“What can you do, with a BA in English, what is my life going to be?
Four years of college, and plenty of knowledge, have earned me this useless degree”
Yep, that’s me. BA in English. My kids loved to remind me of those lines when Ave Q was hot. Still, I’ve managed to support myself and contribute to the support of my family all my life. Yeah for BAs!
@claire74, I was just about to post the same lyric! LOL! Us “useless” English majors have to stick together. 
I wanted to major in Technical Theatre… My dad said, “I’m not paying for that. Pick something else.” So, I have a BA in International Relations (minors in Economics & Spanish). I worked ‘in the industry’ in international trade for 2 yrs. Then I had kids. Now I teach Scottish Dancing & own an etsy store (I make really cool scarves).
I have to join in - let’s hear it for useless English majors! I was a paralegal (which cured me of wanting to go to law school), ran a nonprofit, stayed home with kids and now teach preschool!
@austinmtmom @vvnstar @actorparent @artskids
Thanks for giving me the links for answering my question. I will check on more college websites for info.
If the outcomes for school A (at a 45,000 cost to me are virtually the same as school B ( at a 15,000 cost to me) it will be a factor in choosing a college.
A factor. As in one- as in a single factor.
And after all, with so many saying -Success" is in the eye of the beholder! A great school is in the eye of the beholder! So many paths can lead to where you want to go! Many other issues come into play in making a career! Well, I have no qualms about not wishing to spend more than needed to achieve solid training since D is out of the running at the schools I listed. I may wish to provide summers in NYC, side trips to audition for things, room/board so she can intern, who knows what else? I’m looking at her education with a sum of cash that I can divy up in myriad and interesting ways. Then again, I was a homeschooler for a time so that should tell you I’m ok with the atypical.
It is a factor, as I said.
@mtmcmt No problem. Good luck and PM me with specific questions about BW.
To think we all managed to survive, pay bills, and feed our families off our “soft” degrees. So are you all implying there is more than one way to skin a cat??? 
Here’s what I see as the Return on Investment…my kids are educated. An educated mind never goes to waste. I highly value education. It is also a part of my cultural heritage. I feel I paid so that my kids became educated. Other benefits are that they had four years of awesome experiences. They got to study what they wanted. They met great peers and worked with great faculty. Today, it helps to have a college degree (no matter the major) to be employable in general in any sort of professional type job. What sort of jobs my kids got or what field or how much they earn, really isn’t what I was thinking of when sending them to college. My kids knew they had to support themselves after their final graduations and they have. Education was a gift to them and the rest is now up to them.
I have a graduate degree from a “name” university…but I am in a low paying field. I still think my education was worthwhile and I am grateful my parents funded it. I feel the same also if a graduate becomes a stay at home parent and doesn’t work outside the home. The degree was worth the investment.
As I look at schools for my daughter… she is still a few years off from graduating…I often like the theatre department Facebook page, they love to brag about what the alumni are doing.
My Alma Mater… a small state school in Missouri, Missouri State U. I knew had an excellent Drama Dept, John Goodman, Kathleen Turner, Tess Harper are all notable grads… but I didn’t know anything about their MT department until we saw a show on either on broadway or a national tour … can’t remember which one but with 2 grads from Missouri State.
They have a pinterest page that highlights what the grads are doing…https://www.pinterest.com/msutheatredance/outstanding-alumni/
I would check out Facebook and other social media sights to find out what alums are doing. I don’t believe you will ever get the actual numbers because quite frankly they are lower than any school wants to admit… even the big names.
It is not a science, and there is no formula, x years of dance, x years of voice, x years of acting, go to x y or z school and you will get a show on Broadway.
I think of all the amazing performers in Hamilton, whose names we would not know were it not for that show.
Timing, connections, training, and opportunity all have to be aligned.
As for ROI, if my daughter gets into a BFA program, and graduates and can do what she loves, and support herself I don’t care if she ever steps foot on a broadway stage… I just want her to do what she loves.
^^^^This!
By the way, a “top” program is no guarantee one is going to be successful as a MT performer. I personally know some graduates of programs like CMU, UMich, and CCM who are not even doing any theater or performing.
Another point (but someone may have already made it), is that it is not surprising if there is a significant number of successful MT graduates working in the field who attended so called “top programs,” because these programs are so highly selective that those who attended are a selected group of very talented people. One would expect that they may have some success later on. Students like that are at most colleges, but top colleges or programs tend to have a higher percentage of top talent. The “selection” happened, in part, in the admissions process, as opposed to the point of graduation.
Here’re some pretty strong arguments for “Why a Theater Major?” and “ROI” made by an associate professor at Hartt.
http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Theater-Majors-Are-Vital/235925/
Add me to the list of folks with the BA in English! My degree has served me well as my career took twists and turns over the years! Now I own my own business. (Can’t deny I sorta wish I’d had a couple of business classes thrown in… But I’m doing OK!)
BA English here too! Must be a connection.
I’m a BS/JD. Explains my affinity for ROI discussions!
Hee hee, I did not join the discussion but a Econ/Bio/Med History Major, then MBA, from a family of Art History, Comparative Lit/Languages, Philosophy, Fine Arts, Journalism, Psychology, English Lit, Russian Lit, etc, most who got grad degrees in law, medicine or business. And some who still ended up being writers, artists, etc. So fun to see it all unfold.
OK, I’ll bite. BFA in Painting, plus enough credits in History, Anthropology, Social Studies and Literature to do a second major - except for the part where they weren’t part of any particular major.
@mom4bwayboy
Love it, thanks for sharing…
Guess I am the oddball out here- Criminal Justice Major. 
Accounting major. I’m way too logical to be a mother of an MT major. HA!