<p>XXOSTAGE, here are some thoughts I have about fit. First, it’s not a static concept. How you evaluate it at the application/audition stage is going to be different from the point at which you are choosing from among acceptances. At the application stage, it’s a bilateral concept: what are you looking for in a school and what are schools looking for in an applicant. You need to think through both aspects as you put together your short list of schools to which to apply. At the end, when you are deciding from among your acceptances, it’s all about how you think the school fits you. The factors will be different for non-audition schools and audition based programs. And how you prioritize and evaluate the factors that go into fit will evolve throughout the process based on your experiences and info you pick up along the way. At the beginning of the process, the thresholds to be met in determining preliminarily whether a school fits your desires probably should be a bit lower than at the end so as to not prematurely eliminate schools where you match their criteria. Once acceptances are in, then you can re-evaluate schools and tighten up on your expectations. So, where to start .</p>
<p>First, what are your daughters strengths and weaknesses innate talent, training and experience in acting, voice and dance. Academic/student profile. How do they line up with schools on your long list. Keep in mind that in the audition process, schools often place different emphasis and weight on the 3 talent components and may evaluate them differently. Audition based schools require varying thresholds of academic performance and give varying weight to academics vs. talent. Non-audition schools are all about academics/student profile. School websites have a lot of valuable info. Visiting the schools and speaking both with admissions and theatre department reps can be an invaluable source of info of this type. This type of inquiry is an important aspect of figuring out the short list of schools to which to apply. Is your daughter a good fit for the schools she is considering for her list.</p>
<p>Second, what are you looking for in a school. There are so many factors that can go into this. Size of school/program, full university/college vs. arts university, city vs. town vs. suburban location, encapsulated campus vs. city streets campus. BA vs. BFA, balance of performance curriculum vs. liberal arts curriculum, balance of performance curriculum amongst and between acting, voice and dance, balance of academic theatre vs. performance classes, opportunity to minor or double major, strength of the liberal arts curriculum, typical performance season (drama vs. musicals). Dorms, meal plans, campus life and activities. Climate, geographic location. Scholarships, financial aid and costs. Does the school have some kind of cut system. All things to consider when putting together the short list. All things to look at again when deciding on acceptances.</p>
<p>At the end, when April hits and acceptances are in, you go back and evaluate fit all over again, with the benefit of an audition seasons worth of experience, having visited schools, met with reps and having asked a ton of questions. Probably the best description of how to evaluate and compare schools at the end of the process was posted by mtdog71. See <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1098171-any-advice-determining-quality-mt-program-2.html#post12112551[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1098171-any-advice-determining-quality-mt-program-2.html#post12112551</a> Also, sitting in on classes, once the decision is down to the 2 top acceptances, provides a tremendous opportunity to get a first hand feel for a school and could very well be the ultimate determinative factor (as it was for my daughter).</p>
<p>Its a multi-faceted process involving a lot of research and time. Theres a ton of objective information that can inform about fit and the trick is to methodically organize it so that you dont go nuts from information overload. But at the end, the ultimate determiner of fit is often a gut reaction! Ive posted this elsewhere but it is worth repeating. Throughout my daughters school selection, application, audition and final decision process, I had binders, charts, spread sheets, containing the accumulation of 2 years of research, web site browsing, campus and department visitations. At the end, when she was down to choosing between her top 2 schools from her acceptances, she sat in on classes and her gut reaction to that experience superseded all the objective research. When she came home conflicted about what choice to make, I had 3 questions for her: where do you feel you will learn the most, where do you feel you will have the best rapport with the teachers, where do you feel most at home.</p>
<p>Hope some of this is helpful.</p>