@mamaboyz Sorry to hear that. All I can say is stay positive. Very easy to get out over your skies when the news first comes out. My D is attending Molloy/ CAP21. We were sent an email stating all incoming MT freshmen will be 100% online for the fall with a studio start in January and a summer intensive. Didn’t sit well as the course breakdown for the fall is essentially gen eds and piano / music theory online. No voice or dance or acting, etc.
Fast forward - just sat in on a zoom meeting with the Dean, program director, etc. They actually do have a well thought out plan based on NY’s situation (different phases for NYC and Long Island Campus make it difficult). They shifted some things around to accommodate online learning making sure to keep the must have in person classes in person,just delayed. The whole freshmen yr will be accomplished between spring and summer with gen eds getting knocked out in the fall.
So D won’t get to go away in the fall like all her friends, but she and her cohort will go through this together and have a pretty intense 6 months ending June 30. She’ll fill her fall with local dance and voice lessons, maybe a part time job, etc.
Point being, we feel MUCH better about it today after seeing how well planned out the school is making this. They did repeat the message that we all need to be mentally prepared for changes as new situations arise but they assure a full and outstanding 4 yrs (that’s the focus - not a specific semester). Offered deferment. Only advantage to that, I feel, is eliminating the issues of dealing with a second wave of virus in the winter causing everyone to stop again. Delaying a yr most likely solves that problem assuming vaccines will be available by then. D is not interested in delaying. She’ll deal with it as is.
You may feel better after a thorough review of their plan.
Thank you for your words and advice. We will hold strong till Monday and hear the exact plan. 60% online in a single dorm room doesn’t sound appealing. This crazy year just keeps going on and on. What these kids have been through is INSANE.
I am probably in the minority, but I would be grateful if our college would make a similar announcement and allow for deferments. I have a lot of concerns about sending my kid off to school where they may feel quite isolated doing online courses from an unfamiliar place/masked up in a tiny dorm room! I would prefer that they endure some boredom at home and start college when it can be a better experience. Or I would like it if they would offer the ability to take GenEds online at home like I have heard Cap21 is doing. I know people were upset about their plan but I actually think it sounds good to start as a cohort in January and have that extra intensive time in the summer.
Knowing that primary revenues for many colleges come from their meal plans and housing, it would be hard for them to have to give up those revenues especially many are already struggling financially.
I’m concerned that the ongoing massive scale of protests across the country would cause the number of confirmed cases to soar toward mid/late summer and force more schools to go online in the fall including my D’s school that has already announced about opening their campus in the fall.
But if they have to go online, I second @CBSQandA that I would also prefer my D staying here at home and taking mostly GenEds online.
I can see the benefits of both, but also fear that pushing things out to January, might not change things that much…If there is going to be another spike, it will again probably be in the January time frame. If they end up NOT being able to go in January because of another resurgence, I would worry that they will just keep pushing it out and then what happens with the class of 2025?
There are no easy answers! I am still waiting with bated breath to hear what my daughter’s school is going to do ( University of Utah). They are planning to have them onsite and everything seems to be moving forward. My daughter is in a single and has several good friends going to her program and even has one of them in her suite so I know she will not feel isolated, but I can definitely understand the concern for all else. This just never stops being hard for all involved. :neutral:
Is there a forum/discussion thread for Covid-19 Fall plans? I’d love to see how schools are getting creative and share thoughts with parents about sending students or encouraging them to stay home if learning will be online primarily
@shmyers my daughter is '24 BFA acting, and I’ve followed both the acting and MT forums, though acting more so… but yes there is a “School in the Fall & Coronavirus” forum, I started to follow it a while back and there are hundreds of posts each day it seems, maybe I exaggerate but maybe not… I have only read a few comments/replies on it on and off - for me, I like to learn specifically about performing arts and how schools are proceeding forward, but the forum is there - it’s intense…
You could start a topic here - I’ve been following the one in the Music Major forum and it’s been very interesting. Students doing academic degrees have very different concerns and issues with remote education than students in the performing arts.
we. just finished our move in at BW, they seem very on top of things…everyone wearing masks, the campus is very nice, the small town of Berea is equally nice, classes start this coming MONDAY 8/24, hoping everyone stays healthy, obviously the latest news w UNC, MSU,ND & Ithaca to name a few is very concerning but fingers crossed!! all the BW MT Freshman are here and excited to begin their 4 years together…they came from far and wide, all over the country 12 males, 10 females except one kid from Canada has to do remote this semester, sounds like she cant come in to the US? ill report back when the school is underway but so happy for these kids, exciting times and hopeful we can make it through the semester HEALTHY & in person!
