Theater/Performing Arts

[Anonymous]

Yale or Julliard are the only colleges at which I would pay for a theatre major. Double major, or a minor, anywhere else, sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yale or Julliard are the only colleges at which I would pay for a theatre major. Double major, or a minor, anywhere else, sure.

Several of the schools on the list are top-notch. SUNY is particular is very well-regarded for the arts and pretty reasonably priced ($8,900 in-state tuition and $18k out-of-state, not including room and board)

They have all kinds of SUNY grads working in the theater world in NYC/Broadway and beyond. This year’s Grammy winner for Best New Artist and Best Jazz Vocal Album was a recent SUNY grad.

UNCSA is also an excellent program at a great price point ($6,500 in-state and $24k OOS).

Very competitive programs for admission, but will prepare students for success.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yale or Julliard are the only colleges at which I would pay for a theatre major. Double major, or a minor, anywhere else, sure.

That's a ridiculous notion, particularly given how many Oscar winners from NYU as only one example. And Yale Drama is grad school only. Highly unlikely to get in if you didn't pay for theater undergrad somewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an upstate new yorker who wen to Boston for college -- Boston is actually warmer and less snowy than any of the SUNY schools so maybe consider Boston Conservatory and Emerson? Carnegie Mellon and Julliard are of course excellent but given the acceptance rate I probably wouldn't bother even trying for myself/my kids.

Nobody serious about the craft thinks like that. You audition at the best if only to benchmark. You never know who your competition is. You'll never win in the entertainment business with a "won't even try" mindset.

[Anonymous]

I’m not in this world directly, but a friend’s kid went to Temple and an acquaintance is at Northwestern. Just a few more to check out!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m not in this world directly, but a friend’s kid went to Temple and an acquaintance is at Northwestern. Just a few more to check out!

Northwestern alum here (not in the theater dept.) and the OP said her kid does not want cold weather. Northwestern is cold and there can be months of gray snow turning black as it sits around. I loved it there (and I'm from the warm South!) but a kid who was seriously not interested in cold-weather regions shouldn't go to NU unless the program there is so compelling for her that it's a clear first choice despite the weather. The theater department is incredible but the quality of life the student prefers is crucial too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I say this to all my students ( I teach at a school of the arts) -- focus on the create part, not just the performing part. If you seek a career in the 21st century then write your own music, scripts, parts, shoot your own films, post them to every forum that makes sense. Create your own opportunities. The school won't matter as much if you do.

This, times 1,000.

--parent of a college senior who is majoring in drama (but in a cold-weather region, so not on OP's DC's list). This is what our DC is learning. Flexibiity beyond just roles on stage in musicals, OP, that is key if your DC wants to actually work in the industry after college.

[Anonymous]

Don't forget JMU and George Mason!

[Anonymous]

Just know that schools like Northwestern, Carnegie Mellon, etc., are SUPER-competitive and have only a few spots for theater, so have some back-up plans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just know that schools like Northwestern, Carnegie Mellon, etc., are SUPER-competitive and have only a few spots for theater, so have some back-up plans.

We are well aware! All these programs are incredibly competitive and only take a handful of students each year. Going to be intense! Will likely have a few safety schools where child could still pursue theater in some capacity.

We may consider some other options further north but child struggles quite a bit with colder weather and winter months so really not ideal. At least SUNY Purchase is not in Upper NY. Thank you all for the thoughtful additional suggestions!

[Anonymous]

MT is insanely competitive. Most kids apply to 15-30 programs because you have to prescreen for auditions and you may not even get to the audition stage with many. You hav enlisted some very competitive programs. I suggest hoping the facebook groups MT Parents and BFA Acting Dreams…you can get a lot of useful feedback there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just know that schools like Northwestern, Carnegie Mellon, etc., are SUPER-competitive and have only a few spots for theater, so have some back-up plans.

We are well aware! All these programs are incredibly competitive and only take a handful of students each year. Going to be intense! Will likely have a few safety schools where child could still pursue theater in some capacity.

We may consider some other options further north but child struggles quite a bit with colder weather and winter months so really not ideal. At least SUNY Purchase is not in Upper NY. Thank you all for the thoughtful additional suggestions!

The bold re: having safety schools -- it sounds like your DD's first choice of her path is for a BFA in a conservatory-style program where she must audition into the program, and it's good that you and she are fully aware of how competitive (and stressful) that is. I hope your list of safety or backup schools includes some non-BFA theater programs where she does not have to audition in. That's the route my drama major DC chose (didn't even look at conservatory/BFA programs) and it's been the right choice for DC. A great theater education, and still intensive theater, but with more flexibility to do some classes in other subjects out of interest, and without the massive stress and competitive atmosphere of audtioning into the program during senior year of high school. To be clear, I'm not anti-BFA at all! I have a good friend who went that route, auditioned into a great school, and it was truly perfect for him. But my own DC knew the broader BA route was right for her.

Best of luck to your DD! She will be fine wherever she goes to undergrad if she digs in and takes every opportunity afforded to her.

[Anonymous]

Definitely open to strong BA programs if the BFA route doesn’t pan out!

[Anonymous]

A friend with a very successful MT child used the College AUdition Coach starting in Junior year and speaks very highly of them.

[Anonymous]

Great list! I was going to add Ithaca, but I saw that someone already did. Good luck!