<p>When my son was a junior in high school, I took him and his sister to visit my alma mater- Florida State University. The school has the best college theatre department in the state. I had scheduled and confirmed a tour with a person in the theatre department. We drove two and a half hours to get there and when we arrived, the person with whom I had confirmed our visit through phone calls and e-mails was NOT EVEN THERE! I could not believe it! I walked around the department and finally got someone to show us around. He turned out to be the dean of the department. He was nice but he also said that kids who are not in the theatre department and even people in the community are allowed to audition for shows. My kids looked at me as if to say- ***? They also didn’t love the facility. All that, coupled with the fact of the mis-communication totally turned my kids off to that school! Of course, neither of my kids wanted to attend school in state and neither wanted to go to a school where so many of their classmates went. This mis-communication gave them a great excuse! Still, it burned me up that the person wasn’t there as she gave me NO clue that she wouldn’t be there. Believe me, I sent her a note afterwards!</p>
<p>This is kind of fun!</p>
<p>See, my D LOVED LOVED LOVED the CMU campus. It was her ideal school - classic academic buildings with green space on a rise overlooking a bustling city. I think she thought she liked the program better than she actually did, just because she loved the campus tour so much. She has just enough geek and just enough joe-college in her that it felt perfect.</p>
<p>But she also liked and applied to a few fairly remote LACs, because they appealed to another side of her personality. We had all kinds of experiences with staff, tour guides, etc. And she came within a hair’s breadth of attending a school she’d never actually visited, although she knew the area well and would have been taking a very reasonable chance (she decided against it based on program).</p>
<p>We also had multiple application and admission snafus at one school - it left us both with a bad taste in our mouth, although it’s probably a very nice place to go. Those little details really make or break this process. The school she does attend has a terrific theatre department administrator/secretary/“Mom to all” who definitely made us feel things were under control and information and support were dependable. It was a big selling point, especially for a parent!</p>
<p>My husband went to CMU and I visited him there quite frequently. We loved the campus and the surrounding area. There are some beautiful old homes, mansions really, on Forbes Ave. Shadyside is a nice walk away with fun stores and great restaurants. We always felt it had the benefits of a big city without all the negatives because it’s small enough. The weather can be crappy though!</p>
<p>Just for the record, my son was thrilled with NYU/Tisch when he initially visited. He loved what he heard from a student who talked to us about the theatre program, and he loved the big city vibe.</p>
<p>However, after he was accepted (an exciting day!) and had received his studio placement, we visited the studio, and it was a different experience. To him, that particular studio (housed on several floors of a building that was its historic home, I believe, but not identified on the outside as even having a studio in it) seemed cramped and dark and cheerless, and the people we saw and talked to about it were not able to convince him that he would be able to find the level of warmth and supportiveness he desired in a program.</p>
<p>Fortunately, he had a couple of other acceptances and ended up attending a school where he has been very happy.</p>
<p>5boys - Before you knock USC off your son’s list I’ll share our experience with you. When we took the general college tour there we were very uncomfortable with the level of “rah-rah” that was going on. Every time our tour guide saw someone she knew instead of saying “Hi, how you doin’?” they held up two fingers and said, “Fight on!” which was way too weird for us. Plus they spent far too much time talking about sport rivalries and sports in general. Then we went on our Theatre tour and it was a whole different situation. It was calmer, “quirkier,” the kids greeted each other in a more typical manner, etc. Much more our speed. In the end it wound up as my daughter’s second choice but you would never have known if we didn’t take the Theatre tour. Just a thought.</p>
<p>CMU - my daughter spent a night there and so totally disliked the kids attitudes that she wiped it off her list. They were arrogant, nasty, and competitive with each other. There were eating disorders that the staff was trying to address. The whole atmosphere was something she was not interested in pursuing.</p>
<p>NYU was never even in her sights even though she would have a guaranteed admission given who we are. She wanted out of the city (we live there), she wanted a real campus, and she felt it was too much like a factory.</p>
<p>To each his own, there are plenty of colleges and programs to go around, find the one that fits your child.</p>
<p>“NYU was never even in her sights even though she would have a guaranteed admission given who we are.”</p>
<p>Okay- I’ll bite- what do you mean by that? Is your daughter a well-known Broadway, tv, or film star? How do you know she would have had a guaranteed admission?</p>
<p>I’m laughing a little bit on the inside at all who said Purchase was so isolated and small; I grew up in a town MUCH smaller and more isolated than Purchase (and the weather was much worse, I assure you).</p>
<p>Fun and giggles aside, I’m a firm believer in knowing whether or not this is the school for you. It was love at first sight for me and my sister (not a theatre major, but a high school senior) when we saw our prospective schools.</p>
<p>5boys, I was chuckling at your reaction to the USC opening football game. Oh my. Let me suggest that that is not the place to find the funny, quirky, indie type theatre kids that go to USC. Or the film kids. Or the music kids. Or the… well, you get the drift. Some do like the rah-rah, I would imagine. But… It’s a large university with 17 distinct schools. On that day when you were watching the hoopla, my S2 (a theatre major at USC) and his theatre major buddies were away from campus doing a project for one of their theatre classes. I asked him: didn’t you realize there was a game going on at the coliseum? He said, “Oh yeah. Somebody mentioned that I think.”</p>
<p>From what we learned with S1 (who was determined to attend one particular program at one school from early HS age), even a poor campus visit/tour could not derail his determination. He just knew that was where he was going to go. Fortune smiled. He was admitted. And, in fact, my kid knew himself very well. He was super happy with his school, his major, and campus when he attended–which all turned out to be a million times better than the tour or tour guide. But he had the sort of personality that did not need a hothouse. Some kids bloom where they are planted, and I was a lucky mom to get one. 
