Visits after Acceptance

College Majors Musical Theater Major
1

We are hoping to plan visits to schools over spring break that my D has gotten offers from. I am trying to make sure that we get all the information that we need and was wondering if there are any specific questions or information that we should make sure that we get answered while we are on campuses, so that we can get a good comparison.

We’ve covered:

size of freshman MT class
age of program
MT curriculum - dance classes, private voice, etc.
location and work of alumni
senior showcase options
performance opportunities - freshman year and beyond
whether or not there is a grad program as well as undergrad
dorm options and meal plans
gen ed. requirements

I’m hoping people who have done some campus visits may know other information that was useful.

Thanks!

2

Do the MFAs audition for the same shows as the BFAs?

Along with the senior showcase option, what other ways do they help place the kids?
Can MTs participate in honors college?

3

some other questions you may want to ask:

What do MT students do outside of MT - can they participate in campus organizations, Greek life, etc?
What is the social life like? Do students stay on campus on the weekends?
How many students live on campus? At what year do they move off campus?
Do students do things off campus? If so, do they need their own transportation? or is there transportation available?
What do students do during spring and summer breaks?
What additional costs are involved? do we pay extra for voice lessons? accompanists?
If we want more, acting, or more dance etc… are we able to take more than what is required?
do theaters audition for summer stock on campus?
do you help your students find summer stock work?
do students in other majors audition for shows and how often are they cast? are MT students allowed to audition for straight shows? what other performance opportunities are available?
if you have a showcase, how many students receive representation from appearing in the showcase?
do you anticipate any significant changes in the major, curriculum, faculty, school, etc… (note recently the heads of Michigan and Penn St. have both changed. This may or may not be important to you but something to be aware of)

4

I’m sure you’re already planning to do so, but I would definitely get in touch with the department before visiting, not just the school. Beyond the regular campus tours and such, a lot of schools will allow accepted students to sit in on classes, meet with professors one-on-one, etc. At CCU, we will set you up with an entire day scheduled that includes the above, a couple of current students as tour guides to eat with, tickets to a show if there is one going on, etc. We try to treat it almost like a “day in the life of” so our potential students can see what the experience at Coastal would really be like, and I know we aren’t alone in that method. It’s what sold me or turned me off about schools when I was deciding.

5

Here are some old threads with lots of good questions. I honestly didn’t re-read them all, but they may have more that you haven’t thought of!
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1859707-questions-you-wish-you-had-asked-schools.html
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1624534-questions-to-ask-during-the-campus-visit.html

6

I love this thread, Thank you!!!

7

Here is a great list I pulled from the 2014 thread referenced above. We are creating a fill-in-the-blank type form for my D to use with the questions that are important to her. I think otherwise by this point in the process, there is a danger of too many things running together. I am already frustrated that I remember specific policies and procedures that were mentioned at information sessions, but I can’t remember which school we were at!

School Visits

Get an MT department tour
Try to see a show
If you can eat in a dining hall on your visit, do it.

Productions
How many productions a year?
Who can audition for what ? (Musicals, straight shows, operas).
Can Freshmen audition?
Do undergrads compete with grad students for casting?
Is there guaranteed casting?
Are they required to audition for shows? (some scholarship offers may require the student to audition for every show).

  • Regardless of Freshman performance opportunities, will there be plenty of opportunities to perform in the program? Are there student-directed shows?
    For students not cast in the MainStage productions, what other performing opportunities exist during the year? (Cabarets, student-directed work, etc.)
    Ask about Senior Showcase, particularly if there is a selection process for seniors to be a part of that showcase.

Faculty
Ask about numbers of faculty as not all websites are up-to-date.
How are you keeping up with current MT trends? Is there ongoing training for teachers and opportunities for their growth? Sabaticals?

Class size
How many students are in each theatre department class?

Schedule/Curriculum
What is a typical day like for an MTer?
Maybe also ask to see a sample schedule and/or curriculum guide.-
If you haven’t done it all ready, ask for the four-year curriculum plan so you can compare it to other schools’ plans. You might be surprised.

