Tough decision

<p>Alright. I have narrowed it down to my top two choices.
Roosevelt: CCPA and Ohio Northern.
I cannot seem to decide. I definitely would appreciate any outside knowledge or advice on both schools. Which would you suggest. Both schools accepted me for BFA MT any comments or anything would really help me out.
These two schools are complete opposites and that's part of why my decision seems to be so difficult.
Thank you so much.
-Zeke</p>

<p>Congrats! I can’t seem to find any 4-year course outline for ONU, but here is a link to onw for CCPA: </p>

<p>[BFA</a> Musical Theatre](<a href=“http://www.roosevelt.edu/CCPA/TheatreConservatory/Programs/BFAMUST.aspx]BFA”>http://www.roosevelt.edu/CCPA/TheatreConservatory/Programs/BFAMUST.aspx)</p>

<p>You may want to email or call ONU and try to get a sample one, if they don’t have a strict outline already.</p>

<p>I think that you can compare the curricula (is that a word…) between the two schools and determine which one is better suited for you. You also may want to ask at ONU if double majoring or minoring is allowed. I know at CCPA you can NOT double major, so if that is an interest for you at all, or you want to take any other courses you may want to ask ONU, as I am unsure of their stance.</p>

<p>I hope that helps!</p>

<p>-E.J.</p>

<p>When touring Roosevelt this past February, one thing we found out is that acting majors and MT majors NEVER cross. MY’s can only do musicals, and Actors can only do straight dramas. They have totally separate instruction, too. That was the deciding factor against Roosevelt for my daughter . . .</p>

<p>Roosevelt is a ‘vertical’ campus. It is housed in one building, old but taken care of, on the edge of downtown. Downtown is great, but in February, Roosevelt altho the area around it was a little iffy for about 4 blocks until you got that much farther north. Dorms are shared by students who go there and 2 a few other universities, DePaul being amongst them.</p>

<p>Stage facilities felt very old. They do NOT use the beautiful auditorium in their building. It is used by the city and traveling shows, etc. </p>

<p>It was impossibly freezing in February, with the lake effect in true evidence. I can’t even tell you how cold it was. I hated walking 2 blocks to the Art Museum from Palmer House. And I’m from Oregon . . .</p>

<p>We did feel the director, who used to dance with Joffrey Ballet, was amazing. Dance classes are all now taught at Joffrey. So that’s definitely a plus.</p>

<p>Sorry, haven’t been to Ohio Northern. But I agree, you should try and compare curriculums.
If you go to <a href=“http://www.onu.edu/files/2011-12_semester_course_catalog1.pdf[/url]”>http://www.onu.edu/files/2011-12_semester_course_catalog1.pdf&lt;/a&gt; or go to their website and type in ‘theatre courses’ or “semester course catalog” you can find listings of all theatre courses, dance courses and MT courses.</p>

<p>On the flip side, haven’t been to Roosevelt, but daughter and I visited ONU. Totally different campus – more “traditional college”…but pretty much in the middle of nowhere (Ada, OH is not a bustling metropolis). However, kid LOVED the director of MT when we met with them, and it seems to be a growing program. One thing that she remembers from our visit last summer – they have a showcase, and it’s fully funded. Thought that was interesting. The students seemed happy.</p>

<p>She ended up not auditioning there (only so much time and $$ for auditions and apps) because. although she liked several of the program aspects, the isolatedness of the location (is that a word?) didn’t do it for her. (She won’t have a car on campus…which might have factored into the feeling of “stuck in the middle of nowhere”.)</p>

<p>My daughter is a freshman MT at ONU. She is happy, finds the workload challenging, especially the dance, and really likes all the dept. heads. I can answer any questions, or connect you to some students as well who may be able to help with any questions.</p>

<p>I see you are from Sherman - so I can put it this way. Ohio Northern would be like going to Austin College. Good school in a small town. I think you might want a car.</p>

<p>One of my D’s good friends just chose Ohio Northern. She loved the program and wants a smaller dept so that she has more opportunities to perform. My D also liked the program but really wanted to be in a big city (she ended up at American). So, besides the size of the city, I also think ONU would have more opportunities to perform than Roosevelt due to the size of the program.</p>

