<p>I don’t know if this the proper thread for this question, but here goes: My D (currently a junior) and I have been focusing on BFA MT programs. However, with the competition and acceptance rates, we are starting to think about a going for a major in theatre and a minor in voice (with some dance classes as electives). Has anyone had experience with this approach? Is it easier to be accepted into a performing arts program? Will she be considered for musicals if she is not officially in the MT program? In the real world, I assume it’s talent and rightness for a part, not necessarily if you have a BFA-MT versus a BA-Theatre.</p>
<p>BLACKNWHITE54, </p>
<p>Please note that yesterday, I moved your post (which you have rewritten again today above in post #101, to its own thread:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=240136[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=240136</a>
since it is a good question but this really isn’t the right thread for it. This thread is meant for current college students and their parents to share experiences at college. So, now you have your own thread and I hope you will get many responses there. Go look, I think there are some already!</p>
<p>I am so pleased to have found this site, as it has so much information to share. In fact, I have been spending hours reading posts and frankly as much as I am enlightened, I am also quite overwhelmed. My son is a junior in HS and has been involved with MT since age 5. As talented and accomplished as he is in our city, I have learned that he may not be good enough to get into his college of choice. I know you should apply to several colleges etc. but I have a question regarding applying for “out of state” colleges. How on earth can you afford the 35-50k a year? I know we can’t, and therefore am confused at what to do regarding applying to the out of state college choices. Of course my s would like to apply at everyone of them! Can anyone give me advice regarding this? Is it worth our while to apply/audition and see what they offer should he get accepted?</p>
<p>mombull, I think the answer to your question is complex. On one hand, scholarships (need and merit) can bring some of the tuitions into more affordable realms. On the other hand, the process of applying and auditioning is costly from both a financial and time perspective. On a third hand, it would be very difficult to watch your son to fall in love with a school, put energy into the audition, wait the excrutiating amount of time for a decision, see him be offered admittance and THEN to tell him that the $ isn’t there. As you discuss schools with your son, I assume you’ll be frank about what you could afford out-of-pocket and from loans. Perhaps you could even ask him what it would feel like to get in, but to not be able to attend because of funds. Many on this board may have info on the range of tuitions + scholarships available.
Good luck!</p>
<p>mombull,
We are in the same boat about not being able to afford the full tuition of most of the schools,both private and OOS schools. We took our chances at the schools my d was interested in and cut down on expenses by visiting during the audition process. If your son is a good student that will help, both in getting into his choices and in getting merit aid directly from the school. Need based aid will be a key issue for you, and you are wise to have your son apply for any local scholarships that he has a shot at. There are also guaranteed Parent Plus Loans if you have decent credit which covers the cost of tuition above and beyond any aid or grants he may receive. These have decent percentage rates and don’t have to be repaid right away, unless you want to.
It is critical that your son does not apply ED for his first choice, unless you ARE willing to pay whatever amount they throw at you…again doubtful that it will be the full amount, but it may be higher than other schools offer further down the line…which you will never know about because you would have to withdraw those applications upon acceptance to your ED.
Good luck and watch out for the financial aid deadlines, both for state and at some of the schools which have their own seperate aps. My D’s biggest awards came from the most expensive schools, making them affordable, and the smallest from the OOS State school, making it the most expensive if she had attended.
