OK, so you have a couple choices, what questions are you asking? What are you looking for during your second visit? How are you comparing? I know the “normal” questions we could ask, big, small, city, suburban, but specific ways to analyze MT programs.
Our current list is narrowed down to BoCo, Syracuse and Otterbein. All so different. (Pace is an alternate, so not in the yet.) We have taken Rider off to “go away”.
Money favors Otterbein, Boston is awesome, Syracuse I think offer the best “college experience”, big sports, campus etc.
Does anyone have concerns over the class size at BoCo?
BoCo class size would be a concern to me, but they may have made allowances for that by hiring more teachers, putting up more shows, etc. You can ask about that. How do students not get lost/forgotten in a large program?
Do these schools have a connection to a regional theatre? It is becoming more and more critical in this competitive market to have an "in" to a theatre where the student-actors can step up to the next level. Opportunities to Earn EMC points would be a bonus. I have heard that Otterbein used to have a connection with Utah Shakespeare Festival, but I'm not sure this is true anymore. I would ask if they have any other connections to regional theatres.
Is the community where the school is located a theatre-rich community? Is the program supported by the community?
How is casting done? Is it all talent-based? Or is based solely on educational opportunities? Or a combo of both? Are there assurances for students to be cast in MainStage shows? (especially with a program as large as BoCo). People who are not cast, or cast only in ensemble, don't have a lot of opportunities to grow. (I am thinking of a school not on your list that have TONS of students in the ensemble just so they can say that students are cast. There's very little staging in this school's productions as there are just too many people on the stage.) Having student-directed shows are great, but be sure that your kid has opportunities to be directed by the professionals who are the experts.
I see that BoCo has a MFA. Do the BFA kids have to compete with them for roles in the MainStage shows?
Seek out alumni that have been out of the program for 2-3 years. They can tell you the holes in the program after being out in the real world for a while. Asking current students for their input is okay, but they will likely feel loyalty to their program and not be 100% forthright.
Ask about the teachers' experience and training as educators. Do they know the best practices of teaching, not just knowledge about musical theatre, acting, and dance, but HOW to teach?
Ask for not only a four-year curriculum, but ask for syllabi for each of the courses, or at least ask what is going to be taught in the classes.
Ask about the voice teachers in the programs. What are the number of students in their studio? Do the teachers come from the voice department? If so, does that mean that they have a classical background only? Or do they teach belting/mixing too? I'm not sure if this is still true, but it used to be that some schools didn't teach belting until students were in their junior or senior year. Ask if the voice teachers play piano. You would be surprised what a handicap that is if they don't.
If they have a senior showcase, ask if they have to audition to be part of the showcase. Some schools only take students that make that cut. Ask how students are prepared for showcase. I know some schools start prepping material for showcase in the fall of their senior year! and it shows in their showcases in a good way. (Picking material in addition to rehearsing material, finding an outfit, marketing oneself all takes time and guidance.) Ask who selects the material for the students. I know some programs hire outside consultants to do this so that it's based on type.
According to the Otterbein forum, there has been a change in leadership there, so I would ask what the new director's vision for the school will be.
Ask how much time the leadership of the program has to be away recruiting/auditioning prospective students.
Some of these questions may have already been asked. Just what was on the top of my head.
We are in a similar dilemma between Point Park, Syrause and Boco. The class sizes of Boco concern me although students seem to love it! Syracuse has a great program but not all kids get to showcase so that’s a negative. But SU has the Tepper Semester in NYC so that seems great.
Point Park is one I don’t have tons of info on.
Any advice or info appreciated! It’s great to have choices!
Thanks, we are visiting Otterrbein tomorrow and we just got back from Syracuse. We loved Syracuse and the size seemed perfect. The affiliation with a professional theatre was great as well. I don’t love the idea of a 40 kid class conservatory with virtually no academics, so I am slow playing BoCo. I will keep researching and report back.
@NJDadBFAMT Did your child get to sit in on classes at SU? Just curious as to what he/she thought of the classes and students since it’s one of our contenders. Planning a visit too.
yes a jazz class, a tour and an acting class. Small classes, loved the dance instructor. got a great feel. “Stage” location was the only negative we found. Campus was really cool and perfect size.
2 years ago stage location was a factor in D turning down Syracuse. I agree that the campus is great- but the theater building is not near campus. Given that Syracuse BFA kids are “fairly” conservatory based (I think only 1 academic a semester) D didn’t feel she would be a “part” of things.
BoCo uses a “core” system with it’s fairly large class, so actually with a class of around 50, there are really 4 classes of around 12. I live outside of Boston and go to the theatre frequently, and BoCo kids (e.g., sophomores and juniors) are cast in professional equity productions all the time. They encourage kids to seek performance opportunities outside of the school, according to the kids I have spoken with. BoCo has a LOT of NYC and Boston connections. It is a fabulous program. (Full disclosure: my D chose Ithaca over BoCo, but I know part of that was not wanting to be that close to home. She also wanted a school that focused heavily on acting. But she has friends there who love it.)