Voice
How many hours of voice?
How are voice teachers assigned?
Who is teaching voice lessons (I’ve heard some schools have under-grads doing it.)?

If piano is required, do they test for level as well

Dance
Do the students dance daily, and for what duration?
How many hours of dance?
Do they level students for dance or are they required to start at a beginning level?
Can they take extra dance if they can fit it in?

Tech
What kind of tech requirement is mandated - how many tech hours are required in order to graduate as an MT major?

Business
Do you teach the business aspect of this career?
How are seniors prepared for the transition to the real-world?
Are there internships?
Are there “business of the business” classes?

Master classes
What if any master classes does the program hold? Who has led master classes this year?
Are guests artists/directors/agents brought in for master classes? If so, how often?

Study abroad
Is there a study abroad program

Evaluations
What type of evaluations/assessments/juries are done on the students and how often?
Is there any cut program?

Charging
Are there additional expenses for MTs outside of tuition (required software, dance wear, accompanists, etc…).
Are there extra charges for mandatory voice lessons?
How is Showcase financed?

Academic support
How is the academic support, tutoring, etc. (for non-performing arts classes and even some acting and MT classes, whch can get academically tough like theater history, etc.)
Transfer credits? AP credits

Mentoring
Is there a system that assigns a professor in the program as a mentor or advisor so they connect with an adult? Are there enough advisors so your D will feel there is a true interest in her well-being by a caring adult who understands the nuances of the program?

  • Is there a mentorship program for the upperclassmen to help acclimate the new students? Do the MTs feel they have been welcomed and helped by the older students?
    Do you support the students when auditioning for summer stock.

Campus
Is housing guaranteed all four years?
When dorms are closed for break and you have to be back early for production rehearsal how is housing handled?
Safety?
Is it largely a commuter campus?
Do a great deal of students go home on the weekend?
What kind of transportation is available to get to town/stores if they are not in walking distance?
What do the students do on the weekend?
Is the school social scene ruled by fraternities and sororities?
Is there time to participate in campus organizations and activities outside of MT?
Religion
what is campus ministry like?
Are there churches nearby or on campus?

Health and Fitness
Health Center…where is it, what are the hours, how often is there a doctor in the house?
If school is far from your home, does the faculty recommend health professionals in the area if your child has an illness (i.e., doctor who works with singers)?

Fitness center hours…

Questions for students – not Faculty
What is the best thing about going to school here and what is the worst thing?
What is the drinking situation on campus? Do the MTers indulge in underage drinking?
How’s the food?
Does the director know every student from the moment they step foot on campus?
Does it take them a semester? A year? More?

8

This is great! As far as students and drinking, partying, drugs…I did a little looking around today on twitter and put in key words and a LOT of twitter posts pop up. I am pretty discouraged that keywords were "musical theatre, (name of school) and one that we are waiting to hear from referenced partying and pills. Ugggg,I have already heard about this particular school having something called “black out night” where the upperclassmen provide alcohol to the freshman until they “black out”. Great, this is one we are waiting on…

9

@Kentmtmom -drinking, partying, drugs are EVERYWHERE. Sad, but true. Best to educate (and sadly) monitor our individual kids than stress over it as part of the college decision equation, because a kid who decides to abstain will do so. And a kid who takes risks will probably not. I may not be an expert-but I’m a mom of a recovering addict 19 year old, and a tea totaler 18 year old.

10

owensfolks is correct. There are drugs and partying EVERYWHERE. My D has friends in almost every MT/Acting program listed on this forum and there are drugs/drinking at ALL of them, AND within the theatre depts. She hears all sort of stories from all over the U.S. But remember, it’s all a choice the individual student has to make. My D is also a tea totaler- not interested in any of it. But it is there if the students want it. So just keep communication open about it.

