<p>I was notified 3 weeks ago that I had been accepted into the pre-college MT program, and I’m very excited? What can you tell me about the program? How many people are accepted etc.?</p>
<p>I also applied to CMU’s program, and I am waiting on that until I decide.</p>
<p>hey..yea I also got in!...yay!...i also applied to CAP 21 and will find out from them on May 5th. I would also like to know more about the program :)</p>
<p>Kayla...I am sorry that I don't know about the summer program at Syracuse (though their BFA program is very good), but I just want to say that I remember you posting a long time ago and I'm very excited to read that you are indeed going to have a chance to do a MT program in the US to enrich whatever other experiences I hope you have carved out in Barbados since you last posted. You are on your way and I hope we'll be hearing more from you as time goes on. Good luck! Have a great summer...</p>
<p>hey soozievt, thank you so much..i cant believe you remember me! :)
thank you so much for your kind words, they made my day :)</p>
<p>thanks again
byee
Kayla</p>
<p>Can anyone share info on this program? How old do you have to be? MY D is a rising sophomore and will only be 15 next summer....</p>
<p>My 17 yr old D is currently in the program. She is having the summer of her life. She has classes in acting, voice, performance, stage combat and dance spread out over 5 days per week, from 9:00 to 4:30 with a half hour for lunch. The kids were placed in 3 groups based on dance experience The classes are taught by Syracuse professors and she has been very impressed with the calibre of instruction. All of the professors have significant real world performing or directing credentials. It is a college level program for which you get 6 college credits. The first week, the kids in the MT program were assigned with 9 days lead time a 15 page research paper on the human voice - a bit of a shock to those who did not expect an academic component to the program. Nights are spent reading plays, rehearsing or practicing to apply what was learned in class.
There are 150 kids attending the Summer Program in various areas of study with about 20 in the MT program. All the kids live in the same dorm and have access to a dining hall, the gym , library and other University facilities. Because it is summer, the campus is pretty quiet but the kids in the summer program do quite a bit of socializing among themselves. Weekend group activities and social trips are offered. For those that are adventuresome, "downtown" shopping, restaurants etc are accessable in 15 minutes by cab shared with friends or by conning a friendly R.A. for a ride. Dorm curfews, with mandatory checkins, Sunday through Thursday are 11:00 pm with 12:00 am Fridays and Saturdays. Nonresidents are not permitted in the dorm after 6:30 pm. While it is a structured college experience, there is a lot of "unsupervised" time after classes and on weekends and accordingly an appropriate level of maturity and responsibility is essential to have a succesful experience.
Right now the kids in the MT program are preparing for the show/performances that will conclude the program this week. My D has been in rehearsals from 9:00 am to 10:00 pm since Saturday and has found it to be exhilerating. We are going up on Wednessday for the Thursday and Friday shows and will be bringing her back on Saturday.
In summary, the program offers top fight instuction in a college level program. It not only has been of benefit in terms of the training my D has received but also has been sufficiently intense to provide a litmus test of whether this is how she wants to spend her college career. It is a great experience for those who are rising high school juniors or seniors and who want a real exposure to college level training and living in a college enviroment away from home.</p>
<p>MichaelNKat - That sounds so terrific! Thanks so much for sharing all the info on this great program. And you get college credits, to boot! Do you know if the program was very selective to get into, since they only have around 20 in the mt component? Was it based on audition of some sort or grades or performance resume?</p>
<p>lynnm - The MT program does not require an audition. However, they do require high school grades, SAT scores if available and recommendations from a high school teacher and from a teacher/coach who is familiar with the student's performance abilities and potential for growth. They emphasize that they want students who are prepared for a rigorous program and capable of handling college level work. Because of the small size of the program, we regularly watched for the publication of the application for the upcoming summer and as soon as it hit the website, my D submitted it. My D had attended the UArts program in Phila last summer as a commuter so this was a good transition to living away at college. While there are a couple of other highly regarded summer programs within reasonable distance ( and travel time) from Philly, we had the opportunity to visit Syracuse's Drama Department shortly after submitting the application and also met with the director of the Summer College Program. We came away with real good vibes about the educational culture and values of the department. Sold us on Syracuse as the appropriate choice.</p>
<p>Sounds great on all fronts. Any chance it would increase the odds of acceptance into the BFA program? At least they can see your work ethic and abilities over a much longer period of time than a 4 minute audition, right? Best of luck for your d on the upcoming audition season!</p>
<p>It sounds better and better! Do you know what the age restrictions are, if any, as you can see, my D is a year younger than most of her friends. Her grades are top-notch at a private school, so that's no worry, but she will only have taken the PSAT's this next (sophomore) year.
Does anyone have a link to this prgram as I am having difficulty finding anything else about it other than here on the Board.Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Anyone know if earning 6 college credits causes any problems with high school kids applying to college? I recall reading somewhere that having <em>any</em> college credits makes some universities/colleges consider you a transfer, which can be a huge disadvantage. Of course, I am often wrong! Anyone out there know? Soozievt?</p>
<p>That is a terrific question! Any Guidance Counselors on here?</p>
<p>NMR and L'sM,
I recall someone talking about that on here a long long time ago and it never sounded right to me. MANY MANY freshmen college applicants have some college credits through various means such as AP credits, pre-college or other summer college courses, or dual enrollment (taking college classes while in HS). I do not believe that most of these cases would be considered transfer students (unless I suppose someone has a whole year's worth of college credit by doing these). But someone attending a pre-college program that grants credit for two courses is not considered a transfer student. That student should apply as a freshman applicant but each college will treat the incoming credits differently, just like each college treats AP credits differently. Therefore the BEST and most ACCURATE solution is to ask this question of every college on your list....how the summer college credits will be treated. However, for the purposes of this discussion, I seriously doubt that anyone who attended Syracuse's PreCollege summer program is considered a transfer student. A transfer student at most colleges (but check with each one) is someone who has completed at least one full year of college study, or its equivalent. So, for all who earn the credits in a summer program, take a couple college courses while in HS, earn AP credits, etc., you are still freshmen applicants at most colleges. Inquire how those credits will be handled, if you wish them to be. But a transfer student is usually someone who has at least a year's worth of college credits under her belt.</p>
<p>I just returned from Syracuse with my D after enjoying a couple of days of visiting the campus, meeting the faculty of the Summer MT program and best of all attending the final performances put on by the students. Here is the address for the summer college program website: <a href="http://summercollege.syr.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://summercollege.syr.edu/</a> It contains all of the programs and you can drill down to the MT program.
