UArts BFA MT: The good, the bad, the ugly?

My S got in and this is one of the schools he didn’t audition on campus for, so he doesn’t feel he has a good feel for the program or the people in it. It was just one auditor at NYC Unifieds, who took the time to talk to him and was very nice, but that’s the only contact he’s had. Would love input from anyone who knows about the positives and possible negatives of that program. I know one concern has been recent large class sizes…

@myloves is the resident expert on UArts MT (also from Ohio).

My D is a junior MT major at UArts, and we have all been thrilled with it. She feels like she is at the perfect place for her and can’t imagine herself elsewhere.

Ready for a long series of posts, lol? This is a compilation of parts of some of the CC posts I’ve written about UArts. It just seemed easier to compile these in my notes and send them when people have general questions about it. I hope it helps!

– (Fall, 2015) I’m thrilled tonight! It’s not an emotion I thought I’d feel right now; I thought I’d be completely morose and weepy. Tonight, we said goodbye to D. Okay, yes, my throat is tight sometimes, I know I’ll miss my D like crazy, and I’m trying to think of her as just being away at a long camp instead of the reality of this step, but I didn’t expect to be this excited for her.

D moved in and started orientation yesterday at UArts. It’s been a busy, exhilarating, emotional time (as I know you all know). I could not be more impressed with UArts–their super welcoming and helpful attitude; their approach to orientation and education; their utmost and meticulous personal attention and care for each student; the practices and safeguards in place to help each student reach his/her potential; the creativity and enthusiasm everywhere; the musical theatre faculty and program, everything… I now feel as comfortable as I possibly can leaving D here.

After a summer of feeling pure excitement and eagerness about college, exactly two weeks before D had to leave, she texted me, “I’m scared!” Nerves hit then, and she’s felt a mixture of fear, nervousness, and excitement since. Today, she said that she’s back to a more excited and calmer feeling. I’m sure we’ll both have a lot of emotions still, and that it’s not ever all rosy, but I’ll take this right now.

Something new with the musical theatre program is that the dance classes for MT are being taught by the same faculty as the dance majors, which is exciting because their dance program is consistently one of the top in the nation. It’s been possible and doable in the past to take dance with dance majors if one is advanced, and that is still the case.

–D’s “first weeks” story is a little different than others here, but, have no fear, she is another student who has found that UArts is an even more perfect fit than she previously thought!

Remember how, upthread, I said: “I could not be more impressed with UArts–their…helpful attitude…their utmost and meticulous personal attention and care for each student; the practices and safeguards in place to help each student reach his/her potential… I now feel as comfortable as I possibly can leaving D here”? We’ve had a chance to see these words and practices proven!

UArts has a policy in which every faculty and staff member must fill out Care Reports about students whenever they observe something slightly amiss: sickness, different behaviors, withdrawal (personality-wise, not course withdrawal), a lower than expected grade/evaluation, anything. Each week, a large committee consisting of the Dean, Associate Dean (AD), Student Affairs Coordinator (SAC), and counselors (including counselors specifically for Honors students) meets and goes through the Care Reports in detail. EACH student at UArts always has a rating for risk and wellness, and it is at these meetings that they are rated!

Although D didn’t see it happen, she had one of these Care Reports filled out about her a couple Friday’s ago when she almost passed out in ballet and had to stop for the rest of the class. She had been fighting a cough and sore throat for a few days. The next day, Saturday, she developed a high fever, etc., and had to go to a hospital. She had pneumonia! Monday night, she had to go back to the hospital, was admitted, and stayed until Wednesday evening. She was out of classes the entire week.

What did the school do? The Dean herself called me at 11:30 PM while my husband and I were en route to Philly, asking what we needed and if we needed a place to stay, telling us to call or text her at any time (day or night), and assuring us that all offices and D’s faculty, not just health services, were aware and watching the situation. RAs and health services people helped her before, to and at the hospital. The AD and SAC emailed D several times, and me once. The AD visited D in the hospital, bringing D and me Starbucks and D a UArts teddy bear. The Head of MT met with my D earlier this week to see how D is really feeling, to see how she’s doing with catching up after being out a whole week, to go over each class with my D, and to reiterate that they are all in communication with each other about it. Faculty members have all been great about emailing D, supporting her, being flexible, and working with her through this. Students have greatly shown their care and concern, even bringing D groceries and food unasked.

