<p>about grades/ audition…to be completely honest about acceptance to dept/university… i kind of found out in my audition that i had been acceptedto syracuse. after i auditioned, the auditioner who now teaches my into to theatre course had made it pretty clear i had been accepted…</p>
<p>there are 3 other freshman acting majors here at Syracuse (that i heard) that found out in their audition like i had. some people were notified through phone calls in march and some people didnt find out till a letter closer to april.</p>
<p>to go to syracuse bfa you HAVE to be accepted to the school AND the dept like most schools…however with that said…i guess what this means is that syracuse drama has alot pull and say with the admission dept where they can get off saying this to people. however i think this is true of other similer schools, cmu umich ccm boco…Boston Univeristy Drama i KNOW, just from stories, has a BIG say in the admission desicion acadmically…</p>
<p>so… dont NOT audition for a school becuase u dont think u have the grades, from my last post above i clearly didnt really have the best grades for syracuse…</p>
<p>however, in my writing class that all freshman have to take i feel SO comfortable and it is a lot of work but i dont find it UNBERABLY CHALLENGING (lol as i make 83948783 spelling errors …ahhh) it is as challenge like it should be…but managable, on our midyear reports i am doing very well in the class…college academics are so different from high school bc i acctually (as bad as his sounds…) WANT to learn and care about what im studying… dont ‘tell’ a college you arent ‘smart’ enough by not applying…let them tell you that in their admission desicion…dont give up.</p>
<p>…i hope i answer ur questions…let me know if u have any others… best of luck everyone! <333</p>
<p>Hey theatre people-
Make sure to go to the “art acceptances” thread and post your good news. Us artsy-fartsy types need to stick together.
Afterall CC is not just about HYP right?</p>
<p>My son is finally asking himself the ‘big questions’ re: where he should apply. He is concerned about the general reputation of the school if, some day, he has to give up his pursuit of a career in theater. I am curious, how do graduate programs other than MFA programs react to graduates from stand-alone conservatories? Obviously, everybody has heard of Juilliard, so I suspect that a law or MBA program will view that BFA degree in a positive light. However, though NCSA has a great reputation in theater, I never heard of it before my son indicated an interest in theater. What happens when a graduate of a program like NCSA applies, say five years down the road, to a career changing grad. program?
Any insight? I asked a similar question months ago, but it was not about stand-alone conservatories, but conservatories connected to universities with good reputations beyond their theater program (i.e., BU, NYU). I apologize, as this is a tough question. We are not confessing that our ambition for a career in theater is in question. We are just thinking long-term and making sure that we do not eliminate future options.</p>
<p>Great question, Brian. Yes, those of us in theater know about NCSA. But people who are not involved in the arts generally great mention of it with a big blank “Huh? What’s that?” Your question made me wonder how a graduate of, say, NCSA who decides to go to law school would fare in admissions up against someone who came from (for instance) BU. I guess it might all come down to how well the student did on his LSATs. Anyone venture an opinion?</p>
<p>I am a bit out of my realm of knowledge here… but I will venture
…
The only trouble I could see with going to a “stand-alone” conservatory (or a conservatory connected to a university where the students do not take many classes outside of their major) is that a student may not have the pre-reqs required for some graduate programs. So, a student may end up taking a year of pre-req course work before being able to apply to the graduate program. This of course might also be the case if a student goes to a more “college based” program and has not taken the pre-reqs for a particular program. </p>
<p>This was the case for a few of my friends who choose to apply to graduate school in drama therapy, business, education, and (of course) medical school. However, this may have been the specific programs requirements, not blanket requirements to study in these fields at all schools.</p>
<p>In terms of reputation of conservatory – I am not sure that a law school (since that was what you mentioned above) would care if an applicant had gone to Julliard instead of NCSA. They might be more interested in BU or NYU grads… but if the LSAT scores are high enough it may not matter.</p>
<p>KatMT: You are certainly right about MBA admission requirements. But a BFA student would likely be in a similar position as a Hitory and Literature major; that is, they too would have to take some basic Calculus/Statistics, Economics, and Accounting classes.