He admitted that had he gone to any other school on his list–even the safest of the safeties–he had no doubt he would have thrived there too.</p>
<p>You cant judge USC on football opening day!!! D was at a small collage in LA and was unhappy and really wanted USC , she went on one of the scheduled tour/transfer days I/a think a Fri afternoon by herself, toured dept and met dep head, was advied what to do for transfer/audition etc . She followed the advice auditioned the following Feb in LA and although she decided and told them at that she didnt want BFA she decided on BA it all went well</p>
<p>I visited University of Evansville, and I was pretty impressed with their theater department. I really felt like the students were happy and felt lucky to be there. When I sat in a class, the professor was extremely personal, even with me. They treated me as if I was already a student in the class. I was able to participate in improv and in preparing a monologue. I’m sure there are many colleges that allow this, but the attitude of the whole program was just really positive and encouraging. I also had a chance to speak with the Head of Department as well, and he was fantastic! We spoke for about an hour. He went over the basics and then we both discovered that he knew my instructor at my old conservatory, and he only had excellent comments about the old program I was in.</p>
<p>Of course, there were minor things that turned me off of the college, but hey, what school is perfect? For example, the town of Evansville is very dull. Not necessarily boring, but old and worn down, which was a major turn-off. The campus, in general, is nice. Very small. If I had to estimate, the campus would be on 2-blocks. That’s not bad, though, just definitely the smallest campus I have visited. The largest turn-off was the price-tag; $40,599, which included room and board. I know this is going to be the price of almost any private university, but I need both the vibe from the program and the college as a whole. The program was phenominal! I have only positive comments about that. The campus was nice, but small. Evansville, the city, was not my favorite.</p>
<p>I plan on visiting again when auditions come along. I loved the program, and ultimately, that well be the deciding factor. I recommend visiting if you are wanting a college with a superb program, but also with some liberal arts requirements-which involves more wiggle room. Some people aren’t looking for that, but if you are or even if you aren’t, I’d go visit.</p>
<p>Chasie… My H is a n alum of University of Evansville. He grew up in Evansville and HATED it there. He thought the University was beautiful and he got a great education there, but left to come out to So Cal as soon as he could. I have never been there, but in my mind it is the way you described it. My H has down played Evansville for so long that my DS wouldn’t touch Uof E with a ten foot pole…LOL!</p>
<p>Madbean… really glad to hear that. I had to laugh because I can’t believe someone could have little idea that that game was going on…it was insane!! It is realy hard to get over the “University of Spoiled Children” reputation that has been around So Cal for so long. I know USC is doing amazing things and doesn’t really have that reputation anymore, but it kind of lived up to that reputation in my mind this past weekend. I 100% agree with you that I think my kids will be bloom wherever they are planted and will thrive regardless… and it was just 1 visit. We will go back soon for an official visit of the theater dept.</p>
<p>I had to bump this thread up because I had to laugh at my USC first impressions. As predicted, my DS wasn’t thrilled with the school as a whole… but only real big turn off was the surrounding area, not the actual school so much, but he LOVED, LOVED the theater department after a theater tour. He will be applying and auditioning for a BFA in the fall. He could not stop talking about it and he felt at home instantly. So there ya go…LOL!!</p>
<p>5boys, too funny! What a blast from the past. 
