<p>mountains, sorry about the full PM box. I much prefer email and can’t keep up with emptying out the PM box. So, in the future, feel free to email me.</p>
<p>Thank you. It’s on the way.</p>
<p>Hi! mountains.<br>
Hi friends I’m starting to see on posts. I was just wrong about one of my recommendations, but I’m going to hazard a suggestion here. Have you considered the five college consortium, i.e. Hampshire or Amherst? I mention it because I saw Wendy Wasserstein discuss that a random course at Smith (she was originally a Mt. Holyoke student who was one of the first girls to graduate from Smith) started her off as a playwright. When one examines the catalogue of the five schools together it’s pretty impressive. I wanted my son to consider Amherst for the variety of courses in music, but he fell in love with Williams and apparently never the twain shall meet. So he’s heading into the mountains too.</p>
<p>I agree with all previous posters. I love WashDad’s list and Soosievt is the expert in theater programs. I would like to especially agree with everyone’s discussion of fit. In many cases there seems to be an almost magical matching process (like the Harry Potter sorting hat). Although it is a stressful process, I found much to enjoy the two times I did it.</p>
<p>Hi mountains, You’ve come to the right place to learn everything there is to know about the college application process. My son and I would have been lost without the sage advice from CC over the last 3 years.</p>
<p>Oh my gosh, everyone is so wonderfully supportive. I lurked for a couple of months because I was obviously focusing on the wrong threads where some people can get quite aggressive. I didn’t dare post! </p>
<p>mythmom - the five college consortium is definitely on the list!</p>
<p>oops! That was supposed to read first girls to graduate from Amherst!</p>
<p>Welcome and good luck!</p>
<p>^^Amherst College’s resident playwright, Connie Congdon, is also a fulltime professor, quite unusual. My S gained a lot from her guidance, and he also went over to take courses from someone at Smith College who was a playwright.</p>
<p>If you apply to Amherst, you may also send them a Supplementary Arts Portfolio that their theater department will read. If you say Brown is a reach, however, Amherst will also be a reach. </p>
<p>Hampshire College is a really good one to consider, since he might take the playwriting classes at Smith and Amherst (just check to be sure that;s possible realistically). Documentary filmmaker Ken Burnes (Civil War, America…) is their fine graduate. Hampshire emphasizes a senior capstone project with years of courses leading up to it organized by the student. Such an approach could work very well for playwriting.</p>
<p>SUNY at Purchase has a Dramatic Writing program, very hard to gain admittance, but it’d all be based on the portfolio. Out-of-State tuition puts it around $16K, I think. They take 20 kids each year for a BFA. It’s in a suburb of NYC called Purchase, NY. It would feel like a small town, not a big city, in Purchase.</p>
<p>Chapman U has a screenwriting program, but for live theater, as Borat would say, “not so good.”</p>
<p>I know New Hampshire (family is from Henniker!), so he might adore Ithaca College. Would feel right at home in beautiful Ithaca, which some kids complain about for its remoteness from big cities!</p>
<p>Emerson and NYU/Tisch are both in the downtowns of great cities. I wonder if your S might consider visiting a city just to see if, all hunkered down in a good academic program, he might be able to relate to a city. It’s one thing to visit, with the confusing traffic rushing by, compared to having a task and regular routines within a college community. Student Playwrights at Tisch have remarkable opportunities, including having Equity actors perform their works in showcase. Tisch also costs a heck of a lot more than UNH! And if he really can’t get his bearings in a city, I agree, it can always wait. My eldest wanted to become a professional actor but wasn’t ready to move to NYC until after he graduated college. Guess what, NYC is always there, ready to receive.</p>
<p>Bard College is fantastic for writing! Annandale on Hudson is gorgeous, and they just built a new performing arts center. Yum.</p>
<p>All that said, do not worry in the long run. My S is in a NYC theater company with a playwright who is their key Artistic Director, and he mentioned that this fine playwright did not attend a prestigious college. Nonetheless, at age 30+ (I can’t tell anymore) he is a working, publishing playwright with a related day-job, doing exactly what he wants artistically.</p>
<p>Similarly, Connie Congden who teaches at Amherst and is lauded by Tony Kushner in her newest book of published plays, attended a very modest college, I can’t remember but perhaps a state school in Kansas. </p>
<p>Welcome!!</p>
<p>Hi Mountains,</p>
<p>Welcome to Cc. I don’t have anything to add to the list but if you feel things becoming a bit overwhelming, pop on over to SA and have a wonderful cyberdrink.</p>
<p>paying3tuitions - Thank you for such an encouraging post. I’ve spent one too many moments wondering how my son will eat until someone mentioned that he is so fortunate he can pursue his passion during his free time. That’s exactly what your son is doing. Thankfully, my son is very level-headed and he realizes the challenges of an artist. We’ve always encouraged him to pursue his dreams.</p>
<p>mountains…on your second try to contact me, it still was via PM to a full box, so I still haven’t read what you sent. You have to click on my name and then choose “send an email to SoozieVT.” Another way is to just write me directly. My personal account (not work) is the same as my member name and it is at AOL.</p>
<p>Hi mountains and welcome!
