@CaMom13 and @onette Thank you so much for your feedback! We will definitely check out the American MT info that you passed along. Thank you!!
As for TCU, my D spoke with Harry on FT yesterday and came away feeling good about it too. Their BA Theater is very strong and the first year classes are the same for BA and BFA. There is an opportunity at the end of freshman year to try to audition again for BFA. She knows that if she goes to TCU, that she will have to be happy with the BA there - as the BFA is not a guarantee. In the BA program she can take all the dance classes and voice classes she wants. Acting 1 is the only one available to BA students. She would be going to TCU with the intention to audition at the end of the year, but would also stick with the BA Theater from there if it doesn’t work out. TCU, as a college and also their theater program, has been her number 1 school throughout the process and still remains her favorite. So, this is an agonizing decision.
The theater opportunities in Dallas/Ft. Worth look plentiful, for sure!! ?
She agrees that it is great that American BA is already an MT program and would be very happy to be in D.C… They have a ton of theaters in D.C., as well. We are just concerned that American’s overall college experience might not being what she is looking for. She really wants a school with strong school spirit. Not being able to visit and see the students in classes is making it exceptionally hard, and with no social media to boot!!
@Lilybird4 I live in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area and can absolutely vouch for the school spirit of TCU kids! LOL…I have been to several “TCU” weddings and they carry that spirit all the way through…It is a wonderful university and I have heard only good things from the people I know who attend and have attended! I have someone who is currently a student there that I know (in the theatre department). I can see if he would be willing to talk with her? Would she be interested?
@DivaStageMom@onette@CaMom13. Hi I would really appreciate if you have any thoughts on the Sunny Purchase Theatre and Performance, BA program. My S was accpeted there. I really can’t figure out how to direct message and you all he been so kind with your valuable input. Thank You…
@APerez I don’t. I know (professionally) some actors who attended there many years ago (hint: they have teenagers now themselves!!) and I heard there was great training “back then” but do not know anything about the program currently!
@Lilybird4 Yes – at Muhlenberg, about 60% of the entire school’s student body is majoring in something in the department of theatre and dance. However, while the department is large (a little over 1000 students), class sizes are not.
I’m not posting this to change your student’s mind and it sounds like she’s got a great sense of what she needs and wants, and I have no stake in whether anyone chooses Muhlenberg! I just want to help make sure accurate information about the program is archived here for future classes to find. Sounds like your daughter is choosing from some solid options and will find her way just fine!
@Dance3Looks3 Wow, I never heard that statistic about Muhlenberg before (post 166). Where did you hear that 60% of the student body is majoring in drama or dance or that the department is over 1000 students? I never knew that. I’ve never heard of any liberal arts college where half the student body is in one department/major.
On US News and World Report, it says that 9% of the student body at Muhlenberg is studying Drama/Theater. The total student body is about 2,340 students. Curious now.
Edited to add: I just visited Muhlenberg’s theater department site and found this in their FAQ section:
This puts the number at approximately 62 students in Theater per year.
@Lilybird4 - if she wants the traditional college experience with sports and social life, that definitely puts TCU as the front runner. I have multiple neighbors whose kids went there for non-theatre and loved it - the parents loved visiting as well! I haven’t really heard that kind of response to American - it’s more of an urban university in that surrounding city area provides lots of activities but school spirit and campus activities are less important.
@APerez - SUNY Purchase Acting BFA program is very strong. Has your son reached out to see if there’s a chance to audition for the BFA if he attends as a BA?
@soozievt Charles Richter told us that 60% of the student body at Muhlenberg was involved in some way in the department (and he told us this in the context of sharing how well-funded and supported the department continues to be by the school in general). Maybe I misunderstood this to mean “majoring or minoring in” but for sure, the department is a central one at the school – but if one looks at the course catalog, there are so many classes and he shared that class sizes remain small for that reason.
Edited to add: he was speaking of theatre and dance, not just theatre.
