The List: Version 2

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
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<p>First, thank you to everyone who continues to read my posts and for all the advice we've been given. This is such a different experience for us. Our high school counselor has no idea how to guide the kids in any way, so he definitely has no idea about the theatre schools. Our director gives the kids no advice or guidance in this area at all. His big advice is to get core out of the way at a local school and then go on somewhere else. That is exactly what we are trying NOT to do. </p>

<p>As a refresher, my daughter is purely technical. She has an interest in stage management, lighting, and sound. She really isn't interested in costuming, but would be open to pretty much everything else technical. We live in GA, so our theatre schools in state are really limited to just Columbus State. </p>

<p>Academically, she will end her high school career with a GPA in the 3.0-3.3 range. She has taken no AP classes but has some "Advanced" classes. She does have an active 504 for learning issues related to math, ADD, and some visual processing deficits. She took ACT in June and the scores were dismal. She suffers from text anxiety along with all the other 504 issues. She is retaking in September and could do it again, if needed. As such, we are really focusing on conservatory and conservatory-style schools. The goal is as much theatre as possible and as little core (especially math/science) as possible. She is only wanting a BFA, but we do have one non auditioned BA on the list. That, of course, limits us to virtually nothing in GA. Finances are a concern as I am a single mother who is an elementary teacher and will have 2 in college for at least a year and perhaps two years. </p>

<p>We have put schools on the list and pulled them off constantly. I'm really trying to get her to finalize the list so that we can concentrate on finishing the apps and setting up some kind of schedule for interviewing and visiting. I think we have a good mix of schools, but if you see anything we need to reconsider by either adding or deleting, please let me know. I did ask about SCAD earlier in the week, but after research and realizing the school is not accredited, it is off the list. </p>

<p>Out of State:
UNCSA
University of Central Florida
Purchase
Coastal Carolina
Point Park
Webster
Virginia Commonwealth
Shenandoah
Otterbein (new addition after reviewing the program and the course requirements)</p>

<p>In State:
Columbus State (the best we have for theatre but heavy core for BFA)
Valdosta State (non auditioned BFA with heavy core)
West GA (ughh....non auditioned BA...complete and total safety but neither of us wants her here at all!)</p>

<p>We removed Evansville and replaced it with Otterbein. After really looking at the class requirements outside of theatre, we realized that Evansville has just as much core as Columbus State. Otterbein has no math requirements for BFA students, so that pushed it pretty high on the list. </p>

<p>Finally, we have UArts. I am just so torn on this one. I know they give good aid, but I have also been told by quite a few that the aid they give is just not enough. There is still such a gap between being able to afford it and the amount they give. I guess we could try it just to see what happens. </p>

<p>I welcome all thoughts and advice. </p>

<p>Thanks again,
Melanie</p>

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<p>ugadog - I tried to send you a private message re:UArts, but my settings seem to be confused. If you didn’t receive it, let me know, and I will try again.</p>

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<p>Stagemum, I didn’t receive your message.</p>

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<p>I think you made the right call on Evansville. The school has a heavy liberal arts component and is perfect for the kid that wants to get into Yale for an MFA. We dropped Evansville for similar reasons that you did. </p>

<p>Have you looked at Rutgers? We are in-state so not sure what tuition looks like out of state. It might not be great considering I know the in-state tuition is not much different than Purchase would be for us out of state. Even though my daughter is applying there, I haven’t studied class lists much but its my impression that it leans relatively towards a conservatory although not as much as Purchase. We toured the facilities and they seemed pretty good for tech although not quite whatwe saw at Purchase. </p>

<p>And her is one that is maybe really a bit crazy but what about CMU? There is no question it fits every one of your criteria except cost. Contrary to the reputation of the rest of the school, the drama department does not care about your grades. As to cost, it is ridiculously expensive but its a well funded school so you really don’t know what a school might end up doing in terms of funding. </p>

<p>I wish you the best of luck with this. There is certainly demand for passionate tech kids. One of the kids my daughter went to school with this past summer at CMU switched from MT to Tech right at the beginning of the summer program and he’s the one kid thats heard that CMU accepted directly from the summer. Not conditioned on any grades on his high school transcript!</p>

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<p>ActingDad, we have thought about putting CMU on the list. I hesitate to even post that because it just seems so highly unlikely that she would be accepted. My daughter “found” her passion for theatre when she was in 9th grade. By the time this year ends, she will have 21 shows completed, but her director really doesn’t give them the opportunity to design anything on their own. He tells them what he wants and that’s that. She has prompt books and a portfolio, plus she could probably borrow some of the smaller props she has helped create. We have photos of all the shows, but there is very little she has actually designed on her own. On the other hand, if she doesn’t try then we will always be left with the “what ifs.” We are going to talk about it more today. I think I’ll have her decide between an application to UArts or to CMU (very different programs and schools, but financially kind of similar).</p>

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<p>Just a couple of comments about your quest, ugadog99: I second ActingDad’s suggestion that your daughter might want to consider CMU. My impression from speaking with a faculty member at a comparable school is that for tech, they are not looking for kids who have already designed a show–they’re looking for students whom they can TEACH how to design. According to one design/tech department chair, anything in the portfolio that shows creative visual thinking (especially but not exclusively about theater) can be helpful. Many of these programs are actively looking for potential students (and they all say that the odds for post-grad employment are excellent).</p>

