Does anyone have any information about Ferrum College’s BFA in MT? I am in Virginia and am really looking for an in-state option for my daughter (junior this year). She will of course apply to Shenandoah and JMU (but she really wants the BFA degree which they do not offer). I see only 3 faculty members listed on Ferrum’s department page, and they’re not even listed in the list of MT schools at the top of the MT page here. I would like any information that anyone can offer. Thanks.
I’m not familiar with Ferrum College. But you might want to consider Christopher Newport University. You can get a theater degree with a music theater/dance concentration. Also nearby in DC are both American University and Catholic University. They may be good options for you too.
Thanks @vvnstar we are looking at CNU too. She’d rather have the degree than just the concentration, but I think it’s definitely worth a look. The new Ferguson Center looks amazing, and I think we’re going to visit when they’re doing Into the Woods next month.
I’ll look again at American and Catholic–we’re only about an hour from DC so they’re good options, you’re right. Not sure how the financial aspect stacks up, will have to check on that again.
AU’s audition dates are all booked. They only have the one weekend in February. They are wait-listing people for auditions spots at this point.
I would tell her to worry less about the letters on the degree than the training you are going to get. Many terrific programs are not BFAs but still offer conservatory style training. There are many great programs that are not BFAs. For example, Baldwin Wallace and OCU are BM (Bachelor of Music) degrees. Northwestern is a BA degree. JMU is a BA degree. There are many others that are not BFAs that are great schools and training. So try to get her to focus on the curriculum and what classes she will actually be taking at each school you are considering more so than worrying about the letters of the degree if you can.
@pghmusician, I think her D is only a junior so she won’t need an audition slot until next year.
@vvnstar that’s such great advice, and I’m trying to lead her in that direction too. She seems hung up on the BFA, and I think she’s limiting herself. Her voice teacher and I are going to meet (along with D of course) to churn through lots of options. I’m a music educator so I have some knowledge, but am learning SO much more here on CC and with my own research. Just by doing a quick look again at AU and Catholic, I think I know why they fell farther down on my list, they’re both pretty expensive. I have a ways to go in convincing her that we just don’t have the money for some of the schools she wants to go to–and I don’t want her to graduate with more debt than she can ever repay. If you have any tips on ANY of this, please just share away (@vvnstar and anyone else!) b/c I still have so much to learn. . .
You really have to go through the curricula with a fine tooth comb to compare programs appropriately. Some BA’s have more hours in the major than BFA’s. Some programs require several stagecraft and theatre history courses, while others only require 1 or 2. Some programs require musical ensemble participation, many do not. Some programs include more acting and/or dance than others. Some BFA’s require considerably more Gen Eds than others. And so on and so forth. The variation is pretty amazing and I agree with the other posters who have noted that the letters on the degree can mean little. There appears to be little standardization between what constitutes a BA and what is included in a BFA program. You can’t go strictly by the letters. Dive deep.
I know that the programs my son researched last year often had a sample schedule or entire 4 year curriculum listed on the website which was very helpful for comparison.
And if you can’t find it on the website, call the school and ask someone to send you the 4 year curriculum. Since your child is only a junior, you have time to do this kind of research/comparison, and it is SO helpful. I wish we had done more of it earlier on. For example, Pace’s BFA MT is only a 60 credit BFA (half of the total needed to graduate) while Montclair’s is a 92 credit BFA, and I believe Ithaca’s is even more. These are just a few examples. Not sure how a program gets to be designated a BFA, but there appears to be very little uniformity.
That’s a great idea @Calliene thank you! Some of them don’t list it, you’re right. Thank you! And I know this is unrelated but I’m going to ask it anyway. Can any of you “veterans” lead me through the process of audition fees? From what I’ve seen so far, it looks like there’s a $25 fee to upload an audition to getacceptd (maybe more for some schools?), but then is there also a fee if you audition in person at the school? And for Unifieds, is there a fee to attend, and then a fee for each school? Thank you all. I’m starting to spend way more time on this site than even my Facebook page, lol.
@mspamela - in the most general sense- there is a fee for just about everything in the college process 
but there is tremendous variation between schools. Most schools charge an application fee and an audition fee. If they are a prescreen school there is also a fee for that (whether on accepted, decision desk etc) fees vary widely- anywhere from nominal ($10-15) to faintly painful (If memory serves D had one school where the audition fee alone was over $75) and everything in between.
There is no fee to attend unifieds - but you have to pay fees for each school. If you have prescheduled appointments you will have done that before you arrive. If your kid is interested in doing some walk ins ( which are available for some schools, not all) then it is not unusually for schools to ask for the fee right there- bring your checkbook. All told, we spent over $500 dollars on application and audition fees alone during my kid’s senior year.
