Summer programs that offer college credit

College Majors Musical Theater Major
1

There are some great summer programs out there for kids in Theater/Musical Theater. However, my wife is not really interested in paying for them, but changed her mind when my daughter mentioned that both NYU Tisch and BU offer college credits with their summer programs. (Yes, BU is mostly for acting/drama, but a young woman we know there was allowed to make her college audition to BU at the end of the summer camp before her senior year.)

What other college summer programs offer college credits besides those two? I checked Carnegie Mellon and Northwestern, and neither offers college credit, and I know locally the Hartt School does not, either. But, I don’t want to hunt and peck through 50 other programs to find another handful that offer college credit as well.

2

^^^BU does have an MT concentration!

3

I don’t remember if there was credit involved, but the Pace two week summer program offered a $3,000 scholarship if you got into Pace.

4

Emerson offers credit for their 5-week MT program.

5

In 2013 I believe Ithaca’s summer program offered 3 credits. No idea of that is true now

6

My opinion for what it’s worth is that college credit in MT courses is something that isn’t always the most important thing when looking at a summer program. Summer programs are amazing, but it is the education the kids get, the opportunity to show the directors that they are talented and hard working, and the ability to prepare for senior year auditions. I know kids who have gotten in to NYU and BW from their summer programs and that is worth it’s weight in gold. But I think that any credit one receives at NYU would not necessarily transfer over to another school in a way that would help to satisfy a major in MT. MT majors have to take MT courses at their university and those credits don’t transfer.

7

@MomofMTBoy - you are (I imagine) correct about credits transferring, that’s tricky in the best of cases. But since my kid did NYU’s summer program, and then. WENT to NYU - they ended up being useful. With AP credits and her summer program - D could graduated in 3 years if she had pushed. She ended up choosing to stay for all 4 - and use the time to pursue a minor (which can be challenging with a BFA schedule).

8

Thanks for the responses - back in the Dark Ages when I went to college and majored in business, if you transferred to another school (like I had done), even if the courses in your major did not count at the other school in your major, you were still given credit for those courses that could count towards random liberal arts requirements or some other type of credit. Not sure if that is true anymore. For example, I took a course in Programming as an engineering major as a freshman, and then transferred to another college. While the Programming class did not count towards my new Business major, it did count as a Liberal Arts elective, even though it’s not really a liberal arts class. Because of that, I was still able to graduate in 4 years (though, I did take a few summer classes to fulfill other requirements)

9

@MomofMTBoy - The choice my daughter will have is no summer program at all, or a summer program that also offers college credit. There likely won’t be a summer program with no credit unless it’s at Yale or Columbia or a place like that.

10

Can you explain the importance of receiving college credit for a summer program during high school??

11

@NewJeffCT- things have not changed that much in the world of “normal” majors. I believe most schools will consider letting credits transfer between schools, either as a core class or as a GE requirement. MT is a different animal, and it is way less likely that a summer MT credit earned at one program would transfer to another school/program. Most MT programs require that students complete all of their MT credits within that program. At many schools, MT students advance through the program as a group, so everyone is taking the MT classes together. The exception might be if she were to earn credit in a summer program and then later be accepted as a student within that same program. I am not sure how much of a benefit that would be-it would depend on the program…Even in the case where a student starts an MT program at one school and completes a significant number of credits (one or two years), and then transfers to another program, it is likely that they would either have to start over completely or re-take many of the credits. If you are only allowing your daughter to attend a summer program with the thought that she will earn credits, it is pretty risky to assume those credits will transfer to any other program.

12

@soozievt very simple. For major expenses in our family, both my wife & I need to agree on the spending. A summer program costing $5,000 to $10,000 is a major expense. My wife won’t agree to pay for any sort of summer theater program that does not also offer college credit.A chance for an audition or a potential tuition discount isn’t tangible enough for her.

13

@takeitallin - it’s not about being transferable between schools regarding MT or Theater, it’s about the college credits in general. Even if it fills in as an optional Liberal Arts credit, it gives you one less class to take.