@Dance3Looks3 I understand. Yes, I knew you were posting about theater AND dance. I know this is a popular major at Muhlenberg and the theater program is well supported by the school. I recommend this school to many applicants and have had several students attend the school who are pursuing MT. In any case, I think the numbers of students who are majoring in the department probably is closer to what is posted on the website. Thanks for sharing!
Edited to add: I have read another article connected to Muhlenberg that says that theater majors represented 20% of the incoming class in 2019, and so that would mean approximately 120 students per year in theater.
Also, a rep from Muhlenberg posted on College Confidential in 2013 that there were 250 theater majors working in five different concentrations. So, that matches up what is posted on their website (this is for all four years). My guess is that the number may have increased in recent years.
@Lilybird4 My son is a freshman at Montclair State but went to high school in DFW. He was in an equity show with a few TCU students, and I think he had another non-equity show with another one. There are several very good equity theaters in DFW (including Casa Manana and Stage One in FW) that are very good theaters.
My son was between TCU and Montclair State but it came down to:
Harry was generous in his financial aid, but it still wasn’t as inexpensive as NJ in-state tuition
I think my son wanted to be away from here and near New York. Of course, he is now back here so…
@Lilybird4 - I don’t live in the area but my girlfriend, whose son graduated from TCU and is extremely discriminating, told me that TCU is one of the swankiest schools she has ever been to - she said everything is first class right down to the sushi bar at the tail gate - so idk much about the program - but it sounds like a very nice place to spend 4 years!
@Lilybird4 - my husband and I are both American Univ alum (graduated ~35 yrs ago). AU has a strong school spirit / identity. There is a new sports arena for collegiate level teams (no football team but plenty other teams), tons of intramural sports, WAMU (pbs radio station with nationwide programming), Greek life, super active student government, vibrant international vibe (Students from across the globe and our School of Internationals Service that is a pipeline for the foreign service), amazing internship opportunities, plethora of clubs, stellar academics, and the national’s Capital is full of (free) activities (museums, monuments, library of Congress). DC is a great coming of age city - and bonus - metro card included in tuition!
Eagle pride!! Our fellow classmates have kept in touch and still return to campus for sporting events. In fact when my husband’s class reconvened for 30yr reunion, the university rolled out the red carpet (by adding extra events) because they recognized their joy/school spirit. It was wonderful to have our sense of community supported by the administration even after all these years. I suggest scanning the university magazine to get a sense of the contemporary community / school spirit. BAL.
@soozievt Maybe he was speaking of total percentage of students who took a class or were part of a club or were more loosely involved with the department than a major or a minor. I do remember being surprised (and impressed) by the 60%/1000 students figure when I heard it on the tour, and a friend, who is a HS guidance counselor in the Lehigh Valley area, corroborated that the dept of theatre and dance is Muhlenberg’s main draw. Even with some BFA acceptances on her list, my daughter really wrestled with having to let Muhlenberg go. We didn’t expect to love it as much as we did.
@CaMom13. He just received the Acceptance letter today. He applied thinking he might be able to apply once he attends the BA program. He also just received a call from Drew University Theater BA. I’m real happy for my son…
Interesting article from the Muhlenberg student online magazine says 20% of freshmen admits are Theatre majors so I’m guessing the 60% number is students “involved” in theatre. Having heard the complaints about majors and casting over the last few years on CC I think this offers a more even-handed window into a program that’s gotten very popular… and in some ways is a victim of its popularity:
@Lilybird4 I can’t speak to the theatre department at American, but my older S is a current student at AU (in communications). It may just be his experience, but my sense is that American relies a lot on DC as it’s “campus,” rather than providing a lot of campus-specific activities. There is certainly Greek life, the radio station WAMU, lots of political/government involvement, and many clubs, as @coronado says, but my S has felt there’s not a lot of school spirit in the traditional college sense. That’s been okay with him in the long run, as he loves the DC music scene and has a lot of friends who live off-campus and work in DC internships, so they’re all out and about in the city frequently. But I don’t get the sense that AU provides the same kind of tight community feeling that some schools have. Just my two cents–obviously YMMV!