Yes, they really did mean their words, and their practices truly are in place and working. I’m so impressed! Yay, UArts!

Pneumonia aside, D’s first weeks at UArts have been fabulous. UArts has exceeded her high expectations. Her classes have challenged and stimulated her, and she’s learning so much. She’s excited to go to them all. Plus, D loves being surrounded by people who are creative, driven, and focused, and find great joy in that. She also enjoys how everything she’s learning ties into art and the human experience in some way. It’s a fabulous environment for her!

D was delighted to discover that a person who was an auditor for UArts with whom she felt connected at her audition is one of her professors, and the intelligence, depth, and enthusiasm she glimpsed at the audition is completely present in the course this person teaches. Her other professors/teachers have similarly impressed her. (Tbh, the jury is still out a bit on her writing prof. To be fair, her other profs have been incredible, though, and D’s only had this class twice. Her roommate, also an honors student, has the same class, has had it a couple more times than D, and really appreciates the prof and says the prof has already helped her writing a lot. (* D grew to enjoy, appreciate, and learn from this writing prof. The next writing prof, though? Not so much. She was “ok.” But, people have these experiences at all colleges.)

Dance is not only leveled, but within D’s dance classes, instruction is individualized. Although D is a natural dancer, has a lot of dance experience (including pointe), and picks up choreography quickly (not just mom-brag statements; her dance was praised during college auditions, for example), she remained in the beginning ballet class because it’s been a little over 2 years since she’s been in ballet class. (All of those shows made dance classes difficult to fit in!) At first, D was disappointed, but then she realized that her instructor levels within the class, too, so her instruction has been appropriate for her, and she’s been pleased. Plus, with the pneumonia episode, it’s a good thing D wasn’t placed higher.

D was eager to audition for a student-directed show, but auditions for it were earlier this week, and her voice teacher advised her to not audition for anything yet because of the pneumonia. We both appreciated that advice! She’s really watching out for D’s vocal health. Speaking of her voice teacher, D contacted me after her very first voice lesson excitedly saying, “I learned so much already!” Plus, she got paired with the voice teacher that her excellent voice teacher at home had picked as the one she most wanted D to have, which is neat. (D’s home teacher researched the voice teachers at each of the schools D was admitted.)

Each of the other major classes and professors and most of the gen ed ones have similar positive stories. She totally enjoys and is engrossed by them all.

While I was staying with her last week, D showed me a paper she had written. Before my stay-at-home and homeschool-mom days, I was an English and journalism teacher, and I’ve known for a while that D is a gifted writer and deep thinker. However, I was blown away by the depth of analysis that D showed. When I told D this, she just laughed and said, “They’ve already made it so I can’t just look at a circle as a circle anymore!” (*Her intellectual and artistic growth has continued to be outstanding, thanks to UArts profs.)

A nature lover, D also loves attending school in a big city and on an urban campus, especially right in the middle of Philly’s Avenue of the Arts. It has been an amazing, exciting experience for her so far. (*Now, as D is a junior, I firmly believe the city is another big part of D’s education. She’s had incredible experiences both related to her major and outside of it because of the location of UArts. It’s amazed me. I was extremely nervous about her going to school smack dab in the middle of a big city, but it’s been wonderful for her, and now I wish I had gone to college somewhere similar, lol!))

D feels like she’s found her tribe and her place. She actually feels right at home and hasn’t been homesick in the least; she’s enjoying herself so much! She does call/text/FaceTime every day, though, which is good. She still loves us, lol! (Not that not hearing from her would mean she doesn’t love us; it was a joke. So, if you’re not hearing from your child frequently, I’m sure he/she still loves you, too. )

You may remember how D was initially concerned about how many accepted this year. (They accept 55 hoping for a yield of 24, but almost all accepted this year. This made D hesitate to choose UArts, but all of her coaches advised her not to let it deter her; the quality of training would remain the same. UArts people stressed that class sizes would also remain the same.) This has actually been a great thing for D so far; she’s made so many friends and connections already! It’ll make getting cast more challenging, I’m sure, but, right now, it’s been good thing. She is having a blast! (*She still appreciates the larger class size and thinks it’s a good thing. It does make casting more of a challenge, but that is more like real life, and it also challenges the students to create their own opportunities, which is an incredibly valuable experience and skill.)