14

I didn’t pay $5,000 - $10,000 for my daughter’s Summer at MPulse—Michigan’s Summer MT program. She didn’t get college credits, but she sure got a lot of valuable experience for audition season. For us, well worth the investment.

15

@NewJeffCT re posts #11 and #12:

I don’t see any advantage to one less class to take in college. Tuition at the college is going to be the same one way or another. Having one class out of the way doesn’t really have a tangible benefit. The student is there for four years, and may as well get all they can out of the experience.

A summer program is beneficial in many ways and is educational, just like paying for school. Do you pay for extracurricular activities for your child? Voice lessons? Dance classes? Piano lessons, etc.? It’s like that. A summer program is an intensive extracurricular and in this case, even relates to the intended college area of focus. I paid for summer programs for my non-MT major daughter that had nothing to do with her intended college focus.

Anyway, another tangible benefit of a summer program (I say this as a college counselor) is that colleges of any type like to see students having worthwhile summers (doesn’t have to be a program, per se). But with BFA in MT programs, they do look at a student’s training and experiences in the field. So, there is that added plus.

Then, add in that your daughter is going to be pursuing MT in college and the benefit of a summer program is training in the field, not just for college admissions purposes, but for her intended career. This training will help her improve her skill set, both for college admissions/auditions, and for the pursuit of going into MT, just like voice lessons or dance classes do.

My MT daughter went to a summer theater program for 8 years, 6 weeks per summer. Not only did she have a fantastic experience each time, I firmly believe that these summers at that program have had a significant impact on my daughter, both in the field of MT, and in life (she is now a professional in MT). I can’t begin to count how beneficial those summers were. In my view, the significance is vast. I believe if my kid had a credit from a summer program, it would not have made one difference for her in college because she would have still taken a full array of credits to make the most of the four years of college and not taken less credits because she could have.

I realize your wife feels differently, but perhaps you or others you know who have had MT children attend summer programs can share with her that the value and benefits fo these programs are not the credits. Those credits are not really going to benefit your child as much as the experience and training will.

16

@NewJeffCt - there is a good chance it will not transfer even as an optional liberal arts credit. Just be sure to look at the requirements for any MT Programs which your daughter is considering. I am not disagreeing with you (or your wife) regarding the cost of summer programs. We did not let our daughter apply to costly summer programs just from a financial standpoint. With 4 kids to get through college we did not feel we could spend the additional money. There is no doubt summer programs provide valuable experience, but each family has to weigh the benefits vs. the cost.

17

I agree that each family has to weigh the cost and if they see an activity as being beneficial or not. Not all families even have such funds available.

But the key word here is “beneficial” as opposed to the point earlier about something “tangible.” Experiences have value and benefits that are not always measured in a tangible fashion.

As both a parent and a college counselor, I have worked with numerous high school students with varied interests who have attended some type of summer program, most of which do not offer college credits and I haven’t had a single one mention that the program HAD to confer credits (even if the program did).

18

My D is going to Adelphi U for a 2-week MT course this summer - 3 credits and cost’s less than some of the non-credit options out there. If it transfers somewhere else, great, and if not it will still have been a worthwhile experience.

19

Just an update for folks looking for next year… only 6 students in my D’s course at Adelphi University, including rising juniors and sophomores. Obviously they’ll be getting very personalized instruction including classes in acting, improv, vocal technique, dance and stage combat. The program also includes a workshop with the Director of Phantom of the Opera on Broadway and then tickets to the show. They also have social activities with students from the other programs that are meeting at the same time, including a day at the Luna Park amusement area at Coney Island. Really happy with our choice.

20

@NewJeffCT - Just another thought… Summer programs are undoubtedly valuable and fun; however, if such programs don’t get the “green light”, you could consider using the money in question on a national coach instead. If a summer intensive is a big deal to your D, check out BDF. It’s significantly less expensive, especially if you live near one of their locations!