NotMamaRose

Brian, so happy to hear that you are doing well and feeling better! That's fantastic news. I am so glad that you posted to let us know that.
Now, about your son's auditions: WOW! He *is* auditioning for/applying to a lot of schools. I wish I was able to say something about the non audition BFA programs, but the only one I know anything about is Buffalo, and the only thing I know about that program is that Jeffrey Denman, who was in The Producers on Broadway with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick (and who wrote "My Year With the Producers") graduated from there. From what Denman said in his book (which is an absolutely delightful read ... I highly recommend it! ), he got a great education there, especially in dance and music. From what I have been able to gather, Denman teaches at the Broadway Dance Center in New York now. But then again, he seemed to have been a Musical Theatre major, and not an acting major! In any case, glad you are feeling better ... fasten your seatbelt for a wild, audition ride!

briansteffy

I should clarify that WVU, Buffalo (acting only), U. of Montana., and U. of Wyoming are not really non-auditioning schools. Like Michigan State (yes, they have a BFA), Ohio U., Colorado, etc., they just do not admit directly, but require an audition at the end of the first year. There are, of course, a number of direct-entry programs that specify that admittance is provisional, and that require another audition/pass at the end of the Freshman year. UCONN, for example does this. There are also programs that require students to audition to continue to the Junior year (i.e., Illinois). Of course, as extensively discussed on CC, each BFA program out their has their own customized retention policy.

soozievt

Brian...congrats on the bill of health! That's huge! Best wishes for continued health. I'm glad you can go so some auditions with your son as you are so involved in his admissions process. Wow, you have a very long list of schools. His bases are covered! That's a lot of applications.

I think retention rate is not the same as discussing cuts in programs. Retention rates refer to how many stay at a college for four years. Students leave colleges for a myriad of reasons....colleges that have NO cuts. I don't think you can ascertain how many were cut by looking at retention rates. Kids left my D's BFA program and none were cut. I know kids who have left schools with cut programs who left entirely unrelated to the cuts and were not cut by the program either. There are lots of reasons students leave a college. Retention is something to look at. But I'd look into cut programs and policies as well as they are not the same as examining retention rates.

briansteffy

soozievt: You are correct re: retention is not equivalent to cutting, though many theater web sites refer to their cut practices as 'retention standards/policies. But we have discussed the cutting issue many times.
Nevertheless, I am a bit guarded re: the retention rates at Purchase and NCARTS, not because it is due to cutting, but because it is likely due to general dissatisfaction among students across all majors. As a second (or third) tier SUNY grad (also got my MS degree from a SUNY school - ugliest place I've been at) many years ago, I can say that some SUNY campus communities have a lot to be desired. Other states did a much better job designing and building their public university system. I suspect that the poor retention rate at Purchase is due to the college as a whole (many complaints about the dorms, food, ambiance, etc in the guide books and internet sources). I suspect that Theater students, as is the case elsewhere, are very different from the broader college community, meaning the students are more satisfied and retention rates among BFA students much higher.
The retention numbers at NCARTS bug me a bit more. Since this is more of a pure conservatory, I am curious why their graduation rate is about that of Purchase. Also, compare their retention rates with other highly respected conservatories. Perhaps its the location, etc., as noted in various college guides. Please note that I am not criticizing schools. Each has their pros and cons. Choosing a school to apply to is a matter of figuring out which pros most resonate and which cons matter less. I am just texting my thoughts.

letsfigureitout

Funny how you get to looking for post by familiar folks on CC. Missed you, Brian! Glad to hear you're doing OK now, and best of health wishes for the future!

briansteffy

Has anyone seen the 2008 edition of Everett's Guide to Performong Arts programs? The material does not differ much from the 2006 (I think) edition. There are a few mistakes (admission/auditioning requirements) and omissions (Michigan State, Marietta), but I was curious as to whether the data is generally correct regarding faculty-student ratios in the theater programs and the % of men vs. women enrolled in the theater program. I am particularly curious as to whether the male vs. female %s are approximately correct, as there are some programs with significantly fewer men, though most - not all - of the big name acting programs are 50-50, or 50%-plus male. I have the 2006 edition (there is also a late 1990s edition), but just browsed the 08 edition. This data that I am referring to does not distinguish between MT, acting, design, etc. Also, I suspect that it includes professional (BFA) and nonprofessional degree people. Perhaps this lack of distinction in summarizing the data explains the finding that there are significantly fewer men in many programs. Anyone know whether this data is collected and reported with caution.