As far as I know, the program is limited to kids entering 11th or 12th grades and all of the students my daughter met were 16 or 17.</p>
<p>Having 6 college credits while attending high school does not transform a student into a transfer applicant under the admissions policies of all colleges I've looked at. A kid still applies as an entering freshman. Most colleges require a year's worth of credits to be considered a transfer. In fact, I very much doubt that the 3 credits each which my D got in Drama 100 Elements of Performance and Drama 200 Basic Acting will be accepted as meeting the mandatory course requirements for a MT or Acting major at any college. My impression from researching websites of many MT and Acting programs is that schools require a student to complete all mandated courses at that school and that even full fledged transfer students have a tough time getting their credits accepted towards the mandated course requirements and usually must start the curriculum from scratch. My understanding is that the credits my daughter received will be accepted as college credits for purposes of electives only and even that could vary from school to school. It was suggested to parents by the director of the Summer College Program that copies of the syllabus for each course be given to a school to facilitate getting the credits accepted.</p>
<p>The final performance was 2 hours in length and was a delight. The students put on pieces from Peter Pan, Alice at the Palace, an original adaptation of The Bacchae and an original piece based on the story of Rapunzel. There were stage combat demonstrations (which were amazingly and at times frightenly realistic) and several students were asked to do vocal solos. Students from the Technical Theatre Program made all of the scenery and props and ran all of the technical aspects of the lighting and stage management. The production values were what you would expect from a top flight college program and all of the kids in the MT Program had a ton of stage time regardless of their specific roles.</p>
<p>So here are some final impressions of the Syracuse program:
1. As with any summer college program, there is a great benefit to being away from home and exposed to the responsibilities and realities of college living. At Syracuse, the summer residential program presented a good balance of independence, responsibility and structure.
2. The MT program was top notch. Taught by Syracuse Drama Dept faculty members, good balance of acting, dance, voice, performance, scene study and academic components of theatre studies.
3. Realistic exposure to the rigors of a BFA major. Classes from 9:00 a. to 4:30 pm with only a half hour for lunch. A few hours a night necessary to do required readings, written assignments and studio work. 12 hour days with only short meal breaks during "tech week" rehearsals for the show for 7 consecutive days including weekends.
4. The opportunity to interact directly and on a daily basis with respected professionals and benefit from their expertise. The opportunity to demonstrate over the course of 6 weeks a student's work ethic and ability to respond to, grow and develop in a college level program. These things are noticed and noted.
5. While the program is demanding and exacting, it is also supportive and nurturing of the developing artist. The over riding philosophy is that theatre is an art that should be a collaborative creative process and not one of self absorbed competitiveness. At the same time, students are very much grounded with the reality that employment in the field is extraordinarily competitive and that they should be prepared with a "Plan B'' so as to not be a "starving artist".</p>
<p>In sum, an extremely worthwhile program. For my daughter, as she has expressed it, "The best summer of my life".</p>
<p>i love syracuse and the MT program there is awesome but the only thing im worried about is the distance between the actual MT classrooms and the actual campus. i visited syracuse in april and i found that it was a long walk from the campus to the actual studios and there wasnt even any snow on the ground. With any classes after dark im not sure i want to be walking that far in the snow and in an OK neighborhood back to my dorm. Is the distance and location ok from the campus or is it too far?</p>
<p>As a current MT, I can say it's not that bad. I live in Boland, where a large number of drama majors live, so it's really only about a 13 minute walk. Some people living in Flint or Day have it worse. Granted, I haven't experienced it in the snow yet, but I can't imagine it being that bad. Also, I'm planning on living off-campus next year, much closer to the theatre. Sophomore drama majors are usually granted permission, so it shouldn't be a problem. I wouldn't let this have an effect on your decision, trust me.</p>
<p>We just visited SU and were told that busses run between Syracuse Stage, where the drama dept is located, and the dorms pretty much round the clock. I am not sure if that's the case in summer ... BrendanN, do you know?</p>
<p>I didn't do the summer program, so I wouldn't know. I do know that if you choose your dorms wisely (Brester, Boland or Brockway) it shouldn't be a problem. I know that we walk whenever possible both because it's not a bad walk at all and it's good to get the exercise.</p>
<p>There are no Syracuse shuttle buses in the summer. Classes end at 4:30, however, so it is not a real issue. The 6 block walk up hill from the theatre building not only is great execise but also takes students past Marshall street where there is a variety of take out restaurants/cafes where students can pick up snacks or dinner. During tech week when the hours went after dark or if there was an optional evening seminar, my daughter had no trouble at all getting a ride with a teaching assistant.</p>
<p>MichaelNKat, did your D like/benefit from the SU summer, precollege program? You mentioned a tech week. I was under the impression (from what I have read on the SU Web site about the summer program) that the program participants don't do a show, per se. So why is there a tech week? Is it because there is some kind of performance(s) at the end of the summer program?</p>