I think if it’s possible, sitting in on classes at one of your safety schools is important. The others, not so much.
I agree that spending some time (and hopefully getting some love) at safeties can help them feel much “safer” and more of a viable choice (as opposed to a consolation). @bisouu - I know your D ended up falling in love with hers and choosing it over the audition program- and she is not the only kid I know of who went in that direction. While shooting for the moon is fantastic- the more depth your field has, the less likely that there will be tears in April/May
delete
I hear what toowonderful is saying–I’m a teacher too, and I’d hate for someone to make a big decision based on a single unannounced visit.
That said, I think you can still get really good information from a visit as long as you know what you’re looking for and what you’re seeing. I think this is valuable at all levels of schools because a top ranked school may turn out to be not at all what you are looking for. It’s so much about fit.
My own D decided on NU after sitting in on a random Chekhov class there, and declined another school because she sat in an acting class and she thought it was awful. Class visits shouldn’t be the be all and end all–but it is part of the data on your visit. My D loved NU immediately–the Chekhov class sealed the deal. She didn’t feel comfortable in the other college; the class confirmed her feeling. If you love everything else except the class, you could also go to another class if at all possible, but I don’t think it should be the only metric you use to judge a school.
If you do get to sit in on classes, you wouldn’t be looking for what would obviously be day to day natural fluctuations–you’d be looking for overall tone of the class, quality of instruction, cohesiveness/mutual respect of class, “feel” of the room, talent level of the class (although it’s important to know what sort of class it is and if the students are mixed level, as was the case for MomCares’ D).
While I understand why schools wouldn’t want to let kids sit in on classes before they’ve been accepted, why on earth wouldn’t a school let an ACCEPTED student sit in? It’s not like these schools are admitting thousands of kids. My D only asked to sit in at two schools: BoCo and Ithaca. BoCo let her take a voice lesson with one of the voice teachers - for free! - BEFORE she was accepted. She LOVED the prof, and the school went up on her list. Ithaca let her try two voice teachers, and sit in on a bunch of classes after she was accepted. (I was cleaning out a file drawer the other day and found the schedule that Ithaca sent her for her visit…she went to three different classes and two voice lessons.) And yes, sometimes things can be taken out of context. I remember she sat in on a sophomore acting class at Ithaca where they were doing a mask exercise, and she said it was very “weird,” but the professor took her aside and explained why they were doing what they were doing and it made her more comfortable. When she took that class at Ithaca last year, she laughed when she remembered how weirded out she had been seeing it as a high school senior. I guess my point is that once accepted, I would be a little put off by a school that would say no, you can’t come sit in on our classes.
Anyway, I would urge you to ask to try the voice teachers at the very least. Rehearsals are also a good idea - we went to a rehearsal at OCU of one of their operas and were VERY impressed with how nice the kids were, and the talent level. We also saw the same mainstage musical at two different colleges…which was incredibly helpful. One was awful, and that school was crossed off (they were mostly seniors in the show, and it was just not good…it was frightening, really), and the other school’s production was phenomenal. You do have to know what you’re seeing, as others have pointed out (e.g., is it student directed? Have non-majors in it? Put on by the theatre department? etc.), but I do think you can make judgments about a mainstage production put on by the theatre department that has seniors in it.
The other thing we did was look at the number of professors in the departments of the various schools. We were shocked by the number of “top” programs that had only ONE acting professor (or, in one case, only ONE vocal teacher). Maybe it was a personal thing, but we thought one was not enough.
But the bottom line is, as others have said, most often your child will feel the fit. It may be the other kids, or the classes, or something intangible like the vibe of the program, but their guts really do tell them. The trick is to let their guts talk while not letting them get their heart set on one particular school…b/c that may end in heartache.
Just to add to the list of places that will allow you to attend classes/ schedule a lesson:
Penn State set up a whole day of D attending class with their then freshman class which was terrific. And also for us to sit in on a class where the seniors were preparing for their showcase. They also arranged for us to see a show that night.
