<p>Shacherry is making such an important point, Bisouu— it is worth researching every school carefully. A conservatory style BFA takes a small group of students who train together, intensively, for 4 years. Often each class functions as an ensemble, performing together almost exclusively. The class may go abroad for a semester or even a year-- but they go as a group. </p>
<p>Some people (my D is one) thrive in that atmosphere and there are lots of reasons why it’s a great way to study acting. But some want more choices, maybe even a double major, and some aren’t as interested in the ensemble as they are in other aspects. And even among BFAs there are very different ways of doing things. Some aren’t based on an ensemble at all.</p>
<p>The best thing is for a student to look deeply at the websites of every program he/she is interested in. I remember being surprised at how much information my D had gleaned from the websites-- things that I never would have noticed. But she was the one who was going to live it out. I studied and read up and talked to people and made sure she saw websites from every place that might interest her-- and then she took over and decided which places to follow up on. </p>
<p>One school whose non-auditioned BA seems to have lots of depth is Temple, in Philly. But many, many schools with BAs offer virtually no training, just theory and history. So, finding a backup is difficult. D’s was the nonauditioned BFA at University of Rhode Island, which would have given her the ensemble structure she wanted. </p>
<p>You’re totally asking the right questions!!</p>