@SingerDancerMom, you can do either a BFA or a BM in MT. While they supposedly were a Common Prescreen school, in reality it was strictly a vocal prescreen, no monologues.
Also, as far as Tallahassee goes, some people love it and some don’t. Living in Florida, it’s a good 6 hour drive. Very few flights and all are expensive. If you lives out of state, count on flights with at least 2 connections as there is no major airport.
FSU has been known as a big party school and has a large Greek presence on campus, although I’m not sure if that affects the Theatre programs.
It is a good program, but the best program is going to be the only where your child feels is home and only they can decide that. Best wishes and I’m sure you’ll make the decision that is the bestir come May 1.
@bfayay, LIU Post is Acting based (Suzuki method I believe) with less focus on dance. D didn’t apply so I don’t know what kind of financial aid they’re offering.
Ohio University has a pretty well rounded MT program and Athens is lovely, but the BFA program is fairly new. My D was accepted to their BFA Acting program and with their aid package it is one of our least expensive options.
I have heard great things about Utah, but don’t personally know anyone with kids there. I also heard with Utah you can declare residency after 1 year and tuition becomes really inexpensive which is a real bonus.
If you look at the faculty bios from Utah MT, you will see it is a VERY dance-heavy faculty! That was impressive to me! Denny Berry, head of MT, was an original dance captain for Broadway Phantom, also a choreographer, director, in casting (for 12 Phantom productions) and more! But it doesn’t stop there - I would suggest looking at faculty bios and background, videos that show classes/shows and looking at curriculum.
This is where we are in the process. We are comparing 3 programs at the moment. Marymount, Utah, and Sam Houston State. Sam Houston requested a decision by March 20th and we are just not sure what to do about that one.
For her, MMC is THE school. It has always been in her top 5. The other 4 said no! So it seems like the choice. She spent time there this summer doing the pre-college intensive. She loved the faculty and the college and the area of course. We did an on campus audition and she was reminded of how much she loved the faculty and being in the city. I know she probably is meant to end up there but it’s expensive and far from home!
Utah is still in consideration. It is more of a Conservatory program than MMC and she loved it when she spoke to head of the department at National Thespians and she still loved it when she auditioned at Unifieds. She is a dancer at heart and the idea of ballet 5 days a week makes her so happy. We are visiting in April, assuming we still can.
Sam Houston State is well, in Huntsville and too close to home. The program to me looks great and I really think it will be on the map in the next few years. She says, “But it’s not MMC” I still want her to visit again and shadow a class but we are running out of time with that March 20th deadline.
We still haven’t heard from quite a few schools. But most have notified people of acceptances, waitlists and no’s and we are just sitting here like um? I’m sure they will all turn to a no when they remember we haven’t been contacted yet. Of those we are still waiting on, only one would top MMC and Utah.
The hardest part is having the faith and confidence that you make the right choice.
@hbaxter30 The March 20 deadline by Sam Houston State is troubling to me. My reading of the NACAC’s Code of Ethics and Professional Practices is that May 1 is the decision date. I know that previous threads talked about the Code provisions being suspended because of a dispute with the Department of Justice. This dispute was resolved in late September, 2019 with the deletion of certain provisions. The May 1 requirements survived however. The only exception is for students that apply under an Early Decision plan where the student has expressly agreed to enroll if admitted and withdraw all other applications. Did your D apply to Sam Houston State under an Early Decision plan?
@AmarilloTX - well Sam Houston himself was never one to follow the rules @hbaxter30 - yeah, I’d put MMC highly over those others. Of course, MMC also isn’t cheap, as you well know
Early Decision (ED): Students commit to a first-choice
college and, if admitted, agree to enroll and
withdraw their other college applications. Colleges
may offer ED I or II with different deadlines. This is the
only application plan where students are required to
accept a college’s offer of admission and submit a
deposit prior to May 1.
