collegesearch2

Can someone tell me what NC ARTS is like on campus? I know it is a small school but are there a lot of activities for the students? Some schools I have looked at seem very cut-throat and competitive. Is NC ARTS this way? Or does the small size encourage the students to become "more like a family" and encouraging of one another? I am looking at this school for undergrad in vocal performance. I visited on a Friday and the campus was very quiet. I am assuming that there weren't many classes in session. What are the weekends like?
Thanks!!

Sherlockian

I went up to Winston-Salem for my filmmaking interview a few weeks ago, on a weekend, so perhaps my experience can help you out a bit.

The campus itself seemed pretty quiet on Saturday, minus the film students who were shooting a project in one of the sound stages on campus. There were a few students moving around outside, but really only in the Film Village.

From talking to current third- and fourth-years, the school doesn't seem incredibly cutthroat; a bit competative, they said, simply because that's the nature of the arts, but they mentioned lots of collaboration between the different years. One third-year girl, for example, was very enthusiastic about doing art direction on a second-year friend's upcoming project. I witnessed lots of students and professors come through the area where we were waiting to be interviewed, and everyone stopped to talk to each other, the professors joked with the students, etc. I was also especially struck by another third-year's mention that, when she had begun getting ill from working too much in her first year, her professor had pulled her aside and made sure that she dropped something. The small size really did seem to make a difference, as compared to the much larger universities I had previously visited.

Also regarding the collaboration, I found somewhere online that NCSA as a whole puts on an annual musical, with all the differing departments coming together to put it on (this year, West Side Story). Personally, I found that pretty impressive.

The people at the information session talked about lots of student activities; things like soccer club, and so on. The film students claim they have the longest days, with their friends in drama or dance having normal weekends while they crew sets. And parties were mentioned.

Honestly, you should take what I say with a grain of salt, as I visited for one weekend and really was only looking at the film department. But hopefully there's something in there that can help you out. =) Good luck!