seeking parental advice

College Majors Musical Theater Major
1

<p>Imagine this scenario:</p>

<p>Your D enjoyed voice lessons and was active in music theatre from a young age; no dance training. She was a violent crime victim while in high school which really threw a monkey wrench into the college search process. I wasn't even sure she should attend college, but she was <em>very</em> excited and very much looking forward to it. She managed to earn a solid GPA and reasonable stats, but wasn't really sure what she wanted to do. She thought she might be interested in music, theatre, math or business/finance. She researched schools and began attending one which offered majors in all her interests. After she started there, she discovered that the music program was somewhat weak and she actually had more talent in music and theatre than she (or her family) had given her credit for. She researched music programs for VP over winter break, auditioned, and was accepted into 2 of 4 schools for VP. She chose a well-regarded conservatory program in a small-to-medium university setting. After a successful year as a VP major, she recognized that her real love is MT. She auditioned into the conservatory's MT program and was accepted. Although many of her VP credits and former school's credits do count towards an MT degree at this school, there is no way to complete it in under 4 years (that's 4 years beyond the year already spent at the new school, not to mention the semester at the first school.) The courses that cause scheduling problems are not offered at any other time (e.g., over the summer or during the winter break). This is a fairly high-priced program where she only has a very modest talent scholarship.</p>

<p>I was willing to pay for a fresh start once, but I'm not willing to do it a 2nd time. I offered to pay for the first 3 years of the program, and have her be responsible for the final year. But I'm trying to figure out if this is even feasible. Her final year is only around 9 credits each semester. For her final semester, the school would allow her to pay by the credit hour at a very lost cost for tuition ($6K). Unfortunately, the school does not offer this option for the first semester of the final year which would cost around $12K. I also expect her to cover room and board which I anticipate will be upwards of $10K. Short of winning the lottery, is there a legal way for her to raise $28K over the next 3 years? We do expect her to get some sort of recompense for a traffic accident she was in, but I anticipate that's possibly in the $4-6K range.</p>

<p>One option she has considered is to use this coming school year to research programs, take ballet, and audition. Our state school is an audition school, so it's not really a safety. She truly cannot imagine herself doing anything else.</p>

<p>I think what scares me most is the possibility of a repeat: she successfully completes one year as an MT, but decides that she wants to major in something else. My other concern is her age: she is turning 21 this summer. I hate to see her starting a 4-year program in the fall of 2014 (if she takes a year to research programs and determine that this really is the degree she wants.)</p>

<p>One idea I've floated is suggesting she get a 2-year degree instead for a job that will support her (e.g., radiology tech), allowing her to work part-time and audition. The money I would have spent for 3 years at the expensive conservatory would go a long way toward a 2-year degree plus voice & dance lessons. It wouldn't give her any acting training, though.</p>

<p>Please don't comment too harshly on what should have been done in the past -- can't change that now...</p>

2

<p>I would have her stick with the VP program and do as many MT shows as she can on and off campus to get more experience. If she can take dance classes through school or independently, that would be helpful too. Perhaps she can take theatre classes through school as an elective.</p>

<p>The bottom line is that the end result for her shouldn’t be getting a MT degree, but finding work in MT. And you don’t need a degree for that. A VP degree is fairly common among many successful Bway performers. I would suggest that she learns to belt–as that probably won’t be taught by a classical voice teacher–and is fairly necessary for success today.</p>

<p>Also, can she work with her VP teacher on some more MT pieces?</p>

3

<p>It’s really hard to answer this without knowing details of your financial situation. Also, where she chooses to go to school would make a big difference. MT program costs vary from the enormously expensive (BOCO, NYU, etc) to quite inexpensive (TX State or your own state’s school, if there is a program). I think you need to give her a dollar max that you can spend and let her figure the rest out. She might choose to change schools, stay where she is, or take out loans depending on the situation.</p>

