thesbohemian

Tsperling05,
Thanks! Parts 1 – 7 of this thread are like a somewhat sanitized journal of my college search! LOL I also wrote a long entry about UE at Post #27 of this part. Besides UE, I was accepted at SMU and NCSA and rejected by FSU. Other schools to which I applied but later withdrew myself from consideration and/or cancelled my auditions were Purchase, Rutgers, Minnesota, Miami, Northern Illinois, and Catawba. I also looked at Boston U, College of Charleston, Juilliard, Otterbein, U. Arizona, Hartt, Utah, and Webster, but passed on them for various reasons.

A big part of my search came from my mom insisting that if I was going out-of-state to major in acting, I would need a full scholarship or close to it, so I mostly applied to schools where my academic stats would make that a strong possibility. As it turns out, she was being a Mach because I had plenty of money for most schools. My father loved my brother and I enough to leave us life insurance policies for college that Mom had invested well over the years without telling us ... I also picked up enough outside money that it wasn’t completely necessary and halfers would’ve sufficed just about anywhere. Her reasoning was that if I was going into something as iffy as acting career-wise, it would be best to finish college with no debt and a basically intact college trust to live off while I try to get a start in the biz or to use for grad school in something more “sensible.” All I’d been told when I was younger was that I’d get a new car if I got a full scholarship to college. This was another Machiavellian way of making me work my butt off for top grades. (Yay for carrots on sticks! ) It’s all good because I couldn’t be happier with where I’m going though I might’ve auditioned for Tisch and CMU had I known my true financial situation. I imagine the outcome would’ve likely been the same even if I’d been accepted to those two because it seems like their half scholarships generally go to kids with much more extensive resumes than mine.

Basically, my final decision came down to UE and SMU. I feel like I could’ve been happy at either place and the training is clearly awesome at both. The main thing that set UE apart from SMU for me was the surrounding student body. The SMU drama kids and the Meadows arts students in general are awesome, very supportive, and close-knit, but I felt like they were sort of an island in the midst of Texas Republicans deep in the heart of “Dubya Land” and sensed a sort of “us-against-them” mentality. I didn’t feel that at UE at all. In fact, the theatre department is the premier program on the campus and the theatre students along with those in fine arts, creative writing, and archaeology play a big part in setting the tone of the place. The fact that UE has no MFA program and open casting also played into it because the weak link in my resume is that I’m fairly short on full-length productions compared to a lot of kids and felt like I needed to consider potential stage time as a factor. SMU also has a higher attrition rate. It’s about on par with most good programs with around two thirds going on to graduate, but at UE it’s more like four fifths.

BTW, I love me some Meisner reps!

notarebel

valerie - somewhere on here i asked if you were still reading and said you did lots of kids a favor by starting this thread. they should benefit if somebody keeps it going or bumps it up and keeps the trolls out. thanks from everybody!

rolls ball to thesbo and says "i <3 you!"

thesbohemian

Rolls the ball back to Notarebel and says, “I <3 you.

valerie

That's the nicest compliment!!

Thanks AND your welcome!

Valerie

Catherdingmom

Valerie, a huge thanks from me, too. I found this thread last summer as my son was going into his senior year. He went to a regular high school, and we were clueless about various theatre programs. It turned out his drama teacher, counselor and everyone else we asked were just as clueless as we were. There's nobody who needed this thread more than we did, and I can't even begin to tell you how helpful it has been.

Thesbo, I am so impressed with your mom. AND I have the feeling, too, that UE is where you are meant to be. It makes me feel great that you have found such a good match because you've tried your absolute best to help everybody else find theirs!

thesbohemian

Catherdingmom,
I thought I'd let the email I had for this group expire because the spammers had taken it over. I just found your last one to me and I'm so glad "The Monica Files" were of help.

Gawd ... I need to stop posting when I've just worked out and followed it up with lotsa pre-work coffee. That was way too much info I gave on my financial situation! Oh, well ... Sorry for the self-indulgence.

soozievt

Valerie,
How wonderful to see you back here posting a followup to your son's (and your) journey! Your posts above are so thoughtful and well written and filled with oodles of great advice.

I am very sorry to hear what a tough year it has been for you and your family. I did not realize all that. I hope that your health is now on the up and up and that that is the case for your other family members. It seems that several here have had to overcome adversity of this sort and it is wonderful to see the triumph. My heart goes out to Thesbo in how she has dealt with her mom's situation and how successful her college journey has turned out. Sounds like her mom is doing well now, thankfully, and I am sure she is proud of her daughter! Thesbo, you rock. You likely read that my own teenager has had a rough few months having been through a very serious car wreck and the resulting injuries and recovery. Thankfully, she also has recovered, though the road was a tough one to hoe. Today she was cast as a lead in a musical and all I can think about is how lucky she is to be at this point after all she went through and to be back at her passion, and this soon. She paid some dues and now I am happy for her triumph. As a parent, I can only imagine how hard it was to go through the college process with so much negative things going on in your life. When my older child was applying to college (she just finished freshman year at Brown), my dad was dying of cancer in another state and I was running back and forth there and also to her college visits and the whole application process. Not easy.

