<p>Double wow! I agree fully with Kelly LJ1s comments. I also am a VA resident and the last time I looked, the state-funded VA college system ranked up there with California and Michigan state-funded colleges as the best in the country. My S graduated from a VA high school that has been on Newsweeks list of the top 100 US high schools and many students there, as well as their parents, are highly focused on the student being admitted to very selective colleges. Because private college costs are so high and VA in-state resident tuitions are so low in comparison a number of his classmates with high grades and high SAT scores have elected to stay within VA for college even though they also have been admitted to top-ranked out of state schools. This truly makes sense given the uncertain economic situation that many families now face, although VA overall has lower unemployment than many other states. Also, I have never heard one of his classmates or their parents disparage any VA college. In fact, a number of students from my Ss high school drama class have elected to attend VA colleges and seem to be doing reasonably well in their theatre programs. One classmate was accepted at numerous highly selective, audition-based BFA programs that routinely show up on students lists posted here on CC ; decided to attend a top tier VA college instead (and probably made many others happy because that decision opened up a slot at a number of very-hard-to-get-into BFA programs); and has been doing very well as an actor. I noted that you were critical of Radford. Yet Jayma Mays of GLEE graduated from Radford and appears to have made it in show business. There are students and parents who review postings on CC and are interested in theatre programs in VA schools. If you have first-hand knowledge of the theatre programs at VA colleges, then folks may be interested in your views. But this is not the place to make broad negative comments about an entire state-funded college system. </p>
<p>By the way, my S did not apply to VA colleges mostly because he preferred to attend college out of state. He is in an audition-based BFA acting program in a university setting and that program most likely is considered pretty selective, i.e., lots of applicants and not a lot of offers. If you take the time to review prior threads, you most likely will see references to other acting programs, aside from those already mentioned, that may not be as focused on grades but are well-regarded. Hofstra and Montclair State are two other programs that have been mentioned.</p>
<p>My son and I saw “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” at James Madison University this past November and were incredibly impressed with the quality of the student acting and the overall production–definitely one of the best productions we’ve seen outside of New York–JMU is now definitely on his list, and he would be happy (and lucky) to be accepted into their acting program. As much as I’ve loved having my older children attend out-of-state colleges–and I do believe it’s part of the whole college experience to go someplace different–I certainly wouldn’t want my son to pass up applying to a strong in-state program. Overall “fit” is another thing; my kid might not thrive at VCU, but I’ve known quite a few kids who excelled there and received a first-rate preparation for their professional and personal lives. As both Kelly LJ1 and Nansan point out, we are fortunate to live in a state where the public colleges/universities are so strong, and there are several good options (Shenandoah being a private one) for kids who want to study acting or MT in Virginia.</p>
<p>JMU is not exactly 50/ 50 in terms of admissions. Potential theatre, musical theatre, and dance students apply academically to JMU and audition for the program. After program auditions are complete the School of Theatre & Dance sends a list to admissions of the students who we would like to have in the program. This recommendation can help boost an applicants academic admissions to the university, but only if they are already well within the JMU academic admit range for their high school.</p>
<p>A student who is academically admitted to JMU (but not to the program) may attend the university in any non-restricted major. </p>
<p>So… at JMU it is more of a bifurcated process, with the audition piece being able to help give a small boost to the academic admissions part of the puzzle. </p>
<p>I believe that NYU Tisch is an example of a 50/50 process… students must be admitted both academically to NYU and artistically to Tisch in order to be admitted to the university.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Times – glad you enjoyed Dead Man’s Cell phone. We are gearing up to open Sweeney Todd a week from Tuesday. Servant of Two Masters (directed by a guest director from France) opens in April. A number of student directed and devised pieces will be performed in the Studio Theatre in March. It is also looking like the production of Servant of Two Masters will go to the Avignon Festival in France this summer! An incredibly exciting opportunity for the students involved.</p>
<p>logicaldog – it sounds like Virginia state schools would not be a good fit for your son, since your family is not particularly enamored of them, and his grades may be problematic for most of the more selective schools in VA with strong theatre programs. As you have already noted, he likely would not find a good fit for his educational and artistic needs at the state schools. Possibly Shenandoah, which has a strong program, and is a private conservatory program where the audition is a significant part of the admissions decision would be worth a visit for him if he was looking for an in-state option that would meet his other criteria. The list you have of schools in your OP is strong. A true safety might be worth adding to the list… a non-auditioned program where he would be guaranteed to be admitted academically. Has he considered any of the two year conservatory programs in NYC like Circle in the Square, American Academy of Dramatic Art, etc…?</p>
<p>Pace University in NY and University of the Arts in Philly may also meet his academic and artistic criteria. Maybe also look at Columbia College of Chicago and University of Evansville? Not on the coasts, but Chicago is a great theatre city… and Evansville (in Indiana) has a VERY strong undergraduate BFA program.</p>
<p>University of Indiana in Bloomington is likely the school people are suggesting. University of Michigan in Ann Arbor is likely the Michigan people are suggesting…although his grades are likely below the academic admissions standards there.</p>
<p>I don’t think it is a BFA program… but he may want to look at SUNY New Paltz. I have heard they have a good program… although VERY different than SUNY Purchase, with more liberal arts focus to the program. </p>
<p>Hofstra, Montclair State (which nasan mentioned), and Adelphi might also be worth looking at… I am not sure if his grades would meet the standards or not, however. I believe there are a few posters on this forum who have children in or wh looked closely at these programs. I am sure they would be happy to answer any questions. Good Luck! :)</p>
<p>My D applied to and was accepted to New Paltz. It is an auditioned BA. Their program seemed excellent, and the pretty campus and funky college town are really quite enticing (if you like that kind of setting). D decided on a BFA program instead, with better access to NYC. New Paltz describes itself as a very focused BA, but definitely a BA in terms of the arts/liberal arts balance.</p>
<p>Adelphi might be a good choice for logicaldog’s D - it has quite varied academic components, spreading all the way from a very competitive Honors College to a General Studies program for students who need catching up on the basics from HS. D has classmates in her BFA doing academics at all levels, with a few in the Honors College, many doing regular college classes for their gen eds (and many who have placed out with APs, etc.), and several in General Studies. Artistically they are all peers.</p>
<p>I recommend doing some research on Adelphi and seeing if it meets his needs. I believe he also would have a very good chance at being admitted to URI’s non-audition BFA as a safety.</p>
<p>The UNC School of the Arts program is excellent…BUT…</p>
<p>It’s highly selective academically as well as based on talent. And the musical theatre program is NOT seperate, they do a musical every other year. Plus, it is very much a conservatory environment, with very, very few General Ed. courses, so you’re son would not get a well-rounded education, it would be all theatre almost all of the time.</p>
<p>(also, based on personal experience, they’re all a bunch of snobs)</p>