<p>Zeke, they’re both great options…but as you said, they are so completely different. You could sit down and make a list of pros/cons for each school and see which one weighs in heavier on the “pros” side for you. We’ve looked very carefully at each school (in fact, S was accepted to both), and I think the MT training you’d get would be excellent at either place. However, ONU, on the one hand, has a “real” college campus, a football team, very nice campus facilities, etc. offering a more traditional college experience. The downside, as was mentioned above, is that the campus is very isolated in a very remote area. On the other hand, Roosevelt is in a fabulous location with all the benefits that Chicago has to offer in terms of local theatre opportunities, etc. However, their facilities can’t compare to ONU’s, and you’ll never get that cohesive campus experience at CCPA. So I think it’s going to come down to more of a lifestyle choice for you. BTW, we visited ONU in January and CCPA in February, and we froze at both places :(. The buildings on the ONU campus are really spread out and the wind whips across the open, flat terrain…it’s COLD going from building to building. Of course, the wind also whips around the tall buildings in Chicago, but at least for most of your classes (except dance), you’d be in the same building. Good luck with your decision!</p>

<p>Hi Zeke,</p>

<p>While I do not know anyone at ONU, I have several colleagues at Roosevelt who I respect a great deal. Further, I regularly direct in Chicago and SEVERAL of the students who I worked with were from Roosevelt. They were trained incredibly well and were all legitimate triple threats. So, if you were to choose Roosevelt I think you would be very happy with the training and the people…plus, Chicago is a fabulous city.</p>

<p>Most importantly, I would recommend that you always trust your “gut instinct” when making these decisions. While you will hear many valuable opinions about the schools you are considering from many folks on this site, YOUR feelings about the people and the place should be your primary tool when making your final choice. Good luck to you as you make this decision!</p>

<p>Our son has chosen Roosevelt CCPA over others. He loves the area and had a great audition experience there. They are constructing a beautiful new multi-purpose vertical building-supposed to open in January. The biggest issue facing us, however, is the cost. He is now trying to make a final decision based on economics. That might be a deciding factor for many.</p>

<p>Hey there! I’m a sophomore MT at CCPA and just want to clarify some information. </p>

<p>Though MTs can’t be in the straight plays and Acting majors can’t be in the musicals, we are in class together quite often and receive much of the same training. And we all take class from the same faculty. The consider MTs to be actors before anything else, so they want to train us as such. </p>

<p>Let me know if you have an specific questions I can answer. ONU and CCPA are VERY different schools, and I think it just depends on what you want as a person. Do you want to be in a city or in a more secluded area? Do you want a conservatory or a more liberal arts feel? Both of these schools have pros and cons, and I think it is going to depend on what YOU want out of a college experience! Good luck with your decision.</p>

<p>Hi Zeke…we were very recently at ONU trying to decide on DD schools. You are right, they have a strong solid program and because they are out in the middle of nowhere (literally) they really strive to bring in professionals from NYC and around the world. They let their MT’s also audition for straight plays, but you can’t (if I understood correctly) be cast in overlapping productions during the same time period. Unlike other programs we have explored, I think they really try to do much of the same training for MT’s and BA’s-other than vocal, which is also available to BA’s when there is room. We have heard, and only they can confirm, that they may be phasing out their showcase program and start bringing in more casting agencies directly to the school. We did not hear that from them but from someone who is also looking again at their program.</p>

<p>DD very much impressed with the professors, their candor about their program, and the facitlities are beautiful. It is a “real” college feel and they try hard to let the MT’s be real students. No seperate dorms/floors etc. You can double major as an MT, but they stressed it is difficult and takes great time management-but there are currently MT’s double majoring.</p>

<p>Winters in northern Ohio are just plain cold. While Ada is not close to the lake-the wind whips through those open fields for miles before it hits campus!! it can be a long walk from your dorm to classes-but just think of the exercise!!</p>

<p>Hi!</p>

<p>My D was accepted and we have not visited ONU. We live in NC. Could you or your D tell us about your experience there? How many MT majors are there in each class? Do the kids work w professors who are working? Do they have connections locally and nationally?
Is your D happy???</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>Keep in mind that this thread is almost a year old.</p>