I also suspect, as you do, that a BFA from, say, University of Connecticut will have an edge over a BFA from NCSA.</p>
<p>I asked an active CCer some time ago whether FSU cuts in its BFA acting program. The response re: MT students; many are on probation, but few are cut. The policy on retention is a ‘scary’ read, but students are not on edge like in other programs. I was wondering whether anyone else is familiar with FSU’s cutting practices. By ‘cut’ I mean ousting students for reasons other than grades, attendence, and behavior/disposition. Can cut students move into the BA Theater program, as is the policy of many programs. I also posted this question on the MT thread. We are anxious to find out ASAP, because we need to decide whether to take the long trip to Talahassee. We are not avoiding programs that cut, but ‘cutting policies’ is a criteria in our selection of programs.</p>
<p>My D will be auditioning in January at Marymount Manhatten for BA in theatre performance. It seems from what I am reading that choice of monologue is very important whereas I was thinking that interpretation of the monologue would be the most important. Now we are rethinking her choice which is a play published in the last 5 to 8 years and was Off Broadway. Any ideas of what MMC likes to see in their auditions?</p>
<p>My husband and son are right now visiting NCSA for an Open House Program. I sent them with the question about “academics” and the related question about admission to graduate schools in areas other than MFA-Arts. They JUST called, and here is the report: NCSA does have “adademic” requirements for the BFA acting program, and the math, English, history, etc. courses are taught right on the NCSA campus. I don’t have the details about the extent of offerings or the teachers of these subjects, but I supposed these can be obtained on-line. Also–many of NCSA graduates go on to graduate programs, not only in the arts, but also in many other fields, sometimes right after graduation and sometimes after a career in theater, dance, or whatever. These students are VERY attractive to all graduate programs, as they STAND OUT. They can relate to others, and they can communicate. They are well-read and are hard workers. A BFA degree from this “stand-alone” conservatory does NOT seem to be limiting, but instead, may enhance the desireability of the student who is a graduate.</p>
<p>And, by the way, my husband and son are quite impressed with the campus and the facilities. Everything is beautiful (including the weather!), architecturally interesting, and state-of-the-art. They can’t wait for the official tour and to see a show tonight.</p>
<p>letsfigureitout: Ok, now my S is interested. I am curious. USWNews reports that NCSA (school-wide, and not drama) has a retention rate of 75% after the first year and graduates less than 60 %. Is this data distorted by the fact that the data may include HS students who spend their senior year there and then move on? Do a lot of people leave for various reasons? Do they cut? Thanks for responding to my previous note. Beautiful time to be in NC. I went to school in Durham for a year and thought that NC had the greatest weather; four seasons, with winter cut short.</p>
<p>Briansteffy,
I posted this on the MT forum as well in the hopes that you would find it quickly. Our retention is very good. The most frequent reason for a student to leave a program is that they realize that a BFA program is not right for them. An acting program is very rigorous and time consuming. because your class performance often impacts that of another student it comes with a great deal of responsibility. It’s a very different college experience than that of a business or biology major, for instance.</p>
<p>All students in the BFA programs jury sophomore, junior & senior years. Juries are part of the feedback process for the program and they are a very important part of communicating with students regarding their areas of growth. BFA students are busy This is a time carved out for each student every year to perform their work in front of all the faculty in their area and receive feedback that will hopefully help them see their next level of development and reach towards it. The intention is not punitive in nature. One thing I will say is that each of our BFA programs are very small in size and very collaborative in nature. The students tend to cohese as a class. If a student loses their drive to excel in their field, it can be detrimental to the collaborative work that is done by the students in their performance classes. Occasionally a student will be redirected to the BA program, usually for this reason. This is not common and if someone wants to know exactly hom many, please PM or e-mail me.
Acting and MT each have different terms they use for jury results. For MT, once you have “passed” your jury in an area, you have reached BFA proficiency and don’t have to jury in that area again. Probationary means progressing on track (meeting developmental goals.)
