Hi @artloversplus my son is BFA and will be auditioning next week in our hometown of chicago. Its at the very bottom of his list for acting school. Do you happen to know wht its hard to graduate? Why so many drop outs? Pace reminds me of Columbia college here. Its 10 min from home and very expensive but not worth it for what my son is trying to do
Pace is no Columbia or NYU , they have to accept a lot of students, like 85%, that have low stats due to the high cost of coa. But in the mean time they have to control the quality of their graduates, so their academic standards is high and many students cannot get the passing grades and drop out. As a result, graduation rate is low, around 40%.
@actingdreams
40 years ago, I barely graduated from high school and went to the military afterwards. Out of the military, I was admitted by Pace, they did not even looked at my transcript. I grew up and matured in the military and realized this is my last shot. I worked hard in Pace and graduated in three years with flying color. Out of Pace, I was hired by a fortune 50 company and had a pretty good professional life. I should kick myself not accepting an offer from a Wall Street firm which I worked part time for a year.
I can recall that in my class, Pace had an experimental program. They granted some full ride scholarships to a bunch of students from impoverished community. One of the recipient was my roommate in the dorm. But that did not work out, by end of first year most of the students in the program were gone. I believe only one or two of them actually graduated.
I think the BFA program is well regarded in the industry, it’s very competitive and if you can graduate from the program it’s well worth the money.
@artloversplus wow congratulations! your story is inspiring and I can assure you that many people need to hear it. Interesting enough, my Son had a really great experience with their BFA department while here in Chicago and it may be on the top of his list if the finances turn out well. it is very expensive now than probably when you went. almost $70K per year for a college education is scary for many people
@actingdreams Pace as a whole – meaning, apart from the theater part of the university – takes a huge number of applicants, and between that and the high price, they often end up with a lot of students who either weren’t really meant to go to college or couldn’t afford to keep paying for something they were struggling through. The acting side of things though is a different story – it’s quite competitive to get in (class size of 28 for the 5 performance tracks, and class of 7 for directing I believe) and those kids, from the little knowledge I have of it, stick around and do quite well. Everybody’s looking for something different - but I wouldn’t let the stories of the college overall scare you or your son off from the acting side.
@proudcalidad thanks for letting me know. I’m not sure if you’ve read my entire Karmic process regarding Pace. My son didn’t have to audition (per se) he just sat and waited for everyone to go through the callback. Did a couple of monologues for both directors (bfa) and was given a choice between FTVC and Acting that day. one of the directors emailed my son last week to just follow-up and to confirm that he has an acceptance and he really wants him to attend. If the Juilliard thing doesn’t work out, he may take him up on that. Juilliard’s final callback is next weekend [-O<
@actingdreams Ha, no, I hadn’t been aware of the whole thing – that’s crazy! So you certainly know the general setup of Pace, etc. As for Juilliard, well, of course he’s got to go see that through! I’ve heard a little about the Juilliard process – talk about intense! So next weekend is the time when they bring the final group of kids there and spend a few days with them, etc? Your son’s got to be incredibly excited/anxious/all the above. And you, too, no doubt! Very different places, obviously – Juilliard and Pace – but that’s exciting that Pace already wants him so badly! I’m so curious how his audition process was so different – where would I find that thread?
Hello everyone
Please can I connect with graduate students at pace university