<p>Just wanted to add a couple of things to the discussion about recent grads and where they’re working, and also playbills.</p>
<p>First, this is a discussion that took place over several months late last year/early this year about recent grads and where they’ve been cast:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/531327-report-successes-after-graduation-here.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/531327-report-successes-after-graduation-here.html</a></p>
<p>Secondly, it’s always fun to look at playbills and see what else people have done and where they trained. One thing I’ve noticed in the past year is the increasing number of actors who do not include their college details in their bios. There have always been <em>some</em> who have chosen not to include that info but it seems like it’s becoming much more common. I wouldn’t place too much importance on the number of actors from any particular college in a playbill. A case in point could be illustrated by a show I’ll be seeing next week. We’re travelling to meet up with a few friends who are currently in a national tour. About half of the cast didn’t attend any college and three others are Ivy grads. I wouldn’t want anyone to draw the conclusion that you either should forget college altogether or, conversely, you need to attend an Ivy if you want to be successful. 
</p>
<p>Lastly, on the topic of playbills and bios, one of the most entertaining ones I’ve read recently was the one for Hair. If any of you have seen the show, have a look at the bios. If not, you can read them on playbill.com. </p>
<p>To get (sort of) back on topic, as I’ve said before, I would not recommend students get themselves in too much debt. That goes for any college major, really, but particularly for theatre. As to whether parents should take out loans, well, that’s a personal family decision and should be handled with open communication with the student so that there are no surprises. Each family has to decide how to pay for their kids’ education. We’ve paid it all (and continue to pay) for all of our Ds, and we’re fortunate enough to be in that position. Some parents are willing to take out loans, some parents save for their kids’ college expenses, some parents loan their kids the money, some parents pay nothing. My suggestion is that you have the conversation about $$ early with your children so that they know what will/will not be available. Be an informed consumer when it comes to the colleges on your child’s list. If you all go into it with the full understanding that the decision will be made when all the f/a packages have been compared, then I don’t see a problem with allowing your student to audition/apply to a range of schools pricewise. However, when the list is compiled, make sure that there are a couple that are not only academic safeties but financial safeties as well.</p>