Help with school list! (what to do when kid has no preferences...)

soozievt
Sun, 09 Sep 2018 18:10:28 +0000

@junior72
You wrote:

We have been trying to “read up on each school extensively” but the unfortunate problem we are having is that we can’t seem to find relevant, specific information. We try looking at the college websites themselves, but with a few exceptions most of them seem to be rather generic in their descriptions of the program (“we train triple-threat performers, leaders in the industry, veteran faculty, will prepare you to enter the industry”), they all sound “fine”, nothing that allows my son to say one is better or worse or pros/cons. Also tried searching through this forum but many posts that are specific to individual programs are dated. Any other places to suggest looking in order to read up?

Examine more closely beyond the description of the program. Note things on a spreadsheet such as size of program, size of the school itself, academic profile of admitted students, the specific four year curriculum in the BFA in MT major program (these vary between programs), how much acting training? what style of acting training? private voice? amount and styles of dance? Is dance leveled? master classes? showcase? main stage season (types of shows selected), other performance opportunities, student run productions? new works? grad students in dept.?piano taught? music theory taught? How many professors work professionally in the theater industry, any type of cut policy, performance facilities, what alumni are doing, coursework about “the business,?” what percent of curriculum is in liberal arts? extracurricular groups such as theater troupes, choral groups, dance troupes, a cappella groups? I don’t know what your student prefers but perhaps noting each of these things for each college will point out the differences and also reveal what is most appealing…as well as factors like geographic location, distance from home, size of program, size of college, setting (urban, rural, suburban). After reading, he should list pros and cons. A huge thing is examining the curriculum of each program because it is pretty prescribed in a BFA program unlike in BA schools, and these differ among the programs out there.

Colleges also should be selected that are in your son’s academic range.

Even if you can’t visit all the schools now, perhaps visit a few that are not hard to get to. As well, even visit a few colleges that are not necessarily for MT near you of different sizes and settings and see what kind of college appeals.

If your son knows any kids who attend these programs, or friends of friends, talk to them about their experiences.