<p>Thanks everyone! Our state offers all the degrees so does not participate in the reciprocity program. As if auditioning isn’tt crazy competitive already, finances will definitely limit D"s choices so I am trying to help her prune her list of schools accordingly. Even Just applying really adds up quickly! I am sad schools like Elon don’t offer regional auditions. I just can’t fly her everywhere. Oh well, moving on…</p>
<p>addicted2MT, Montclair doesn’t automatically give in-state tuition to out-of-state MT kids, but the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition is only $8700 a year, and OOS kids are eligible for some non-need-based scholarships. We pay roughly halfway between in-state and OOS tuition, so about 16K per year tuition. </p>
<p>There are a few more nuances to getting Utah in-state tuition. Yes, you need to stay over the summer, but also your child must get a drivers license and register to vote in UT soon after they arrive. You also cannot claim them on your tax return that year. And it is not eligible to students on WUE tuition. My daughter is in her Sophomore year there and is attending as a resident! She is also very happy with the program. </p>
<p>I have a strange question, but has anyone ever calculated the cost per classroom hour of their child’s MT degree and, if so, figured out how that compares to the cost of hiring a team of private coaches in NYC for a couple of years? I may need to do the math sometime, but since we’re towards the end of paying D’s college tuition maybe I don’t really want to know the answer to my own question. :)</p>
<p>@MomCares - that would be interesting to figure out 
I do think there has to be a significant value placed on having a college degree, any degree (BA, BM, BFA), at the end of their college experience. Someone could go to NYC, work with private coaches for a couple of years, and still not get cast any more frequently than someone who just finished 4 years of college. But the possibilities as to what other careers they might pursue should performing not work out for them would be far greater for the college grad than for the 2 year private training actor. Even if the college grad felt they needed more education to pursue a new career path, they could be going for their masters or PhD if they decide to return to school, whereas someone who only trained with private coaches would need to get their undergraduate degree which would take longer and still leave them behind their peers who already graduated from college.<br>
So, in my opinion, even if it initially costs less to do private training, I think the college degree still has more value in the end.
Having said that, I also realize that for some people, college may not be their thing. There is nothing wrong with solely doing vocational training if that is what they want to do. It just may limit options for other work down the road.</p>
<p>As one whose daughter is training in NYC, I can assure you, the private coaching will win by a factor of 10 and meanwhile it would all be going down while meanwhile accumulating numerous off-Broadway credentials. Mathematically, don’t bother to figure it out unless you are prepared to put a real dollar value on “college experience” and a degree.</p>
<p>I can’t but I’m a college snob and have never set foot on stage myself and am not good at being a stage mom. I wanted my kid to have a degree and not to miss out on a real college experience because those were things I could relate to and valued. Maybe it was all about me (and her Dad too) but she push back and she didn’t know if she should either.</p>
<p>Both priorities as far as MT work goes are probably stupid and naïve but I am what I am and have probably paid gourmet rates for a hamburger that is no better than a Big Mac. But my kid will have a degree and her exit from childhood to the working world will have been slowed by 4 years and that was what I could relate to. I’m fairly sure my daughter wasn’t ready to go any faster than this at 18, 19, 20 either. We all do our best.</p>
<p>Clearly we agree with @vvnstar and @halflokum, given that we’ve already put our money into the college experience and have no regrets. That’s also demonstrated by the fact that I’ve never taken the time to answer my own question. What’s that saying… “don’t ask a question if you don’t want to hear the answer”? :)</p>
<p>Besides tutoring, you could also take classes with top vocational training programs in NYC or LA. If all you were looking at was training, I’m pretty sure that specific vocational training in a top program like Circle in the Square or Stella Adler or any number of top programs combined with tutoring, coaching and targeted classes (dance) is going to be considerably cheaper than non discounted college, especially since the vocational courses are 2 years. But the big risk is what halflokum is saying: You don’t graduate with a degree and get the college learning and connections. </p>
<p>I have known people successfully pursuing that route though - taking classes, auditioning, not getting a degree. One person I know is currently a lead on a national tour. Another option I’ve seen is people taking inexpensive college classes toward the degree while taking the vocational classes/tutors (just to get the degree really). For instance, you could get a degree from a CUNY school. If you were a New York resident, that would be quite inexpensive. Or you could take online classes. But most 18 year olds don’t have the discipline and maturity to do that (you would make your own way and not have any support). Ultimately, there’s no right one way. </p>
<p>It’s hard for me to ever imagine a situation where someone would say - “oh I regret getting that college degree”… there is probably total merit to the idea that one could get the “training” privately - but I agree with halflokum, college was an experience I wanted for my kid. </p>
<p>I don’t think it’s an either/or. Most of our kids will continue to take classes throughout their professional lives no matter where they go to school.</p>
<p>In this day and age where it is not uncommon for a 4yr degree to take 6, a truly industrious student could get a four year degree at an Instate (insert subject of choice) and then go on to Circle In The Square or Stella Addler for 2 years. I know of a student (whose parents are supportive, and the student patient and mature) who did just that. She was very bright academically, got her degree and now is studying what she loves. It was a test of her commitment to theatre, to see if she still wanted it in 4 years. And I have to say, that she’ll probably get a lot more out of that training at age 22, then she might have at age 18. (I do think maturity plays a huge role in the study of acting in particular.) Because the large University was public and in her state, her parents will likely end up with a total bill FAR lower than many an out of state MT programs. And yes, this is not your typical kid who would be willing. But I personally think it is a Brilliant Plan.</p>
