<p>In general it is always a good idea to take lessons on naything that you are doing!</p>
<p>IJElkiss,</p>
<p>Just curious, why do you think the program at Columbia College in Chicago is such a good program? Would love to hear your opinion.</p>
<p>SUE aka 5pants</p>
<p>I agree with a lot of things IJELkiss said in his post about what he learned…I also discoverd this site as a freshman in college (but I had to come up with a back up, so it still helped me tons!)</p>
<p>First off about Columbia, it IS a good place for a major safty, or if you end up with no where to go. I have lots of friends (especially since the second week in june…so sad) that are going there because they didn’t have a back up. It is a very bloated program because there is no audition, and you will end up with classmates that aren’t that talented, but if you have to drive, you can get a really good education, and LOTS of opportunities.</p>
<p>Second, do be honest. When I auditioned for Roosevelt, I talked to the professor about how I loved DePaul, but there was a cut and I wouldn’t know until I knew all of my options which was right for me. He really appreciated that, and it obviously didn’t hurt my chances because I was one out of 10 girls who got in.</p>
<p>And lastly about the headshot. Headshots are really expensive and I would suggests not wasting your money on them. You will have to get new ones in 4 years and this process is expensive enough. What I suggest is using a really nice digital camera (borrow one from a friend, the photo dept at your school, the yearbook-someone, at least 5 mega pixels, and hey if you have to buy one it may be less then getting headshots and more useful for the time being) and put a sheet up for background, or something else solid and arange a photo shoot with someone who can take desent pictures. You have as long as you want this way and you are bound to come up with some good shots! Look up some peoples headshots to see different poses and then order some 8X10s from Walgreens digital center or Walmart, or wherever. It you do a good job on (natural) make up and hair you will be golden, looking prfessional, but not too showy…people like to see you and know that you are down to earth. You are auditioning to learn!</p>
<p>If you really want headshots, when you do your senior pics, find someone who can do both and just add that into your shoot!</p>
<p>ckp, are you about to start at Roosevelt this year? I ask because an older friend of my D’s will be joining you there in the MT dept soon, and is very excited about it. She loved the program when she visited and it was her very top choice. Is it true that they only take/took 10 girls? Did they take an equal number of boys? That sounds pretty selective. I wonder how many auditioned.</p>
<p>I agree what CKP said about headshots. My other son’s girlfriend is a photography major, and I put up a large piece of off-white cloth, let it be kind of drapey in a spot where she liked the lighting, she set up spot and snapped away, we got terrific pictures and it cost very little, I printed out his resume and took them and one of the photos to the copy shop and had them print the photo on the back looks very professional.</p>
<p>NotMamaRose-</p>
<p>No, I won’t be at Roosevelt. The school I went to my frosh year was DePaul, and I auditioned because of the 50% cut, but I did not get cut, so there I will stay! </p>
<p>From what the Roosevelt board says they had accepted 10 girls and 10 guys in the acting dept, I believe musical theatre was about 30 boys, and 300 girls, but the MT program there is more popular that the acting and they always accept more and have more audition. Roosevelt is really starting to make a name for its self! I liked how chill and REAL they were about the program (which is also why I love DePaul, but since weve been around for 80 years it’s a different kind of real). I’m so glad your D’s friend is excited! They seem like wonderful people. Ps, tell her to (if she hasn’t already) get in on the little myspace community, because it seems like 75% of the new class has all met through myspace!</p>
<p>Thanks, I will tell her. Perhaps she is there already. Sounds like a warm, welcoming program which is, as you say, making a name for itself more every year. According to her mom, this girl just clicked with the school when she visited, and though she did audition for five or six other programs, this is the one she wanted. I was so happy for her that she got in and trust she will love it there.</p>
<p>ooops 30 girls, sorry mistyped!</p>
<p>I haven’t gone through every single message in this thread, and I know it goes back a ways. BUT–
I wish I had know just how serious the numbers are for these auditions. I don’t think I took it quite to heart enough. When you have 400-500 kids auditioning for 10-12 spots, half for men, half for women (and sometimes skewed more towards men!), and five times as many women auditioning as men, you MUST TAKE SERIOUSLY the issue of having backups, and more than one, at that. My daughter auditioned for 7 programs and did not get into one–was accepted at all the schools, for those that split their decisions into school/program, but not one program. All of a sudden, that made her safety school, a BA program, extremely important. And I also wasn’t quite aware of how competitive that school was, as it turns out it is a “hot” school. They had 18,000 applications for 3700 spots, and 2/3 of those spots went to in-state residents, making the remainder highly competitive for out-of-staters (which we are). That made for a real nail-biter up to the wire of that acceptance.
If we were doing this again, I would advise her to apply to a much wider variety of schools/programs, including several BA programs.<br>
I should add that my daughter, like so many on this thread, is extremely talented, has won several awards, and is a true triple threat. She is also 5’4" and blonde and a soprano/belter. YOU NEVER KNOW. I repeat, you never know.