The prescreen fees you mentioned range from $0 to $100. Sometimes they include audition fees, sometime not. Each school is different. For example: Univ. of Wisconsin Stevens Point has a free prescreen, and no audition fee. Where CCPA in Chicago is $100. From the Acceptd website, you can search for schools under the resources tab, and search by cost of prescreen.
Unifieds is not a coordinated event like it sounds. Its just a central location that universities come to to make it easier on us. You still apply and audition separately for each one.
Don’t worry, you are so far ahead of the game with a Junior. You’ve got plenty of time.
Just start reading old threads. There is sooo much valuable info on here.
@mspamela - I live a stones-throw from Christopher Newport U. I would definitely recommend it as an up-and-coming program. I’m VERY impressed at what’s going on in the theater and music depts and am totally convinced that it will become an audition program very soon. (My personal opinion.) CNU isn’t easy to get into academically, either. Definitely add it to your D’s list as a non-audition safety school. CNU also hosts the Torggler Summer Vocal Institute, which brings in big-name performers/artists to teach.
so @EMSDad, there’s no place on here within all the lists that breaks down the curriculum for programs?
Like:
Temple - BA 124 Credits: 41-GenEd 67-Theatre 10-Voice 6-Dance
I know it would change pretty often, but it would be useful.
Also, regarding fees, make sure you budget for sending test scores to so many schools. Our D wanted to wait to send scores until she had her best score (she took the ACT several times). So we had the cost of taking the test multiple times plus we had to pay $11 to send the scores to each school to which she was applying. That added up to several hundred dollars between test fees and score fees.
I attended ferrum college many years ago and although not as a bfa major I performed in many of the on campus performances and still remain quite close with several bfa graduates and the core professors. The program is well run and the training quite good. The head of the program Wayne bowman is an excellent instructor who is demanding yet even tempered. At that time the focus was centered on acting, vocal and then dance. There were many opportunities to perform on campus with the regular season and student productions and based on my Facebook feeds…it still is.
During my tenure there was a traveling performance group called “the jack tales”. The professor who originated the group retired recently so I’m not positive that it continues. Regarding the overall training, several of the bfa mt concentration majors I knew went on to professional careers and a few ended up in the movie industry. Others pursued dual degrees in education and are now either high school.teachers or run their own performing arts programs.
Ferrum is VERY generous with scholarships however it is VERY small and in an extremely remote area of southwestern Virginia. There were virtually no opportunities within a 30 minute range (it’s where the show moonshiners is filmed). When I attended there wasn’t a stoplight in the town…they got one a couple of years ago. I haven’t been there in about 5 years so there could have been a population explosion…but I doubt it.
Regarding the academic rigor…the professors I had during my tenure had degrees from Harvard Princeton and Yale so I enjoyed the academics but it is not regarded as an academic powerhouse. Nevertheless, I made deep personal connections with the professors, counselors and administration. Classes and programs are small and intimate (my smallest had 5 students). Most professors are long term and are vested in their students. My letters of recommendations to graduate school and post graduate work were from the vice president and president and we’re amazing. My academic counselor flew to Texas 10 years later for a reunion and we remain friends to this day.
Bottom line I’m a huge advocate of ferrum college but it’s not right for everyone. My d applied to Plymouth state last year for vp which to me had a similar feel to ferrum. I LOVED plymouth for many of the reasons I mentioned above. I even bought a hat hoping she would choose it…but alas she’s a big city girl who could not see herself in such a rural area even though she loved the program and the director of the vp program.
My advice. If you don’t mind small towns, visit, check out a show talk to the students and the professors. Curious to see your point of view.
@Sguti40 thank you SO much for your post. When did you attend Ferrum? I’m concerned b/c no one ever mentions it for MT. I have never been to Ferrum, but we live in a small town so understand what it’s like. I doubt my D will go for it, b/c I think he has her sights set on a larger city for college, but I feel like it’s worth a look at least. You mention several very good points and positives about the school, and I was looking for some. I’m not as concerned about academic rigor as I am about training in acting, voice, and dance. Dance is D’s weakest area. I’m also wondering if there are truly only 3 faculty members who work with the MT students, as the website shows. I am interested though, in seeing how much scholarship/aid money they would offer us. I wish it didn’t have to be a consideration, but my husband and I are public school teachers, and we have a S in college right now too. It’s a reality.
@pghmusician @SU88BFA @toowonderful @Calliene @entertainersmom @EmsDad @vvnstar I would love to hear your stories as far as if your kids are in MT programs now, how many schools they applied to, whatever else you’d like to share. Thank you all so much–this site is so helpful.
This might end up being a verrrrry long thread if you’re asking all that. lol
Just start reading the threads here, trust me, they’ll answer 90% of your questions.
Start with this one: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1616849-final-decisions-background-class-of-2018.html