<p>If you think you may be interested in acting and directing you may find this is more possible in a BA program that has lots of opportunities for students to act and direct. If you decide you do want to have a few non-auditioned programs on your list you could look for schools that will allow you to both act and direct. This might make the search and selection process more focused, and give you options to consider once you have acceptances in hand. In terms of non-audition programs… You will find that some BA programs that do not audition freshmen, may require and audition at a later point to be allowed to take upper level classes. There are some BFA programs that work this way too, I believe. Other schools do not require an audition for philosophical reasons… Although it is possible to get focused acting training in a BA program, generally BA programs are focused more on developing the whole person and artist. You will most likely have to take more classes outside of your major, and more theatre based academics inside of the major (although this is true of some BFA programs as well). Since these programs are more well rounded in terms of training, the audition does not necessarily fit into the philosophy of the program. This does not mean you will not get good acting training, there are perple from BA programs who are very well trained actors, and go on to highky successful careers. A friend number of my friends who went to BA programs have had very successful careers on Broadway and in film and TV. Some perple graduate from BA programs and want more focused training, and then decide to go to graduate school or a conservatory program. There are many different paths to a similar career outcome. It all depends on the kind of educational experience you are looking for at the undergraduate level. If you are certain that you really only will be happy with a BFA program, you could talk to your parents to see if they would be supportive of your taking a gap year if you do not get accepted to the highly competitive programs this time around. You could also apply to a few safety schools, and make the decision when you have all of your acceptances in hand. If at that time you are not happy with your options you could then discuss taking a gap year. Best of luck!</p>
<p>I mean in unified vs. campus auditions, I’m sure it’s a circumstantial situation with number of people to see you, because when I went to NCSA to audition at their campus, it was the same two people who had been auditioning everyone at unifieds. I have friends who auditioned at BU on campus, and they too only auditioned for one person. Some schools do have elaborate panels at Unifieds, at CMU there are multiple people you audition for if they like you. So yeah, don’t discount them. And as for UMich, I have two friends who both auditioned and got into their program from unifieds, so I can tell you it does happen. But maybe a call/email to the school of theatre from each program asking them if it makes any difference if you audition on campus or not would serve you well. I’m pretty sure most would say no, but I could be wrong. I was accepted into University of the Arts, Boston University, California Institute of the Arts, and Southern Methodist University. I ultimately am going to SMU. In your list, if directing is one of your interests, look into BU for their theatre arts BFA and SMU for their theatre studies BFA. Also, NCSA has a degree program that splits from the acting majors after sophomore year that’s specifically for directors. BU and SMU both are performance based, but you can branch out after the sophomore year, pick your own schedule and theatre classes, which is really advantageous if you are an actor who uses directing to inform your process. And they are both unique in that they are both BFA, so the intensive training is there, and they are both in the same casting pool with the acting BFA’s with no discrimination in casting. Something to think about :)</p>
<p>Also, if you were to attend Tisch, you could study both acting and directing such as in Playwrights Horizons studio.</p>
<p>at a place like emerson that has a great BFA program, can i assume its BA program is also notable?</p>
<p>Ingette – you shouldn’t make that assumption. Let me preface this by saying that I don’t know anything about Emerson’s BA program. However, at many schools the BFA and BA instructors are totally different, and the two programs are NOT inter-related. This can mean that the BFA program gets the better facilities and instructors, and the BA students can be considered sort of second-rate – they may not get the same opportunities as the BFA group. Again, I’m sure there are exceptions, and I don’t know if this is the case at Emerson. In general, I recommend that if you are considering a BA program, begin by looking at the schools that ONLY offer a BA program.</p>
<p>Sorry for all my typos in post 21. That is what I get for trying to do a long post on my BlackBerry :)</p>
<p>Deciding to apply only to BFA programs and take a gap year to reapply if not accepted, as suggested as an option above, is a different approach but one which is not without risks of its own. Keep in mind that the competitiveness and odds of admissions don’t change over the gap year (in fact, my subjective impression is that admissions are becoming more competitive each year as greater numbers apply); what you are gambling on is that any training and preparation you engage in over the year will materially increase your odds of admission. Even then, when you reapply you would be well advised to include a couple of non-audition safeties on your list. As KatMT has suggested, it may be that your best bet is to apply to BFA, a couple of match non-audition and 1 or 2 safety non-audition schools and then see what happens. You may find that from among the non-audition schools there are a couple you would be very happy to attend that offer excellent acting and directing programs with the flexibility in scheduling to take advantage of both.</p>
<p>If you are interested in directing but also want to act, you may want to look at University of the Art’s BFA program in Directing, Playwriting and Production. The curriculum includes acting and you can also minor in musical theatre. All students in the School of Theatre Arts can audition for all the shows. You would need to look at the curriculum to determine if it has the balance you are looking for but it is an additional option. Also, if focusing on a BFA in Acting, you may want to also look at UArts acting program which is very strong. Plus Philadelphia is a great theatre town.</p>
<p>My Fair Lady: It looks like you are not planning to do all your auditions at once, and I would strongly encourage you to avoid this like the plague. What if you get sick? You need to audition over a period of time, spread out. Don’t just do unifieds because that could be a disaster should you become ill.</p>
<p>As for numbers, and safeties, my D did 10 schools… 8 audition, 2 nonaudition. She was accepted to 6. Her audition schools were Juilliard (which we recommend to everyone because it is an awesome experience), CMU, CCM, UNCSA, Cal Arts, Emerson, NYU and UCLA. Her nonaudition schools were UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine. She was accepted to Emerson early action (good idea by the way), CCM, Cal Arts, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and UCLA. She is going to UCLA. We learned that you cannot trust anything. No comments from any auditor mean anything. You just never know. So, you must cover your basis. A kid with a lower GPA and less acting experience than my D got into NYU and she didn’t. Yet my D got into Emerson. Kids were rejected by NYU this year, but got into CMU and CCM MT. So, it is a big crap shoot. Cover your basis. Protect yourself with more than one school you can be happy at. </p>
<p>My D loves UCLA and is very happy with her choice. She also was very happy with Cal Arts and Emerson in the end.</p>
<p>chrissyblu, I thought Unifieds over and came back to my first conclusion/ decision that I want to and prefer to audition at the schools…for the many reasons. In honesty, it wasn’t until you and others made comments about being sick that I really thought, “Wow, they are right.” I should have taken that into consideration, maybe I had before, more on a sub-conscience level.
