester at college is hard enough. Doing that in NYC… harder x 10.</p>
<p>Hey but if you do end up having to look around… take a look at U of New Hampshire. BA in MT and now an auditioned program that has always been a good one but is now even more selective. Beautiful campus. Yes… heavy on New England kids and plenty of NJ kids too. It won’t necessarily check the diversity box but I think you were just saying you don’t want to be with all theatre, all of the time and you would not be there. It’s a very decent program and a real campus with the sports, sororities etc. Direct train from Boston to campus. Direct bus from nearby Portsmouth, NH to NYC. </p>
<p>what “scary” things did you hear about Rider? Just curious</p>
<p>I am a sophomore MT at Rider, and there are a couple of transfers in my class! I don’t know what “scary” things you could be referring to honestly, I am absolutely in love with the program. Possibly before Robin Lewis and Mariann Cook took over and revamped it? I don’t know. But to tell you more about the program, Rider offers some of the absolute best dance training you’ll find, between Robin Lewis, teachers handpicked directly from the Princeton Ballet School (one of the ballet teachers we have had a role written for her by Goffrey) and the rest of the impeccable dance faculty. I personally am not a dancer and even in just one year I have felt myself grow immensely. The voice faculty is amazing as well–they truly care about the growth of their students and they are all life-changing, from what I have heard (I know mine is…). And the acting training is ridiculously underrated. I feel like we’re constantly classified as a singer/dancer school but our acting faculty is absolutely incredible. My freshman year teacher kicked my ass and I have found myself to be such a stronger artist and performer after working with her. Not to mention the artists we bring in for classes…tonight we had a masterclass with Derek Klena (Bway: Wicked, Bridges of Madison County, Off Bway: Dogfight, Carrie), in a couple of weeks we’re bringing in Norm Lewis and next semester we’re bringing Sutton Foster, and that’s only to name a few. Last year we had Kelli O’Hara. Our faculty is so well-connected and they WORK to keep us connected, and overall, it’s a really special place. </p>
<p>halflokum: I’ll look into U of NH. I like it’s proximity to NY and the fact that it has college life.
thewait22 and mtmajor445: During my Ithaca audition I had just heard a few things from a transfer from there; however, that’s only one opinion so I’m definitely not taking it to heart. I know it’s a hard program, and last year I didn’t get into any BFA programs and quite frankly I’m a little worried that I won’t get as much educational training. But I look forward to seeing it during my tour and audition!</p>
<p>soozievt: do you know anything about JMU? It’s location is a little far from the city and I’m not sure if I’d do well in a big school. But I really like how they have a BA program.</p>
<p>@KatMT teaches at JMU and is a frequent CC poster. She could help answer your ?s about their program. You may also want to look at American and Catholic in DC. Both have interesting programs. But I’m not sure if the campus environments are what you are after. </p>
<p>I surely think Boston is a very cool place to go to college and Emerson fits that bill. I went to college and grad school in Boston and one of my daughters went to grad school in Boston. Further, my MT kid applied to Emerson and we visited twice. However, the OP seems to want a regular college campus environment and not a city campus. That is why I would discourage Emerson to her because it doesn’t fit HER criteria. I surely recommend Emerson to many applicants. </p>
<p>I am also in the camp that the OP should give her school way more time than one month. It is way too soon to tell. Hopefully she will feel more acclimated and find her people and so on. On the other hand, it could turn out to not be the place for her and some more time will tell. </p>
<p>OP, if you did not get into BFA programs the first time around, certainly try again, but there are quite a number of really good BA programs, both by audition and those not by audition. </p>
<p>JMU is by audition but they have taken transfers. As others mentioned, the head of the program posts on this forum and she likely will chime in on your thread at some point. </p>
<p>I agree with others that you don’t need to be near NYC for college. You can go there when you graduate. There are some benefits to being there but it should not really determine your college list. I did mention Montclair State and Hartt/Hartford as BFA programs in proximity to NYC. You also mentioned Wagner and I think that is a possibility too. So is Muhlenberg. UNH was mentioned and you should look into that too (and it is near Boston). Remember, you did look at Ithaca and apparently liked it and it is not truly near NYC enough to make an impact. </p>
<p>While you may be looking at schools to transfer to, put a lot of attention into trying to get the most out of your current college experience, your training, enjoying NYC, and making new friends. </p>
<p>I’ll also mention that American University’s BA by audition program would be worth a look. While it is in DC, I think it has a campus, but others can correct me if I am mistaken.</p>
<p>Oh, another option you ought to explore is Fairleigh Dickinson which is in North Jersey, close to NYC. They have a BA Theater Arts Major that offers a Musical Theater Concentration. While it is by audition, it is not nearly as competitive as many programs discussed here, and it would be good to have on your list if you like it. </p>
<p>You’re correct, soozievt, American University has a beautiful campus in DC.</p>
<p>I forgot to mention Hofstra. It is on Long Island and so near NYC if you like that idea. Students start as a BA with no audition. In sophomore year, there is the option to audition for a BFA in Theater Arts/Performance. As well, there is then an option to audition for a Musical Theater Minor. I think this is a really good option for you should you end up seeking to transfer!</p>
<p>I would be happy to answer any questions you have about JMU, and put you in touch with a current student. My email is <a href=“mailto:arecchkm@jmu.edu”>arecchkm@jmu.edu</a> or you can PM me. </p>
<p>Actually the OP didn’t say that she wanted a regular campus environment vs. a city campus. What she said was:</p>
<p>
From that I took it to mean: 1. She loves either being in a city or having access to one and 2. she wants an experience where she would not feel only surrounded by theatre students 24 x 7. Thus, I tried to point out that her experience as a student in a city like Boston could be very different than what it’s like to be a student in NYC because I know it to be true. Boston is student Mecca. I cannot speak to the particulars of Marymount Manhattan. I do not know the school. I do know Emerson and it focuses as a school in communications. Part of that is about theatre but there are other offerings as well so I would assume it would be easy enough to know people outside of your major. </p>
<p>@kirasinger17, if you’re concerned with the size of JMU (around 18K), would UNH may also be too big for you (around 12K)? I visited JMU with my son the year before he was applying to college. It’s a lovely area but the drive out from DC made me realize that no, this is not a DC area school. It’s very much a Virginia school which of course it is and should be! I’m pointing that out mainly because my son cared about proximity to a major city and we had sort of imagined there being convenient access to DC from the JMU campus which mattered to us. In reality, there is not so if that IS something you care about, be aware. Yes a major highway runs literally right through campus, but for that to matter, you’d need a car and DC is still a 2 1/2 hour drive. The nearest train to DC is in Staunton, 30 minutes away from the JMU campus to the south and the nearest bus station is an hour away. Maybe there are direct and convenient private busses to DC that I’m overlooking but in general my impression is that you go to JMU expecting a lot of fun to be had on campus and not relying on getting out without a car. So many great colleges work the same way and it’s not a reason to not consider it “if” you are not seeking access to a larger world outside of campus. But if you are, heads up. </p>