Someone gave us the advice to just apply and see what happens…as long as your child knows that finances will ultimately play a roll in HIS final decision. Even Harvard and Princeton have full tuition for some kids, and you never know how it will play out with acceptances in this field anyhow…so just GO FOR IT!</p>
<p>Also, there are a lot of mt school out there with reasonable tuition, both for out-of-state, and for private schools, so you kind of have to shop around. But really, I suggest having your son go for the schools he’s really into, no matter the tuition price, and go for all the scholarships he can, and then look at the situation again once he has all his acceptance letters and scholarship offers. The price can be a big deciding factor whn that time comes, but for now, it shouldn’t be as much of an issue. Just make sure you have a couple affordable schools on the list, preferrably including a safety.</p>
<p>My beautiful S just walked in the door an hour ago for fall break! Haven’t seen him since august 17th. My husband said he hasn’t seen me smile that big in along time. He’s already off and gone with his brother, oh well, I’m sure I’ll get to spend SOME time with him these next three days. Those of you who are seeing your kids for fall break, enjoy!</p>
<p>Rusty</p>
<p>Mine came home last night on some bus that went from Chinatown, Boston to Chinatown, NY. Only $15 - what a deal! I picked her up at 1:00 a.m. last night. We’re off to shop now, since, of course she needs more clothes and exercise wear!! Good to have her home for a weekend though…</p>
<p>Ooh- I am jealous. My D spent her fall break last weekend visting friends at Vassar. But…Parent’s weekend starts Oct 27th and I can’t wait! Have fun with your kids everyone!</p>
<p>I’m trying to imagine a 1,500 mile drive-- and probably many plane rides. When your child attends a school that far from home, do you only plan on seeing him/her two or three times a year? Or, do you factor in the cost of many round-trip airfares back and forth? Thanksgiving, Christmas/ intersession break, spring break, summer? And, how about you going to see them perform? Do you just figure that you will miss most performances, or do you keep flying down to see them? And if that is the case, do you limit your visits to when it’s a big role, or do you also go to see them in a chorus part?
We might consider letting our D apply to colleges across the country if the tuition and fees were low enough to counteract the cost of air fare, but nothing is that inexpensive–unless perhaps there is a full scholarship.
How are you planning to handle this long-distance situation? We live in New Jersey, exactly five minutes away from NYC,so I’m kind of “provincial”- it seemed odd to travel to the west or mid-west for a musical theater program, but perhaps we should rethink it. I’ve heard that Oklahoma has a great program; are there any other schools that we should consider?
Lots of questions. It seems that the more I learn, the more confusing it gets.</p>
<p>I’m glad to know that we are not the only parents who are horrified by tuitions of $40,000 plus, a year. And, then even if we pay part and take out with some loans, my D would probably have to take some loans herself–putting her in the difficult position of starting out as a performer while having to pay back student loan–ridiculous, considering how difficult it is for actors to find paid work, and how important it is for them to grab any work opportunities that they can. Right now my D is a freshman at a local community college, so we are not yet in tuition quicksand, but she’s planning to audition for next year and transfer in September 2007. We live in NJ, so Montclair State is on our list of possibilities (and so is UArts, her first choice), but what are some other schools, private or out-of-state, which will not cost and arm and two legs?</p>
<p>Hi! I’m new to this thread. My D didn’t get into any musical theater programs, and is spending a year at a local community college as well as continuing with her acting, voice, and dance activities. She’s planning to audition again in February; however, your story is very intriguing. Your D is getting fantastic experience AND enjoying college life. However, how does she manage two separate institutions competing for her time? Aren’t there sometimes big conflicts between the dinner theater’s schedule and her school schedule of classes, exams and drama activities? Is the dinner theater sometimes flexible, or does that have to be the central activity? Was she able to schedule her classes in such a way to accommodate her other activities?