–It’s an artistic playground with freedom and creative support (along with discipline needed to create great work)!

– (Freshman year) As I’ve said before, D loves UArts, and we continue to be impressed by the training, the faculty, the personal attention, the individualization…

Freshmen are allowed to be in one show spring semester, and D was cast! It’s even more exciting that she gets to work with one of the original writers/original director, who is directing, and the songwriter, who is music directing. One of the first weekends of rehearsal (rehearsing weekends only–the directors are coming from NYC–both known professors), the director and music director decided to write another song for the production, and they had the cast help! I think they are going to use the harmony D created. D has a lot of stage experience, but this was totally new for her and so cool! Her vocal teacher and her coach are working with her a lot on doing her part healthily; D plays the lead, a 12 year old who has a Brooklyn accent and whose speaking voice is loud, and she belts all the songs–in that accent and that age. It’s a fun stretch for D, but I’m thankful that her coaches are working so closely with her on it. (The directors brought their professional friends–some who are also known–to the shows, who paid great attention to the cast after the show! Some of these included original cast members.) She has also been in a couple student films, and she has modeled for a couple photography students. (She has now been in one outside film, and she now models, both paid and great professional experience! Plus, we just got some exciting news about a script she wrote, but I can’t divulge that yet. UArts has been completely supportive of it all.)

Last quarter, D was chosen for a leadership group which meets weekly, and she just got a little work study job in a box office (just a couple hours a week), so she is busy, busy, busy, and she’s more tired than last semester, naturally. But, she is still enjoying her studies, rehearsals, other activities (including just hanging out with friends), and being in the city. The latter has been great for her; UArts’ location and relationship to theatres means she’s been able to see great performers and productions for really cheap or even free. She also went to NYC with friends once and saw a popular off-Broadway play for free because a classmate knows the director, and we’ll be going as a family for a couple days when we pick her up for Spring Break. (*She’s gone to NYC at least 2 times each year.)

–This is where UArts is a bit (or a lot) different from most other universities. At Parents’ Orientation, the Dean started talking about helicopter parents. People in the audience started chuckling or looking at their partners with wide eyes, expecting her to say that we should not be those helicopter parents. Instead, she said that we should! That, if we had concerns or suspicions at any time and about anything, we should call her office! And, they would contact us if they had concerns, too! What? That’s not what we expected! She went on to explain how her office meets with the counselors weekly, and every student is rated in terms of wellness or risk. Professors/coaches are asked to fill out care sheets about students if they are ever concerned about them or their progress. Those sheets help them rate the students. We saw this in action when D had pneumonia.
Now, faculty members have not ever emailed or otherwise contacted us, and I don’t think they would. But, I know that all adults there actively promote counseling and tutoring (stressing that they even have counselors just for honors students and that there are tutors available and heavily used by all levels of students in every single subject, including studio courses, in the college), and that they take their philosophy of individualized care very seriously. Knowing that they are that proactive is a great comfort to me! Knowing, too, that we would be contacted if things started going awry is also a great comfort. With all of these safeguards, the students deal with “normal” challenges themselves, from classroom issues to securing their own apartments… But, they know that they are heavily encouraged to reach out if things get overwhelming or whatever and that adults around them are definitely paying attention. I’m just happy that there are safety nets in place as D healthily develops more independence. (*While she has thrived as a student, artist, RA and tutor, D has experienced some major personal challenges while at college. I must say that I am so incredibly thankful for UArts professors and administrators. They have gone above and beyond what I would have ever expected, and I feel more comfortable with D being so far away and dealing with everything there. Also, as a tutor and now RA, D has seen the other side of this and knows how much the administration and faculty do pay attention to each student.)

