<p>Meryl Streep learned to act at Yale not Vassar. </p>
<p>And Yale is on my yes list of universities with good theater/acting programs. as well as their playwright program for you Durang fans. I think I’ve posted that at least three times on this thread that some programs are good. And again, getting a college degree is very important for actors. I’ve mentioned USC and Tish programs as well. </p>
<p>but unlike say math, where’s it’s objective and everyone works from the same or similar books, etc. Theater arts is very subjective and there are a lot of hacks working in these 2nd and 3rd tier programs. So my advice is don’t go to those, go learn from pros which are mainly found in NY and LA. I don’t know why this approach to learning a trade is so threatening.</p>
<p>4 years with a hack can send a kid way down the wrong direction and by the time they try to correct, if they can change, they’ll be 28 and selling insurance:)</p>
<p>We can debate over that if you want. One point in favor of people raised in cosmopolitan area is that they don’t dismiss anyone else point of view with “That’s just funny”.</p>
<p>I went thru pages before thought of posting because no one tried to analyze the reason behind Pacheight statements while it was written clearly that his definition of “rural” is non-cosmopolitan.</p>
<p>So learn to live with disagreement and ability to discuss is the first and formost ability you learned from a cosmopolitan environment.</p>
<p>sooz: I’m very familiar with your profession and I’m not a big fan of paying 5 or 10 thousand (or more) to a counselor for advice on 1) which school is a good fit and 2) how to get in.</p>
<p>I think parents and kids should do their on search. And I’m not sure if there’s much a counselor can do to get the kid a better chance at being admitted, unless you’re writing their essay for them. And according to the great article from a Tuft’s admisions, they can spot the counselor crafted app/essays and they throw those out…you know there are a lot of deans of admissions who don’t like your profession</p>
<p>pacheight…for starters, Yale’s undergrad program in theater is a BA, not BFA. It is not truly known as a top UG theater school except for the fact that it has excellent EC theater and for someone who wants a very strong liberal arts school with a very strong UG theater scene, Yale is great. But where Yale is known for theater is its grad MFA program. It is one of the top GRAD ACTING programs, not undergrad. </p>
<p>Some of the top acting and musical theater UG programs are not in NYC or LA. </p>
<p>Just a handful of examples of top programs no in LA or NYC…</p>
<p>For Acting…
North Carolina School of the Arts
Carnegie Mellon
Boston University</p>
<p>For Musical Theater…
University of Michigan
Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music at U of Cinci
Carnegie Mellon</p>
<p>Wait…so now you are a dean of admissions, too???
And a working actor…
And a sports expert…
And an urban planner.</p>
<p>WOW we are so lucky to have your unlimited knowledge here or CC. </p>
<p>We have never payed a college counselor, but I can say that Soozie has been more than generous providing free help about college admissions here on CC. All you have provided is unsubstantiated opinion, ego, etc.</p>
<p>While we are in Calif., my D is actually at Penn State and feels the training she is receiving is amazing. She chose a university setting because for her it was important to be exposed to other areas of education and she wanted to be really well-rounded. Her program is returning from NYC at this moment where they took in master classes from a well-respected dance studio as well as a voice program. She is having the time of her life and feels as if she has advanced in her craft a huge amount already. The school teaches not only the crafts of dance, voice and acting, but prepares them in all aspects of the business. There are many other similar programs out there, not all of them in NY or LA. In fact, California is noticeably lacking in programs for MT.</p>
<p>It is inappropriate for me to discuss fees. Please be aware that many college counselors, including myself, have fees much lower than you state. I have no problem if you are not into using college counselors. Many find it beneficial in navigating the college admissions process. It certainly is possible to do on one’s own. Many find having assistance invaluable and less stressful or overwhelming, as well as their GC may be assigned too many kids to offer this kind of individualized attention on every step of the process or may not have expertise in a specialized process such as performing arts admissions. </p>
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<p>I certainly think kids should do their own research and I make my advisees do it and make comparison spreadsheets and so on. Having a college counselor assisting you doesn’t mean the parents or student do not do any research of their own. The counselor offers expertise in guiding that research and helping to assess appropriate level schools and fit, etc.</p>