And, what do you know about any other Florida public colleges? My D would be paying out-of-state rates, but I’ve heard good things about FSU. Did you D apply there? My D’s academics were on the low side, so she’s taking classes now to have a good GPA for transfer. So, we’re looking for
high-powered theater classes and manageable academics. (As little math and science as possible)</p>
<p>Singalong Mom,
I can relate to your thoughts about distance and costs:</p>
<p>When my D first started thinking of colleges, she of course was thinking New York. I remember saying to her that I would prefer that she would be within driving distance so that I could afford to come see her perform. It went without saying that I would not be able to pay for her to fly back and forth for every little break. Heck, I couldn’t even afford for us to fly anywhere to audition.</p>
<p>You mention Oklahoma, and my D is at OCU. It is a 4-hour drive for me, and I usually go visit once each semester, usually to see one of their musical productions whether she is in it or not. There are many out-of-state students there. My D has a roommate from PA and one from NC. The “cost to attend” is approaching $30,000. She is lucky to have some academic scholarship, but she and I both will have loans to repay when she graduates. This year she is in an apartment for which I pay the rent, but she is working (as a waitress :)) to pay for food, gasoline and her part of the electric bill. I am a single parent and her father does not pay for anything.</p>
<p>OCU is a BM degree in a liberal arts college, so there are some required academics, but I think it is limited math and science, and your D may have already fulfilled the requirement at the community college. </p>
<p>Rest assured you are not alone in your concerns. It is ironic that you live so close to NY and your D wants to go elsewhere. I guess “the grass is always greener…”</p>
<p>Unfortunately, most private college and university tuition is now in the $40,000 range. OUCH! You may want to look at state schools, even ones where your daughter would be paying out of state tuition are usually less expensive than private.</p>
<p>Penn State (the students there do take a full liberal arts coure, minus foreign language (I think)… so there are some math and science requirements)</p>
<p>Florida State (you mention the program in your next post. This is a very strong program)</p>
<p>University of Michigan (also very strong)</p>
<p>Montclair State (I think you mentioned this program as well. Being from NJ this would be very economical)</p>
<p>University of Central Florida (although they havea MFA as well, so I do not know what the opportunities are like for undergraduate BFAs)</p>
<p>CCM (Very competitive)</p>
<p>I do not know much about the following programs, other than BFAs:</p>
<p>Western Michigan & Central Michigan Universities</p>
<p>East Carolina University</p>
<p>SUNY - Fredonia, Buffalo (have worked with performers from these schools. Seemed to be well trained) </p>
<p>Kent State (worked with a verey talented woman from here)</p>
<p>The above are all BFA programs with varied rates of competitiveness.</p>
<p>If you go to the Big List <a href=“Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos”>Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos; you will see a list of programs both private and public broken down by state.</p>
<p>If your D is certain that she wants to transfer, she may want to have a few non-audtioned programs on her list that are within here range academically. If you go to the websites of the schools on the Big List you will find information</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>On a final note… I agree entering the world as an actor with $80,000 debt or more is daunting! I know someone who has such large monthly loan payments that she has not been able to take advantage of some opportunities because she would not be able to make her monthly loan payments.</p>
<p>At the University of Oklahoma tuition is less than $16,000 per year, including all the fees, for a freshman MT. Most of the MT students have a talent scholarship. National Merit finalists receive a four year scholarship package of $78,500. There are other scholarships available as well. Academic scholarships for non-National Merit scholars are more difficult to get from the university itself (as opposed to other scholarship sources) than from many of the LACs housing MT programs.</p>
<p>Hi Everyone, </p>
<p>I’ve been waiting for my daughter to come home for fall break before posting on her experience thus far at OCU. We were fortunate enough to be able to fly her home for fall break; I needed to see her badly and used my birthday (as opposed to my mild case of empty nest syndrome!) to bring her home. As we talked in the car on the way home from the airport (usually a 45 minute drive which turned into 2 hours due to traffic and the Columbus day weekend) I got a lot of information on her life at OCU. She talked about registering for the spring semester when she gets back to school on Tuesday. I said (jokingly) “so I guess you’re staying?” to which she replied that OCU was absolutely the right school for her. Her voice instructor is wonderful; she has had a major break-through and is singing differently than she ever has before. She loves the master classes where the students perform and get feedback from other students (including grad students) as well as professionals. She said the depth of talent is amazing. The combination of her music theory class, aural skills and piano classes have enabled her to be able to sit down at a piano and learn new songs which she loves since she has never played piano before. Her theory/aural skills teacher is one of her favorites as well even though these classes are at 8:00 am Monday through Friday. </p>
