| I'm from Chicago, so I can definatly help you out here. In my opinion BW is the better program. Yet I have friends at CCPA and they love it. One major difference between the two programs is location. CCPA is in downtown Chicago, an amazing city to live in and great theatre all around you. BW is located around 15 minutes outside of Cleveland, yet it is still hard to get into the city. Berea is also a very boring town, not at all a college town and there is little to do in the surrounding areas. Advice is to definatly make friends with people who have cars, cause theres definatly things to do outside of the school. At BW i think music is emphasized too much and there is not enough acting. Don't get me wrong, you get great training with Vicky, but It would be nice if there were more/better straight acting classes. Next year a new acting class is being put in just for the MT majors, so that'll be very helpful. I think that the senior showcase is one of the most important aspects of a program and BW puts on one of the best showcases around. From what I heard CCPA only does a showcase in Chicago, I may be wrong though. Also another great thign about BW is the masterclasses, I'm sure you attended one when you auditioned. They are so important for making connections, by the end of this year I'll have been to about 10, and hopefully by the time I graduate it'll be about 40-50. Vicky has endless connections and pulls many strings to get us recognized. Vicky is the last reason to come here, she is just plain amazing and you almost have to experience her to understand what I mean. All in all it depends on what you're looking for. If you want more music based come here, if its' acting then think about the strengths and weaknesses of both programs. No matter what school you pick I'm sure you'll do great based on the fact that you were admitted to both highly selective schools. | 
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