Your son sounds like he is flourishing at UCLA and that he has more than found his niche. It sounds like the perfect match for what he wanted and it is pretty exciting to read of his experiences thus far plus the ones in the near future. His future seems bright! I am so glad you came back to share it.

You also have made an impact on many others by starting this thread which has become an invaluable resource. It is wonderful that you came back to share your son's outcome and first year at college and then to impart much wisdom you have gleaned from having been through it. It is posters such as yourself that make these forums on CC the great place that they are.

I hope you will hang out a bit more!
Susan

PS, I had no idea you had the problems you are describing with posting, etc. on CC. That is not too great.

notarebel

thesbo - you didn't tell us why ncsa was not in your final decision. teehehe@making thesbo write essays ...
rolls ball and says, "i heaaaart you."

thesbohemian

First off, they didn’t offer me much in the way of financial love. Secondly, I just didn’t feel like a stand-alone conservatory was going to be the right environment for me though they are a great one. Shoot. We’ve just been through an arts high school and I have to wonder at what point one’s work becomes like so much artistic navel gazing if you spend too much time in that kind of environment. Besides, I don’t think for a minute that I’m going to be anywhere near as good as I want to be in four years no matter where I go or how intense the training may be. Yeah, I'll probably be good enough to work, but I want to be better than “good enough” and feel like that’ll take place on the graduate level for me. It's not like I've been doing this my whole life and have ten-mile-long resume ...

Dang. I was going to keep it to two sentences just to spite ya, but couldn't help myself ...
Keeps the ball ... <3 <3 <3

valerie

to Thesobohemian, Catherdingmom and Soozievt; Notarebel and others,

A general deep appreciation for your response and acknowledgement. It is amazing to know that others might think of one better than they think they relay to others. With Gratitude I bow to your appreciation and hope that this thread of Theatre/Drama continues for others.

Valerie

valerie

Another time maybe and energy to respond to your intellectual dilemma of pure BFA vs. a BA in theatre and living life to its fullest.

Nonetheless, Your enthusiasm and vulnerability of innocence - even plagued with fear and despair this past year - personally - along with your scholar intelligence will help you go far and WILL create and develop a character that you never knew you had within you.

May I quote from Emerson and help guide you along:

On the debris of our despair, we build character"

Always in thought,

Valerie

valerie

A very personal Thanks for your acknowledgement and support.

I am deeply gratified that I could be of some help to others. It makes the world go round in colors of happiness and satsifaction!

Valerie

valerie

Hi Susan,

I read your thoughtful post when written a few days ago. It has taken me a couple of days to go back in the archives and search for ALL the intimate details and process the details of your ordeals over the last few years and in particular the severe accident to your much beloved and gifted 16yr old this past March.

Always when I hear or read of such news - it sends me into a world of my own despair for a few moments or days until I can get my bearings. It is never easy to read or hear of others tragedies especially when they are unexpected.

There is NOTHING absolutely NOTHING that tears at a parent's heart and soul more than the welfare of their children. NOTHING.

However, in the meantime, it sounds like everything for your younger daughter, is on the upswing and congrats to her that she is doing so well and back on track with a lead role this summer. I am so glad that her dreams for continuing with college at Tish this fall has not been forestalled or evaporated. When I think of your older daughter doing so well at Brown and competing in a high risk activity of skiing my heart almost stops with the fear of - and then - the absolute delight in knowing that she is doing what her own innateness requires as you and your husband sit with all the parental excitement and anxiety to watch her progress and come into her own. The same will be for your younger daughter. She is a fighter and will do well no matter what difficulties lay ahead of her in recovery with time. Tell her for me that her "new normalcy" that she is discovering will carry her far as long as she knows that a "bag of Ice" has now become her newest and bestest friend!!!

I will take this off thread and try in the days ahead to email you personally. My plate is still very full as so many others but It has been in the last three weeks or so that my energy to reconnect has given me the opportunity to act out and express. In the meantime, Thank you for being one of the nicest posters on CC and always thinking of others.

Valerie

ps. CC continues to do an excellant job at what they do and it is the poster who needs to be ever so vigilent in their posting or information that they give so freely out to others - not thinking.

knoxcounty

This question is out of the clear blue, but I think that I heard that Rutgers does not let you audition for outside work while you are training with them. Is this true? Otherwise, I think Rutgers may be close to perfect for me. I was raised in NJ and I absolutely love the state.

valerie

I beleive that Rutgers is self contained like so many other BFA programs.

Personally, if you feel that Rutgers is your ideal then I would stop persuing other avenues for the time being and concenrate on what Rutgers has to offer you and study their technique and philsophy to their fullest.

Best,

Valerie