pennmom

My son auditioned at and was accepted at Purchase. My feeling was that the accepted students came from all over. At his second callback, when the dean came out to talk to the kids, there were students from California, Massachusetts, and many other states. We are from Pennsylvania. So I don't think it matters where you are from for the BFA program.
My son liked Purchase, and it was his second choice after CMU. He might well have gone there if he hadn't gotten a good scholarship from CMU, since Purchase is very reasonable even for out of staters. My son's feeling was that Purchase is a little more experimental or edgy than some other programs.
I was a little concerned about the retention rate there. I think there were only 11 seniors in the class last year, while they accept 24. We were told it was because several had actually obtained work - one boy had a multi-million several year contract with a TV soap opera. Others, I think, left for various reasons. I don't think Purchase has a plan to cut students to reach a certain number.

briansteffy

Thanks penmom; your comments are helpful. As a fellow PA person, I find it disappointing that there is not a strong state BFA straight acting program in PA. Temple and Pitt have good MFA programs, but Pitt's BA Theater program looks to be less conservatory-like than some LAC theater departments (i.e., F&M, Muhlenberg). Of course, Penn State has a great BFA MT and Design program, but I do not understand why they do not leverage these assets and offer a BFA acting degree (S is auditioning for their BA Performance program in Jan.). If Joe Paterno were to call for the development of a BFA acting program, we'd get it. None of the many smaller state schools has a notable BFA program. Of course, among the 'nationally ranked' private universities, there is CMU, but that's it. While Point Park and the University of the Arts are good programs, they do ot have the same 'campus' feel that most private and public colleges/universities have.

letsfigureitout

I am getting a little confused about audition "call-backs." I read earlier on CC that U Minn had a "call-back" weekend in March for the most promising students. Nothing in the info from U Minn suggested this. . . Pennmom notes that her son had a "second call-back" at Purchase. Again--we have no info regarding call-backs there--just an on-campus appointment. . . I have heard that Rutgers may do "call-backs" later in the day for the on-campus auditons, but not the auditions held off-campus. In order to make some plans, I suppose I'll make some telephone calls, but in the meantime, I was wondering if other parents had specific information about ANY of the schools????

hcpss

The only call-back we have "officially" been told about is Juilliard. None of the other schools have mentioned it, but it seems to me I read on a post somewhere that sometimes a school will ask for a call-back, but i believe those were on-campus auditions and not the unifieds.

NotMamaRose

I spoke to a woman at the Minnesota/Guthrie program and that program does, indeed, call kids back for a weekend in March before the adjudicators decide which kids to offer admissions to. The very nice woman with whom I chatted told me that the callback weekend is NOT mandatory, but that those who cannot make it must send in a videotape of some kind. The callback weekend gives the adjudicators the opportunity to work with the kids in a more intense way, and it gives kids the chance to see how they like Minnesota in mid-March! (Juilliard does the same thing, for certain. However, I don't know how they handle the fact that some kids may not be able to make it. Maybe a videotape?) Most of the other schools who do have callbacks have them the same day as the auditions are held.

letsfigureitout

If a school has a "call-back" for those who audition on-campus but not for those who audition off-campus, what does THAT mean? Just curious. . .

briansteffy

If my memory serves me correct, the Univ of Oklahoma also requires those who audition at unifieds and get the nod there to also audition in March, where a final determination is made. They discuss thiss on their web for their acting program.

briansteffy

We are considering applying to UCONN's acting program? They are not at unifieds (for BFA applicants). Out-of-state tution is hefty and acceptance is provisional upon auditioning again at the end of the first year.
My S visited Hartt last month and he thought that the campus was nicer than the guidebooks suggest. He could go to Hartt for zero tution, if accepted. He can also go to Webster, Evansville, and Otterbein for zero tuition. Utah (once had a very strong reputation) is a well priced school and we are applying. We plan to audition for these schools at the Chicago Unifieds. We are auditioning at FSU in Jan. In fact,with the exception of UCONN, the applications are in.
This is my question. You might want to respond in private, as it is a personal (preference, fit) question. How would you rank (perhaps by tier) these programs? I have received some feedback on each program, most positive, but I am curious how you would rank their relative 'status/effectiveness'. Are they all in the same tier for acting (rule out the reputation that some have for MT).
Note that our top tier is Syracuse (15% tuition), Guthrie, Rutgers, DePaul (perhaps - heavy cutting, but zero tuition for us) and Purchase.

pennmom

Just to clarify about callbacks at Purchase: I think sometimes they have callbacks, which happen the same day, and sometimes they don't. When my son auditioned it was late in the season, I think their last day for auditions. There were, I'd say, several hundred kids there. Some got there at 7 a.m. for their audition, then there were callbacks in the late afternoon. Finally, at the end of the day, they called back about eight students, at which point the dean came to talk to them and try to sell them on the program. By that time it was about 7 p.m., which made for a pretty long day.
Several students already there, however, said they had only one audition. I don't think there were any callbacks for kids auditioning at unifieds. So the answer seems to be, it depends.