About BOCO’s class size…that would not bother me. My kid also got in there in her year. She went to NYU/Tisch, which is also a large program. But in BOTH programs, the class size IN CLASS is similar to what you would find in a small(er) program. To me, that is what matters. If every class they take is 15 or under in size, that same sort of attention is going to be had no matter the size of the entire program. Further, one plus in a larger program is that the student gets to work with several faculty over the course of four years, as opposed to just a handful. I am not saying one situation is better or worse, but the bottom line in a larger program is to examine the class sizes in the classroom.
At Syracuse, which my D also got into and liked, while the theater complex is a long walk from campus, that was no different than say, at NYU, where one’s studio can be a long walk from campus or dorm. Didn’t bother my kid. They spend the good part of the day there and so they are not going back and forth throughout the day. One could say the same at U of Michigan where you take a shuttle to the campus where the Music School is located.
I agree with the “benefits” of a larger pool. My D is also at NYU. There are 4 groups of approx 12 each in her year. Groups mix every semester - and by this point (2nd sem of sophomore year) she has worked with most (if not all) the people in her class- but there are variations. D went to a PA HS where the core performance group was quite small- that started well, but by the time they graduated had become fairly toxic. In fact- Having a larger mix was a priority for D as she did not want to repeat hat experience.
Not that I have a kid in a program right now, but from what we have researched and looked into in terms of programs if my kid got an acceptance to Otterbein I would have her calling the next day to accept done deal lol. So many people consider Otterbein a harder admit then so many other schools that are considered first tier.
Just my opinion but of course your visit will perhaps push you one way or another! Plus you mentioned money wise Otterbein was best choice! That’s important in my book…awesome program , great training, best deal… The trifecta! Lol
Good luck! All great choices to be sure.
@NJDadBFAMT, they are ALL good programs, but very different. BoCo is a small conservatory in a medium sized city that has great theatre and is an easy hop (bus ride or train ride) to NYC. Their voice and dance is very strong. Syracuse is a large university with a BFA MT program in a city that is pretty far from NYC. They are affiliated with an Equity theatre, and SOME kids can get EMC points from the theatre. Otterbein is a small university in the suburbs of Columbus. It has a tiny (one of the smallest) MT programs.
What is your child looking for? A more traditional college experience, with basketball games and rah rah? Then go with Syracuse. A conservatory where they are totally immersed in MT? Go to BoCo. A small, private LAC? Go to Otterbein.
You can’t really make a wrong decision with regards to any of these programs. It’s all about where your child feels the best vibe/fit.
My D is a freshman at Boco and I just wanted to chime in on the whole class size thing. Yes, the freshman class as a whole is large compared to other programs, but as mentioned above, the class gets split up into smaller “core” groups of 12 or so kids and many of the classes are taken with the core group only. Compared to a place like UMich or Syracuse, where non-MT classes are likely taken with kids with other majors, those classes are going to be much larger and impersonal than any class at Boco. D frequently gets individual feedback from her teachers, including personal emails and other contact outside of class. By October when I visited for Parent’s weekend, she already knew most of her teachers very well and they knew her. I think the class size concern at Boco is really a non-issue,and if you are still concerned, I suggest a visit where you can observe some classes.
I’d also like to add that the performance opportunities are plentiful at Boco. Just this spring, in addition to two main stage shows, (Spring Awakening and Urinetown), there were 4 to 5 senior directed shows and one original musical that was written and arranged by students. And while you are up against MFA’s for the main stage shows, there were still plenty of freshman who were cast in those shows.
The professional opportunities are excellent as well. Many summer stock companies, including the MUNY hold special auditions at Boco just for Boco students. There are so many students getting professional work, even before they graduate. A fellow freshman classmate of D’s just played Maria in West Side Story at Carnegie Hall. Another freshman was just cast in Miss Saigon on Broadway. I hear a new story just about every week about a Boco student securing a part in a national or international tour.
Boco is underrepresented on CC, but it is a great school and I couldn’t be happier with D’s training and experience so far. If anyone has other questions about Boco, feel free to PM me.
My son has narrowed it down to BoCo,Syracuse and Florida State. Ithaca would be a contender if he comes off the wait list. We totally agree that all 3 are such different experiences and are planning to revisit all 3 schools so he can sit in on classes. He has his pros/cons for each school, but it’s so hard to figure out which outweighs the other as none of them are bad! So, I’d love some input on how people would consider Florida State in that mix.
I agree with @monkey13 's post #14…as far as the OP’s daughter’s decision between BOCO, Syracuse, and Otterbein. All three are excellent programs!! But these schools are very different from one another and what it boils down to is your D’s preferences. She can’t go wrong at an of them in terms of training.
Miss Saigon is coming back? I know that the West End production is transferring in 2017 but I hadn’t heard about a new Broadway production.
To the OP:
If you have visited all, and had a thorough visit, I would imagine that part of the research to be important in a choice such as this. The locations are very different and, although some kids may be easy with location, others are going to have a definite preference between those three. All three are very good programs but they are different and they will provide a different experience to their students.
@alwaysamom I saw EPA notices for Miss Saigon on Broadway a couple months ago. Perhaps even with the transfer, they are still casting some roles, plus understudies, in NYC.
done deal lol. So many people consider Otterbein a harder admit then so many other schools that are considered first tier.