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<p>I do not believe the reason to work with an independent counselor should be to give a student a better chance of admissions!! A counselor cannot get a kid into a school that they otherwise cannot get into. A counselor helps guide the process of college selection and helps the student present themselves in the best possible light and guides the family through the process…just like people hire professionals with expertise in many areas for their advice in that area. I would caution anyone who hires a college counselor with the notion that the counselor will get the student into college or increase their odds of admissions. And putting it back into the topic of this thread, likewise, I would not send my kid to private school with the goal of getting into a better college but would do so for the experience itself.</p>
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<p>I am quite well aware that many adcoms are not fond of independent college counselors. Let’s remember (keeping it remotely on topic of THIS thread), that those who send their kids to elite prep schools are getting very good college counseling as part of the fee. Others who attend high schools where a GC may have hundreds of advisees may want that kind of help that those who go to private prep schools receive. A counselor does not craft the essay. The counselor helps guide the process. Given my own advissees’ track records, as well as advisees’ of many college counselors I know, these kids’ apps were not thrown off the pile and they got into very good colleges! It didn’t seem to HURT them or DAMAGE them as you imply.</p>
<p>(also if you are gonna mention an article, it is more effective to provide a link)</p>
<p>[to others on CC…forgive me for discussing this topic as it is not my nature to do so on the forum but I feel I deserve the opportunity to defend myself with regard to posts directed toward me here)</p>
<p>I don’t have much knowledge about MT program but my analysis says that such program actually benefit from being in big city because of opportunities to take part in professional theater as an EC. There is nothing better than the real experience.</p>
<p>I realize that musical theater is not your area. But when a student is enrolled in a BFA in MT program, there is no time to be in a professional production off campus and further, in most cases, it would require them to take a leave from college. Those whom I know who were cast in professional musicals while in college, had to take a leave. These rehearse during the day, which they cannot do. My D’s schedule at her BFA in MT program in NYC involved classes most days 9-6, rehearsals 6:30 to 10:30 PM weeknights and one full day on weekends as well. When in college programs, the students are in university productions. They often are in professional productions during the summer (my kid did this). My kid did do one professional job during the semester, as the musical director for pay of a new work by a Tony nominated director/playwright/composer in NYC, when she was just 18, but it only rehearsed at night and so she did not do a university production during those months.</p>
<p>This thread makes me angry. So what if your daughter isn’t going to one of the top 20 schools in the country? If she’s a good student and a hard worker, she can still get into a top college. Besides, once she goes to college, no employer/grad school admissions officer will care where she went to high school. Millions of other Americans aren’t in one of the top prep schools. I’m not in a top prep school. None of my friends are in top prep schools. I go to a private school, but not a GREAT private school, and I think that I still have a somewhat decent shot at top colleges.</p>
<p>The antonym of ‘rural’ is ‘urban’ and that of ‘cosmopolitan’ is ‘provincial’ which is not the same as ‘rural.’ If pacheight chooses to use a non-standard definition of a word, s/he should not expect the rest of us to do the same.</p>
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<p>Actually, that is a pretty common East Coast attitude (of which I partake despite my current rural residence), which last time I checked, was pretty Urban. Whether a given area is cosmopolitan, and not just metropolitan, would be highly subject to personal bias.</p>
<p>2Chill, and if you want to be an actor it really will not matter where or if you went to prep or college, but it will matter if you can act!</p>
<p>agents and casting don’t care where you went to school. agents care if you can book and casting only cares if you’re the best person for the role.</p>
<p>pacheight, I don’t believe 2CHILLaXiN is seeking college for acting and makes no mention of it either. He or she was making a point about the first post on this thread (a topic you have moved away from, in fact).</p>
<p>However, you are right that casting directors don’t care about your school but care about the audition and the best person for the role. However, a good college theater or MT training program can help a person develop the skills to audition well. Many agents and casting directors attend senior showcases and “recruit” from top college theater programs because they know these students have good training.</p>
<p>Further it is helpful to secure agent representation which enables an actor to be seen at more auditions, such as ones that are not open calls, but are by appointment. You don’t have to go to college to get an agent. However, it can help that agents look at the graduating seniors from well regarded theater programs and offer representation to many of them, as happened with my kid.</p>