So far so good. Moved our son into Otterbein on Tuesday. They are moving the students in by waves. Freshmen first and majors that are tough to replicate the experience virtually. The students seem to following the protocols the school has been put into place and understand the consequences to not following them. They all want to finish the semester on campus. I am very comfortable with the plan the school has in place. I am just glad he has a handful of classes that will be in person…socially distanced of course. He is more than ready to get to work and create some art. We will continue to keep our fingers crossed.
@NYYFanNowMTdad , I don’t think Ithaca is in the same category as the other schools you mentioned where they went back and are already having parties and positive cases. Ithaca had a plan to return to campus but changed to all remote because of the news coming from other schools that had opened. My son is obviously very sad, but we understand that there is no absolute correct answer and he will make the most of being remote and hope for a spring semester on campus.
So glad to see kids are getting to move onto campuses, and I’m hoping each school is successful with whatever plans they have in place to keep them on campus for the semester. We moved our son to Emerson Monday and it all went smoothly! Each student was tested their day of move in and was required to stay in the dorm room (leaving only to use the bathroom) until test results were received (most were back in about 18 hours)…they will now be tested weekly for the semester. All on campus, and all over in Boston are following protocols, which does my mama heart good (over 1200 test administered for freshman move in and only 2 positives!!) Orientation kicked off today and classes start Monday - all online the first 2 days; then switch to hybrid. I’m crossing my fingers all goes well for these schools and they can keep campuses open until break and into the Spring. For those who were not able to open, I am truly sorry for the disappointment and hope they are able to do so in Jan…they have gotten this far; it’s all still going to work out!!! Sending positive vibes to everyone for a fantastic year!!
@MTSthistime you are correct, I was lumping together the " sent home" but the kids at Ithaca did nothing wrong, I was more referring to the general disappointment the kids who wont be on campus…As a follow up BW tested ~1200 kids and 9 tested positive ( all were asymptomatic) my D has had 3 days of classes with some in person ( socially distant and masks) and some remote- so far so good- fingers still crossed.
Things at Pace are so far going ok for my D. Move-in was quick and easy, dorm room needed some deep cleaning but the facilities department was very responsive. D has ballet and music theory in person, with a small number of students. The rest of her classes are online although she has been given access to a private room (that is well ventilated between users) for her voice lessons. TShe adores her voice and acting teachers so far and is super happy to be in NYC. She and her roommate were tested for COVID last week. NYC folks appear to be continuing the caution- we saw most people wearing masks and keeping distanced. D has reported one instance of seeing too many kids in a common room, but overall she is pleased with the fact that there aren’t too many opportunities for students on the NYC campus to get into trouble. Fingers crossed for all of our kids this semester!
Update: My daughter ended up choosing Northern Kentucky University and is a BFA Musical Theatre student. She loves it! She has great professors and most of her classes are small enough to be in-person. She was able to test into Modern Dance 3 and her Broadway Chorus class has recorded the school’s alma mater to share with the community. Since no stage performances are allowed this fall, the school is having virtual performances live streamed, and they are also hosting these Zoom events with notable alumni:
Sept. 18. Kat Moser and Jacob Priddy: Kat – Off-Broadway run in The Office: A Musical Parody and grad school. Jacob – professional Musical Director in and out of New York City.
Sept. 25. Roderick Justice: Producing Artistic Director of The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati.
Oct. 2. Mikki Abraham: National tours of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and Once on This Island.
Oct. 16. Will Brandstetter: Tour Manager for Mannheim Steamroller and Alton Brown: Eat Your Science tour.
Oct. 23. Aaron Lavigne: Broadway shows; national tour of Jesus Christ Superstar as Jesus.
Nov. 13. Angie Schworer: Broadway shows including The Producers, Catch Me If You Can, The Prom, Something’s Rotten, and more.
I know it’s only a month into school, but I’ve been really impressed so far!
Hi everyone! I hope all is well as our kids are set to embark on the second year of their college MT journey. I’m not sure if anyone will see this message in time, but it’s worth a shot!
My D Olivia (a rising sophomore at NYU Tisch) is a Top 10 finalist in Playbill’s Search for a Star Contest! It’s now up to the public to decide via an online poll which of the finalists will be crowned Playbill’s Next Musical Theatre Star. Since the winner will receive a “career-making grand prize” (Playbill’s words, not mine) I’m doing everything in my power to get out the vote!