Need help narrowing down schools???

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
1

Hi everyone,

First of all, this is going to be TL;DR, please forgive me.

I’m 25 and finally going back to school after some time off because of family and financial issues. However, I now have a full-time job and life experience, so I feel ready to go back.

I was originally in film school, but then decided that wasn’t my calling. I would much rather be in front of the screen.

I’m looking to audition for different schools for the 2016-2017 school year. I have 30 gen ed credits already with a GPA of 3.7, as well as some film core classes with a slightly lower GPA - I think around a 3.4 for my major, maybe. Again, film school wasn’t for me, so I hope that this doesn’t reflect badly on me.

I don’t have too many extracurriculars going on, since I’m an adult and all, so all I do is pretty much work. A lot. I probably clock in about 70 hours a week at my full-time job? Then of course I go to the gym, sleep, eat, and I also nanny as a side job.

However, this summer I’m looking to quit my nannying job and decrease work at my full-time job to part-time status. With this extra time, I’m planning on taking some acting courses around NYC and get some 1-on-1 coaching from top notch acting coaches. If anyone has any suggestions of who I should go to, I’d appreciate that.

Anyway, I guess my question is, what do you think of the schools on my list? I need help narrowing them down, but I don’t have a lot of criteria for what my school “must” have. I’m a chameleon and very flexible, not rigid at all, so I pretty much go with the flow. I do prefer a city vibe vs. country though that is for sure.

Also on my apps for school, do I mention my high school career at all? I did a lot of acting in high school, not much since then. I’m just wondering if that’s relevant now that I’m 25.

Good thing is, I don’t look 25. I look around 16, so hopefully that plays in my favor too.

Thanks everyone! Hope to hear from you soon.

2

I should probably post the list! Hahaha. Let me get to that, one second.

3

DePaul
Hofstra
Columbia College Chicago * where I went to film school
Purchase College
Pace University
California Institute of the Arts
Ithaca College * I was actually admitted here once before, so I don’t know if that will help or hurt my chances
University of Evansville
Otterbein College
Marymount Manhattan College
The Hartt School - University of Hartford
Drew University
The Boston Conservatory
University of Cincinnati
Montclair University
Point Park University
Roosevelt University
Savannah College of Art and Design
Relativity School * fairly new, which kind of scares me hahaha
College and Conservatory of the Performing Arts
The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts

Thoughts?

4

Helloamanda - let me ask you, is having an actual college degree of primary importance in your plan? (if it is, I totally get it!) Are you looking for a campus environment?

Given your “life experience” etc- I was wondering if an acting conservatory like Stella Adler, William Esper, Circle in the Square etc might make sense. It would be less expensive, (though you would have to cover living expenses etc) and many of those offer 2 or 3 year programs.

One more thought- since you have a number of top tier/extreme reach schools (Purchase, CalArts etc…) you might want to throw something like Juilliard or RADA into the mix - as those schools often value students with more experiences

Good Luck!

5

Hi @toowonderful! I do want a degree just because I started this journey and I’m all about finishing something once I’ve started it, even if it’s been a couple of years (ehh more than a couple haha).

I have looked at Stella Adler and Circle in the Square, however I think I’d be happier at a conservatory style BFA program. It makes me nervous going against a bunch of kids though, not gonna lie. I do want to move onto get a Master’s eventually, so that I can possibly teach, so a BFA is also important for me in that way.

I always thought Julliard was hard to get into, am I mistaken? Haha. I’m not really sure how these schools rank as far as selectivity level, but I suppose I should look into that.

Thanks for the feedback and more is welcomed!

6

@helloamanda - I can TOTALLY understand (and support) wanting the degree - I was just looking for clarification :slight_smile:

Juilliard is CRAZY hard to get into - but so are some of the the other programs on your list- so you will want to do some research to make sure you have a balanced set of schools. I just threw it in b/c many of their students are “non traditional” as opposed to a batch of 18 year olds.

You have a very wide range in your school list in terms of size, geographic location, selectivity etc. What are your MOST important things in terms of a school? You mentioned wanting a conservatory BFA - but other than that…? You started out in film school - is your primary interest acting for the stage or the camera?

A couple other programs you might want to look into are U Minn-Guthrie, Rutgers, UNCSA and U Arts.

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@toowonderful Yes, I would like to act mainly for the camera, although I feel that learning on stage wouldn’t be a bad idea either. As far as priorities go, hmm. I suppose a city school is best for me and the size of the school should be medium-big, however the actual program could be smaller, so I get more individualized attention. Thanks so much for the help so far! I’m going to definitely visit some of these schools too, so hopefully I can get a better vibe of where I might be going.

8

Your age might be an advantage, not a disadvantage. You have more maturity, you know more definitively what you want, more life experience to draw from, etc. Don’t belittle your age and your journey thus far, it’s admirable.

9

I think visiting is a GREAT idea.

If you are looking for a city environment - from your original list, I would say that DePaul, Columbia (as you know) Pace, Marymount, BOCO, CCM, Point Park, Roosevelt, Savannah and Relativity are in truly Urban (as in downtown - though some cities are larger than others) settings. I would say Hofstra, Purchase, Hartt, Evansville, Drew and Montclair are more “suburban” with a campus feel (some are close to large cities, some are not) . And it seems to me that Calarts (i looked on a map, have never seen) Ithaca, and Otterbein are the most “Isolated” - though Otterbein is not far from Columbus, and the area around Ithaca has plenty to do.

10

CalArts is very film oriented and likes students with some life experience. My S knows a girl who transferred there after a year at a liberal arts college and is super happy and challenged there.

11

We considered SCAD, too. It looks like they have an amazing tech program and very high production value shows, but we heard some sketchy things about the college and the performing arts major there. (But mostly my S wanted to be in Chicago…he’s right next door to CCC at Roosevelt now, second year going on third.)

12

CCPA Roosevelt has a theater focus, though there is some on-camera classwork late in the curriculum. (Not sure if it’s junior or senior year, but the S hasn’t gotten there yet.) DePaul has a great film school which casts a lot of theater students.

13

Have you considered the west coast? USC has a great dramatic arts department, a top-notch film school, classes in on-camera performance, and film students that want/need students for their films (if you get copies then you have stuff for your own reel). I believe UCLA could be the same. Also, a smaller college in Orange, CA, called Chapman, has a great film school and you can audition for drama or screen acting BFA majors. It is closer to Disneyland. USC and UCLA have advantages of being in LA for film. Best of luck with whatever you decide.

14

Otterbein is in Westerville, and abuts Columbus and is not isolated, but the setting feels more like a small town. :slight_smile:

15

I know it isn’t on your list, but based off of your criteria, it seems that CCM Drama would be a great fit for you!

We have a couple older people in every year of classes. The faculty LOVES bringing in people with life experience. Small class sizes 10-15 people per class. An emphasis on film acting as well as theatre acting (We do a departmental film and a 48 hour film festival every year as well as extensive work with the EMedia department on Student Films in addition to our mainstage and studio plays) and we are in a City that provides us with chances for professional work and opportunities to join SAG-Aftra and work towards an Equity card while in school.

If you apply for the Cincinnatus scholarship, I am sure with your grades, you will get a sizable amount from the school.

Check out the website!
http://ccm.uc.edu/theatre/drama.html

Watch the video, look at what some of the alumni are doing (lots of TV/Film), read about the curriculum, and if you have any questions about the program don’t hesitate to private me or post on this page and I’ll be happy to answer them.

Good luck!
Josh