Is Montclair less competitive than Rutgers, I’m a little concerned now that I’m hearing what the acceptance rate is and the total cost of the school.
My daughter did a walk-in at Webster last year without a problem at NYC Unifieds, although it was the year of the massive blizzard, which meant a greater than usual number of no-shows. I will say to make sure you have internet access and your checkbook handy, as they make you apply and pay the application fee before allowing you to audition, at least they did last year. It wasn’t much, though; $35. And it was one of her most enjoyable auditions, by far. Her other most enjoyable audition was for Point Park, where she is now a freshman BFA MT major. She has nothing but good things to say about the program, and she has many friends who are BFA acting majors.
As far as Montclair vs. Rutgers, I know that Montclair had an acceptance rate last year of around 3 percent. It has gotten very competitive, especially since they now give in state tuition to all BFA students.
@CourtneyTheatre I don’t think you can compare Rutgers and Montclair…Rutgers is a true conservatory BFA program, one of only 5 (I think) in the country along with SUNY Purchase, CalArts, Carnegie Mellon…the other one escapes me (UNCSA maybe). I believe it’s much harder to get into than Montclair.
UNCSA is a true conservatory - the first stand alone, publically funded one in the USA. Meaning it is not part of a larger university but has its own campus in Winston Salem, NC with 5 different art schools within it, and it is a state school. It is like Juilliard or Cal Arts, but a state school.
It is also 1 of 4 schools part of the Consortium of Conservatory Theatre Training Programs (Boston U, Carnegie Mellon, SUNY Purchase, and UNCSA are all part of it).
@bfahopeful at SUNY Purchase they told me Rutgers was part of that as well…and what about Juilliard isn’t it also?
@marg928 I think there used to be a 5th school. Maybe it was Rutgers. Could be they have been in and out of it for whatever reason.
Here is info I have but could be totally wrong - I’m cutting and pasting the info:
Consortium of Conservatory Theatre Training Programs is an alliance of professional theatre training conservatories offering focused programs in a university environment. The members of the consortium include Boston University, Carnegie Mellon University, the North Carolina School of the Arts, and the State University of New York at Purchase. Auditions held in major cities in January and February:
Rutgers is not part of the consortium. I think it’s Boston U, UNCSA, CMU & SUNY Purchase. But Rutgers, CalArts, Juilliard all provide full on conservatory training. All of these programs basically require you to eat, drink, sleep & breathe acting training 24/7. There is no time for anything else.
@MilouForever is correct. And this type of training isn’t for everyone. My D wanted it and loves it. Others want a more balanced curriculum and schedule. UNCSA drama started doing an accepted students weekend which is two days spent from morning until late evening doing all the things a student would do. Workshops with faculty, a show, more workshops, etc. It is designed so students know what to expect if they attend. It was a fantastic experience and solidified for my D that she truly wanted a program like this.
@bfahopeful My apologies. Somehow I skipped over your post listing the consortium schools.
@MilouForever no need to apologize. You provided good info
Thanks everyone, I’m doing this process alone so it’s been pretty crazy. I took depaul and rutgers off my list, and added montclair. I know my list is still pretty top heavy but I’ve got a BA safety there and hopefully I’ll get lucky at a BFA program.