Backup, backup, backup! And emphasize to your kids that there is no “one true religion” for MT!</p>
<p>I like the program at Columbia College for a couple of reasons. One being that it is a program that wll take you as far as you want to go. As CKP said, if you have the drive, you can succeed there. I have several friends enrolled there who love it. It is very true that there will be less talented students there overall, but there are also very talented individuals also. Second, I like the program because it is in Chicago and the faculty affords the students many contacts into the business world of the city. Not to mention that Chicago is a wonderful place to live. So while Columbia may not be on the same level as the top tier schools, you can definately get a great education there.</p>
<p>I second the back up plan post!!!</p>
<p>I have lots of friends who don’t know what they are going to do, and it really sucks…have one school (not a bunch, but one) you KNOW you will get into, and the rest can be the risky reaches that most good MT or theatre schools are.</p>
<p>But on that note, I also want to add this-</p>
<p>DO NOT LET THOSE NUMBERS GET YOU DOWN
I did. I have an inferiority complex and refused to audition to more that 3 programs because I didn’t think that I could do it. And with the odds, I just got depressed and gave up. I didn’t think I was good enough to stand up to those numbers, that I didn’t have enough experience, that I wasn’t pretty enough and with the politics from a small town, I got a lot of slack for even thinking for a second I might be good enough, so I didn’t tell them (directors, most fellow classmates) that I was even trying, and I was embaressed. But now I made it past the cut in one of the best acting conservatories in the country, and now I have confidence and I know I am good enough…I’m lucky that I had a little fate on my side senoir year, or else I would be sad and upset doing what ever it is I would be doing…</p>
<p>So don’t think you can’t do it!!!</p>
<p>i haven’t had a back-up plan twice, and it has really hurt me in the long run, i think. it has cause a lot of frustration and resentment toward the whole process…but here i am, in it for time #3!! (this time i have a back-up plan)</p>
<p>maggie</p>
<p>Go, Maggie, go! Please keep us all posted on how your plan goes this time. You have a heck of a lot of people rooting for you, and we KNOW you are going to make it. Three times is the charm! :)</p>
<p>It took me some serious digging, but when I finally found the tuition breakdown at Columbia, I was pretty surprised. The basic tuition (including room/board) is $23,898. But I learned that this us only for less than 12 units. For 12-16 units add on another $8100 ($32000). For over 16 units, there’s a per unit charge. So, I mention this because with a close financial analysis it becomes a very expensive school for an MT student who must take triple discipline courses (greater number of units). Everyone should be at least at 12 units (full-time) so as not to loose their family medical coverage. At this type of financial committment, I’d rather my kid go the liberal arts BA route and plan on doing an MFA.</p>
<p>Whoa, that is a lot of money! I also am confused … are Columbia College of Performing Arts and Roosevelt University/Chicago College of Performing arts different schools? Yes?</p>
<p>NMR: Yes! :D</p>
<p>soozie’s right:</p>
<p>Roosevelt: <a href=“http://www.roosevelt.edu%5B/url%5D”>www.roosevelt.edu</a></p>
<p>Columbia College: <a href=“http://www.colum.edu%5B/url%5D”>www.colum.edu</a></p>
<p>Mea culpa … you guys are great. I am usually not so lazy, and will simply do a Google search myself. Thanks for putting up with me, folks! Soozievt and doctorjohn, I am not sure what the rest of us would do without you. :)</p>
<p>I am always interested in various points of view on a school/program. That is what makes this forum so great.</p>
<p>We visited Columbia College a few years back. I agree being located in wonderful Chicago is quite a bonus, but we were not thrilled with the facilities nor our experience during our visit. I agree with Elliottsmom that a BA from a reputible college/university would make a great backup plan and indeed that is what became ours.</p>
<p>When we visited (early August) we were amazed at the number of kids who flooded the admissions office who were rather desparate to get into a school…any school for fall semester.</p>
<p>When my Ss met with the admission’s counselor he gawked at their desire to enter the performace field simply because he thought their grades were too stellar for such a profession. <strong>Cringe</strong></p>
<p>On the other hand, I do know that one of the actors that is appearing in the Chicago version of “Putnam County Spelling Bee” is indeed a graduate of Columbia and he is amazing!!</p>
<p>Here again, it is all a matter of opinion. Personally speaking I know Columbia was not one of our favorite programs. For a backup safety school we decided on a BA in Theatre from U-Minnesota. In our humble opinions that fit our bill.</p>
<p>SUE aka 5pants</p>
<p>Sue, I cringed myself when I heard that someone representing a college admissions office actually seemed to indicate – by his or her reactions to your son’s academic grades and scores – that the performing arts field is actually for people who don’t do too well in school! 
I know that the admissions person did not come out and say that, but he/she indicated that the is how he/she felt when he/she gawked at the idea that someone “smart in school” would want to perform. Shudder. It’s almost as if the admissions person was saying “Hey, you’re smart. You get A’s. You don’t <em>have</em> to sing, dance and act for a living. You could be a biologist or an engineer instead,” as if academic achievement and a career in performing arts are somehow mutually exclusive. Not!
I guess the point of this thread, however, is that kids need to have several safety schools, and that when choosing a safety school, do your homework. All safeties are not equal! :)</p>