11

Regarding the drinking thing I just remind my D…if you decide to partake in alcohol in college, you better understand that an MT major has to be on their game a lot of the time and if you are hung over you can’t maintain an MT schedule or the health and body wellness an MT major requires. . vocal health, rest in general, trying to keep healthy for performances. …We’ve discussed this. She keeps saying “mom I know that already , I’m not stupid” lol
I think she realizes if one gets pegged as a drinker etc one may get booted from shows etc. and risk all this time and money spent on getting into an MT program . There’s a lot at stake for mt kids that battled to get into even one program! Don’t screw it up! ^#(^

12

Yes I get all of that. I actually work at an outpatient substance abuse treatment center. This particular tweet specifically referenced MT majors and “pill popping”. Honestly can’t believe this person would just put that out there,

13

^^^They do know and they are not stupid but that doesn’t mean they won’t do it. Kids are messy. You do the best you can. You hope that you are launching young adults that will make good choices which also includes surrounding themselves with good friends who can help them when they screw up.

My daughter was both the giver and the receiver of care her freshman year of college. Almost exclusively a giver but the one moment she “received” involved an ambulance. So buckle up. :slight_smile: Very fortunately surrounded by a lovely friend that made a call to us and stayed with her all night in the hospital. It can happen to anyone and in any program.

14

@KelviVan - Thanks for reposting this! We are revisiting a couple of schools over spring break and I really think this will help us make final decisions.

15

Many of the questions suggested can be answered on the school website or a quick email. On the visit it actually can be hard to pay attention and go through tons of questions. If you are only visiting a few schools you can spend an hour on the website and answer many of the questions above. If your kid is hooked into a group site of accepted students he/she can also ask current students some of these questions.

16

Tea Totaler- I had never heard this expression. So it means they just aren’t interested in that lifestyle. That would be my D. Hopefully she will be fine. I want to make sure you tell your kids to always be careful with what they are served to drink at parties. I know that some people will try to take advantage of them. I witnessed it when I went to school. I always stayed sober to keep an eye on my roommates. One time a guy tried to drag my roomie upstairs and we had a tug of war with her. It was unreal. Good thing I was there with her. Our other roommate got killed drinking and driving. It was devastating.

17

@Mel2421, how tragic. I’m so very sorry that happened.

I guess this isn’t quite the original post but I think it’s an important topic:

I have to echo those who say that drugs/alcohol is everywhere. I’m both the mom of 5 kids, plus I’ve been a high school teacher. I’ve unfortunately witnessed quite a bit as a teacher.

Please, folks, talk to your kid before they go to college. They can be impacted as both the one doing the drugs/alcohol, or the one who is cleaning up the ‘mess’/caregiving like @Mel2421, or both. Please encourage them to continue to talk to you especially if they’re in a situation they feel is over their head. I’ve found out my share of issues only after the fact–sometimes years after the fact :frowning:

Don’t forget too that underlying issues can also be aggravated by drugs. One of my D’s friend’s mothers was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. At the same time, the girl had been longing to come out as lesbian, and finally did; her mother reacted by telling her she would get better if only the girl would “stop being gay.” The girl spiraled into hard drugs, and then within months tried to commit suicide. My D felt responsible as a caregiver, very unrealistic and burdensome --I found all this out only after it happened. They do often feel like they can’t talk to us because we won’t understand, or we’ll overreact, or whatever. It’s hard.

“Pill popping” is very common right now, although it’s usually done to help with staying up to finish an assignment. It’s almost casual as though the kids think they need random amphetamines in order to function. You wonder what they’ll do when they enter ‘real life’ and discover it is more stressful than college… However, it is true that some colleges are more into alcohol, others more into marijuana, others more in cocaine/pills, etc. In a very small/isolated college, the drug/alcohol issue can loom larger as there can be limited venues of escape. On the other hand, in a city college, it is very easy to get the drugs. I remember my S saying he couldn’t walk through Washington Square Park without being offered drugs… Honestly, though, in general, if your kid wants to find a drug/alcohol, he/she will easily find it at any college.

So it’s really really important to talk about all this beforehand. Also, encourage them to keep the lines of communication open. The 18 year old who leaves isn’t the same as the 20 year old a few years later. Keep the lines open the whole time, as much as you can at least!

18

@connections - re: drugs and NYU, my D was jokingly lamenting while home for break last week that in her 3 years at school she has SEEN drugs, but never been offered them. She said she needs to get the “goodie two shoes from the Midwest” tattoo removed from her forehead next time she is home :wink: