<p>Cptofthehouse,
I can definitely understand your position on the money. My mom doesn’t have to worry about such things since my Dad left life insurance policies she invested well over the years for both my brother and I. It was a huge setback for me, however, that I made a bad decision the first time around (wasn’t cut, but quit) and had to do it all over again. Basically, my senior year, I’ll be forfeiting the approx. $10,000 per year I would have gotten from the government since my father died in military service had I finished on time. That money is only good for 48 months and it’s $10,000 less than I would have had while I start trying to make a career in the biz. That’s not even including the year I lost off whatever career I might have. In most peoples’ cases, that would be $10,000 - or a lot more, really - that would come off what they would have had for retirement. Invested well, that could be a lot of money. It would suck to lose it because of some capricious cut and I think it would be beneficial for someone who knows how to do some legal research to let us all know what remedies might be available if it could be shown to indeed be capricious. </p>
<p>But, really … Given that there is at least the possibility of being cut at most programs, you really need to do a lot of research to decide on which schools you do and don’t trust. Unfortunately, I think that can sometimes include a big leap of faith.</p>
<p>
One thing to remember in this is that sometimes the best actors - or at least those able to find a niche for themselves in the profession - are not always necessarily the best acting students. I think Sutton Foster was mentioned earlier in the thread. Some of you who are much more MT aficionados than me might know better, but what I’ve heard was that an acting teacher at CMU apparently got frustrated and told her she would “never be anything but a chorus girl,” so she went out and did it and … guess what? LOL Then, on the straight acting side, Robin Williams who is IMO one of the greatest American actors was apparently asked to leave Juilliard. It must have been amicable, however, since he now provides full scholarships for Juilliard Drama students in years two through four. Parker Posey was not cut from SUNY Purchase, but she barely escaped it on several occasions and finished her time there on artistic probation. She would have been cut as a senior had one of the faculty members not stepped in and got her set up with a Daytime TV gig. Then there is Mary Louise Parker who didn’t seem to make a good impression on the NCSA faculty while she was there. One faculty member apparently referred to her as “that bimbo that got lucky” for years after she started having success. She didn’t even get a BFA, but instead got their Diploma. She must not have had much patience with traditional academics. Amazing that she won the Tony for “Proof!” LOL</p>
<p>Sooz,
I’ll just post a link to what Doctorjohn wrote about cuts for those who might be reading who haven’t yet found it on the FAQ … [Colleges</a> For Musical Theater Major Discussion FAQ](<a href=“Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos”>Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos) It seems from that, that his experience from having once taught at a cut school was that it might have indeed been based on economics. Not all schools have NYU’s budget; but, then, they don’t charge as much either. 
Also, I feel I should say that his opinion was that it was “destructive to morale, and finally detrimental to the goals of training.” Then, DePaul student CKP who I quoted earlier would seem to disagree although I’ll have to admit her posts during that time seemed to carry a bit of stress about the process. She seemed like a real sweetheart and I’m so glad she made it through. 
Dang … I guess she’s about to be a senior! LOL</p>