<p>My D's best friend since grade school is a kid who needs some help. Her parents are willing to pay tuition but aren't really involved in her life so she's asked me to help her find a dance program. Background--she's completed 3 years of college--1 year at a very small LAC and 2 years at the state flagship U. She was never sure what she wanted to do and mostly took courses in areas that appealed to her--environmental studies and dance. She recently decided that dance training was what she wanted to do. She did really well in her dance classes, but got Bs and Cs in general ed required courses. Academics aren't her thing so she's looking for a college program that would accept some of her general ed required courses. She'd also like to finish in less than 4 years. For a variety of reasons, she wants to be in Philadelphia (there's a support system for her there). She's identified three programs: UArts, Temple, and Drexel--anyone have a suggestion on which program might be good fit for her so that she can call and talk to someone about her options. </p>
<p>If she is more dance focused than academics I would lean towards UofArts. If she would be willing to go outside of Philly I would have her look at Point Park. Can she not finish up where she is and then intern maybe in NYC, like at Broadway Dance Centre or Steps. Just thinking outside the box a bit.</p>
<p>She has most of her credits from UMass-Amherst and that would indeed make the most sense, but she left, in part, because she just didn’t want to be there. She went there because she had a boyfriend at Hampshire College and she left when they broke up. It was difficult and I think that’s one reason she doesn’t want to go back–bad memories/karma/etc. Since she’s asked me to help her–I’m going to have her figure out what she needs to finish up at UMass as a dance major. She likes Philly because she could live with a group of friends there and they can help her get a part-time job. All of these friends are involved in the arts (actors and dancers in Philly) so it would be a good place for networking. She’s visited these friends and really likes the city. She’s 26 and feels like she knows what she wants but isn’t sure how to get there quickly.</p>
<p>It’s worth looking at the Temple and UArts programs. I don’t know anything about Drexel dance. My DD auditioned at Temple last week and was accepted into the dance program (waiting on academic acceptance). The panel screening the audition was impressive. Everyone is very friendly there. My daughter feels the program isn’t as serious as she would like, but of course that’s so personal and subjective. I would recommend that your D’s best friend visit both programs and see what fits well for her. Rutgers isn’t very far, about 1.5 hours, but if her support group is in Philly I’d focus on those two.</p>
<p>Academically Temple and Drexel may be a bit of a reach for her considering her Gen Ed grades. They will both be looking at those grades. UArts has no real required Gen Ed classes outside of a freshman English class so one can assume that would transfer. There are Dance History and other Dance Theory type courses that are required though. </p>
<p>I think it depends on what her goals are as a dancer. My DD is a sophomore at UArts and comes into contact with Temple dancers all of the time at auditions and also has worked with many from Temple. I honestly did not even know that Drexel had a dance program. There are a lot of opportunities at Temple for performances (moreso than at UArts IMO) and they have a dance team (if that is in her wheelhouse). If she is more ballet focused or modern focused she may want to put UArts as her first choice. </p>
<p>Outside of that, I assume money is no object for her parents? All of these are pricey schools (Temple is $$ for an out of stater). As someone stated Rutgers is also not far and Muhlenburg is also nearby. </p>
<p>Money isn’t an issue–her folks just want her to get a college degree. She plans to work part-time to pay for her living expenses. It sounds like UArts may be the place for her She doesn’t do dance competitions and is focused on modern dance. Didn’t realize Temple was a state university. Thanks for the information.</p>
<p>I definitely think that UArts would be a good fit for her then. It is known to be a Commercial Dance program but in the last two years that my DD has been there it has started to make a serious push toward being a more modern focus. The entire fall performance that my DD was in was modern/contemporary focused. They have a lot of teachers that are new that are coming in from modern companies all over the world as lecturers due to the connections of the new Director of the Dance Dept. Many UArts students also are already employed dancing in companies like Philadanco, Koresh, and Eleon (all of whose AD’s are teaching at UArts in some capacity). </p>
<p>Also, as UArts has no academic core the students spend all day just studying dance. My DD has taken Aerials (as in Cirque) as a regular class the last two semesters. You don’t get that as an option at too many schools. </p>
<p>If she wants to live off campus the rents in Center City are not horrible either. My DD shares a large townhouse just a few blocks from the school and it is roughly $6000 a year cheaper than the dorms.</p>
<p>Does UArts offer a degree or is it a certificate program? Her parents will pay for a degree program–
not sure they’ll pay for a certificate. But then, it’s a path for her to move forward and that’s what they’re urging her to do.</p>
<p>UArts has a BFA in Dance and also a 2 year Certificate in Dance program. The majority of students are in the BFA program from what I can tell. </p>