<p>Hi all!</p>
<p>I’m attending a National College Fair event in my city (not a Performing Arts college fair, as they are not held near me) and I’m having some trouble coming up with questions to ask admissions representatives specifically about the MT program. I know from experience that many general university admissions staff at larger schools don’t have much knowledge about their MT programs, but I wanted to use this college fair as a way to find more schools to set my sights on for when I apply next year. I already have a list of which schools to talk to - those with MT programs, that is - but aside from the basics specific to my situation, I’m a bit at a loss.</p>
<p>I feel like I’ll probably be redirected with a phone number or email of an MT specific person at the colleges I’m interested in, which I’m fine with, but I still want to show my interest in these schools’ programs and get more info on them specifically if I can. I know that I won’t be able to visit campus before I apply to and audition for colleges for some schools, so this is my only chance to interact with admissions representatives face to face.</p>
<p>Has anyone (or anyone’s child) attended a non performing arts specific college fair for MT? What questions did you ask?</p>
<p>Any help? :)</p>
<p>When my D was a sophomore (I think it was) we went to a general college fair held at a local university. Many colleges attending, most from the midwest where we are, including several that my D was interested in for MT. Like you mentioned I was also skeptical of whether the admission reps would know anything about theatre/MT. And when she spoke with them you could almost see them searching their memory for their theatre/MT info! But most of them were able to remember after a second or two and could provide some general information like number of shows, size of the program, sometimes the number of students they accepted, etc. Don’t overlook asking them info that they are well versed on - how does the admissions process work, what merit scholarships are available, does their theatre program offer scholarships, does the Honors program integrate well with theatre (if you are an honors candidate), if you take a general campus visit do they also have meetings with specific departments (theatre), etc. </p>
<p>As for other questions to ask, I know there were a couple threads about that a year or two ago when we were starting to look at specific schools. But most of the info you will really want will need to come from the theatre dept, not the admission reps. </p>
<p>Whether you ask the admissions person or theatre person, you might want to ask how they help new freshmen get acclimated into the school and theatre dept. At my D’s school there is an “Intro to Theatre” class (many places have something like this). But they also do assign a student mentor to all of their freshmen. My D’s mentor was very good at answering questions over the summer (especially about things like dance clothes/shoes, audition process for shows, etc. She also introduced my D to a lot of folks and help build her network of new friends. The class helped with some of the formal processes, but the mentor made her feel like the school was her home.</p>