For Acting, a pass means progressing on track. If you fail your jury once, you are given feedback and you re-jury the next semester. Students almost always pass when they re-jury. If you fail your acting jury twice consecutively, you are dismissed from the BFA program. Once again, not common but it does happen every once in a while.</p>
<p>I hope this helps, but if anyone has questions, it’s probably best to contact me directly.</p>
<p>Hi all, rookie poster here…My d attended a college fair/audition in Louisville last week and at the “call-backs” that followed auditions, she was told on the spot that she was accepted to: CCM, U of OK, Stephens, Evansville and about 10 other state or small schools. I had to go back and ask the CCM rep because I didn’t expect a decision THAT day. I"m still confused. These schools will be seeing many more students over the next few months, yet they are able to commit already? There were 4 other students accepted for CCM alone. I wondered if the CCM and U of OK drama programs are less selective than their MT? I mean, I think my d is amazing and so did they, but I’m realistic enough to know it shouldn’t be that easy??</p>
<p>WOW–that sounds fantastic for your D!!! It will make the next few months a little easier. We have heard that some schools (CCM being one) will tell some students that they are “in” right after the audition.</p>
<p>Brian–I don’t know the answer to your questions. Those data on NCSA retention are scary. (Are there similar numbers for all the schools?) I talked with my husband and son this evening, after they attended the Open House program, toured the campus, and sat in on a class. They said that about 30 drama students are admitted into the freshman class (a little larger than most. . .) and they are split into smaller groups for instruction (15ish). They get “1,000’s of applications,” just like the other top conservatories. My husband and son listened closely for any hint of a “cut” policy; there was no indication that NCSA accepts a large class with the intention of deliberately reducing the size prior to graduation. My son was very impressed with the instruction in the class he attended. They saw a show tonight, and, again, they were QUITE impressed. Just reporting their impressions. . .sounds like a “keeper!”</p>
<p>letsfigureitout: A 75% return rate of first year students is quite common. Many colleges have a similar rate. A 56% graduation rate is also quite normal. Again, it’s typically the top-ranked LACs and national universities that have, say 93% return and 85% graduation rates.
For Comparison (these are college-wide data):
Evansville: 80% return, 60% graduation
Purchase: 75% return, 49% graduation (latter is a pretty low percentage)
Juilliard: 94% return, 80% graduation
University of the Arts: 81% return, 58% graduation</p>
<p>All4FSU. Thanks for the Info. We communicated earlier about scheduling an audition. I have the person’s name and number.</p>
<p>mommalin: I am curious, did Univ. of OK have D’s academic stats. I ask this because their web site says that applicants have to meet minimal requirements (SAT/class standing, GPA) to get into the Univ. as an out-of-state resident, regardless of audition.</p>
<p>I can’t speak in regard to whether or not the U. of Oklahoma drama department is less selective than their MT program, but I can speak in regard to CCM. I live in greater Cincinnati, my D studied at CCM’s Preparatory Department for many years, and I worked as an accompanist for CCM’s Pre-professional ballet program. I am very familiar with both CCM drama and MT. The MT program is considered to be much more selective than the drama program. However, the drama department is well-regarded and your D should be very pleased to have been offered an acceptance on the spot. CCM uses a rolling admission policy for both their MT and drama programs. Students are usually notified in regard to their acceptance status within 2 weeks of their auditions. One point you may not be aware of is that at CCM both MT students and straight acting students are taught by the same drama instructors. Casting in productions is usually delineated by major; that is, MT students are normally only cast in musicals and drama students are usually only cast in straight plays.</p>
<p>Interesting. . .Does that mean that you have a better chance of an acceptance to CCM if you audition early, since the “slots” might be filling up by the time February rolls around?</p>
<p>thank you so much for this input! we are tying to decide whether to chose from the acceptances we already have or go as planned to the unifieds in chicago.</p>
<p>about ccm…i’m glad to know about the casting as daughter has done MT and it would be nice if she were able to cross-over, but straight drama is her love. she just wants a program that will train her well, have a good repuation and help give her exposure when she graduates. so there’s no “stigma” to being a ccm drama student as opposed to MT student? they are still considered selective?</p>
