Anyone familiar with this program and have an opinion? I believe that there’s an MT BFA in addition to BAs in Acting, Directing, Design/Prod, MT, and Theater Education, some by audition.
Any thoughts on academic and/or merit scholarships? I believe it’s a public university? Also, what’s the campus like (urban? suburban? campus-y?)–do most students live on campus vs nearby apartments?
Anything else I’m forgetting to ask?
Thanks!
We live outside of Philly, one of my D’s friends is in the Temple MT BFA program - he is the first “class” in this new program. The program actually has evolved over the years so while not really new - the BFA MT program is new. We saw him a few weeks ago and asked him if he liked it - he said it was “OK” - and was fairly happy with the program, but he felt because it was so new there were some “bugs” to be worked out. He also felt like the incoming class seemed fairly large and wondered how that would affect class structure,etc. I asked him if he was going to transfer and he said he is staying put. I can tell you Temple is very urban - Temple has some very nice (and newer) student housing, but many students do choose to live off campus. Temple is not in the best neighborhood HOWEVER, it is getting better. There is a very big push in Philly to clean up the Broad Street corridor and that is moving towards Temple. Temple is a top notch school - but you just have to remember it is in a city - no different then BOCO, NYU, Pace etc.
@LBSMOM thank you so much for your information!
@lovetoact when my d went through this it seemed like a lot of people who were from ny or Boston area seemed to be drawn Temple and U arts. Temple is a highly sought out school for all majors and people love it. That being said Temple is at North Broad. It’s a terrible part of the city. The area is nothing like where NYU is or where BoCo is. But. It’s not far from Center City which is awesome and Temple’s campus is self contained
UArts students (who are in Center City, which is a cool, awesome area, as ducky said) are advised to be extremely careful if they venture to the Temple area or to just avoid it. However, it’s supposed to be fine within the campus. My family and I went to a movie right next to the campus; it wasn’t the nicest, and I doubt we’ll go again, but it was ok.
I know a student there (not in theatre) who feels safe on campus (but not so much in a lot of areas right off it, though) and is quite happy at the school. It does seem that she doesn’t get around the city as much as UArts students do, but that’s just one person; I don’t think one can generalize that to mean that all Temple students stick to the campus more. (She’s extremely busy with a sport, as well, so I bet that has something to do with it, too.)
My S applied and was accepted to Temple (but eventually chose another program). Impressions: apply early and audition early. Merit is generous for those who have high GPA and SAT but only if you apply before December. Late applicants after a walk in who had higher GPA/SAT got little to no money. As for safety of campus, we thought the campus itself was incredibly safe, lively, and with a ton of great vibe. As for the surrounding area, it is a city and as long as your kid is sensible, there’s no problem. As for the program, it has lots of potential and the program heads seemed great, knowledgable, and willing to train the kids to their maximum potential. Definitely a work in progress though with some kinks to work out.
Thank you!
I live close to Temple. There are many areas of Philly that are much safer. Although the area strictly around the school itself is fairly safe, Temple is in a high crime rate area. There is no getting around that.
However, you can go to the school there quite happily as long as you’re sensible. I know of many students from around here who go there. It is not quite a traditional campus per se; it’s more embedded within the city. As they get older, all the students I know live in apartments off campus. In my opinion, Philly itself is a vibrant, alive city, with an active arts scene and a lot of diversity.
As far as the program, I can’t speak to the new one. However, Temple is well connected to the Philly acting scene. It’s especially strong for those who want to build their career regionally in the strong Philly market. I definitely second @MomofMTBoy 's tips on early applications for merit scholarships.
Thank you!