I’m sure where ever your DS decides to attend, he’s gonna be a star. Glad he liked it.</p>
<p>5boys, we have 3 kids from our community heading to USC in the fall (studying music and creative writing), and they’re all cool, gifted, creative kids–that school has to be doing it right to attract these students. I’ll be so interested to follow your son’s story!</p>
<p>Thanks guys…LOL! But really, USC impressed us both. It is a great program…both BA and BFA. My S is excited because he just got accepted to Northwestern’s Theater Cherub summer program. I think it will make or break his decision on the BFA vs BA decision. Wish him luck on the decision… it is a hard one…</p>
<p>5boys, From my own experience I would say some kids don’t make that decision until the very last possible moment. And it may depend on which particular BA and BFA options they have. My D was sure she was BFA all the way until it was decision time. She has added two minors to her theater major and is loving her classes and her extracurricular activities that I am not sure she would have had time for in a BFA program so it’s been a good choice for her. But in hindsight, if we had known she would ultimately choose a BA we would have encouraged her to widen her BA net. The BAs were always the fallback position and given the riskiness of the BFAs she decided to apply to BAs very conservatively. The result was all acceptances and a pile of merit $$ which was good! But she may have had a chance at some of the reachy schools that she knocked off her list. We will never know. Not that SLC and Muhlenberg and Lawrence are academic lightweights. And Muhlenberg has been a great fit for her. She has done well academically with less stress than she may have found elsewhere. And that has given her breathing room to be very busy with theater and other ECs. But the grass is always greener… And sometimes she thinks about her friends are more “prestigious” schools and wonders if that would have been a better route.</p>
<p>Anyway, just a few thoughts for you to ponder. The one thing I do know is that all these kids land somewhere they can thrive because they bring so much with them wherever they go. They are like plants that bring their own fertilizer.</p>
<p>^I agree with LeftofPisa re: not making a premature decision about BA vs. BFA programs. My son felt inclined toward a BFA–and he is heading to one in the fall–but he applied to quite a few BA programs too, for a couple of reasons. One: we knew how common it is for seniors (and college students) to change their minds and discover new directions that interest them. It seemed crucial to leave time and room for him to explore different programs and be sure about what he wanted to pursue. Two: the CC maxim “there’s no such thing as a safety audition program” meant that he needed some non-auditioned programs in his mix, some (not all) of which were BAs. Because he took the time to compare and really think about the different programs, I feel okay about sending him off to a highly structured BFA next fall, knowing it was chosen thoughtfully and not out of stubbornness or devotion to something he envisioned back when he was 16 years old. During this process, we really stuck with the same approach we took with our older kids (who attended liberal arts colleges, one as a BA theater major): it’s college, not vocational school, and you need to explore a range of options and be sure you are giving yourself the best chance at finding a good place to spend your next four years.</p>
<p>One other note: as this year went on, my son found himself coming up with different game plans depending on where he ended up being accepted. If he had gone to one of his BA programs (auditioned, but with lots of core curriculum requirements) he was strongly considering getting teaching accreditation, as it was a good program at that school; another place offered great opportunities for studying psych; yet another seemed to provide a good direction for stage combat; and so on. So rather than imagining a narrow, specific path and praying he got into a program that provided it, he decided to keep his plans a bit more open-ended in hopes of “blooming where he’s planted.” As things turned out, he was planted where he hoped to be all along, but he was pretty much ready for anything! :)</p>
<p>My D was very similar to Times3’s S, I think. There are some kids who absolutely want professional training and will take a gap year, re-audition, not go to college at all, if they don’t get into the “right” BFA. For the rest of these kids, there are many options that might end up suiting them. My D knew she needed all of senior year to find out where she could be accepted and what was important to her. She made sure she had enough of everything on her list to give her as many choices as possible. She had reach-match-safety BAs that all were reasonable options for her needs. She had more and less selective auditioned programs, and she had one non-auditioned BFA that was an academic safety.</p>
<p>I’m not saying everyone should have a list like this. In many ways her choice at the end was very hard, because she was rejected by pretty much all of her reaches, including her very favorite programs, and everywhere else seemed to need a lot of weighing of priorities - to the point of being somewhat overwhelming. I often said she was like two people applying to colleges, with two lists of 6-7 schools (auditioned and non-auditioned, BA and BFA). But for her, going through the process was a great learning experience, as has been the route she chose - which ultimately had to be a leap of faith, anyway.</p>
<p>Luckily my S is the type of kid who can see himself in a wide range of schools… and if I have learned nothing else from these theater threads, is to apply to a wide range of schools. I think for my S, it is deciding what type of setting he likes the best, as he is drawn to a smaller schools initially, and most BFA’s are in bigger schools in urban settings. He has decided he isn’t going to apply to any safety non-auditioned BFA programs, as he says he will be happy at one of his BA safeties instead. His plan of attack now is to apply to BFA’s( but most of these are pretty competitive), and a wide range of BA’s( most if these are not super competitive) and make a decision after all results are in. He is also considering a gap year, as his brother is on one now and has has an extremely positive experience. A lot of stuff to think about and I think a year from now he will have more clarity. He is a great student from a top private rigorous prep, and has high test scores, so this helps as far as having a lot of doors open to him…and one of the reasons the BFA track is a harder decision for him, he likes a lot of different academic areas, science for one. But, his true passion is acting for sure. He is extremely outgoing, confident,resilient, and articulate, and I can see him doing a lot of things. I just want him to be happy and will support him in any way he chooses to go.</p>
<p>LOP… I love your last 2 sentences… priceless:) My S has Muhlenberg high0 if not the highest) on his BA list. Glad to hear your D is having such a positive experience there!</p>
<p>We took a lot of inspiration from EmmyBet’s daughter’s list–including the same non-auditioned BFA/academic safety (U. of Rhode Island)! And we saw an incredible production at Muhlenberg, where my son got to attend a very energetic and interesting acting class prior to his audition last fall. His strong academics will make a huge difference for your son in this process, as will the fact that you’ve helped him get off to such an early and thorough start.</p>