averagetim

My daughter had a pretty devastating and rude experience at Emerson. She was given the once over in the audition by a teacher who said to her, "don't count on it" when she spoke of Emerson as her first choice. The auditoners did not even ask anything about her. She was rejected EA and we thought she was a shoe in, she was already attending college, after graduating a year early,..However this process all works out in mysterious ways. She was afraid to pin her hopes on NYU, but that is where she is... Tisch her absolute living the dream school and having a fantastic time, learning tons and she loves it! As parents we are ecstatic about the experience, her living situation and the academics as well. She loves NYC and would not have liked Boston, and though in the beginning we thought living and classes all in one tight area would be wonderful, having NYC at her doorstep has been fantastic. We refused to base her worth on grades or test scores however and in fact to this day none of my 3 younger children knows their results on the SAT. The older two focused way too much on those things and ended up unhappy and tracked themselves into things they "thought" they should do or "had" to do. We prefered that the others dream big, work their B***s off and go for it. I also know now why it takes so long... so much happens during the process that EA may sound like a good idea but its not over til its over...in May. If you want to get perspective read "Global Student"... there are so many ways to get what you want in the end. I also would recommend doing the schools you don't care about early and save those that you want toward the middle and end. Our daughter knew she nailed it when she walked out of her Tisch audition.

NJTheatreMOM

Absolutely schedule your auditions for the most desirable school(s) last. And of course nobody should consider themselves a shoo-in for admittance to any auditioned BFA acting program.

Averagetim, I wonder why your daughter would not have liked Boston. People may or may not like certain schools in the Boston area, but I can't imagine what's not to like about the city itself.

chrissyblu

Well, my D had a completely different experience at Emerson. The people at Emerson were very friendly and engaging, as were the folks at NYU. In fact, the only schools that were not very nice were Juilliard (but we expected that), and UCLA (which, ironically, is where she attends.) In our experience, Juilliard, UCLA and from what I heard USC all ran their auditions much like professional auditions. No love. No compliments. Nothing from the adjudicators. We actually preferred this because no hopes were raised by kind comments of any kind. Just neutral.

I completely second in a very loud voice to never take anything stated by the adjudicators as meaning anything.... good or bad.

averagetim

Boston and New York are two very different cities, Many many people like Boston, she way prefers NYC and it is an easy bus ride from home in DC. I guess my general comment would be that DC and NYC appear more international than Boston. She is very much a world traveller and very happy. I hope that each student finds their niche this year and that all you parents survive a stressful time with some laughter around the edges. If I can answer any other questions, please let me know.

NJTheatreMOM

Oh I see, averagetim. Thanks for your response. My son has not had the opportunity for world travel. To him, a Southern NJ boy, Boston seems plenty exotic, lol! (As far as he's concerned, it's much more exciting than Philadelphia, which is 10 minutes away from home.) He's looking forward to his semester at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts with his Acting BFA classmates at Boston University.

My son was accepted at Tisch/Adler but felt that NYC might be a little too intense for him at this point in his life. The friendliness of the BU School of Theatre people and the "manageability" of Boston seemed just right to him.

Boston is a little farther away than we like, but then again my son's weekly out-of-pocket expenses have been relatively low. We were a bit concerned that in New York he might have had a constant struggle to resist the temptations to spend money on arts events, food, etc, etc.

Different strokes for different folks!

averagetim

I think you hit the nail on the head. She needed NYC, and really was not interested in a "college" experience, so it was a perfect fit. The funny thing was she did not really want a BFA, but in the end that is what fit her perfectly. Our son averagetim on the other hand has had the same opportunities and even more travel and he HATES NYC.

Expenses are quite high, you are right, but she is happier than she has ever been in her entire life, so we just live vicariously!

Hope your son is loving it!

NJTheatreMOM

My son at Boston University is also happier than he has ever been in his entire life. For these passionate theatre kids, who go through such a nerve wracking process with the college auditions and the decision making and uncertainly and all......FINALLY to find themselves in a program they love, spending every day doing what they care about most, is just inexpressibly wonderful.

chrissyblu

I WISH my D had auditioned at BU, but she wouldn't..... I would strongly recommend it, though. We know many students who went there and they LOVE it. Plus one of my hobbies is to see where actors went in the playbills at Old Globe and La Jolla Playhouse (as well as at other shows) and I see BU all the time.

MTmom14

Could you tell me if your son is at BU for acting or music. Does anyone know what their musical theater dept. is like. Does it exist or is it only Opera for vocal?

NJTheatreMOM

MTmom14, my son is at BU for acting. There is no MT degree at Boston University.

If you are particularly interested in MT programs, you might want to visit the College Confidential Musical Theatre Majors forum.