@KaMaMom I am also interested in NWU…my D has her schools but I have the ones that I think is a good fit. We both met with NWU in Chicago and I really LIKED the folks at the school, they ask to meet with me and wanted to know what I as a parent wanted for her. I told them that somewhere that was a good fit and nurturing was a most importantly on my mind. At,the end of this crazy ride, these young adults are going to be cast out into a fairly cruel world and I would like to prevent that as much as i can at this point. My goal is she gets a good solid instruction, a great foundation and people she can talk to when things are going wonky (or great). She is concerned about location (nebraska-yawn) and size (small small small). What sort of college life can they expect as well as training and ability to make friends in and out of the department?
@lookingforarolemodel … I’m not surprised you liked Jack & Joan when you met them at Unifieds - they really are good people. The real deal. Last year when D was a freshman, she had an audition and she was super sick - for the first time ever she forgot the words to one of her pieces. Just bombed it. She finished the audition and walked out into the theatre lobby (and my kid is not a crier - not one bit) and because of a combo of it being the 1st year, she’s sick and she just totally messed up … well, she was upset and trying to hide it. Joan walked out of the audition room a bit later, took one look at my D across the room and made a beeline for her and hugged her. That should tell you a lot about kids are treated at NWU.
My D is also a city kid through and through - and Nebraska is the last place she thought she’d end up. But Lincoln is usually on all the lists as a top college town (because of U of Nebraska - not Wesleyan) and it really is a great place. Safe too.
On it’s size … yes, it’s small. It’s smaller than my kiddo’s high school. But we made peace with school size during the audition process - our mantra was look at the department not necessarily the university as that’s where she would be spending the most of her time. And that holds true - at least at NWU.
Making friends in the department is easy peasy … I think the kids are super supportive of each other. Is there in-fighting sometimes? I’m sure of it … but I’m also sure there’s in-fighting in the engineering department. When it comes to the girls, I haven’t seen much (if at all) of the Mean Girls type catiness. I don’t think the profs would put up with it for a hot second if they got wind of it either.
College life is what they make it … and Lincoln is a HUGE college town. (Be in town on a game day and 90% of the population will be wearing Husker tshirts … even my D owns a few! lol!)
Please feel free to send me a private message if you have more questions - but I’d be happy to answer them here in public too. When I joined CC I loved going back and reading tidbits about different schools - so I’d just as soon answer here too for future reference for some other MT kid down the road.
PS … go visit! The campus is super cute! If you go on a Wednesday, my D is a tour guide and you just might get her! lol!
@daughtersdreams we tried to make an updated list last year. There was a much better one a year or two earlier.
I have been checking in several times daily, but not posting much, because we have no news to report. 7 more schools to hear from. So genuinely excited for you students and parents who are receiving awesome news-but I will be honest: March sucks so far, lol. They told us this would be hard. They told us that there is often no rhyme or reason. They told us that decisions sometimes come out over days or even weeks. They told us to cast a wide net. UGH, Hoping for clarity, and at least a little good news, soon!!!
@owensfolks - stay strong… my D got her 1st piece of “good news” on March 23rd in 2014. (she did get a couple of safeties before that, but not BFA acceptances) just because it hasn’t happened YET doesn’t mean it isn’t coming!!
Sweating out MTs at PACE, Haart, and CMU for a friend Best of luck to all your kids!
Anybody have an opinion on Rowan’s Program? I don’t read much about it here.
@owensfolks we are right there with you. One no, 2 academic acceptances, radio silence otherwise. I must admit to second guessing myself about some choices we made, and obssessing about the “what if there is no good news” scenario. Meanwhile, my S is admitting that the stress of not knowing is getting to him as well. Ugh.
@toowonderful Thanks for your post above. It really does help alot reminding us to hang in there. It is so easy to start to become panicky at this time. Congrats to all who are beginning to find their landing spots and best wishes to all who are waiting.
If your child gets in nowhere PM me I have a great success story from my daughter who this happened to 
@bisouu would you mind sharing with us all? It may ease some overall tension. If not, completely understand.
