<p>I'm currently a high school senior who has been accepted into both BFA programs and now find myself torn on which to attend. </p>
<p>TCU has been my first choice since I auditioned and it's closest to home. The department head has come forth with enough money to make it a real possibility, which proves to me how serious they are about my attending. There are also numerous local theaters in the DFW area where I could audition if I happened to have "free-time." Though I do not worry about the teaching abilities of the faculty, I do worry that they are not "well-known" enough for directors in the real world to take notice. However, does that sense of "popularity" really matter in the theater world? I've seen many professional actors go to small colleges, so I tend to assume that where you end up attending doesn't matter - it truly is about the talent.</p>
<p>On the other hand, OU has a well-known program and I love that they introduce their actors into the film world as well as the theater world. The campus is beautiful, although the weather can turn violent quickly, as I've found out. I have not received an academic award and I will not hear about theater scholarship offers until after the May 1st signing deadline. $28,000 a year with no help is more than we are currently anticipating. </p>
<p>I would just like any information about either university or program that might help me make my decision. Thanks!</p>
<p>Don’t you qualify for any academic scholarships at OU? When we were looking there, we found that although they wouldn’t give any concessions to out of staters for tuition technically, what they did was bump up the scholarship award for out of staters for the same level of achievement to pretty much make up the difference and it was very affordable, comparable to going to an instate school for us. My daughter was a fairly good student but not tippy top academically by any means, but she did qualify for decent money. Maybe they’ve tightened up requirements.</p>
<p>BTW congratulations - those are both hard to get into programs and TCU doesn’t give money to everyone. You did yourself quite proud. </p>
<p>You couldn’t go wrong with either program - both have great attributes - check into the academic monies at OU if you haven’t. TCU is not as well known outside of Texas perhaps but it has an excellent reputation. They are both great. I’d be torn too, if I were you. Not helpful, huh…lol. Perhaps once you get the money pretty close to nailed down, you might make a chart comparing side by side all the stuff like showcases, teaching approaches, etc etc etc. and talk to some kids in the programs currently, to help reach a decision. I think with two programs of that caliber it might boil down to preference. </p>
<p>TCU <em>does</em> have a quidditch team…we loved both schools.</p>
<p>I think we’ve pretty much decided on TCU. We just love that it’s a smaller school with a smaller theater department. They typically accept 20 freshman actors, yielding to 10 in the end - 5 male, 5 female - whereas OU accepts 28 freshmen actors, most of whom accept. Everything just seems to be working out in TCU’s favor now. I’m leaving it in God’s hands and hoping for the best. </p>