<p>Several of you have asked about transfer policies, so I wrote to my colleagues at IMTTS, the International Musical Theatre Training Society, formed four years ago. It's a consortium of schools that offer BFA degrees in MT. Not everyone replied, of course, but I did receive nine responses. I have not reprinted them, because I did not ask my colleagues for permission to do so. But I can tell you that almost all of the schools take transfer students in at the beginning level, no matter how much work they've done elsewhere. Here, for example, is a particularly astute reply:</p>
<p>We do start them in the first year program even if they manage to convince us to come into the program having had two years of previous college. No matter what the previous training, they need to learn the terminology and the process
This can be frustrating for an older student. I have found that they may be more emotionally mature and grounded (or not) than an 18-year old, but they are seldom more talented than an 18-year old. Sometimes, we have tried to advance a very talented student once they reach the upper levels. This makes them feel good and they can often handle the work... but something is missing from not having completed the full process. I believe there is no real way that a transfer student can obtain the same experience as a student who enters as a freshman. Therefore, we have cut back considerably on the number of transfers we admit.</p>
<p>These policies typically apply to the BFA in Acting as well as the BFA in Musical Theatre.</p>
<p>So what are the options for students who have done a year or two at another school? As Ive written before, there are two: Do a complete four-year BFA program, or do a BA degree (which often can be completed in two years) and then do an MFA. One advantage of the latter is that students end up with a terminal degree, allowing them to teach at the college level. But there are some advantages to the first path, among them that students begin professional training immediately rather than postponing it for two years. The other advantage, which may be attractive, applies if students have taken a significant percentage of their general requirements (writing, math, foreign language, social science, and so on). That may well free up space and time for them to do a second major. Its more likely in a BFA Acting than in a BFA Musical Theatre program, but its not impossible. For example, at our place, students are required to take 10 courses (50 credit hours) in what we call Integrative Studies. Our degree programs are built so that our majors can fit in all 50 hours. But if a transfer student has taken half of those courses elsewhere, then she will have bought 25 hours of time to be devoted to electives. There will be scheduling issues, because BFA programs use a lot of hours every day. But a second major, and certainly a minor, are within the realm of possibility.</p>
<p>It may seem from these policies that there is a bias against transfer students. I don't believe that to be true. What my colleagues are saying is that they have real difficulties admitting students to advanced standing. But as long as a student is willing to come into a BFA program at the beginning, we will apply the same standards to them as to the high school seniors.</p>