School question LIU Post

My son has applied to LIU-Post for theater tech for next year; his very first college app. The SUNY app is next. The advisor told us about the Suzuki method, which I don’t know applied to anything other than violin, and my son thought it sounded interesting. He would rather move than stay still. One thing he liked about the program was that students are pushed beyond their comfort zones. For instance, he was told that he would take acting classes and even classes in costume design. In addition, Tilles is a great venue. My oldest son danced the part of Drosselmyer’s apprentice there one year and I have been to many shows over the years. The students have opportunities, so they tell me. My son, surprisingly, liked the fact that he could live at home and have family and friends near enough to be able to come to his productions. I like the fact that the advisor told him that he is eligible for merit aid and might even be eligible for the honors program and that he wants to work on his ACT scores to try and get more money.

Since we’re nearby, we have decided to go and see some student productions to get a feel for what the program actually is.

I can’t speak to MT but my D was admitted into the BFA Acting program at LIU Post. We went to visit on Accepted Student’s weekend and got the distinct impression it was more of a commuter school than she wanted. Her “guide” for the first day was an Acting major (a commuter) and told my D the class ahead of her (maybe Juniors or Seniors this year but don’t quote me; I didn’t hear the comment directly) lost 1/2 of their +/- 20 students to other majors for various reasons. I understand they have revamped the program over the past few years so perhaps it was a blip. My D is not at all interested in Greek life; not a good fit for my D. Just our observations and impressions from a weekend so take it for what it’s worth.

@winnieroot -

I was hoping to ask you a question. My son was invited to the President’s Scholarship dinner in a few weeks. Does this mean that he is being awarded a scholarship or that he is just under consideration? He applied to the Theater Design and Production BFA and was accepted conditionally based on interview/portfolio, which he hasn’t done yet.

How tough is the honors program for a kid with dyslexia and dyscalculia? Is foreign language required and could he do ASL?

Thanks so much.

@winnieroot Thank you for all the great info above. My daughter has auditioned and really liked who she met but we haven’t visited the campus and met other faculty. Can you comment on the atmosphere - I realize it is rigorous but is it also supportive or does it have that element of toughness found in some programs that borders on mean?

Supportive and warm. They get a “big”. An older student in the program that mentors them. But it is competitive. Not anywhere mean, but some of it mirrors the real world. They audition for the next semesters shows, always directed by guests from the industry, and get callbacks. Last year quite a few freshman girls got no callbacks. But that isn’t the program, that is the industry.

@winnieroot my D has been accepted and we plan to visit in a few weeks. Can you tell me how big the MT department is? How often your D gets dance class and private voice? How big are the classes? Are there a lot of gen ed classes required (my D wanted a true conservatory with as little gen ed as possible and as much dance as possible since that is her weak area)
Thanks for all the info you e shared so far!!

We visited the Snow-Day Friday before Spring Break so didn’t expect to see much activity on campus. But… the theatre and dance facilities were rocking! I ended up chatting with a couple of theatre freshmen and it turned into an hour and a half with 8 students - they were so excited, engaged, reflective and positive about the program. My daughter audited a couple of acting classes and liked what she saw. They also mentioned the Honors’ housing and the Greek life as ways to have diverse and fun on-campus programs. Thank you so much @winnieroot for the great input!

I live locally. I do not know anything about the acting program, but I do know about the area. The school is far from academic. It is considered on the same academic level as a community college in our area. As posted above, it has a large commuter population. There is nothing within walking distance. There is no downtown. NYC is close, but the campus is not anywhere near a train station to get you into the city quickly. Long Island does not have a bus system into the city like NJ. Ask about a school sponsored shuttle service to local places. It seems like you wouldn’t be able to get anywhere without a car and a shuttle.

I live locally, too. Yes to what was said above about the reputation of the school for undergrads. For grad school there is a better reputation because often older students who live nearby will chose to get their advanced degrees close to home and will go to school locally part-time. But for undergrad, it’s not known for good academics. My D’s were both in MT and other than using the theatre at Post for NY State Music festivals, we have never been aware of them having a strong music or theatre program. There is no community out reach regarding that. Lots of local high school students study voice, but I’ve never heard of professors who are from the school giving lessons and have never heard about any student performances.

I know that the MT major is new, so obviously they are attempting to build it up. But it certainly does not have a reputation yet in the NY area. It might work if you are OK with a very small group of MT students who are the basis for your social life, etc.

From what I understand they have a low 4 year graduation rate and a low yield. Housing is only guaranteed for freshmen. Most students are from the area and commute, although in recent years they have been reaching out to more internationals and out-of -town students since they are not that financially stable. I would imagine that the majority of MT majors are from out of town, not local. Keep in mind too that Hofstra, though by no means academically strong, has a better reputation than Post–and has a more active theatre community on Long Island.

I have seen a shuttle that takes students between the school and the Long Island Rail Road in Hicksville. So you’d need about 15 minutes or so to get to the station (depending on the shuttle’s availability. The railroad takes about 50 minutes into Penn Station on a schedule that is more frequent during rush hour, but every half hour, to hour, off-peak.