<p>Yet another example of the infinite number of ways to ease on down the theater road…</p>
<p>“I have a strange question, but has anyone ever calculated the cost per classroom hour of their child’s MT degree and, if so, figured out how that compares to the cost of hiring a team of private coaches in NYC for a couple of years?”</p>
<p>What an interesting question! I just sat down and did the math. Here’s what I came up with:</p>
<p>William Esper Studio is a Meisner acting studio that offers a two-year program with the following curriculum:</p>
<p>1st Year – Acting Technique 1, Movement 1 & 2, Voice & Speech 1, Alexander 1, Mask, Stage Combat 1 and Dance</p>
<p>2nd Year – Acting Technique 2, Movement 3, Mime & Physical Theatre, Voice & Speech 2, Alexander 2, Stage Combat 2, Acting On-Camera, Script Analysis and Cold Reading</p>
<p>It says full-Time students should expect to be in class 18-25 hours per week. </p>
<p>So I figure that’s comparable to the training you’d get in a BFA program, right? The cost is $13,800 per year.</p>
<p>Vocal: Private singing lessons are about $100 per hour. So one lesson per week for 10 months would be about $4,000. (The reason I say 10 months instead of a full year is that each year of college is 10 months, with the summers off.)</p>
<p>Dance: Let’s say you take three dance classes per week - one ballet, one jazz/theater dance, one tap. Three classes per week would be 12 per months, so that’s 120 classes over 10 months. Broadway Dance Center offers a 20-class package for $340. So you would need 6 of those packages to get 120 classes in 10 months. 6 X $340 = $2,040.</p>
<p>So figure you do all of those things for 2 years. Each year would be $13,800 for acting, $4,000 for singing, $2,040 for dance. Total cost: $19,840 per year, or approximately $40,000 for two years.</p>
<p>After two years, you’re done with Esper, so if you continued the vocal and dance training for another two years (to match the four years of college), that would be an extra $6,040 per year, or $12,080 for two years. </p>
<p>So the total cost for four years of training would be about $52,000, give or take.</p>
<p>However, there’s no financial aid for that, and as others have said, you don’t end up with a college degree, which will limit your opportunities to be hired for other work (actors need survival jobs!). </p>
<p>Of course, at college you’re likely also paying for housing…but if you move to New York to train, you have to find an apartment and pay rent. So that cancels out. </p>
<p>So obviously one would have to weigh the pros and cons of each approach, as well as how affordable a particular college is with scholarships, financial aid, etc. But even though the “training” approach would likely be cheaper, I don’t think it’s necessarily SO much cheaper as to make it a “no-brainer” choice over a BFA, especially considering the lack of a college degree. I think both approaches have their pros and cons.</p>
<p>@actorparent - bravo!! </p>
<p>I am huge fan of getting a full liberal arts college experience, and am thrilled that we can give or kids that, but $52,000 for four years is about what many people pay for a single year’s college tuition and fees. So in those cases, getting coaching in NYC is ~4x cheaper than college.</p>
<p>
I think it does happen in cases where people find themselves unemployed with huge college loans to pay. If the degree carries no debt, I completely agree!</p>
<p>Yeah, again, it definitely depends on the college, the financial aid, etc. For example, Marymount Manhattan’s tuition is $28,000 per year, but they also have a “merit scholarship” calculator on their website, and when I ran my daughter’s grades and estimated SAT score (she’s only a freshman, so has only taken PSAT so far), it said she would qualify for $12,000 in merit scholarships from them. So that would knock the tuition down to $16,000 per year, or $64,000 for four years…but it would likely be less because there would still be federal and state financial aid, etc. So that’s a situation where the college degree wouldn’t be THAT much more than the private training. And some people go to state universities, which also aren’t super-expensive.</p>
<p>But yeah, if you’re comparing the cost of private training to the cost of a school like Carnegie Mellon or NYU, then definitely the private training is insanely cheaper!!!</p>
<p>Just looking at some other colleges…Muhlenberg’s tuition and fees are $22,000 per year. Texas State University’s tuition is less than $10,000 for in-state students. So it IS possible to get a four-year college BA or BFA musical theater degree for a cost that isn’t two to four times higher than the cost of private training. It really depends what kind of school you’re looking at.</p>
<p>For clarity: Muhlenberg’s tuition and fees (according to their website ) are $54, 600 a year, NOT $22K</p>
<p>Tuition and Fees $ 44,145.00
Room $ 5,665.00+
Board $ 4,670.00++
Total $ 54,480.00</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.muhlenberg.edu/pdf/main/aboutus/finaid/estimatedcost.pdf”>http://www.muhlenberg.edu/pdf/main/aboutus/finaid/estimatedcost.pdf</a></p>
<p>@momcares - also, with the quote of mine you used about (about not regretting a degree) I agree that there are situations where someone might regret choosing a particular school- esp in regards to debt as you mention, I was referring more to the idea of getting an education- hard for me to imagine a situation where that would be a “regret”</p>
<p>I feel it is still an apples to oranges comparison. Already mentioned is that with a BA or BFA, one earns a college degree. Also mentioned, is that many receive need based financial aid and/or merit based scholarships, which lowers the total fees at a college. One thing not mentioned is that in most BFA programs, there are courses besides the singing, dancing, acting training courses. At NYU/Tisch, where my kid earned a BFA, she had quite a number of courses that were not the conservatory training courses. These were liberal arts courses, as well as Theater Studies courses, none of which you get by the other option presented in the comparison analysis. So, it isn’t just that she earned a degree, but she received more than just the conservatory style training classes that one gets in the other “method.” Also, the college put on full scale theater productions which I am not sure the other option would include. This doesn’t even mention the myriad of other experiences that came with attending college.</p>
<p>toowonderful, when comparing the cost of training vs. college, I did not include room and board for college, because if you go to New York to train on your own, you’d still need to pay for an apartment and buy food. So in BOTH situations, you would need to pay for room and board. So instead, I just compared the cost of training vs. the cost of tuition only.</p>