We did not attend the on-campus auditions at Coastal, but D had been accepted and we were near there at Spring Break - so they too arranged a whole day for D to attend classes, including a private voice lesson at no cost to us. In fact, D did not even know she was going to have a lesson until we got there. The program heads took considerable time to talk to us and our D. And also arranged for D to spend time with several current students.
Elon was supposed to let the kids attend a class the day of Ds audition, but the day we were there turned out to be the same weekend as SETC auditions, so many of the students/teachers were not on campus and the class had been canceled. That was disappointing.
We had a friend who was able to schedule a voice lesson at NYU Steinhardt prior to applying. I am not sure if there was a cost to this or not.
I am surprised NYU Steinhardt did the lesson etc prior to applying- with Tisch you cannot visit specific studios or sit in on classes even after you are accepted. (which for some people is a turnoff or even a dealbreaker). I have always imagined that policy has to do with the sheer volume of applicants, and the variety of studios etc available. The logistics would be a nightmare. For us- it wasn’t that big a deal. D actually only “revisited” one of the 6 colleges where she was accepted. Some of that had to do with time, (ex, one was off a waitlist and it was getting close to May 1) others to do with the fact that they were BAs or safeties and she had choices farther up her list. I know that lots of the CC community puts a ton of stock in accepted visits etc, and there is NOTHING wrong with that- but not everyone does them, or does them intensely- and that’s ok too.
Actually, I was having a conversation with another member yesterday- and I have a question. Does Michigan do big accepted visits? I know they notify relatively early, but they are out in early April - and I was just wondering about timing. (not one of my D’s schools, so I didn’t pay attention)
Even this might be misleading at D’s school, since many kids do shows in the city plus there are always many shows running concurrently on campus. Also kids are encouraged to experiment with directing, writing, producing, etc. so they may not always audition every quarter. Mainstage shows with seniors may feature all the strongest performers in most programs, but certainly not at Ds. Also, at schools who cherry-pick specific types of talent for a small class with a tightly-prescribed curriculm you might reasonably expect every senior to be representative of the overall student body, whereas a school that admits kids with a broader array of talents and with a highly individualized curriculum might graduate seniors with varying types of talents. Both types of programs might graduate incredibly successful seniors, but what you’d see in a mainstage show might be very different. When D graduated, I had never seen at least 3/4 of the 25ish kids in the NY Showcase in any shows on campus.
In short, it may be easier to be wowed by a mainstage musical in a small, selective program with a tightly-perscribed curriculum, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the training is stronger.
Great point, but at some programs you also need to look beyond the department. At D’s school, for example, kids have access to a huge number of voice teachers in the Music school in addition to those specifically in the MT program.
I know of other well regarded programs that rarely cast seniors (esp in spring when visits might be happening) b/c they are preparing for their showcase.
We were told by a number of schools that drop-in observations are not permitted in acting classes because it inhibits the students, has the tendency to make them self-conscience and is counter-productive to their training. My S did observe some really interesting movement classes 
@artskids, as frustrating as that might be to a prospect or even to an admitted student, it’s easy to shift your thinking and appreciate the wisdom of the policy once you are on the other side of things. I know at NYU Tisch, none of the studio classes are available for observations. I’ve heard of admitted students who were able to get around it through a current student friend making arrangements with their instructor but in general it’s not something to count on and honestly, I applaud it. Especially with respect to a parade of prospective students, most of whom will not be admitted. That’s a lot of potential distraction. But I also think even in the case of the admitted students who would be visiting right as the semester is entering the finals period and a lot of important work goes on in those weeks. I certainly understand the desire to visit, but I also appreciate the reasons why you can’t.
^^^I agree wholeheartedly. I should have ended my comment with a similar remark. We want our kids to push edges in their acting courses without fear of being judged or scrutinized by onlookers!
@halflokum - interestingly enough, the girl I refer to is actually a student at Tisch now. As I said, I do not know how the lesson was arranged. It could have been arranged directly with the teacher. And It is very possible they paid for the lesson. I just know for sure that it happened.
