<p>Some things to consider when making choices & some financial considerations.
1.)Are you a city mouse or a country mouse? Many love to visit the city, but not live there. The opposite is also true.
2.) When you visited the school and the department, did you feel that the people were there for each other & supportive of each other or were you aware of a definate tension and competition between them. You need to be in a place that you can grow. Fertilizer is not the only thing needed for growth.
3) Who teaches the classes? Profs. or grad students?
4.) What are your chances to perform? Do grad students get all the roles?
5.) Financial aid is great, but if the school starts out at $47,000 you may still not be able to afford it WITH financial aid.
6.) Some “poor kids” get great financial aid packages but once they get to school they find that they don’t have any money to hang with the rich kid crowd. This is a reality that many do not understand. It’s no fun to be hanging back at the dorms when all of your friends are going into the city for the weekend.
7.) A conservatory is a great place to train, but training is not necessarily all the next four years are about.
8.) You can make a big school small by getting involved in clubs, greeks, etc. You can’t make a small school big.
9.) When you go to a big school, you don’t really ever need to leave the campus. Everything you need, from first class entertainment (concerts, broadway shows etc.) to the finest in hospital care are all at your disposal for a small price. A small school in a great city like Boston may have all of these things too, but they come at a big price. Students get a discount, but nothing like on a big campus.
10.) Transportation matters… You may think that you are going to be so happy in your program that you’ll never need to go home except for maybe the holidays. This is great, but what if you get sick or your room mate turns out to be a drug dealer or you have three room mates and are an only child and dorm life just doesn’t suit you? You may want to go home for the weekend or have your parents come to visit or see you perform. My D goes to school in Maryland and we live near Boston. Flights from Boston to Baltimore can be had for $100.00 & take one hour. They are also available ten times per day. Not so if we were traveling to CCM or CMU. An emergency trip could cost you $600-$1200.00! Just some things to consider.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>