<p>Exactly. And that’s the problem. It’s art and “best” is subjective in both the students and the schools. Everybody knows basically which schools are the good ones and, sure, most would take a free ride to the top school vs. a free ride to the bottom school but those are not the choices. It gets muddy in the middle.</p>
<p>Funny, even though my son will be going to his Freshman orientation in August, I’m still poking around the CC MT sections. Being in marketing – where numbers mean a lot – I found all of this very interesting…and decided to resurrect this thread with a comment.</p>
<p>Maybe what’s missing is what Cary Libkin said to us on why we should choose Penn State over other schools: their top-notch faculty. So, it seems to me if that’s how a school determines how it ranks in the field, then we should have looked at all the CV’s of the faculty – in dance, voice and acting. Not sure if this would shuffle things around since it seems likely that the strongest programs would attract the strongest faculty. Or, maybe some schools looking to jump into another tier would go on a recruiting binge. Lots of maybes. For us, it was a combination of how my son felt, geography (more Midwest) and the financial assistance offered.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Looking at faculty is indeed a critical aspect of selecting a program, but a couple things come to mind.</p>
<p>First, we had a vivid reminder today that staffing can (and does) change in programs.</p>
<p>Also, we all can probably think of lots of people with amazing resumes who are terrible teachers, and some amazing teachers with meh resumes.</p>
<p>As has been mentioned often, finding the “Best” MT program is about as subjective as finding the best spouse. You often can’t quantify it, but you’ll know what’s best FOR YOU when you find it and that’s all that matters. :)</p>
<p>MomCares, what did I miss?</p>
<p>@Merlehay - a beloved professor at D’s school just accepted a job with another great program. Fortunately the school has over 40 amazing Theatre professors and is in a very strong theatre market so they will no doubt find a fitting replacement, but it was a good reminder that selecting a program based on key personalities carries risks.</p>
<p>When it comes to teachers and their resumes…While it may be good to have some performance experience at the highest levels, it does not define you as a great teacher. </p>
<p>A good analogy to look at is baseball. You will never find a good batting instructor who’s had a great hitting career in MLB. Mostly because of what came so easy and naturally to them.</p>
<p>My student is a current Freshman in NSB at Tisch and could not be happier with the choice they made to study at Tisch. Do some research on the staff. Look up the bios of not only Kent Gash, but people like Michael McElroy, Darryl Tookes, and Byron Easley- to name a few. These are teachers my student has regularly. It’s a top, top notch program, and remains highly selective. Beginning fall 2014, NSB will no longer be available to straight acting students. It will only be open to MT kids.</p>
<p>I for one enjoy all of the various statistics. Is choosing a program subjective? Yes. Do you have to look at them knowing the lists are imperfect? Absolutely! But they can act as a starting point for inexperienced parents (like me!). And sometimes they can even help to put things in perspective. I’ve personally used some of these lists as a sort of supplement to the “big list.” Break a leg to all of those high school seniors currently practicing, auditioning, and praying for good news!</p>