NotMamaRose

soozievt, your child's schedule makes me tired just reading about it! She clearly is very strong in the time-management dept, but with a schedule like that, what she needs to manage is to find some time to sleep and just kick back, I would think! Seriously, I admire her energy. I just don't know how these kids do it. I was very busy in college with classes, homework, a job and a bunch of other things, but nothing like these kids. How they manage is beyond me. But my guess is that it's like you said -- they have a lot of practice beginning in middle childhood (for most of them, that's when all the lessons and team sports and so on begin) and through high school. Thank goodness they do have that practice, or college and a BFA program would be a rude shock, I would think.

soozievt

NMR...all I know is she is having the time of her life and keeps telling us that! She also has many friends from each endeavor....some from CAP21, some from a capella group, some from shows she is in, some from other Tisch or NYU classes, some in her band, and also who she lives with. I recall when my kids were growing up here which is rural and where you don't go outside and play with someone on the block , they were very busy with extracurriculars every afternoon, evening and weekend. These were, in part, some of their social experiences and chances for close friendships. My kids just are not into being idle I guess.

My other D's schedule and responsibilities also boggles my mind (is a college student, not in MT) and she also takes on way more than is required because she WANTS to. They see a lot of what they do as FUN. My D said in a late night IM last night that her day had been tiring and she still had a lot of work to do (I think she got home at 10 PM) but it had all been so fantastic. So, it is not like drudgery, ya know? And then there are kick back times (not sure how these fit in but they do). One D is hosting a birthday party we gave her money for to celebrate her recent 21st birthday, at her house at school this weekend. Other D had dinner on her deck the other night with her apartment mate. I believe she also goes out in the city with friends....you know AFTER this crazy schedule....on a Friday or Saturday night....they start late after they are done with the rest! They are young. She has even dated in college. She sees shows. She visits with friends at their apartments. All her friends are very scheduled up as well. But she sees friends at each activity....be it class, studio, rehearsals, a capella, Scholars, band, etc. It is not all work....it is fun at the same time and full of friends and all that. She ALSO, I forgot, works out at the gym regularly, often BEFORE school. I'm tired when I think of my kids' schedules. My D does her calls with us and grandparents often as she is walking from one thing to another.

College is a whole new level, but the "being very busy" was there way before college out of CHOICE. They kept wanting to do more and more things. I can't keep them down, nor would want to. It is not like I want them to do all this. But I do support them and am happy knowing they are so happy doing what they enjoy. Even when they were home briefly, each was working on things most of the time. I shared this only to demonstrate the kind of intensity involved in a BFA (though my other kid's schedule is not so different) and the time management and work ethic that is needed. Not all who contemplate a BFA truly understand what it entails in reality.

pennmom

I'd like to add a little reassurance to those of you who aren't taking all AP courses.
My son is the kind who works very hard when something interests him, but tends to slack in classes if he sees no point. Thus he got mostly A's in his honors courses, with maybe B's in math, but ended up with C's in classes like guidance and home ec, where nobody gets a C.
In addition, our high school offered few AP classes, and what they had were difficult to schedule, particularly once he started going half days to a magnet arts school his junior and senior years.
He ended up taking no AP classes, and only two years of language. He did, however, do well on his SATs and was a national merit commended student, and took on non-school projects like writing a couple of plays.
He got into 6 of the 9 BFA acting programs he applied to, including CMU, where 90 percent is on the audition, but also schools where academics are more important like NYU and Boston University.
So, I guess I'm trying to say that if you can handle AP calculus and chemistry along with your auditions, rehearsals and lessons, great for you and it certainly doesn't hurt. But don't feel you have to take all that on if it leads to burnout. I think with acting and MT perhaps more than with other disciplines, they look at the whole package.

gem

Thank you pennmom!

MichaelNKat

There have been a lot of posts on various threads talking about how a student should not enter a BFA MT program unless they are certain beyond any doubt that they are 110% committed and prepared for a program that is enormously intense, demanding and time consuming and that the student can not conceive of themselves doing anything other than seeking a career in professional performing. Soozie's description of her daughter's world brings real substance to the discussion.

It's only been a little over 2 1/2 weeks since my daughter started her classes at UArts and from the outset her days have been as I've described above. Days filled from early morning till late at night with classes, studio, reading assignments, papers, looking for new songs and monologues, practicing, using her keyboard at 9:00 at night to work on assignments for her music class, going to shows as part of her assignments and for pleasure, working collaboratively with new friends on monologues, vocal exercises and pieces. And still finding the time and energy to go to the gym everyday and socialize with friends. I asked her how she felt about all the demands on her time. Her response: "You know, high school put these kinds of time demands on me too. Between all my honors and AP classes, school shows, community theater, voice lessons, dance classes and competitions, work, and other extracurricular activities, my days in high school were insanely long too. The big difference is that now I'm doing EXACTLY WHAT I LOVE (with a big smile on her face)."And", she added, "there's nothing like falling into bed at 12:30, exhausted from a great day and drifting off to sleep with my window open listening to the sounds of the city and the mellow jazz played out the window by the guy in the dorm above me on his saxophone (another big smile)."

And pennmom's right. You don't need a load of AP classes to be successful in a BFA program. I don't think anyone is suggesting that. Time management, organization and self discipline are what's critical. I think the point is, though, that by taking the most demanding high school curriculum that a student can handle successfully, the student is preparing themselves for such demands in a BFA program. In my opinion, a student who is capable of handling AP classes but coasts through high school with less demanding classes, spending little time doing school work because it all comes easy, is going to have far more difficulties adapting to the demands of a BFA program than a student for whom a high school course load of college prep classes required constant effort and who rose to the demands.

mezzomom

I must say this has been a good reminder of "a day in the life of a college student" and a reassuring read. I was just talking to my daughter, a sophomore (not an MT student) and after hanging up found myself fretting that she's trying to do too much. Between her work-study job, classes/homework, tutoring at the local elementary school, time in the practice room, and her various EC commitments, I worry a bit about the possibility of a meltdown. But it seems she's in good company, and I suspect I was similarly busy in college but have forgotten the details.

Her time management skills have been exemplary, and I guess I shouldn't be surprised. In high school, she also did the lessons/plays/rigorous coursework routine, and she has quite successfully continued with the self-discipline and time management in college. Not an AP course anywhere on her transcript, but lots of lessons learned that are carried over to college.

avcastner

Math in the 4th year? Even if you don't need it? DEFINITELY!

I didn't take math in my fourth year--and easily could have--and I forgot everything before college. I had to retake Algebra II just to qualify for college-level math.

If I had to do it all over again, I would take math in my senior year--no matter how much I hate it!