<p>My d is interested in mt and was rejected from 4 very competitive schools. She is now ready to choose between Skidmore and Wagner. We have learned a little about each school from several past posts and know that while each school emphasizes performing arts they are both very different. Any thoughts about the schools would be appreciated. Unfortunately, she has not seen a production at Wagner. The production she saw at Skidmore (non-musical) was student run and difficult to compare with musicals she saw at Ithaca, Syracuse, and Penn State.</p>
<p>Your daughter wants Musical Theater. Did she get into the BA in Theater Performance with a Musical theater emphasis at Wagner (the audition based program)? If she did, there are major differences between your D's two options. At Wagner, she'd be in a musical theater training program. At Skidmore, she would not. While Wagner is not a BFA, it is an audition based MT program. They offer lots of dance, six mainstage shows (three of which are musicals) plus workshop productions (total of 11 productions) and a senior showcase. I know several kids who have or do go there for MT. </p>
<p>Skidmore, where ironically I took a literature class last week, is a fine liberal arts college with a very well regarded BA in theater department. This is not a MT department. There is a student run theater club that does put on musicals, however. And the school has lots of dance and lots of arts available. For someone seeking MT, I would say Wagner over Skidmore. BUT Skidmore is a more selective school in terms of academics and a BA degree and still is a great option for studying theater. But if your D truly wants MT and apparently was striving to get into BFA programs, Wagner fits that bill a bit more closely. Wagner, of course is by NYC and Skidmore is in a fun college town. Theater is good at Skidmore. But it is totally a BA program with no emphasis on MT, though a student could piece together theater courses, music/voice, dance, and do dept. plays and also the student run musicals, as well as other theater opportunities in the region for credit. Skidmore has an interdepartmental major in dance/theater that may appeal to your D. She also could self design a major that combine with music. So, it is a wonderful theater BA option. Wagner's program likely correlates more with what your D was wanting in a BFA in MT program. Skidmore is a more selective college, but Wagner's program may be the better fit and is also by audition so is selective within the program itself (not easy to get into). Skidmore's student body or learning environment might differ from Wagner's. It comes down to which type of program or school meets what YOUR D wants. Neither one is better but they clearly differ.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your response. My d is presently on the wait list for the BA theater - mt emphasis performance program and is, of course, hoping to be officially accepted. She had decided early on that she wanted a BFA vs a BA. She also knew how difficult the better programs were to get into but decided to give some of them a try. Despite the rejections, I think it was a very good experience and she was fortunate enough to at least get an interview at PSU. She included Wagner as it was recommended by a teacher who thought it might be a bit easier to get a spot. Skidmore and a few other liberal art schools were applied to as safeties. We agree with everything you shared and you helped to confirm the differences between the two programs. The biggest problem (besides the fact that my d is still only on the waitlist) is that she is not confident about Wagner in terms of theater training or academics. She wants to be prepared professionally for a very competitive job market, and she also wants to be well educated. Sometimes I think she feels it might be better to forgo the mt training program and make her own program (the best she can) at a good academic school like Skidmore but she is very confused right now. We know that this can only be her decision, but, at the same time, the more information she has the better. She will be visiting Wagner this weekend for the accepted students open house and hopes to stay overnight and watch their current production of "Hair." Then she hopes to do the same at Skidmore. There is very little time to do this as we need to make a deposit by May 1, and she is traveling to Italy with my parents in a week. Thanks again for your insight and understanding of our situation. This forum has been very helpful to us during this journey.</p>
<p>The accepted student events will really help her decide. I know it is hard to fit these in but try. Overnights help too. She can get academics at Wagner but if she cares about a more challenging academic environment, Skidmore might fit that more. She just has to weigh what she wants the most. She can piece together good theater training and some music and dance at Skidmore. For an actual PROGRAM in MT, then it would be Wagner. </p>
<p>In my opinion, since she is on the waitlist, the situation is different than you first presented it in the original post. Your D is not truly deciding between these schools right now in my opinion. She should let Wagner know of her interest and update them but she must psychologically move onto whichever schools accepted her. The waitlist schools truly are NOT an option. They may NEVER happen. They might but the odds are better that they will not. She needs to put the waitlist schools aside. However, she could still visit if she wants so that if a waitlist slot opens for her, she'll know whether or not she would have taken it but otherwise, she needs to now look forward and at the options she truly HAS. She can have a "what if" scenario in her mind if it happens but after that, put it aside. Embrace Skidmore....go for the accepted student event and look at all the wonderful opportunities that await her there. I was JUST there less than a week ago. Lots of arts and theater at that school. Fun town.</p>
<p>Once again I think your advice is right on and so comforting. Thank you. Just to clarify, my d has been accepted to Wagner but waitlisted as a performance major. Her name "has been placed on a short waiting list" according to her acceptance letter. So while it may never happen, she just wants to be prepared in case it does. We have also heard from many students (including one who spoke at the audition) that it is possible to get into the program off the waitlist (unlike many of the more competitive mt programs). In addition, my d received a grant which also makes it attractive.