@AmarilloTX - I wonder if it’s the BFA program (and not the University) that is asking for a commitment by that date. I’ve heard of a few others that have asked for early commitments, and if you don’t give it, they put you on the waitlist. Wonder if that’s a way around the education provisions. That it’s for a ‘program’ AT the University, and not the University itself
Colleges must not establish policies, engage in practices,
imply advantage, or offer incentives whose effect is to
circumvent NACAC’s Code of Ethics and Professional
Practices’ established deadlines
It was the BFA musical theatre department that asked for a decision by the 20th. They have one more on campus audition on the 27th so I was thinking that is why they wanted to know. We were going to request more time but if we aren’t really interested in it then I don’t know if we should.
We are trying to compare Ohio U, Temple and JMU - such very different programs and all seem good… if anyone can give any info or direction would love some!
@DramaLove2020 I can speak a little about Temple and JMU. Very different campuses. JMU is GORGEOUS. Spectacular facilities, full college experience, their food is consistently ranked as the best college food in the country, and the program is climbing the ranks, previously off the radar. now consistently on many top 40 lists. It’s a BA so the kids will have to take full academic classes. Recently several of their grads have gone to Broadway and National tours. We know a lot of kids there and they are all HAPPY! Temple is downtown Philly. Urban campus. The campus is fine but just two blocks away the crime rate is high. Rough area. Temple has long been known as a phenomenal acting program, MT is new for them (this will be their 4th year I think) but already the program has earned an outstanding industry reputation. We saw a musical there and it was shockingly good. On par with Baldwin Wallace and FSU.
@hbaxter30 ”requesting” an answer by 3/20 does not mean it’s required. They may just want to know where you are in the process so they can extend other offers. If it’s still in the running for your child on March 20th let them know that. I’m sure they’ll keep her offer open!
@MamaBear2020 ahhh, I see. thank you. She got into the MT BFA. I do think the BM has more music theory, etc.
I keep hearing people comment that FSU “used to” be a top program. But I have yet to have any one explain what has changed. Why aren’t they considered that anymore?? The faculty hasn’t changed and from what I understand the Penn State’s program was modeled after FSU’s. Does anyone have specifics on this?
Regarding Utah… My older daughter got a Utah offer 4 years ago which we were really excited about for many of the same reasons you guys have mentioned. On paper it looked great, amazing even. Then I contacted current and former current students/parents who were surprisingly candid about their experiences and she quickly took it off her list. If you dig a little on this site you can privately connect with people who are there or whose kids are there and ask them about their experiences. Denny Berry’s professional performance bio is impressive, that’s true, but being an educator isn’t the same thing and it’s a good idea to dig deeper.
The same would be true for all programs. Talk to people who are there and who graduated from there.
Regarding the early deadline - last year we had a school that was giving us an early deadline. They extended it once for us, and would have extended it again upon request, but S decided it wouldn’t be fair to ask for another extension when he was pretty sure he wasn’t going there, so we let it go. It felt good to make room for someone else.
@SingerDancerMom As you know, I have a dog in this fight since my son is a 2019 MT graduate at Texas State. However, my best non-biased suggestion for you is to make accepted student visits at all three schools. Your daughter should talk to the faculty, and especially the students, at each school to find out if its the best for her. It really comes down to a “feel” as all three schools have excellent training.
@hbaxter30 I’ve known a couple of people who went to Sam Houston for MT and I think it’s decent… or it was 25+ years ago when they went. Probably much better now. One thing to consider, though… is that if you are close to SHU, then that means that you get Texas in-state tuition. So even without scholarships, etc., you’re looking at less than $30K per year all-in (probably closer to $25K, I would guess).
If you are having to take out significant loans to go to MMC, then consider whether your child will ever be able to pay them off. I mean, even working actors’ incomes are not steady month-to-month.
We are in DFW and last year my son came down to TCU vs. Montclair State. Even though he got some decent money from TCU, the fact that he got in-state tuition at MSU was a big piece of the deciding factor. So far, though his first year, we haven’t had to take out any loans. And if we do ever have to take any out, we probably won’t need more than the FAFSA government loans.
That being said, money wasn’t the only factor… he loves the proximity to NYC and the fact that he isn’t 45 minutes from home. The distance was a problem his first couple of weeks, but after that… see ya!
Also, his grandmother was the choir director at a church touching TCU campus so he didn’t want to have to get up to sing at church ever Sunday!