Thank you for the advice. I appreciate greatly the opinions of the people here at CC, but I know that different people have different views and that the whole thing is, in a way, a crap shoot.</p>
<p>It is a crap shoot, and this is why I think the MOST important decision you make (and I say this to my daughter) is the time spent and invested in finding the “safety” school. The “safety” school should be a school that you would be thrilled to attend and that you are 95% sure you could get in to. The others are all a gamble, and while you (and my daughter) should certainly audition for these wonderful schools, you should be ready and more than willing to attend that safety school. Spend time and pay visits. Find the school that you are at the top of their middle range for SAT’s, and you know they love you and you love them…cover your bases, meet with the admissions people, schedule an overnight, meet the head of the theatre department (build your foundation) and once that is done, then you shoot for the stars!</p>
<p>Great choices - I have a friend who just audition for Purchase, SUNY … and his family was impressed by the students and the program. I think its the underdog of the top five programs that going to surprise everyone very soon.</p>
<p>But again, everyone has to pick the school for them. There are few students who have chosen to leave Suny Purchase this year because it wasn’t right for them. The idea of visiting each school to audition, while pricey, is such a great one. I read an article recently that said when it came down to two candidates, sometimes the mere fact a student actually came to the school made the difference…</p>
<p>No, unfortunately that isn’t true. One student in the first year class was dismissed from the program due to unprofessional ideas. The first year class started with 16 and they currently have 15 moving on the the second year of training.</p>
<p>Yes, I total agree with visiting a school. I just stating on what I heard about the program at Purchase. I also have heard great things from Rutgers, and NCSA.</p>
<p>Complexlife, there is a user on cc, who was a first year student at Purchase this year and chose to leave. I know this person via facebook and have talked to him few times. So I’m not sure who you are getting your info from, but they are mistaken.</p>
<p>I also have talked to this person. And I am under the impression that there is more than one who is leaving, based upon the transfers who have posted.</p>
<p>My god son is a current first year moving into his second year of training at Juilliard Drama. His best friend is a first year at Purchase and has told us that only one student will be missing from the first year class next year.</p>
<p>The student is simply trying to bash the school due to his “chosen to leave” … I was just simply saying that its a great program and the work that is being done there is fantastic.</p>
<p>Well, first off, I don’t think it is appropriate to be airing someone else’s issues on these boards. This is hearsay, because unless your kid was present in the room when this student was “asked to leave” neither you nor your kid has any personal knowledge that this is in fact the case. The student could be leaving for any variety of reasons. Moreover, given that this student made a decision to apply and audition in time to get into several other prestigious programs indicates to me that this person decided fairly early in the first term to leave Suny Purchase. It seems unlikely that Suny Purchase would have asked someone to leave in first term and keep that person around for the second term. These things tend to happen at the end of the second term, and the student often doesn’t have the time or energy to fix it. It the programs I have talked to that have “cuts” they have said they give repeated warnings before it happens, but it happens at the end of the year.</p>
<p>Regardless, I have read stories of kids being “asked to leave” programs on these boards. I recall reading a story of a kid being asked to leave Cal State Fullerton or some program like it, and being admitted to CMU in the ultimate “take that.” So, it doesn’t always mean a kid is not talented or worthy. Sometimes teachers and students don’t mix. Its not a reflection on the student. It isn’t a reflection on a program. But it reinforces the point being made to this rising senior… you have to make sure a program is right for you. This rising senior is being very smart in deciding to visit all the schools and audition at each school in order to better understand whether a school is best for the student. The opinions about schools that are given on these boards should not sway a student. This is an extremely personal decision.</p>
<p>ComplexLife…I don’t think Suny Purchase is in any way, shape or form, the underdog. My understanding is that it is one of the most difficult programs to get into, with only 16 acceptances. I’ve heard only wonderful things about Purchase and I would imagine that most anyone who auditions there would be elated to be accepted! I’m not sure who you are referring to when you say the top 5, though. I didn’t know that there was a top 5.</p>
<p>I would bet that there are hardly any BFA programs out there for acting or musical theater that do NOT have AT LEAST one student who either chooses not to come back after the first year or is asked to leave (whatever that means … “being asked to leave” could mean anything from flunking out to being taken aside by the faculty because of bad work habits, attitude, etc.). That is not at all unusual. Some kids who loved acting in high school and in community productions find that, once they are in a BFA, it isn’t fun anymore: in fact, it’s hard work and they lose interest. Others find the new freedom of college life a little overwhelming and don’t attend class as frequently as they are supposed to, or party too hard, and faculty may counsel them to take time off and refocus before trying it again. A small minority might get there and find that they don’t, in spite of a fabulous audition, have what it takes, talent wise.</p>