<p>It’s not all that easy, or inexpensive to get from Purchase to NYC. Purchase is really a good 45 minute drive from Manhattan, so if it’s the Big Apple you want, Marymount is a better choice. Purchase has highly rated departments in drama, but much of the rest of the college is commuter, and there isn’t much of a school vibe there. You go there to study the arts, and get a firm grounding there. </p>
<p>I can’t say much about Marymount as i don’t know anyone who has gone there,but for many who studied in NYC, it’s not just the school program but taking advantage of Manhattan that was the draw. i know a couple of kids who went to Pace, and they were well into getting roles and taking NYC opportunities while still at college. They picked Pace over NYU because it cost them half to go there, and they just wanted a base in order to start with the city, not so much go to college, though both did get their degrees from Pace. Both are working professionals now doing very well, because they did not involved as much with the school as they did seeking opportunities in NYC. It’s easy to get caught up in the school and forget that it’s not what it’s going to be like in the real world when taking these arts courses. </p>
<p>THough Purchase has all of the pieces, dance, drama and voice (not so sure about how much and how strong voice is there), how it can integrate into MT, I don’t know. I can tell you that my son turned down Purchase some years ago because he did not feel he could get well rounded MT training there. He said that at his own college, he also would have been shut out except for the fact that he was one of the 10 kids from that year accepted to the MT program. Some of these school depts are not cooperative about allowing cross registration in certain classes. My son was permitted to take certain courses in Dance and Voice, ONLY because he was MT and they HAD to take him. He knew lots of kids in Drama and Voice but not in MT that could not get a spot in a class. He really was not good enough to take some of those Dance classes and was true thorn in the dept’s side and they told him right out he did not belong there. But they HAD to take him without audtion and not on a space available basis as it was part of his prescribed program. Though he held his own in voice, certain classes, certain instructors, special classes were often reserved for Voice performance majors, and it was only through the way the MT program was designed that he could even get a seat in the prime picks. Just because a college has the classes doesn’t mean they are easily open to everyone, and if you aren’t set up to be first in line for some of the best goodies, the chances can be very small in getting them. </p>