4

<p>If she can complete the VP degree in the four years, I agree with Uskoolfish, the name of the degree is not going to be important. Unless she can’t take dance and acting classes during those years. I know of a lot of MT majors who make their mark in straight acting careers, and Acting and VP majors who go straight into touring companies of musicals, and so on.</p>

5

<p>It seems to me that the 2 most important factors are 1. How serious and committed is she? You know her, and the way you describe this is a progression of interests such as many young people go through. She’s been proactive enough to audition into 3 different programs now-- no mean feat! So she’s got gumption. But, MT is going to present her with a lot of challenges-- intensive dance, intensive acting. And acting takes a lot of inner strength, a lot of emotional flexibility…I know of MT kids who leave MT because they love to sing and dance but they just don’t want to deal with the kind of self-searching that comes in an acting class. As you two talk about this new course of action, does it feel like something she’ll be able to stick with?</p>

<p>And-- your budget. If you can afford it, why not? (Only you know the answer to that of course.) If you can’t…then something else has to happen. I can imagine a college student saving $15,000 in 3 years, at the very most. Of course she could use her savings and take out a loan for the rest. </p>

<p>If she can take acting and dance classes with the VP major, then that might be a great way to go…but something tells me that’s going to rack up more credits and more tuition. Anyway these are just a few thoughts to mull. Clearly she’s worked really hard and had some rough waters to get through, and of course you want to do whatever you can.</p>

6

<p>OP back with more details:</p>

<p>It turns out that if she chooses to switch to MT, her final year will cost under $7K in tuition, plus she’ll be responsible for fees, room & board for that year. If she can raise that money during the summer and/or part-time work during the school year (and I think that amount is well within the realm of possibility – especially since she has $4K already saved), then she graduates debt-free. Otherwise, she graduates with a modest debt, or works until she has the money to complete her degree.</p>

<p>If D remains a VP major, she will be unable to take Acting or Dance classes through her school. She is also not allowed (or perhaps just heavily discouraged – I’m not clear) from auditioning for school musicals. So, she could take dance at a local dance studio, forego acting classes, and audition for community shows while completing her BM in VP. Her VP voice teacher would only work on developing an operatic voice, so she’d have to pick up belting from somewhere else (on her own dime).</p>

<p>If she switched to a BA in music at her current school, she would likewise be unable to take acting or dance classes through her school. But she would be able to graduate in 4 years, take dance locally, take voice lessons at the school where she could choose an MT voice teacher, <em>and</em> she could audition for school musicals & opera.</p>

<p>Calliene, your suggestion appeals to me and is the approach I’ve been taking. “D, you have $x to spend on the remainder of your college career. Spend it wisely (and preferably all in one place!)” While I could afford a 5th (really a 6th year in her case), that’s a heck of a lot of money to spend on a “4-year” degree. And by giving her the responsibility to pay for that-which-is-beyond-4-years, and the power to choose how much financial responsibility she takes on, well… it gives me an indication that this is what she <em>really</em> wants.</p>

<p>Gwen Fairfax, your post was particularly helpful as well. One of my fears is that after a year of MT, she’ll decide she really wants something else. But I must admit that she has consistently wanted to major in something music-related for her entire college career and she’d really made that decision late in her senior year of high school. First it was music/math double major, then it was music/theatre double major – and that was in the first semester – and this past year it was VP. And I was supportive of her transferring – she was going the biggest fish in a puddle at her first school. While she would have gotten oodles of individual attention there, it was disappointing to see that her high school music groups were stronger than the college’s. At the conservatory where she transferred, she has <em>loved</em> the feeling of being challenged and learning in a classroom setting for what feels like the first time in her life. I can easily imagine her diving into the self-searching that acting classes would require. And I can’t imagine any other music-related major that would interest her.</p>

<p>And somehow, I have the feeling that this will all just work itself out even if the end result isn’t quite what she or I might have imagined at this point in the journey…</p>

7

<p>Well if she decides on MT and ends up having to take out a loan, but she stays the course and commits to it and works hard to complete it and proves that it is what she <em>really</em> wants, then you can always help her pay the loans later if you can afford it.</p>