<p>I think it depends on what you find rigorous and on the particular teacher. For instance at Tisch, my own son loathed the Freshman writing course and it was a large source of his misery the first year, most likely because of the particular adjunct who taught it at the time. NYU wouldn’t let him pass on it even though he’d earned a 7 on the IB English test (very high). Perhaps they’re more flexible now? But as far as other academics, my son found it not hard so much as difficult to juggle with scheduling and balancing assignments (for him, personally). </p>
<p>I think scheduling and, as NJTheatreMom points out, degree requirements, are something people should look into, in all schools. Some BFA programs seem to have simple academics on paper but the course loads are extremely difficult and students can be up until 2 am finishing papers or worrying about passing Math or foreign language. </p>
<p>For instance, my D finds learning a foreign language really really hard, so if a BFA program has a foreign language requirement, that would be torture for her. I’d look very carefully at each school’s curriculum and requirements for the 4 years. I wouldn’t assume that if a school is known to be academically rigorous for non-theatre majors it is therefore academically rigorous for theatre majors, or the reverse, that if the school has simple academics for non-theatre majors, it’s a slam-dunk academically. Again, make sure to look at the BFA/MA acting major requirements. Each program is very different.</p>