I had a PM request for any info on Western Connecticut. Once i typed it all up I realized it could be very useful to others trying to make decisions without a chance to visit. I will post it in the Western Connecticut sub-section to make it easier to find. I encourage everyone else to do the same for campuses that you were able to visit in person. We have to do what we can to help each other during these crazy times.
@ElizaDoolittle - do you see everyone posting campus descriptions here or break it into separate threads by school?
I think I’d do separate threads by schools to make them easier to find. I was going to post my WestConn overview in the school-specific sub-thread, but there isn’t one for WestConn.
Ok - will do when I get a moment - I visited Emerson, NYU, FSU, BU, Catholic, Elon, and Montclair if anyone wants any specific information about any of these I would be happy to share information about the area, the facilities, campus vibe - dorms (we saw all dorms but BU) LMK 
As a get some time I will make separate posts.
@DivaStageMom , would love to hear about Montclair. I’ve been getting lots of great info about the program but would love to hear about the area and campus and dorms.
I think I’d do separate threads by schools to make them easier to find. I was going to post my WestConn overview in the school-specific sub-thread, but there isn’t one for WestConn.
Montclair is a lovely, and quite affluent town. It has a nice downtown area with plenty of restaurants, bars and shops. Many towns in the area are really bedroom communities for people who commute to NY, but Montclair is a nice little town unto itself. The campus is about 2.5 miles from downtown. I haven’t spent much time on the campus, but it’s a nice campus from what I have seen–pretty buildings and a small walkable campus. Lots of kids from my daughter’s high school go there, so if you have specific questions I can try to get you some answers.
Awesome! Maybe post here in just a comment to let people know the more detailed posts are then once you have a chance to post them.
Please talk about Emerson!! Thanks!!
If anyone has any information about the campus and the environment at University of Utah, it would be greatly appreciated!!
I just posted whatever I could remember from our tour in the Emerson sub-board.
@MTSthistime - I will share this in the sub-group as well when I find that link:
Montclair is located in a very swanky - upper-middle-class - suburb in Northern NJ - 25 minutes from NYC - both a train and bus to NY are on campus. On the way in we passed beautiful old mansions - one of the kids told me Steven Cobert and some other celebrities live there. There is a lovely little downtown - great restaurants and shops - not walkable from campus - you would need a car and you can’t have one on campus until your sophomore year. The kids say they Uber there…
The campus is set away - very hilly - white buildings kind of New Mexican architecture - which I personally don’t like - but the campus is new and clean.
The rooms we were in for the audition were modern, high ceilings, updated - a lot of light coming into the dance rooms. Very clean. Across the walkway were some places to eat Au Bain Pain etc… We passed a DD also located on campus. They had a bunch of theaters all very modern. While I do feel that the campus lacks that something special - everything was very clean, large spaces, high ceilings a lot of light and updated - modern - clean bathrooms etc. My d tells me the dorms are large and spacious - some of the nicest she has seen. Some have two singles with a connecting bathroom. The campus is safe - set away and in a very nice neighborhood I would feel very comfortable with my D walking around at night. There seemed to be a lot of security - I even got a parking ticket - lol. A large football field in the center of campus - although I don’t think the FB team is all that good. It kind of has the whole college experience.
The MT’s have bigs and littles - the students I interacted with were impressive and friendly. They didn’t have an information session - which I found a little odd. They really relied on you to ask the questions from the students - but as I said, I found the students to be well informed. They were in rehearsals for Titanic and the Music Director was from the original Broadway production. They bring a lot of people in from Manhattan.
My D has some friends in the MT program - and she was accepted - at this moment this is her top choice of accepted schools. Please feel free to PM and I would be happy to put your S or D in touch with some current students who could provide more information.
@DivaStageMom , thank you so much. I can almost see it! ?
@Kathmom - again I apologize - not that familiar with CC to post to the “Emerson link” - but if somebody shares that with me I will cut and paste.
Emerson is located in the theater district of Boston - like the theater district of NY its a little seedier than some other areas of Boston (like where BU is). With that said, it was very crowded so probably safety in numbers. The campus is the city. They have a lot of theaters - tons of performance opportunities. Some of the theaters are just gorgeous - old - painted and ornate ceilings - a lot of character.