@efr9598 same here! We did 9 schools. 2 of them were non MT schools (Pace for Art Administration - D wasn’t interested in applying there for MT) and Drexel for Entertainment Management. Accepted to both and academically accepted to Wagner. She was happy to get accepted to all those programs, but MT is what she really wants. We got a NO early on from Rider (which kind of surprised her) - and now waiting on 6 more. D has been great, but we are both very much on edge this week. I find myself stalking boards, portals and second guessing if 7 schools were enough and she is doing the same and constantly checking in with a FB group she is on. The waiting is the worst, and she knew that going in but I’m not sure she was expecting it to be so hard! Good thing she has the Senior Class trip next week and musical rehearsals to keep her busy. We are all in this together and within the next few weeks we know all our kids will end up somewhere! I’m glad to know we are not in this alone!!!
@JerseyParents I am currently a freshman in the musical theatre program at Rowan! Feel free to ask my questions! I also have a lot of friends in the acting program. I recommend asking to shadow a student.
@JerseyParents The nice girl who tried to help me add my D to The Company @aiming4success goes there maybe she can help. It’s a very popular school for the kids in my area to go to. In fact my D’s two best friends are freshmen there (non-PA). That being said, no it’s not spoken about much on these boards.
@LBSMOM Yes! Knowing we’re not in this alone is a tremendous help.
Sure…I’ve told it a lot and didn’t want to bore those who had already heard it. My daughter went to a very competitive high school and by the end of her junior year decided she did not want to ever take another math class again. She wanted a BFA (she had no real understanding of what that meant) and we set off on looking for schools. Very very long story short we applied to all the wrong schools. All top tier (mom had no understanding) and she got in nowhere. (waitlisted at Chapman).
We visited her safety, Drew University and she fell in love. BA program, small department (40 kids total), tons of personal attention, big fish in a little pond. She was hooked. We put down our deposit and I was thrilled she found someplace to go to college.
A few weeks later she came off the waitlist at Chapman (BFA) but decided to decline. She has been at Drew for 3 years now and is flourishing. She was cast in several leads roles (one as a freshman), has found the love of stage managing (a job she can do while looking for acting work), she directs, writes and auditions regularly in NYC for outside roles. She will be spending a semester in NYC next year as part of Drew’s off campus education. Working in the industry with professionals.
She has never looked back. She jumped in with both feet and made Drew the place for her. (and she never had to take another math class even with a BA)
If she had chosen the BFA route I think she would have pigeon holed herself. (the money we saved by going to Drew she has spend that money on acting intensive classes, stage combat classes etc. during her summers). She feels she hasn’t missed any significant training. In fact her world has opened up so much. I am not arguing against a BFA at all. For many many kids this is the route for them. But for my daughter the BA has given her tons of options when she graduates all in the theatre realm. Backstage, front of the house, on stage all these jobs are now within her reach.
My mantra for all of you is to “love your safety”. It may turn out to be THE place.
Lol @Aiming4Success we must have been posting at the same time!
Wow! Thank you @bisouu for that post. It really does help put things into perspective. We are visiting Hofstra this weekend, just to get our minds off of all of the waiting. Does anyone know anything about them?
I just have this huge pit in my stomach right now, that I’m hoping will go away after BW notifies tomorrow, but it probably won’t. Got rejected from Penn State last night, which now puts me at 1 acceptance, 1 priority hold and 2 rejections. It’s all getting so so real. Plus finals and tech and just life in general. March has been a fun time (not).
@bisouu Great story. Love it so much. Thank you for sharing it. Kudos to both you and your daughter for finding your way and feeling and knowing what truly matters. Inspiring!
It is so easy to get caught up in seeking the “name-y” schools and seek validation both for our budding artist kids and as parents. There are so many ways to grow and flourish in the arts. Many paths. Don’t mean to get all soggy and too philosophical but it’s very easy to become myopic in this process. This is a moment of learning in what will hopefully be long rich lives and careers for our children.
On a side note, the person who wrote Heathers the Musical is a Drew alum. They are putting this show on in the fall and my daughter will be the SM. Industry professionals will be part of this show. Connections are important in this business and you can find them at any school your child attends. Even the small, unknown ones