| Yes, my sense is that undergrad education at the U has vastly improved since the 1980s. The physical plant has also improved – buildings renovated, outdoor spaces better maintained, unifying signage added, etc. We were pleasantly surprised when we toured campus in the summer of 2005. Tuition has gone way up, even for in-state students – however the Guthrie-BFA program would still be a terrific bargain if your son gets in.
Getting in is the trick, of course – you’re wise to assume rejection. It’s extremely competitive (although slightly less so for boys than for girls, since more girls audition), and a high proportion of the current BFA freshmen class attended performing arts high schools (8 out of 22 are from just two schools, Governor’s School in South Carolina and Interlochen in Michigan).
Minnesota was the only school my D applied to last year – she auditioned for BFA and didn’t get in, a huge blow since she had worked with both BA and BFA faculty in an intensive program the prior summer and was a clear standout among the students in the intensive. At the time she was crushed, but she decided to try a year in the BA program. It’s been personally difficult, especially living in the same dorm as the BFA kids and seeing them all the time (although her worst moment was running into one of the BFA faculty on campus and having him ask why she hadn’t applied to the BFA program: “I did, Kenny.”) However, within the BA program she’s gotten lots of accolades, plus a lead in the first show she tried out for and a role in this winter’s mainstage production, so that has helped to restore her confidence. She’s grown up a lot this year and is now sure she wants to be in a BFA program even if it means going far from home, family, and boyfriend.
Hope your son will be one of the lucky ones! Of course talent counts too, but at that level it’s a given – there are lots of intangibles, hard to know exactly what they’re looking for. |