The dorms have large fun common areas - some lounge and some that you can cook in. The theater people have their own floor (if you want to live there - not required) The dorms I saw were kind of small - but clean. They have a common bathroom down the hall. Also clean. They do have a nice urban city view - but far from spacious. Security was all over - we had to swipe or sign in everywhere.
A lot of places to eat on campus. A very nice athletic center - Bobby Brown was a graduate, her name is on a lot of things. The space we were in for auditions was large and clean. There is definitely an artsy feel from the student body - a lot of purple and blue hair etc… Everyone was very nice to each other. D has a friend there that walked us around and every time she passed people everyone was like “love you”…
The kids do a lot of things in Boston - which is a great town. The girl we knew goes to a lot of shows both on campus and off, broadway and off-broadway type stuff. Obviously no cars - but you don’t need them. They have sports teams and that really modern sports complex but not sure you get the rah-rah campus life.
We met Eric (I believe that’s his name) who runs the program - I thought he was very nice - lovely. Funny because some people met them at Unifieds and got a different vibe - I felt from the entire experience that it was a warm and nurturing environment. They have a large and active alumni network - not all performers but many in the biz. They have a lot of internships with casting etc… They will help you get into summer stock - you touch base a lot with your counselor etc…
An urban campus environment in a great college town - I would touch base with current students to make sure there is a fit just because it is a very small school student body wise and it had a distinct artsy vibe. I do have that one contact who isn’t MT she is theater performance if you would like to contact her PM me.
@DivaStageMom, here’s the link to the discussion I started on the Emerson page:
If anyone has any info on Temple, can you share it here in @BoogieMa’s thread? I’d be grateful to hear it as well.
Thanks so much @ElizaDoolittle !
https://www.youvisit.com/collegesearch/ This website is SO helpful and allows for virtual tours of many campuses. It is hard to see the size of the campus and the personal environment, but it is amazing to see what is looks like!!!
We have visited the University of Hartford (Hartt School of Music) twice now, once to audition and once for a “shadow” day after my D was accepted. I’ll do my best to describe the facilities and the town. We did not do a tour of the main campus and did not walk around it much, although we did drive through a couple of times and saw a production of Chess there (which was extremely well done). My D was just too exhausted to look closely at the main campus.
The MT program at Hartt, like West Conn, has a modern satellite performing arts building which houses the ballet and theatre classrooms. It’s about four miles from the main campus. There is a black box theatre, many voice and dance rehearsal rooms. The building is connected to a cafe which accepts student meal plan cards, and it also contains a physical therapy office. Student dorms are on the main campus so they either drive (there is a fee for having a car on campus) or take the shuttle, which they emphasize is designed around their class and rehearsal times so it’s convenient.
The immediate area surrounding the performing arts building appears to be on the lower socioeconomic end of things, though I felt safe driving there (we live in Boston and live not far from similar areas). Main campus is nearest West Hartford and and Bloomfield, which are definitely more wealthy. West Hartford has a thriving town center with bank branches, CVS, restaurants and coffee shops that is about three miles from the main campus, four miles from the performing arts building.
My D shadowed a student on a Friday morning, which we were told (even before COVID-19) was a light day for classes. She sat in on an Acting for the Camera class (which was mostly sophomores), a master class in voice, and a rehearsal for the senior showcase (which, sadly, has been postponed). She enjoyed the classes and felt that the students were very supportive of each other. She and I attended their production of Chess that evening, which was held in one of the music buildings on the main campus. The production value was very high and the talent was excellent. The score for Chess is challenging to say the least, and they really nailed it, from the featured actors through to the ensemble. The director is on the faculty at Boston Conservatory and directs/choreographs regional theatre in the greater Boston area. The school clearly invests in their student productions. The seats were about 1/3 filled, perhaps due to the cold and rainy weather on a Friday night.
I don’t know if Hartt faculty gave an info session at Unifieds so I won’t go into program features here. If folks want that info just say so and I’ll add another post.
Please talk about Emerson!! Thanks!!
Thanks so much! My son is a film major but now I doubt we can get there for the accepted students day in April… or maybe everything will miraculously be “on!?!” Thanks again this was really helpful.