–There were so many reasons D chose UArts. She had a pretty clear idea of what she wanted before auditioning (in random order here): professional, intellectually and artistically challenging, demanding, yet positive atmosphere and faculty; immersion into the major with few gen eds; a wide variety of choices within gen eds; high quality professors in all areas (D looked carefully at faculty bios, and even her voice teacher, who is closely connected with another highly regarded BFA program, scoured backgrounds of studio professors at my D’s choices, especially voice teachers); possible opportunities during school years; strong alumni work record; leveled dance courses and ability to take with dance majors and/or same dance teachers as dance majors; variety of acting techniques/philosophies taught; high level of personal attention from faculty and individualized approach to education; location (including rich arts scene outside of school–although she didn’t realize how important the outside arts scene was to her until closer to the end); connections with professionals in the school and outside; positive, cooperative, supportive environment amongst students and in the school at large. My D became increasingly aware through this process that UArts possibly fulfilled all of her desires, and, honestly, they have!

– They value individuality, including different vocal styles. I just watched this year’s UArts senior showcase, and there were a couple girls who showcased strong classical voices. In my D’s vocal lessons and coaching sessions, they work on classical pieces as well as MT. I believe all MTers have to do a classical, legit, and belting/mix song for juries, with an equal emphasis on all. I know D does.

–To add to my post above, vocal teachers and coaches are chosen based on one’s audition into UArts and who they think will work best with the student both with personality and (even more) with vocal style.

–They strive for a class size of around 24. Last year, though, almost all accepted chose to attend, so this year’s freshman class is about 50. Don’t panic when you hear that number. My D did initially, and it made her hesitate to choose UArts until her coaches all advised her to not let it affect her decision: the quality of training would remain the same, UArts people stressed that class sizes would also remain the same (about 12 per class max, particularly in major courses, with a few gen eds at about 20, and most under that—*D’s largest class has been a gen ed class which had 18), and they would still have personal/individualized attention as a top goal.This has been completely true!

–(Sophomore) I’ve been over-the-top impressed with the support there, from counseling (even certain counselors for honors students) to tutors for each course offered (even studio courses like dance) and peer resident tutors who have open hours in the dorms (my D was one). They really push their support services and encourage every person, no matter what type of student, to seek help before they need it.

I’ve seen their level of help in my D’s and others’ experiences, and I’m amazed…

We’ve had other proof of that this throughout the year (from D’s and others’ experiences), including just these past couple days, when D has been going through a very upsetting personal experience. Shortly after she found out about it, she went to ballet, and her teacher took her aside for at least 15 minutes, consoling her and offering her complete support. Also, her ballet classmates all arranged times to get together with her in the next days so she can be distracted. That’s just one little example. I continue to be awed by her school and thankful for it.

I’ve mentioned before that D is a peer resident tutor, a position she just started this year. The training she received was extensive and was all about caring for the individual. We knew these policies and philosophies were in place, but it’s something to see it from the other side, too.

–The University of the Arts is a conservatory with few gen eds and a couple/few general arts-based class requirements, and where all courses incorporate the arts in some way. They offer a fair amount of flexibility/options, even for MTs, so there’s room for electives like stage combat, Shakespeare, dialects, etc. I’m not sure how much MT a straight acting major gets, but one can audition for the MT minor, too. Plus, acting and MT majors are in the same acting studios, and casting is open to everyone, including directing and producing majors and others. (*D has been focusing on playwriting along with MT, and she’s consistently taken more dance than is required—no extra cost. UArts believes in tailoring the education to the individual student.)

–The University of the Arts also has a strong dance program; its dance department is regularly rated one of the top in the nation. MT dance classes are all taught by the same instructors as the dance majors, and MT students can be placed in dance major classes. I’ve been impressed with the level of thought and care that goes into the placement of students into appropriate dance levels. Sometimes, students (including D) are even moved or advised to take an additional, upper-level class (for free) mid-semester. In our experience, the instructors really get to know their students personally and professionally.

Whew! That’s a lot! Sorry if some was repetitive.

