USC (BA) vs. Northwestern

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
1

<p>Hi all, I'm a senior in high school trying to decide between USC's BA program in theatre and Northwestern's theatre program. I am very academically oriented and am hoping to act/direct in college. While money isn't a huge deal, it is hard to walk away from USC giving me money. I'm hoping that anyone involved in either of these programs can expand on the pros/cons.</p>

<p>Program Statistics:
USC: Has both BFA and BA programs. If I go to USC I will be receiving a half tuition (about $19,000/year) and am in the Thematic Option Honors Program.</p>

<p>Northwestern: Traditionally a very strong program. A top 20 school in the nation. Only BA. They do not give out merit scholarships to freshmen.</p>

<p>If you know anything about USC or Northwestern's programs PLEASE feel free to elaborate! Below I have some questions that apply to both schools (unless one school in particular is named).
1.) How many student directed shows are there a year?
2.) Can a student receive money to help mount their own show?
3.) Is the BA vs BFA at USC an issue for students? (I know at other schools students feel that BA students feel like second class citizens compared to the BFA students)
4.) Do the theatre majors and film majors have a good relationship and do film students use theatre majors in their student films?
5.) Is it hard for BA students at USC to get into productions as an actor?
6.) Can a student go Greek and be a dedicated theatre major (involved in many shows, etc)
7.) About how many shows does each school mount a year?
8.) Professors: are they well respected in the theatre community? Do they teach acting very analytically?
9.) Improv: are there significant improv troops on Northwestern's campus?
10.) What are the specific strengths of each school/theatre program?
11.) What does the school lack/what are some weaknesses of the school/theatre program?</p>

<p>Thank you so much!</p>

2

<p>I’m a freshman BA at USC and I’m ready to tackle your questions!</p>

<p>1.) How many student directed shows are there a year?
There are around 10-12 ISPs (Independent Student Productions) per year.</p>

<p>2.) Can a student receive money to help mount their own show?
Every fall and spring, students can apply for up to $2,000 from the School of Theatre or Theatre Students’ Association to mount their own show. If you don’t receive the grants, you can apply for funding through USG and the general university for specific things to mount your own show.</p>

<p>3.) Is the BA vs BFA at USC an issue for students? (I know at other schools students feel that BA students feel like second class citizens compared to the BFA students)
In my opinion, USC is one of the only schools I looked at that really focuses on each program. The School of Theatre season has BFA only shows and BA only shows as well as open cast shows that everyone can audition for. There are specific tracks within the BA program for acting, design, and stage management; you can take classes with the same professors in the BA program that you can in the BFA program. Additionally, BA students can audition for BFA senior showcase and, this year, there are 6 BA students in the showcase.</p>

<p>4.) Do the theatre majors and film majors have a good relationship and do film students use theatre majors in their student films?
Every semester, SCA (film school) does a general audition in SOT where they put you on tape and these are available to film students to use as resources to find actors. I’ve gotten so many calls this semester and that I’ve had to say no to A LOT, and it’s the same with most everyone who does the general audition.</p>

<p>5.) Is it hard for BA students at USC to get into productions as an actor?
Because BFAs are required to be in their specific show every semester after their third semester, BAs are free to be in every production. ISPs are HEAVILY BA based and most SOT shows are full of BAs. </p>

<p>6.) Can a student go Greek and be a dedicated theatre major (involved in many shows, etc)
I don’t really know what extent you mean dedicated and I’m not familiar with the greek system, so I don’t really know. I imagine it’s possible and I know that there are people who do it.</p>

<p>7.) About how many shows does each school mount a year?
The school mounts around 20 productions a year and ISPs come out to around 10-12 a year so, total there are around 30-32 productions a year.</p>

<p>8.) Professors: are they well respected in the theatre community? Do they teach acting very analytically?
I have two Tony Award nominees in my contact list. Acting training at USC is very eclectic. There are varieties of teachers and they are huge on the “toolbox approach” (building a file and using what works for you).</p>

<p>10.) What are the specific strengths of each school/theatre program?
In addition to all of the above, the SOT is a very small program within a HUGE university, so you do get a very close knit community of people who share a passion which is a wonderful thing.</p>

<p>11.) What does the school lack/what are some weaknesses of the school/theatre program?
USC doesn’t have one School of Theatre building, classes are kind of spread all over campus.</p>

3

<p>Thank you so much! Based on your screen name, I was wondering if you are involved with the music theatre minor, and if you could expand on that if you know anything about it.</p>

<p>Anyone here have any information about Northwestern’s program?</p>

4

<p>I was admitted as a BA for USC and I like the idea of the program but I’m still a little scared about the BA/BFA thing.</p>

<p>What worries me the most about the BA program is the level of training available to the BA students. It seems so many classes are reserved for BFA’s and I’m wondering if it’s hard to find classes that refine your acting and aren’t filled with people who think theatre is an easy fine arts elective.</p>

<p>I also don’t understand why USC doesn’t solve this problem by making a few of the Intro to Acting classes Theatre major only? I noticed this at GW and it sounds like a nice solution…(of course you have no control over that, I’m just ranting)</p>

<p>I see that it’s probably not an issue sophomore year where the same (albeit separate) acting classes are available to both majors but what about voice and movement? And freshman year could be the foundation for acting but it seems the only acting class a freshman can take is intro to acting which is one semester…</p>

<p>I’m also wondering how many BA theatre majors are specifically “actors”? Is the competition fierce or can you really get good roles without the guaranteed casting?</p>

