<p>So far, my D has been accepted into Roosevelt U's MT program, as well as Syracuse for Acting. She auditioned and was really hoping for a musical theater slot. Now though, she is comparing syracuse's great rep for acting vs. an up and coming school like roosevelt. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Our family has a lovely talented young friend who got into both Syracuse and Roosevelt for MT and chose to go to Roosevelt and is loving it there and feels she made the right choice for her. I think one factor was she wanted to be in a major theater city, and you cannot beat Chicago. She also, when given a choice, wanted a program that did not require kids to go through juries as sophomores to continue in the BFA program. In the end, though, I think it was just a feeling of "fit" that prompted her to choose Roosevelt, though she did love Syracuse too! It's a lovely choice to have, so good luck!</p>
<p>NMR is right -- Syracuse is not exactly a major city! However, their acting program is fabulous -- and acting students at SU are frequently cast in the musicals. If your D is a strong dancer, she can take a dance placement test and possibly be able to take some of the upper level dance classes along with MT students. Private voice lessons are available, although there is an extra fee for non MT students. The Acting & MT students take "core" acting classes and many other classes together. The only classes they do not share are dance and Musical Theater Practicum. (I'm getting this info from my D, who is currently a MT sophomore.)</p>
<p>It's great that your D has a choice -- if you haven't already done so, I would suggest a visit to both campuses, maybe sit in on some classes.</p>
<p>Since we are from Chi-town, I'll chime in. For acting Depaul or UIC would be a better choice as a matter of fact UIC is a hidden gem! It is downtown and connected to the Chicago theatre circuit. The master actor instructor Yasen Peyankov is an ensemble member at the Steppenwolf theatre and has many Television and movie past and present acting credits. The rest of the faculty has amazing credentials. We saw a play there and we're amazed at depth of the acting and how well it was directed. We've been to CCPA/Roosevelt a few times (auditioned there as well) and we're not particuliarly impressed. I got the impression that they are more about singing and music. I'd pick Syracuse, what a great school!</p>
<p>We visited Roosevelt many years ago and my son was not overly impressed. He did not choose to audition there. He did audition for and get into Syracuse, with which he was most impressed. He would advise you to choose Syracuse. We were also most impressed with the 2 Syracuse students in his summerstock work last summer.</p>
<p>floridafam - as you can tell from all the valuable input from everyone, ultimately it will come down to where your D feels most "at home" and where she thinks she will learn the most, and this may even be a "gut feel" not necessarily deducted from a "pro and con list" based on curriculum related facts. For some this ultimatley will lead to Syracuse, and for other Roosevelt :). </p>
<p>If you have a chance to visit the schools, I would highly recommend you do, as I remember that it made all the difference for my D when she was compiling her list. Some schools that had looked "great" on paper (to me at least :)), were just not the right fit. Even if we limited our visits because of the involved expense, it made me realize that what I thought would be great was not necessarily shared by my D :).</p>
<p>Ericsmom -- just wondering where your S did his summer stock?</p>
<p>onstage - I'll send you an e-mail</p>
<p>On thing i can say about Roosevelt is that it offers more semesters of acting classes than some MT schools and they will focus on making you an actor, something that most MT schools do leave out. So if having a well based craft of acting singing and dancing CCPA is a great place to do it!</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the help everyone. That was going to be a really tough decision, and fortunately, i don't need to make it anymore! I was accepted to BoCo for MT over the weekend, my first choice! I really did appreciate all the input though, so thank you again for the support. :)</p>
<p>-floridafam's D.</p>