Some other things:

—Students don’t like the food much. Some is good; some is bland. Sometimes they lack variety; that seems to come and go in waves.

—Could be a positive or a negative, depending on one’s outlook: Even though A1 Summerstock auditions were held at UArts this year, UArts doesn’t stress summer stock. So, while some schools may help prep students specifically for summer stock, UArts does not.

—One thing that D’s college coach had said about UArts is that the students are overwhelming passionate about and focused on their art, and it’s true. Moreover, see a show at UArts, and you may be pleasantly surprised by the level of support given by the student audience. It is unlike any other audience experience I’ve had, and it is one thing that drew D to the college; they support each other.

—Many of the students are also passionate about causes. This is a great thing. However, they sometimes have have a hard time respecting other opinions (not unlike other college environments), but the professors are terrific at trying to get the students to see outside their own perspectives and keeping things grounded. I have been impressed by how objective the faculty has been as a whole.

—It’s an expensive school. I’ve known people who couldn’t attend because of that. However, they can also be generous with aid, and their financial aid office is super helpful and friendly. My D received incredibly generous aid (merit and talent), and we (well, my H) negotiated for even more. D isn’t the only one we know who receives great aid. So, don’t let the initial cost of the school deter you.

—The school’s gen eds sometimes aren’t the best. (A couple that D has had have not been. Those couple weren’t horrible; they just were lacking.) But, sometimes they are great—and, like all schools, students can find out what the most stimulating, quality gen ed courses and professors there are. My D wanted a high level of intellectual as well as artistic challenge, and she believes she has found it at UArts.

Hopefully, I haven’t overwhelmed you! If you have other questions or want to get in touch with me or my D, let me know; we’re both happy to talk with prospective students and parents!

You’re the bomb @myloves!

Lol, @artskids, I admit that I worried that people may think I’m a little “extra” (ok—just plain nutty, lol). But thank you; I’ll take the compliment—and give you it right back to you, too!

Thanks so much, @myloves! Will read all this a bit later today when I have more time. I truly appreciate it!

Thank you so much @myloves. My D has been accepted into the 2018 MT class. After visiting and auditioning at 18 MT programs, UArts has become the 11th-hour dark horse that raced to the top of D’s list. We will visit on accepted students day April 7, but in the meanwhile are trying to learn as much as we can. You detailed information is a huge help.

Congratulations, @biscuithead! It’s a great place. Feel free to ask me any questions about it on the forum or through a PM. I can also get you/your D in touch with my D if you’d like.

Thank you @myloves for the helpful info. My D is accepted to UArts BFA MT and we are seeing it for the first time on Friday. She is also in at two other schools for BA Theatre Performance with MT minor, so we are hoping she gets a great feel since she only auditioned at Unifieds. I’m thinking her dream program of a BFA in MT in a city is a no-brainer.

D (and we) experienced UArts for the very first time during her December audition. We were all impressed. That part of Philly is great; the faculty are engaged and know every student; the urban campus is super cool (the dorms…my H and I joked that we wanted to go back to college.) Honestly the only “cons” I could think of would be that it would not be a good fit for someone who wants a classic suburban/rural college campus, and/or a ton of heavy academics.

Congratulations, @livingvicariously! And, you’re welcome… If you’d like, I can PM you in case you have more questions or would like to be connected to my D.

I just came back from seeing a musical at the Polyphone “festival”, where new plays are presented to the public. I was completely blown away by the level of talent and creativity. The students in the audience were very supportive of their peers. The musical was brilliantly written and definitely edgy. A little shocking for the grandparents but we came away from it enlightened and wanting to continue the conversation.

I’m glad you enjoyed it, @whatsnxt!

The Polyphone festival is part of what I was talking about upthread when I said that outside professionals—often “known” ones—are brought in to direct, music direct, choreograph, etc. Plus, the writers are most often involved in some capacity. Actually, upthread, I mistakenly said “known professors” instead of “known professionals.” I must’ve had education on my brain, lol! Anyway, there are other times when outside professionals are brought in in these capacities, as well.

I love seeing shows at UArts and wished we lived closer to see more! The electricity and support of the audience, the talent, the creativity… It’s fun!