Please share advice - DD admitted to all these wonderful colleges (and some more) and is finding it difficult to make her choice. She wants to do dramatic writing, both screenwriting and playwriting; she is very intellectual, a bit on the nerdy side but quite sociable. What place would offer the best opportunities both while studying and then in career placements?
Thanks in advance!
bumpâŠ
I donât know much about Swat and Wes but Vassar is a wonderful place for your D.
Every summer, they host Powerhouse Theater Festival. Many celebrities who are stage actors come to the campus and present their new plays and hold workshops. My D worked on campus gym during summers and saw Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi and other Tony-nominated actors/actresses going in and out of the gym daily. She was so excited! And of course Meryl Streep shows up once in a while to give her voice as a narrator at school music/drama productions.
Oh and one of my Dâs classmates was one of the Coen brothersâ son. If your D is into screenwriting/playwriting, it is an inspiring place!
Wesleyan has the better known film program of the three and there is a well known Wesleyan âmafiaâ in LA that has a strong presence in the industry. However, due to this popularity the film program at Wesleyan is now quite competitive and there are many aspiring film majors who end up not doing the major because of the course load and requirements. Theater at Wesleyan is excellent and there are Tony award winners teaching on the faculty and of course there is the Lin Manuel angle, although the department is currently in a bit of turmoil due to faculty politics from what i hear.
My D chose Wesleyan over Swarthmore hands down. You need to have your D visit all the schools and do an overnight, there is a very significant difference between Wesleyan and Swarthmore, as the latter is a very âquietâ school with much less emphasis on âweirdnessâ and more traditional focus on post-graduation jobs. Vassar is closer to Wesleyan in terms of vibe, but I am not as familiar with Vassarâs theater or film program. All three schools are great, but there is a personal fit question which your D should try and figure out by staying overnight at all three and deciding.
I, too, donât know much about the other schools, but Vassar has contributed greatly to film production and has great writing programs. check out Vassar alumni (you can just google). Alums are very loyal; they come back and visit campus. Lisa Kudrow and Jason Blum are on the board. your daughter has some great choices- congratulations!
Oh thank you all so much!! Interesting insights, I will pass them on. Swarthmore sounds like the most academically challenging of the three but can it give the same access to the theatre/film internships and jobs after graduation? Or would it just perfectly prepare my DD for continuing education at the Masterâs level?
No. Swarthmore has some of the brightest and quirkiest students in the country and they branch out into all sorts of career paths after graduation. But, their student body isnât large enough to create a true network of alum in the performing arts the way Wesleyan and Vassar have been able to do while maintaining a broad spectrum in the social and hard sciences, too.
Vassar and Wesleyan would seem to be most suited to her interests. The edge could then go to either Vassar for theatre or Wesleyan for film. Of some interest, both of these colleges receive descriptions in this article on writing programs:
http://flavorwire.com/409437/the-25-most-literary-colleges-in-america/view-all
Olivia Newmanâs First Match just won a lot of awards and got great reviews, Jason Blum owns Blumhouse Productions (and was nominated for an Oscar for Whiplash and Get Out!), JonĂĄs CuarĂłn helped write Oscar-winner Gravity, Jeff Davis (created Criminal Minds), Adam Tomei and Noah Baumbach (writer/director) are just a few of the reasons why Vassar was a school that I seriously considered. Vassar is very well-suited for film students and writers.If I had not gotten into my top choice I might have gone here (my older sister graduated last year). I also really liked Wesleyan, although I did not in the end apply. I think Swarthmore has a very intellectual reputation and is higher ranked than Vassar or Wesleyan (if that matters to you).
Matthew Wiener (âThe Sopranosâ, âMad Menâ), Akiva Goldsman (âA Beautiful Mindâ, âBat Man and Robinâ), Joss Whedon (âToy Storyâ, âBuffy The Vampire Slayerâ), Michael Bay (âTransformersâ), Alex Kurtzman (âHawaii Five-0â, âSleepy Hollowâ, âStar Trek: Discoveryâ), Paul Weitz (âMozart in the Jungleâ) and DB Weiss (âGame of Thronesâ) went to Wesleyan.
And for theater, so did Lin Manuel-Miranda.
^ One of the things that attracted my D to Wes was the diversity of things at which Wesleyan excels. Among people doing the fly over generalizations about the various LACs, youâll read a lot of the usual, almost hackneyed, description of Wesleyan as an uber âartsyâ school, when in fact, while it is that, itâs so much more.
I have a hard time pinpointing a LAC not named Harvey Mudd that is better in the hard sciences. And their CSS department is profoundly rigorous. Dâs sophomore year roommate (and athletic teammate) is CSS and that kid reads and writes more on a weekly basis than anything Iâve ever seen or heard of. Any of those kids who want to go on to law school will not be phased at all by the workload that overwhelms so many people.
On the arts side, it is without question the Sugar Ray Leonard (pound for pound) of film schools. I presume theater is strong (not super clued in there beyond Miranda and Kail). A good number of accomplished actors call it their alma mater, too, including Bradley Whitford and Dana Delaney.
Couple all of that and more with really strong students and a school with a culture and personality decidedly its own.
.
Yes, Iâm biased, but it doesnât mean Iâm wrong. 
I say all of this because I tend to be of the view that itâs smart for HS kids to hedge their bets and assume thereâs a good likelihood their interests will change after freshman year. Itâs good to be someplace that has much to offer, and isnât a one-trick pony.
Wow, thatâs a lot of useful info! Thank you!!! I guess we will have to come and compare the gut feelings as this appears to be what weâll have to rely on when making the decision. I share the view that college students may change their mind about the major in 1-2 years but my DD is so convinced at the moment that she wants to be a dramatic writer that raising this point gets me in trouble every time. Rankings do matter somewhat, but so does the alumni community in the chosen field and connections to the industry that could translate into future jobs.
I am so impressed by the CC community and the support people get here from each other, parents and students alike. Thanks again!
^You are certainly welcome @Worried Russian Parent. Best of luck.
One final thought:
âRankings do matter somewhat âŠâ
Not at all when choosing among the three schools youâve listed. Take this bit of advice from an old guy whoâs been around this block: if you encounter anyone who takes issue with your D picking one of these schools over the other two, run. I say that even in the context of what your D wants to do and the current Hamilton/Miranda glow that exists at Wesleyan. Even with that, I could never mount a campaign against Swat or Vassar if thatâs what she wanted. They are each wonderful. My D turned down three of the LACs consistently ranked in the top 4 in US News to attend Wesleyan.
^ I should clarify: D turned down invitations to apply ED 1 with strong pre-reads from three of the schools consistently ranked in the top 4 or 5 of US News. As a recruit, of course, she applied ED 1.