I live 5 minutes from the school and can echo what others have already said about the area. It is a beautiful area, but I would imagine a student living on campus would feel pretty stranded without a car. It would be impossible to live off-campus as the school is in the middle of a very wealthy part of Long Island and surrounded by multimillion dollar homes. There is nothing resembling a college town anywhere nearby, and students would probably have a hard time finding anything to do off-campus. Restaurants are all quite expensive and require reservations. I can’t comment on the academics or the on-campus social life.

@IBviolamom I am not from the area, so this is all just my impressions from a few visits to the area.

You are right that there isn’t much within walking distance. But LIU does have a van shuttle service to nearby shopping, train station and the mall in Hicksville. They also have a contract with ZipCars so students can sign one out for about $7 an hour. That’s rather steep but if shared with a couple other friends it’s not bad. And it’s way cheaper than monthly insurance for a car.

Wheatley Plaza is 2 miles west on Northern Blvd at Glen Cove Rd. It has some interesting shops and fast food places like Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Wendy’s, Burger King. And a grocery store called Stop and Shop with a pharmacy.

Hicksville is about 7 miles from campus with Broadway Mall and assorted other restaurants, and the train station that goes into Penn Station.

MTA Long Island Bus N20 stops on campus as well and connects with other buses to take take you just about anywhere on the island.

If these kids intend to live in NYC they won’t be able to have a car anyway so I think it’s a great idea for them to get used to using public transportation. (speaking of acting & MT kids)

@daughtersdreams Thanks! That is really helpful info!

@daughtersdreams True about the shopping center nearby. I guess I imagine it would get old fast. I attended college on Long Island, not LIU Post, and I remember being pretty bored on weekends when the majority of the kids would go home for the weekend. I suppose the experience would be similar at most suburban campuses.

@daughtersdreams @IBviolamom @Onourown If you want to talk about going places on Long Island, you need a car. Really. The bus service is not frequent and will not really take you many places you’d want to go in a timely matter. The exception would be the shuttle service to and from Hicksville Station–or taxi service there.

There are great things to do on Long Island. I live about 20 minutes away from Post, so I can attest to the beaches, the fabulous shopping, great towns to walk around in like Huntington or Cold Spring Harbor, and truly great restaurants. There are great vineyards, and, of course, the Hamptons are about an hour to an hour and a half away.

But the truth is that it is a suburb where the vast majority of young people leave as soon as they reach college age. Some of my daughters friends left the NY area after college graduation but most move to NYC. They would rather live in small cramped quarters in Manhattan or Brooklyn than be on Long Island as someone young and single. Because of that, the area does not at all cater to a young, college age crowd. The restaurants are great, but expensive. Shopping great, but too far and inconvenient to access without a car

So if you are going to talk about life off campus, the only thing to really consider is the distance and viability of heading into the Manhattan or Brooklyn on a regular basis. Or whether you can have a car on campus. But trust me, no young person is really going to want to pay to take a taxi or zip car to go to Wheatley Plaza. Perhaps a shuttle for an occasional visit to Broadway mall for movies, cheap food or a visit to H & M or Forever 21, but nothing else is worth it nearby.

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not because young adults hate it here. They come back for beach and BBQ visits all summer long and throw parties in their parent’s houses. And many of them will return to live here when they have their own families. But they take about a 15 year hiatus, go away to college and don’t return until they are ready to be mature adults.

Thanks @uskoolfish ! You’re right. A lot of college kids probably prefer a more busy and robust campus life and urban surrounding area. They’ll need to pick a different school, than LIU. LOL!

I’m over here from the Musical Theatre pages, so I’m thinking of the BFA MT kids with packed schedules and rehearsals and practices. They usually have no problem keeping busy. Nice to have the train as option for an occasional Saturday or Sunday trip to Manhattan.

I can think of a lot worse places to go to college than suburban Long Island.

@daughtersdreams I was just thinking that my daughter would be more interested in if there is practice space available on the weekend, than what there is to do. Or LOVE the quiet down time that she hasn’t had ever, lol. A train ride into Manhattan now and then would be nice.

Regarding LIU’s finances, their bond rating outlook has improved from “negative” a few years ago to “stable” around 2015 and now is “positive.” They are still only one notch above “junk” - Baa3, but the “postive” outlook from Moody’s is a good sign:

https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-revises-Long-Island-Universitys-outlook-to-positive-affirms-Baa3–PR_903029917

Their ranking in US News is #114 in Regional Universities North, just behind Point Park at #110 (a very popular MT program) and even with Western Connecticut State (another MT school mentioned occasionally here on the MT Forum).

@Onourown Agree. My daughter felt the same about having a dance studio or other space available to work on acting/dance skills. @Eliza806 told me that when she was there on a Friday night (I think) that the studio space of hopping with activity.

This thread of posts seems to be about LIU in general. So I’m not sure if discussions about MT or Acting majors is helpful for everyone reading this. But if any not theater kids are bored, they can head over to rehearsal studios and find some social life there!

Just letting everyone know that there is a Facebook group for accepted BFA students. Long name, but here it is:

LIU Post BFA MT/Acting/Theatre Arts Accepted Students Class Of 2021