<p>Here’s some of what I know about D’s decision criteria. She has many talented friends with very different criteria who will land in very different schools, so certainly one size does NOT fit all – which is awfully lucky since the competition is stiff enough without everyone trying to get into the same school!</p>
<p>I know in D’s case, she viewed a slightly larger pool of theatre students as a plus, as she experienced firsthand the fact that one or two strong personalities could make or break the atmosphere in a very small class of, say, 20 MT students. She also preferred the additional network of contacts one would form through a larger program, plus the larger number of productions that a bigger program would mount in a given year. </p>
<p>She wanted a program where MT students would freely interact with Straight Theatre, Design, Technical, Directing, Dance and Music students, as opposed to programs where various factions are kept more separated. </p>
<p>D preferred a program that stressed academics as well as vocational MT skills, and so had no interest in Conservatory or even many BFA programs, as she wanted to be as flexible as possible upon graduation. With that in mind, she wanted a program that allowed and even encouraged a Double Major. She wanted a school with strong “brand recognition”/reputation, as she didn’t have that with her high school.</p>
<p>She also had a very particular desire to have a traditional college experience, and so was not interested in inner-city schools with no real campus. She wanted strong a cappella groups, a small college town, ivy-covered buildings and even maybe a football team on a stand-alone campus. That said, she also wanted easy access to a major metropolitan area so she could continue to see world-class professional productions on a regular basis. </p>
<p>In addition, she wanted a program with particular strengths in her areas of relative weakness - specifically acting and dance. She also wanted the ability to participate in student-created projects as well as professionally-created new works.</p>
<p>I know this isn’t everything that drove her choice, but it’s probably already more than enough info. ;-)</p>