Webster University

College Majors Musical Theater Major
341

<p>It is a common misconception that if you audition at the end of the cycle, slots will be filled up. This is not true. Another common misconception is that if you audition on the earlier audition dates, they'll forget you when they create the admitted class. This is also untrue. Schools have ways of evaluating students equally no matter the date they audition and noting their choices. They may have applicants in mind from the early dates and have them on a list but wait until they have seen all audition to make their final decisions. But they have already gone through each audition group/date as they go along and keep candidates in mind. I really believe all audition dates are created equal. </p>

<p>There are other reasons you may pick certain dates but these reasons do not have to do with the schools themselves. For instance, many feel it is not wise to audition at your favorite school as your first audition. Some feel they also get better as the audition season wears on, or may make changes, etc. Those are just preferences to consider but on the college's end of things, each audition date has equal weight. I would plan more around personal reasons, as well as travel and schedule logistics, than these misconceptions.</p>

342

<p>Just a note here on late auditions. Check out financial aid and scholarship information. I have seen on some school websites that if you apply on the last date, most of the money has already been allocated. And at least one sight I remember that while you can still audition, it will not be considered for a scholarship. Check the college website or call/email.</p>

343

<p>Late auditions should not affect scholarships. Webster offers very generous academic merit scholarships based on university application (good reason to keep those high school grades up!) as well as leadership, etc. (look at their list) some of which might require separate applications. There are no talent scholarships available to freshman (there are scholarships given to upperclassmen). We were told that they consider ALL of their incoming freshman conservatory class to be equal in talent and therefore didn't pick just a few out to give talent scholarships to! I like the philosophy -- everyone starts out on an equal footing this way.</p>

344

<p>My D said the Dance and Master class taught by Jerry Mitchell yesterday was wonderful! What a great opportunity.</p>

345

<p>Hello everyone!</p>

<p>I'm a Junior MT major here at good ole Web U. I haven't posted in awhile, and I hope everyone is having a wonderful year so far! I just wanted to say that I auditioned on the last date for Conservatory, as did 4 or 5 of my classmates. It really doesn't seem to matter.
Also, Jerry Mitchelle was amazing!!!!!! It was unbelievable to have him here with us for those three days. Thanks so much Plaidman :o)
If anyone has any questions, feel free to email me at <a href="mailto:Shayl18@hotmail.com">Shayl18@hotmail.com</a> </p>

<p>xoxo
Shayla</p>

346

<p>Can someone at Webster (or visitor) comment on campus life, particularly the dorms. It looks like they have built some nice new dorms. There are a lot of commuting students. Lots of part-time faculty, though not in the Theaer program. Does all this have a negative impact on the overall 'campus feel'. Granted, BFA students are so busy that campus culture/climate/etc. do not matter, but it is an important consideration for my S. My S is not an urban type, so 'being out of the way' is not an issue.</p>

347

<p>Brian,
I'll see if I can get my D to respond to this. She has lived in the on campus apartments both years. She also has friends in the dorms and says they are really nice (both her friends and the dorms). However, I can only speak about the apartments. BiGismama's D has lived in both so she will most likely respond too.<br>
The apartments are nice and so convenient. Last year she had a two-bedroom and this year a four bedroom. The only difference (besides four people sharing a kitchen) is two share a bathroom in the four bedroom and not in the two bedroom. Both the dorms and the apartments are very close to the theatre. The apartments also have clubhouse, swimming pool, their own laundry room, grills, big screen tv etc.<br>
Webster seems to work very hard to create a campus atmosphere even though there are many commuter students. There seem to be a lot of events happening, performances, guest artists, bands, BBQ's, trips to various places around St. Louis. My D has gone to a few but is, like you said, mostly too busy to partake in a lot of it. She loves the campus and so do we. Several times when I have had to call for one reason or another whomever I talked to knew her. That always makes me feel good.<br>
The buildings are nice and the architecture is interesting, I call parts of it Hogwarts meets Fantasyland. The food is a little ways from the dorms and apartments but really in the big scheme of things, not that far.
I hope this helps.<br>
Marianne</p>

348

<p>Thanks; that's very helpful. I am a college prof and have been associated with a number of big Us and LACs. One suggestion that I would make to Webster is to change their website so that it de-emphasizes its many world campuses. It first led me to think that they are not focusing on their 'core competency'. They could do more to emphasize the college 'community', which will always be local, not global. The dorms, etc. look nice, and the relationship between the BFA program and professional companies look interesting. Thanks again.</p>

349

<p>Article on Jerry Mitchell's visit to Webster: The</a> Journal - Choreographer brings Broadway to campus</p>

<p>From Webster's online "The Journal"</p>

<p>One thing I should make clear, which the article doesn't, the writer mentions "Teeter".....this is in reference to Webster's new MT head Lara Teeter.</p>

