ATTENTION - Current BA/BFA Theater/Acting/Drama Students

Jazay95
Wed, 29 Aug 2012 22:05:50 +0000

Hi there! My name is Josh and I am a high school senior. My dream is to get a BFA in Theater from one of the top theater programs in the country. I have compiled a preliminary list of schools with strong theater programs based on the criteria of prestige, reputation, testimonials, and recommendations from trusted sources. As I continue my research, I am finding it difficult to really learn about the BFA programs at these schools. Visiting their websites gives me little helpful or detailed information and reading about the faculty leads me nowhere. I took a look at the curriculums of some of the BFA programs and it seems to me that similar classes are required no matter where I go. I became frustrated due to the dearth of detailed information on BFA Theater programs available to me via the web. And that’s when my mother imparted to me a nugget of wisdom.

“If you want to get a sense of a school’s BFA Theater program, why don’t you talk to one of the current students or alumni?”

So I took my quest for knowledge to College Confidential’s Theater/Drama Majors forums. I had heard about College Confidential and the wealth of collective information and experience its users possessed. I created an account, using a moniker a friend coined for me while watching “Jay Jay the Jet Plane” in the 2nd grade, and typed up my story with the hope that the College Confidential community wouldn’t let me down.

Here is my preliminary list of schools:

UCLA
USC
Chapman
Pepperdine
Occidental
Loyola Marymount University
Southern Oregon
NYU - Tisch
Fordham
SUNY Purchase
Juilliard
Marymount Manhattan
Pace University
Carnegie Mellon
Rutgers
Emerson
Boston University
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota
DePaul
UNCSA
University of Miami
UC Santa Barbara
UC Irvine
UC Riverside
CSU Fullerton
Santa Monica City College

Does anyone know anyone who has attended or is currently enrolled in the BFA Theater program or equivalent* at any of these schools who would be willing to talk with me via email, Facebook, phone, or Skype?

*UCLA for example does not offer a BFA in Theater, however their BA is structured similarly to a BFA.

Here is a list of questions that I hope can be answered by talking to someone who has attended or is currently attending the any of the above theater programs:

How did you pick this school?

What other schools did you apply to?

Where did you get in?

What classes are you taking in the BFA?

What are you learning in those classes?

Do you enjoy those classes?

How are the teachers?

Are they knowledgeable and well informed?

Are there certain teachers that students don’t get along with?

Are your classmates talented?

Are there opportunities to perform?

How much time do you spend doing things directly related to your major?

How is the school setting you up with agents and managers and what not?

Do you have a life outside of the BFA program?

Are people able to minor or double major in something else?

Are the academic classes difficult?

Does the school have a reputation for having good, bad, or average academics? Does this seem to be true based on your personal experience?

Do you know anyone doing a double major or minor in the BFA program?

What’s the campus like?

What’s the city/town like?

What is your general impression of the students there?

How do you spend your free time?

Perhaps people could email these questions to any current students or alumni that they know and post their responses in the thread so that everyone can see.

Any correspondence is appreciated. A phone number, an email address, a name, everything is helpful.

If anyone thinks that there are better ways to learn about BFA Theater programs then please point me in the right direction. Any advice, tips, or guidance is welcome.

Thank you.