<p>I went on a tour of Purchase today with my daughter, she’s auditioning tomorrow. One of the tour guides (a conservatory student, not acting) said that the acting program was really tough because you had to audition every semester to stay in the program. They also said that they accept 30 students and cut to 16 by the senior year. I’m pretty sure that this is not true, I’ve never seen anything on these boards that mentioned Purchase having a cut program and I haven’t seen anything on the Purchase web site either. I really think that this student was wrong, but wanted to check just in case we had missed this somehow.</p>
<p>I auditioned there today and was talking to some freshmen students. They warned us about some things, but this was definitely not one of them. They said that class of '10 started with 24 and graduated 16, but the high attrition rate is most likely due to the fact that some students can’t handle the work or decide they want a normal life. No one said anything about auditioning each semester. Besides, the teachers see the work the students are doing every day in class, why would they have them audition?</p>
<p>During the first and second year students are asked to leave if they don’t show the professionalism and not keeping up with the work. They are really big on making sure their students are knowledgeable and professional. You can be dismissed at any time but students know when they’re going to be asked to leave. Its a process that’s on their website:</p>
<p>The Conservatory of Theatre Arts & Film is an international leader in professional training, offering a conservatory education to a limited number of highly gifted students. All students are expected to meet high standards of work and discipline. Those who fail to maintain these standards will not be permitted to continue in their program. The dean, along with each board of study, is responsible for setting these standards and for guiding and evaluating each students development.</p>
<p>Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 (B) GPA in courses required for their major. Criteria for advancement also include the students fitness and potential for a professional life in the field, as determined by the board of study. Advancement beyond the freshman year is by invitation of the board of study. Because of each programs rigorous nature, all coursework and extracurricular work or projects must be approved in advance by the students faculty advisor.</p>
<p>In the Acting, Design/Technology, and Dramatic Writing Programs, all first years are reviewed by the board of study after their first semester in the program. All freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and continuing graduate students are reviewed by the board of study at the end of the spring semester. Any student on warning or probationary status is reviewed at the end of the semester (fall or spring). There is an ongoing assessment of professional growth in all work for all students. In the Film Program, each student meets with the board of study at the end of the academic year for a review of the years work, at which time the board determines whether the student may advance to the next year.</p>
<p>Absences:
Illness must be documented by a note from a qualified professional specifying that attendance at a class would be detrimental to the students health. A student with excessive absences for medical reasons will not be able to maintain the level of work required; in such cases, the student may be asked to take a medical leave of absence. Students may not use an unexcused absence on a day preceding or following an official school holiday without consequence.</p>
<p>Probation and Dismissal:
When recommending probation, the board of study (a) notifies the dean of the specific problems that have led to the recommendation; and (b) specifies the criteria for rescinding the probation. The dean reviews the recommendation and, if in agreement, the student is notified in writing. If the criteria for rescinding probation have not been met by the end of the specified period, either the probation will be extended or the student will be dismissed. (The minimum probation period varies: in the Acting Program, the minimum is six weeks; in the Design/Technology and Film Programs, the minimum is one semester.) In each program, the maximum probation period is two semesters. A student who has been on probation for two semesters must be dismissed at the end of that time if the probation is not rescinded.</p>
<p>Just curious…At Purchase (or other programs) does it ever happen that professors think a BA student should in the BFA program?</p>
<p>The BA program at Purchase is called Drama Studies which looks at Theatre very intellectually. Most students don’t even want to be in the BFA Acting program - they are two different programs that don’t even share the same faculty.</p>