<p>And lastly, I have the same music theatre minor question.</p>

5

<p>I was recently admitted to NU, and while I’m hardly an expert on the program, I’ve been doing a lot of research lately that’s relevant to a couple of your questions. :slight_smile: I don’t know much about USC, so I’ll just answer these from a Northwestern standpoint.</p>

<p>1) At NU, shows are split between TI (faculty-run mainstage) shows and StuCo shows, which are entirely student-produced. There are about a dozen student theatre groups and tons of opportunities to get involved. I don’t know the exact number… but StuCo has their own wiki that looks like it could be a fantastic resource for you.</p>

<p>[url=<a href=“http://nustudenttheatre.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page]StuCoWiki[/url”>http://nustudenttheatre.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page]StuCoWiki[/url</a>]</p>

<p>4) Creeping on the NU Theatre Class of 2013 Facebook group, I saw a TON of film students posting audition notices for films they were making, which suggests a good relationship. Theatre students and RTVF (Radio/TV/Film) majors are both in the School of Communication at NU. At USC, I believe theatre students and film students are in separate schools within the (very large) university, so the relationship may not be as tight-knit. But again - I’m not a current student at either of these schools, and I’m inferring all of this from things I’ve read.</p>

<p>6) About 30-40% of NU’s student population goes Greek. Since it’s a pretty prominent part of social life on campus, I’d assume at least some theatre students participate in Greek life.</p>

<p>8) Northwestern has many respected faculty members, especially in the Chicago theatre scene. Example - if you’ve heard of the play August: Osage County, the director, Anna Shapiro, is a professor of theatre at NU.</p>

<p>10) After talking to some current Northwestern theatre students, they all love that NU has the “best of both worlds”: a very intensive theatre program that still allows for a fairly rigorous liberal arts education since it’s not a BFA. A lot of kids apparently double-major or minor in other things. Another strength of Northwestern is its proximity to Chicago, which is obviously an amazing theatre town. NU theatre students work at Steppenwolf and Victory Gardens and the Marriott even when they’re still in school.</p>

<p>All of this said - I’ve heard FANTASTIC things about both programs, and it’s really just a matter of which school feels right to you. Congrats on your great options, and good luck making your decision! It’s a win-win situation, as far as I can tell. :)</p>

6

<p>My daughter had the same two choices - USC BA and Northwestern BA, in the end she chose NU. Her reasons were:</p>

<p>She had the same concerns at USC about the BFA vs BA and asked our BA Theatre tour guide who admitted to us that she did feel she needed to work twice as hard to “prove yourself” as a BA not BFA student, even if you’re doing it for the MT option. </p>

<p>The theatre facilities at USC are spread all over but at NU they are mostly in one wonderful building, this was more cohesive and, she thought, showed a bit about how the colleges felt about their programs.</p>

<p>The Dean at USC said some things that made her a bit uncomfortable at the admitted student day; how she chose some shows for a few specific students, etc.</p>

<p>I can’t be very specific about your questions but at NU there are so many student productions each term (remember there are three terms from Sept. - June; allowing for many more classes to be taken and shows to be produced) you can see 3 or 4 each weekend. There is money afforded to most shows, not sure how it’s decided, but there are student boards for different categories and you present to them I think. It’s a bit unusual for a freshman to direct but my daughter has two freshman friends who have.</p>

<p>There are two improv groups on campus but don’t forget all the classes run in Chicago. My daughter takes one on the weekends and absolutely loves it!</p>

<p>The film/tv/r students have a great relationship with the theatre majors. My daughter is constantly doing student films when she has the time to commit.</p>

<p>As Julibelle said, you can’t go wrong with either school. My daughter just felt more comfortable with NU.</p>

7

<p>Hi - My daughter is a sophomore BFA at USC. Here is some information I can share.</p>

<p>In my daughter’s class there are 2 students who transferred in from the BA program. There are 4 BFA students who are now BA students. Various reasons: wanting to minor or double major, wanting more time to go for outside auditions, etc… In other words - these majors are not set in stone and the kids do shift around to find the best program for them.</p>

<p>This year my daughter has 3 theatre classes with her BFA class and 2 theatre classes with BA’s.</p>

<p>The other thing to consider is where you plan to live and hopefully work after graduation. If it is in Los Angeles - USC is the place to be.</p>

<p>And finally - I am not sure about NU - but I can attest that The Trojan Family is just that… a family. They help each other during school and equally (if not more importantly) after graduation. They have an incredibly strong alumni association and will go out of their way to help another alum get work. There is a pride and sense of loyalty that I have never witnessed in any other school. Just something else to keep in mind :)!</p>

<p>Hope this helps!</p>

8

<p>Thank you everyone for your advice so far!</p>

<p>Another thing to consider is that I would be receiving $19,000/year at USC and would be in the honors program for my general education classes. So my question is … is Northwestern worth that $19,000 extra a year that I would be saving by going to USC? Many sources have categorized Northwestern as the top of the top BA programs in the country.</p>

<p>Ultimately, I want to go to the school where I will learn the most, and be prepared for the entertainment industry after college.</p>

9

<p>I have the same “problem”.
I don’t know which school to choose.
LA feels like the right place for me, but I’m not so sure anymore…
I hope you’re able to choose the right school for you.</p>

10

<p>I bumping this for wardrobemom</p>

11

<p>Thank you everyone for all the advice! After a lot of thinking and re-visiting, I’ve decided to attend Northwestern next year. I’m very pleased with how this huge long process has turned out, and your advice has been greatly valued!</p>