<p>Re: Evansville, although the math requirement is a reality, their general education requirements aren’t THAT arduous, guys! One course a semester is about what it adds up to for the BFA (I’m sitting here with the printed curriculum that we picked up at our visit last summer, and I think I’m reading it correctly). The “mathematical thought” requirement can be fulfilled by introductory stats or the course called “mathematical ideas,” which looks pretty unthreatening. For their BS option, you can take more courses outside of theater, obviously. My own S has a diagnosed learning disability affecting math and foreign language, and after talking with a faculty member at our visit there last summer, he was not intimidated by their requirements and in fact is quite interested in the BS degree. Just another perspective from a parent of an acting student who’s not an academic powerhouse. </p>

<p>That wasn’t necessarily aimed at ugadogg or ActingDad–we all have to take schools off the list, and your child is the only one who knows what does or doesn’t fit!–I just wanted to offer a different opinion about that particular school and its curriculum. Don’t rule out Evansville simply based on the general education requirements–at least take a serious look (and try to visit), as it’s a wonderful program.</p>

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<p>Times3, thank you for your opinion on Evansville. Perhaps we should look at the core curriculum a bit further before removing it from the list. The one positive to both Webster and Evansville is both schools come to ThesCon, so she can interview with them at that time. If she is accepted, then we can proceed with visits. In the long run, maybe it makes sense to at least apply to the school and see what happens from there. </p>

<p>Our list seems to change daily. Instead of taking schools off the list, we seem to be adding them. I just had no idea how much there was to this process! </p>

<p>Thanks again!!</p>

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<p>Ugadog99–</p>

<p>I mentioned in another post about a kid who was accepted to CMU for tech based on the summer. Having no idea what distinguishes someone for tech, I asked my daughter about what might have prompted CMU to pick who they did. She’s not privy to what goes on in classes but the one thing she said was of note with respect to kid who was admitted was how passionate he was about the work. I have no idea what the competiion is for tech but 21 shows sounds like a pretty good indicia of passion for the field.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the information, ActingDad. My daughter most definitely has the passion for theatre. She dabbled a tiny bit in performance, but she quickly discovered that her place was in the back or the booth. One reason her grades aren’t as stellar as they could be is the 21 shows, but it’s something she loves. It took a long time for her to find her place all while in the shadow of her highly academically gifted older sister. </p>

<p>As for Evansville, since they come to ThesCon to interview anyway, perhaps we will go ahead and apply. I guess it couldn’t hurt.</p>

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<p>If you have any questions on Coastal, feel free to send me a PM and I can pass it along! I am not a tech major, but I know many who would be happy to answer questions about the program. :)</p>

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<p>Thanks, AlexaMT. I’ll let my daughter know. She may have some questions for you.</p>

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<p>I just want to mention that a lot of the schools that have stellar BFA Acting programs also have wonderful tech programs–but it is not the case across the board so be sure to get feedback on tech if you can. Some schools let students do production and design work starting first year, other great schools do not let any undergrads design or stage manage their productions at all. This may be true of schools with well known MFA programs so it’s something to ask about.</p>

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<p>Madbean, can you let us know about any specific schools that don’t allow undergrads to do design and management? This will be very important for my daughter. If you would prefer private message, that’s fine.</p>

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<p>Hi again ugadog99. </p>

<p>UArts made us a very generous offer. My guess is there were two reasons. First, we were really serious about the school. We visited twice from the west coast and went to an audition 400mi away. Second, it’s an art school and their freshmen grades made my D’s good-but-not-great grades look a lot better. The UArts offer added merit aid to a very reasonable grant. Of course, endowments have shrunk in the intervening 3 years but if your D really likes the school, I imagine it’s worth a try.</p>

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<p>ugadog99, as you’ll likely read on another thread, UCLA does not allow undergrads to take on primary roles in tech on school productions, leaving those few spots for their MFAs. </p>

<p>Anecdotally, a theatre design BFA at CMU told my son that their program has a well defined path of training that starts with the basics and works up, beginning freshman year, but it’s not flexible and doesn’t afford opportunities to do design/stage management until later in one’s UG years, a situation he and his peers found frustrating. I’m only passing along what we were told by a nice young man, so you should ask specific questions to each and every school. If you find this is not correct information, please let us all know because I would hate to give bad info!!</p>

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<p>Madbean, CMU does start with the basics and is not very flexible but CMU management students start working as assistant stage and production managers on graduate and department productions in their sophomore years and they move out of assistant status starting in their junior years. It’s only freshman year when opportunities are limited (well, nonexistent, actually) but starting in sophomore year, students have as much production work as they can handle, given that they have to sleep occasionally. I assume design is the same.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the information, theatremom. I was about to get concerned about CMU. I can see from all the posts that we have a lot of questions to ask our schools.</p>

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<p>Thanks for posting those details, theater mom. One of the great things about CMU is their amazing theatre alumni network and when we were researching for S2 we found many many tech professionals working in NY and Hollywood who were really wonderful about offering an extra helping hand to their fellow CMU-ers. In all, we were so impressed with CMU (who isn’t?) but since the question was asked here about differing policies on participation in productions, I thought I’d share what a kind student had told me. Just one anecdote does not the whole story make.</p>

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<p>The whole college puzzle is like the blind men and the elephant. Which is why I come back here from time to time. I was so grateful to the people who answered my questions and it’s great to be able to return the favor.</p>

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<p>Thank you to everyone who has posted and offered advice. I apologize for being MIA yesterday. Our three year old beagle fell and broke her ankle in two places. Five hours at the emergency clinic and $400 later we have a purple splint with flowers on it and instructions for a new splint in two days! Needless to say, our plans for the day went away. Today we are back to the applications, I hope. </p>

<p>CMU remains at the top of her list, but we are very uncertain on the Early Decision part. I guess it’s a good thing they have an information session in Atlanta next Sunday.</p>