Re: campus visits in general: I think most of the schools were very choosy about which classes a prospective student was allowed to attend so as not to infringe upon current students’ learning. For example, at Penn State D attended a dance class, a diction/elocution class of some sort and the showcase prep class where they welcomed an audience as they were preparing to perform for agents etc… We never requested to see any particular classes or have lessons. We only did what was offered to us. The schools set up their own agendas for D which was much appreciated.
@vvnstar - you had said the lesson was through Steinhardt in your earlier post (#25) rather than Tisch, unless you are talking about 2 different events. It has been well established that Steinhardt and Tisch have differing policies (in aide, artistic review etc) so I assumed this was just another difference. My D has been able to work things out for a couple of prospective students to go to studio with her- in a VERY limited way. More a tour of the building etc than really sitting in on education. That may be specific to her studio
@vvnstar, I like to think of Steinhardt as the kinder, gentler NYU. Actually, I’m only saying that because their website is actually something you can navigate without a manual and a stiff drink. It does not surprise me at all that one might be able to arrange a lesson through Steinhardt. They are the school that offers private voice lessons to non majors and I think it’s also where Tisch drama students who are not in the MT studio would take voice lessons. I think some if not all of the non-major lessons are taught by grad students but it doesn’t mean they aren’t excellent.
I’m sorry if I’ve confused you @toowonderful. Just to be clear, our friend took a lesson AT Steinhardt (not through) prior to applying to schools. Again, I do not know how that lesson was arranged. I just know it happened. When this student did decide to apply to NYU, she chose to apply to Tisch rather than Steinhardt and she now is studying MT at NSB. Hope that clears things up
Just to clarify: I’m not suggesting kids should expect to be allowed to sit in on classes before they have been accepted to that school. I’m talking about once they have been accepted, and are trying to make a decision. Each to their own, of course, but being refused access to viewing a class when trying to make such an important decision is a huge red flag to me (unless there is a really good reason, like safety…I know NYU has very strict rules for security reasons). Most programs only accept 25-30 kids…(BoCo, Rider and Tisch aside) and then have WLs. Of those 25-30 kids, only a small handful will want/be able to to see a class or two to make a final decision about where to spend the next 4 years of their life (and maybe several hundred thousand dollars). Personally, I did not know you could ask for voice lessons … my D’s voice teacher, who is a classical singer, told her opera kids do it all the time. The voice teachers at many of the MT programs reside in the VP department, not the MT department. So they are used to this. We were met with open arms at both places we asked. And I think if one of them had said no you cannot sit in on a class, I would have wondered why. As for inhibiting the kids in the class…really? IDK…that surprises me. These kids are theatre majors. Gavin Creel said that in order to be an actor, you HAVE to be able to embarrass yourself. Surely these theatre majors would be willing/unembarrassed to have one or two prospective students (and fellow actors at that) observe a class once a year. It’s a good chance for the professors and students to show off what/how they learn, and convince the accepted student that they should come to this school. I know my D and her classmates love when prospective students come observe. If there is something truly private or emotional going on in one class, certainly the professors could find another class for the student to observe?
No worries @vvnstar. But did she get to sit in on Tisch things too? That’s the part that would be unusual
And @monkey13, as I previously said I have zero issue with the idea of class visits for those who have the time/need to do that. If the visit matters to you- make sure you choose a school where it can happen. Some do/some don’t. Just like some use prescreens/some don’t, some cast freshmen/some don’t- and the list goes on and on
Again - would really love to know if Michigan and/or CMU have accepted students sit in class etc…anybody?
My kid sat in on two classes at Michigan. That was all we had time for. My kid also took private lessons with Steinhardt faculty, toured Steinhardt, attended their shows as their guest, and was offered the opportunity to sit in on classes and rehearsals.
My kid sat in on MT classes at U of Michigan (not as an accepted student), but not at CMU.