In the meantime, my d is sincerely appreciating her admission to Skidmore, and I am confident that it will offer her many artistic and academic opportunities to grow by.</p>
<p>Hi! I attend Skidmore and I am here right now...so if you have any questions about the school and the department I would be happy to answer them. As of now, I am heading towards an interdisciplinary major in Dance/Theater with a minor in music. But I am actually planning on taking next year off and transferring the following school year. I decided that I want more of an intense musical theatre based program, then what Skidmore offers. However, my year has still been a good one. I'm in intro to acting this semester and I feel I've learned a lot. I also am taking rudiments of music (a basic music theory course), ballet, tap, and jazz theatre dance, and an anthropology course. If you can make it up to Skidmore next weekend, you could see the musical being performed. The department does not produce musicals, but the student-run organization Cabaret Troupe does. We are performing Merrily We Roll Along next weekend at the Saratoga Music Hall in downtown Saratoga springs. The experience with cab troupe has been very fun, and I've particularly enjoyed helping out with tech work this week. (Basically i've been painting for hours every night :) ) Cabaret troupe is a lot like high school theatre. The shows are student directed, and tons of fun, but if you want to really learn and GROW as a musical theatre artist, it's not quite enough. Skidmore's theatre department is really great, and will give you a solid base in straight acting. And plus, the school on the whole has a very nice atmosphere. If your daughter wanted to come and visit overnight, she could stay with me. I'd definitely be willing to do that and I know the school could arrange that! :) So feel free to send me a message!! Hope any of this helped!
~Amy~</p>
<p>hi "mom"</p>
<p>i am currently a senior theater major at wagner. i thought i might be able to help with any questions you have. to clear a few things up.. there are four mainstage productions a year- not 6- and one of them is a dance show OR a straight play, it flip flops every year. next year it is a dance show. also, there are four stage one (black box) productions, one of them being a musical. the seniors also culminate their four years at wagner with a showcase (25 actors in 60 minutes) that will be performed at the city. ours is being done this year on may 15th. as i am sure your daughter has experienced after seeing hair (tonight?) wagner is gaining a great reputation fast. it is no longer a school that is "easier" to get into than the "big guys" like nyu, carnegie etc etc. i personally have very talented friends who auditioned this year and were rejected. i am sure that at most schools, being on a waitlist is hardly promising- but (this may help), i have two friends at wagner- both seniors, both in hair, both very talented, who were waitlisted for wagner initially. one of them was contacted in may to notify her of her admission and the other in AUGUST. i believe that they were both within the top 5 or 6 people on the waitlist. who can say if this is typical or not- it was 4 years ago. but, it does happen. also, the theater training at wagner is priceless- i have grown a lot here. it is certainly becoming a top program. also, the proximity to new york, the ability to audition constantly and get to know the city during college is wonderful. i still have a month before i graduate, and i am getting work now. the connections that can be made while at wagner are also very helpful. please let me know if there is anything i can answer for you, since i know it may help to get advice first hand. good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for your response. I sent you a private message.</p>
<p>Mom4Kids...I responded to your most recent PM with a PM so look for that. </p>
<p>Amy...if you are reading....I was just in Saratoga and my in-laws who live there were raving about how great the student run productin of Merrily We Roll Along was at Skidmore (they saw it)...lots of terrific talent. I looked in the Playbill and there you were....my fellow Vermonter. Bravo on the show. A couple weeks ago, I took a class at Skidmore. My inlaws take classes with the current students (they audit them....have been for years). The class I took with my mother in law just so happened to be taught by a classmate of mine from when I went to graduate school at Harvard and we hadn't seen each other since our young twenties (ages ago). I was thinking of you and so thought I would tell ya the feedback here since you posted here. </p>
<p>best wishes....Susan</p>
<p>Thanks Susan! Yes indeed, I was in Merrily. It was really fun :)</p>
<p>Thanks for keeping in touch...you're so sweet!!!</p>