350

<p>I've been out-of-touch for a couple of days, and just saw this thread, so I'll chime in too. As Marianne said, my d lived in the dorms last year and lives in the apartments this year. The brand new dorms are beautiful! They have also renovated one of the two older dorms and are in the process of renovating the other. The on-campus apartments are very nice as well and are right next to the new dorms. Webster is a tiny campus, so I got a chuckle from Marianne's comment on the food being a ways from the dorms and apartments. I can't imagine anywhere on that campus being more than a 5 minute walk (unless you're really walking slooowly!) The two older dorms are in the same building as Marlettos (the main cafeteria) The new dorms and apts are across the street from the student center where the rest of the food is (sort of like a mini food court).</p>

<p>I never got a "commuter campus" feel from Webster. First of all, ALL freshman and sophomores are required to live on campus, so there are ALWAYS students around. Juniors and seniors often WANT to move off campus (just as at most other colleges), but they don't HAVE to. There always seem to be a lot of activities going on, the RAs appear to work very hard at providing activities; unfortunately the BFA kids don't have that much free time to indulge due to their hyper-busy schedules. But they DO get to see all the conservatory productions (actually I believe they're required to) and if there's not a conservatory show going on there's a rep show (or both). There's plenty to do, sometimes too much, I fear! :)</p>

<p>Webster is unique in that it has a very small home campus (enrollment not more than around 2500-3000 I think) but a very large world-wide enrollment (over 20,000, I believe). I think the "commuter campus" issue was perhaps valid in the past, but since more on-campus housing has been built, no longer much of an issue. (And I doubt it was ever an issue for conservatory students -- they're from all over the country). If you're looking for a small campus with a friendly, diverse environment and a great conservatory program (in a really lovely small town) this is it, as far as I'm concerned!</p>

<p>Interestingly, the website is one of the first things that intrigued me about Webster! I LOVE the international aspect, and truly believe it's one of the qualities which makes Webster so unique! This is not something which should be de-emphasized! There are seven (I think) campuses worldwide, including Webster Groves; many (probably most, actually) students attend at least one semester on another campus and the Webster Groves campus always has international students in attendance. I believe my d said that there were 6 international students living on her dorm hall, alone, last year. To put that in perspective, that was only one hall (1/2 of one floor in one dorm). If there is one negative, as far as I'm concerned, it would be that the BFA MT and Acting majors can only participate in the international program during the summer; due to the nature of the program, all of their conservatory training must be taken at the Webster Groves campus.</p>

<p>For more specific info about the home campus, click on student life and services from main web page -- you can look at activity calendars, online newspaper, etc.</p>

<p>Hope this helps!</p>

351

<p>i really really like webster, i havent visited yet and i dying to. but i was wondering if oyu knew anything about the directing program (the main reason i adore webster) i can tell by the website and previous posts that you get a ton of work, but do you know anything else about it?</p>

352

<p>Thanks for your responses. I did not mean to criticize Webster - perhaps I am showing my age and provincialism in commenting on the 'global' focus; I'm PA Dutch. I also confess that I sometimes find that more hyperbolic posts get the specificity of response that I want. Your responses are informative. Webster is on our list. I teach at a small LAC, so that is what my S and I are most attracted to. There are very few strong BFA acting programs housed within small colleges, yet, at the same time, adjacent to a major cultural center. Thanks again.</p>

353

<p>Ronit, see post # 345; maybe you can contact and get more info. Good luck!</p>

<p>briansteffy, we are definitely all entitled to our opinions, so no offense taken (not by me, anyway!)</p>

<p>:)</p>

354

<p>Oh, no offense taken by me either. </p>

<p>Make sure that if you visit campus you let us know so our D's can meet you. It's extra fun when CC'ers come to visit because you feel like you already know them.</p>

355

<p>This is great!!!! read this!</p>

<p>Juilliard</a>, Boston Conservatory and Webster University: Best Bets for a Theatrical Career - Associated Content</p>

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<p>Webster is a fantastic school and I recommend it to applicants all the time. </p>

<p>That said, it should be pointed out that this article is just the writer's opinion and not a study or survey of programs using research methodology. In fact, this writer called all three programs the top acting conservatories when BOCO is not an acting conservatory and only offers MT, not acting. The article would have way more validity if the author said these were programs he recommended. That's all the article represents, not a study of any sort.</p>

357

<p>My S has his application in, and his audition scheduled. I know that this is the MT thread, but does anyone know approximatey how many new straight acting students that they typically bring in recent years?</p>

358

<p>Briansteffy,
I know that the sophomore class has 6 acting majors (3 girls and 3 boys). I'm not sure about the breakdown for the other classes. The senior class has 2 boys and 2 girls. I'm not sure about the others and I don't know how many they originally accepted.</p>

<p>Is your son going to audition on campus? My D just finished the semester and got home late last night. She had a very challenging and wonderful semester!!</p>

359

<p>Yah, we realized that, but it's still pretty fantastic! Kudos to webster yay!</p>

360

<p>He will audition (acting) at Chicago Unifieds. We decided to limit visits to those that are not 'killer' drives and two visits requiring airline flights (our fequent flier flights), Unifieds being one of these. It's not the preferable option, but we hope that we will be given a reason to visit in the Spring.</p>