<p>My S is a realist (thank God) and in addition to auditioning for a few of the "ivies" he has applied to many of what are called the "second tier." (I prefer "Best of the Rest"). However, there are probably a lot of differences between programs at this level too. Does anyone have any direct experience with some of the MT programs in this group? In our area (midwest) these include Illinois Wesleyan, Stevens Point, Viterbo, Drake, North Central, Milliken. In some cases, S has liked these programs better than the Ivies we visited (felt more welcome and wanted!) Would love to hear other thoughts - maybe from some of you fellow lurkers out there....</p>
<p>Baymom--
I don't have any info to help you, but maybe you could help some of us by giving information that you do have about the best of the rest that you and your S have visited. You say he liked some of these better than some of the Ivies--why, specifically?
Thanks!</p>
<p>I know a senior whos at Millikin right now. He went to my high school (Im the only one so far who'll be going into MT after him) and I was in Cabaret with him this summer. He played the MC and was outstanding, Ive never seen better, so im pretty sure the training there is top notch. Millikin is known for its fine arts. Also they are very generous with their merit scholarships, I got 34000 for all 4 years. I was blown away when i heard that cause at my school im pretty much only and average student. But Millikin would be as good of a choice as other schools.</p>
<p>I think Peggy, who posts here sometimes, has a D that attends Millikin. Peggy, are you there?</p>
<p>The one day I don't read CC, and you all decide to talk about Millikin!</p>
<p>D is a second semester freshman, and absolutely loves it! The classes are small, and the students are extremely supportive of each other (something she did not have among the musical students in high school). The MT freshman hang out together, to the point of having a student-organized gift exchange at Christmas. Over the winter break (3.5 weeks), they set up a message board and stayed in touch. (Mostly about how much they missed college!) D goes on and on about how much she has learned, and how much she has improved. There are many opportunities for performance. Even if you don't get a part in the "main" performance, there are many student-directed shows. Plus, as freshman, there is always tech work that needs to be done!</p>
<p>The staff is Millikin is awesome. I have talked to many of them, and they have bent over backwards for us. Starting with getting D admitted in three days to getting her in the Honor's program well after the deadline to answering dozens of questions regarding the financial aid situation to talking to a freshman mother who wanted to make sure a press release went to our newspaper announced the Dean's List. I have no doubt that if I called with any question or problem, someone would help me.</p>
<p>As for financial aid, that is also great. Millikin runs about $26,000 a year. When she was accepted, she was given $10,000 a year merit scholarship. It's a long story about her and the Honor's program, but after all was said and done, she is now on 50% scholarship, and will be as long as she keeps a 3.4 gpa.</p>
<p>Millikin has an audition BFA program and a non-audition BA program. According to D, she can't tell the difference yet, and the teachers do not necessarily know who is BA and who is BFA.</p>
<p>And on a side note, she has the opportunity to minor in Dance. Even after 14 years of ballet, the ballet class still challenges her. And this semester, she gets to be a TA (teacher's assistant) in Jazz I :)</p>
<p>As for whether or not it will prepare her enough for a professional job, we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, she's happy there.</p>
<p>Peg</p>
<p>Thanks, Peggy, for the update on Millikin. We had a good visit there last summer. Really nice people and I thought the campus was charming. S was not sold on Peoria though. Does Stephanie like it? It seems like a lot of these programs in the Midwest are in small towns and not real close to the "big city."<br>
We have had such great visits (some auditions) at Stevens Point, Viterbo, North Central and Illinois Wesleyan. All have had their successful grads yet aren't high profile. I think S may be happier at one of these schools and have a lot of performance opportunities. But I wonder if the training will be good enough to make him competitive. It's so agonizing. Then again, Point only accepts 7 and Viterbo takes 8 so they aren't very easy to get into either and we shouldn't take them for granted. I guess the only true safety is the non-audition program!</p>
<p>(whisper . . . Millikin is in Decatur, not Peoria)</p>
<p>And Stephanie is not thrilled with Decatur as a city. On the other hand, with no car, she only knows a small area around the campus!</p>
<p>Will it make her competitive? Who knows! Is it as good as CMU or CCM? No. But she says she has learned a lot, just in one semester. One thing they told the parents at orientation was there is something called Midwest Theater Auditions. It used to be that all the Millikin theater kids auditioned there, but some of the other colleges started getting upset because all the parts seem to go to Millikin kids. So now a limited number of students can audition. At least that's what we were told. And to me, that is a good sign.</p>
<p>At this point, we have quit questioning ourselves and the decisions we made.</p>
<p>Peg</p>