soozievt

NMR: Yes!

doctorjohn

soozie's right:

Roosevelt: www.roosevelt.edu

Columbia College: www.colum.edu

NotMamaRose

Mea culpa ... you guys are great. I am usually not so lazy, and will simply do a Google search myself. Thanks for putting up with me, folks! Soozievt and doctorjohn, I am not sure what the rest of us would do without you.

5pants

I am always interested in various points of view on a school/program. That is what makes this forum so great.

We visited Columbia College a few years back. I agree being located in wonderful Chicago is quite a bonus, but we were not thrilled with the facilities nor our experience during our visit. I agree with Elliottsmom that a BA from a reputible college/university would make a great backup plan and indeed that is what became ours.

When we visited (early August) we were amazed at the number of kids who flooded the admissions office who were rather desparate to get into a school...any school for fall semester.

When my Ss met with the admission's counselor he gawked at their desire to enter the performace field simply because he thought their grades were too stellar for such a profession. **Cringe**

On the other hand, I do know that one of the actors that is appearing in the Chicago version of "Putnam County Spelling Bee" is indeed a graduate of Columbia and he is amazing!!

Here again, it is all a matter of opinion. Personally speaking I know Columbia was not one of our favorite programs. For a backup safety school we decided on a BA in Theatre from U-Minnesota. In our humble opinions that fit our bill.

SUE aka 5pants

NotMamaRose

Sue, I cringed myself when I heard that someone representing a college admissions office actually seemed to indicate -- by his or her reactions to your son's academic grades and scores -- that the performing arts field is actually for people who don't do too well in school! I know that the admissions person did not come out and say that, but he/she indicated that the is how he/she felt when he/she gawked at the idea that someone "smart in school" would want to perform. Shudder. It's almost as if the admissions person was saying "Hey, you're smart. You get A's. You don't *have* to sing, dance and act for a living. You could be a biologist or an engineer instead," as if academic achievement and a career in performing arts are somehow mutually exclusive. Not!
I guess the point of this thread, however, is that kids need to have several safety schools, and that when choosing a safety school, do your homework. All safeties are not equal!

5pants

Actually NotMamaRose,

The admission's counselor said: "It kills me that kids like you who have grades like you have in high school want to go into acting". AND this guy was a theatre graduate of Columbia on top of it!!!

I think it is highly important that prospective students go into this business with their eyes WIDE open, but I can't understand a dis like this to performers in general. A lot of the most successful actors have very high IQs....there is so much more to acting than most people can ever imagine.

Take care!!

SUE

NotMamaRose

Ugh, Sue, worse than I thought! Someone ought to tell Columbia College's news and info/marketing/pr office that something like this was said by a college rep. I feel very sure that that is NOT the message that the college wishes to send.
I think most people would be surprised at just how intellectual *good* actor training is.

soozievt

Sue, that comment by an educator also floors me. It is akin to saying, "those who can't, act." From my own observations between numerous theater friends of my daughter's, as well as my own clients pursuing theater in college, I keep seeing two ends of the spectrum. Numerous kids I know who go into theater are ALSO excellent students. Some of these have gone the route of BA schools, including Ivies and other highly selective colleges and some have chosen the BFA route. But this grouping of kids COULD get into highly selective academic colleges. I know a lot of kids who are equally strong academically as they are artistically. I'd say my own kid falls into this group. The other "group" that I know or counsel, tend to have sacrificed academics for their artistic interests. They have let academics slide and/or just are not very good students. Some BFA programs are out of their reach due to academic qualifications, in fact. I sometimes meet kids in the middle of this spectrum but for some reason, the majority I know going into theater seem to fall into one or the other group academically.

I also agree with you that acting/theater takes more than simply skills/talent. A truly good actor will draw upon a knowledge of the world and utilize thinking skills, and so on. Besides the fact, it is very hard to make it in this field on stage and it can only be beneficial to have an education and be smart in terms of any sort of future employment. I also find that there is a correlation between those who are good students with those who have the work ethic to do an intensive college program that a BFA requires. It surely is not an easy educational path!

5pants

My Ss were very ruffled (actually ready to lose some gaskets) by this counselor's comments and came real close to writing letters, but didn't. It was a very long ride home from Chicago.

As a side note this counselor also pelted them with questions about twins. Of course they guys are use to this. Obviously it comes up all the time...it's normal. BUT this guy wanted to know things like "Do you feel each other's pain?" and dumb stuff like that. Simply NOT what you would expect at a meeting with a prospective school.

After that we then chose to look at DePaul and this school was amazing, but was NOT considered a saftey school by any means...unless of course one decided to pursue a BA in Theatre Studies...which was another option we considered.

All in all there are many different combinations of pathways to look into. Advice to all, don't be discouraged by schools that don't live up to what you think....be sure to do your homework, visit the school, and ask lots of questions. Especially ask yourself, "Do I see myself happy and progressive at this particular school for 4 whole years?"....and think about it hard!!!

Soozie, as my sons always say...."As an actor, one is always learning, it's a continous process". AMEN!!

SUE

NotMamaRose

Sue, the whole experience sounds as if it were supremely disappointing and annoying! I can't get over that he asked your sons stupid twin questions. Sheesh. Rude and ignorant.

In any case, that person was not a good representative for his college. Did you say he had graduated from there (Columbia College) or when you said "Columbia," did you mean the Ivy League school? Either way, something tells me that that person was in the "not such a good student" category.

5pants

NotMamaRose,

No, he was an alum from that very same school....Columbia College of Chicago. My guys field twin questions with great ease. I think it was this guy's overall tone that took a toll. Suddenly they seemed to be "his" freak show.

A&N's mentor of many years gave them wonderful advice that bad experiences are worth their weight in gold as much as the good ones. This particular experience gave us one end (or bottom) to our so-called spectrum graph.

I don't want to seem as though I am totally bashing this school....in all fairness this was our expereince and our perception. This school may be someone's creme de la creme. Personally speaking, we wanted a program that held the bar higher...another important consideration!!

SUE

soozievt

Sue, don't worry, I don't think your posts come across as bashing a school. I think it is helpful to articulate why one has chosen to apply or not apply, as the case may be, and this can be done without putting down the school. As well, in this case, you mentioned what someone in the admissions office remarked. As most (including you) know not to do, one can't judge an entire school based on talking to one person. Sometimes you can get a "dud" in an admissions office or on the phone or as a tour guide, etc. So, ya gotta dig deep and talk to many before coming to any conclusions about a school. Unfortunately, those in the admissions office are the "first line" and people do form impressions by those contacts, and so they do need to think about how they come across as this vignette indicates! Perhaps those students in their program tend not to have high academic stats so this person wasn't used to seeing students like your sons, but one would think he'd be thinking, GREAT! Oh well...

notfromme

I just read this thread and it is amazing the questions that are asked!! While I am use to the "uninformed public" asking the "with grade like that why music theater..."question, but a person from the field!! UGH! Hmmm, makes you wonder how HIS grades were! The top students at our school (for the most part) are involved in performance! I look at music as being a language that can be "spoken" around the world. It amazes me that you can have a group of musicians who cannot communicate through speach, but can play a band or orchestra piece with beauty. As soozievt said....oh well......

soozievt

NotFromme...at our HS, I also observe a majority of the kids in music, as well as theater, tend to be the best students.

notfromme

I believe that there is a study that does show that students who perform also do well in class! So there! Maybe the next pre-med (ect) student I meet I will ask "with grades like that you should go into performance!!!!"