Mythmom makes a great analogy to “fit” and the Harry Potter sorting hat! I love it! My S also went against the grain, so to speak, and just graduated from a college which was a perfect fit for him. Playwriting sounds like such a fantastic, nontraditional major. I think it’s great and you will find so many possibilities even if he confines himself to the NE. Best of luck with the process!</p>
<p>soozievt - I sent you an email to your aol account. Thank you for being so accomodating.</p>
<p>Welcome, mountains. I don’t have anything by way of advice; but we do love the White Mountains!</p>
<p>Hi Mountains - hope you enjoy your time here. Glad you haven’t fallen for the pressure and hype of “top” schools. I, too, have avoided that trap and good thing since I have normal, extremely average kids, no, wait, I wanna be from Lake Woebegon and say “above average”, well, let’s just say they won’t be rocket scientists. </p>
<p>Beware the thought provokers and follow the common sense advice givers…that’s the only advice I have tonight, ha!</p>
<p>Others have given better advice than I can about the major, but I do want to suggest that you visit as many campuses as your time and resources allow. Help him research schools before visiting, of course, to narrow down to a manageable list, but then encourage him to visit, if possible, and preferably when students are on campus. I believe a sensitive, artistic kid picks up the “vibe” of a place very readily and will be much more comfortable at some schools than others. He can tell a certain amount by reading about the schools and talking to people, but he’ll pick up more of how HE would feel there by being there, even for a day-long visit. JMO</p>
<p>WashDad, your 4. “Fit is more important than prestige or rankings” sounds like an excuse that losers make. It’s not. It’s the truth. made me laugh.</p>
<p>R U saying kids go to PHY for “prestige and ranking” rather fit? Isn’t “prestige and ranking” part of the fit?</p>
<p>Change gears here. The lesson I am learning now is that thsese kids change their mind about what and where they would like so fast. The only I make sure DD will do is to pick two safeties. Other than that, she is free to change her mind as many time as she like. Until she ask for more application fee, that is.</p>
<p>bethievt - S does readily pick up the vibe of a school. We have visited a number of schools, and while he did all the obligatory campus tours and talks, I could tell from his body language on how he felt about a particular school. It’s interesting, too, that as parents, we could also sense whether the kids that attend a particular school are “similar” to our kids. I’m not saying we are right all the time (I wish), but we, as parents, do have some sort of radar. In the end, S will have to make his own decisions. He is quite level-headed and realizes the pitfalls of having one favorite school.</p>
<p>mountains–when the going gets tough, you are invited to hang out in Sinners’ Alley, where the drinks are free and made to order, served up by hunky waiters (if that’s your thing) and there’s a hot tub out back. :)</p>
<p>Thank you, mommusic! I think I’ll be spending a lot of time in Sinners’ Alley in the coming months. I’ll take the hot tub and skip the hunks (I might get too distracted from the college search :)). Hmmm, I think I’ll rethink that…</p>