<p>When we attended orientation in August, the dean of the school of music spoke to students and parents as a group. His opening comments included the fact that he knew the students were nervous and questioning whether they were talented enough to be pursuing their performing careers at OCU. He stated (which we found very encouraging) that they were indeed that talented and that the faculty at OCU would do everything in their power to help them succeed; that they did not “weed” students out after admitting them to the program (having done this already before admission). He also talked about their life at OCU being their job and giving it everything they had. </p>
<p>At any rate, she is a very happy camper at OCU. She has not been cast in any of the shows thus far but is working hard and enjoys the process (even though she misses being on stage). I’m grateful she is happy and even though we miss her like crazy, we wouldn’t have it any other way at this point. </p>
<p>Good luck to all the rising seniors auditioning at OCU in November. It’s hard to believe it was just a year ago for us. </p>
<p>Carole</p>
<p>Carole, I am delighted that your lovely D is doing so well! I know she is well thought of! I think the vast majority of freshmen at OCU love it, it’s a great program run by a terrific staff and faculty. I hope you have a great 3 days with her!</p>
<p>Rusty</p>
<p>CSU Fullerton’s out-of-state tuition and fees this year is $13,190 for a student taking 15 units.</p>
<p>Once you are a resident here for a year, you can claim residency (get a driver’s license and in-state registration of vehicle, bill stubs/receipts proving your address, tax documents if you work, etc.). For in-state tuition, the rate drops to $3,020 PER YEAR!</p>
<p>For dorms, fees for the 2006-2007 academic year are $4408 double occupancy and $5912 single occupancy. Fees do not include food, cable or telephone but do include a bedspace in a furnished, air-conditioned suite; gas, electricity, water and Internet access.</p>
<p>Granted, the dorm space is severely limited (a new dorm with parking garage is in the planning stages now), but there are a plethora of apartments located within walking/biking distance of the school.</p>
<p>And as far as flying in, there are four “close” (within 60 miles) airports: LAX, Santa Ana (John Wayne International), Ontario, and Long Beach. It is easy to find non-stop flights from major cities into LAX and Santa Ana, and sometimes to the others, too.</p>
<p>Hope this is helpful.</p>
<p>eve</p>
<p>Prof. Himmelheber,
Re: CSUF sophomores whose parents reside out-of-state obtaining in-state residency status for tuition purposes. It just sounds too good to be true. Are there actually out-of state students that you know personally who have been able to do this? I just looked at the CSUF catalog and it states that, “The student who is within the state for educational purposes only does not gain the status of resident regardless of the length of the student’s stay in California.” The complete set of rules regarding out-of state students obtaining in-state status reads very much like the regulations I have seen in other states. </p>
<p>In my reading I learned that generally an undergraduate student must be self-supporting, or nearly so, in order to claim that they are legal residents of the state in which they are going to school. Most undergraduates cannot meet the income requirement. However, graduate students are usually able to meet the residency requirements one year after moving to the new state. My D’s school, for example, tells grad students up front that they are expected to gain in-state residency by the 2nd year of their degree programs. Graduate students typically earn an income through teaching assistantships. Most MT undergrads would be hard pressed to provide a large enough percentage of their upkeep to meet residency requirements.</p>
<p>I am very interested to learn if things are truly easier in California!</p>
<p>Just wanted to say hello and join in with all of you. My D is currently a sophomore in High School. I have been lurking since last year! Thanks so much to all of you for all of this invaluable information. I can’t mention all of the particular posters, but SoozieVT and Ericsmom come to mind as some of the most helpful…thank-you!!! My D has been interested in singing, dancing and acting practically since birth, LOL. Went to a summer theater camp annually from the age of 6 to 12. Took ballet and piano from age 6-8. She sings in the school and church choir. She is an officer in her school’s dance team which meets Mondays and Wednesdays. She has been enrolled in a music conservatory school for the past two years that meets every Saturday; it includes a three-part class: theory, diction, and piano. She takes private voice lessons on Fridays. She took up ballet and jazz during the summers for the past two years as well. She just finished a lead performance in the High School play, The Chalk Garden. AND she is the Sophomore Class President and makes very good grades in her Honors classes!!! Sound familiar??? And she did not really express a serious intent to pursue musical theater until the Spring of last year!!! I guess we unknowingly have been preparing her all along, but she was just doing all of these activities because she simply loves doing them! I am looking forward to the ride ahead of us!</p>