How are people using their accepted student days if accepted to the school but you haven’t signed on to the MT program? Are you using it to make final decisions? Are you asking for a voice lesson or sit in on a class or connect with a teacher or counselor? We have all but decided on the school but the audition process left us a tad cold (from all schools) which I was telling my D is normal. They have to see a lot of people so it is a cattle call and doesn’t necessarily reflect the next 4 years. So what is the best way to go to an accepted day and connect with faculty to be sure you are making the right choice? Any suggestions are much appreciated!
@hfstt201
Q1: Are Acting majors diverse enough to also audition for MT shows in the real world?
Q2: Is there a dance minor or a voice minor for Acting majors?
Q3: Is there a Senior Showcase? If so, where?
Q4: Does Viterbo help their students get auditions for summer stock or other summer opportunites?
Q5: What are your favorite things about Viterbo?
Q6: What was your least favorite thing or what changes would you like to see Viterbo make?
Q7: How does the Catholic tradition affect the vibe on campus? We are Methodist, not Catholic, so wondering if there are any Catholic-related requirements at Viterbo.
These are all great questions, and I’m afraid that you should probably address the university itself for Q1 - 4. I wouldn’t want to give incorrect information, and this seems like something anyone in the department should be able to answer. As far as Q5, I would say that the location in La Crosse is one of the big draws. It’s a small school for sure, but having UW-La Crosse and a tech school in town mean there are lots of kids. My daughter feels so comfortable when we’re visiting campus. It’s kind of one of those “you know it when you feel it” sort of things. Obviously it won’t give everyone the exact same feeling, so visits are very important. Least favorite? Changes? For us the location and size are perfect, but I’m guessing that it might not be for everyone. You really have to visit to know if it’s for your kid. As far as changes, I guess I would want to know if they will be adding student-run shows or things like that. I’m not aware of what they have at this point. Q7 is a great question. I attended Viterbo as a Catholic in the '80s but knew lots of kids who weren’t Catholic or didn’t attend church. I had a boyfriend from UW-L who was Methodist, and I actually went to his church a couple times while we were dating. I don’t think it’s a big deal. There likely is a “religion” class requirement, but it certainly wouldn’t be a “Catholic” class. Hope that makes sense.
We have opted to visit a few schools on plain-old days… b/c the accepted days are over the weekend, and not dept. specific. To sit in on classes there need to actually BE classes and we find most schools have the best options Mondays through Thursdays. We have tried to time these visits with their current production schedule. So we were able to go to Rider and see their musical “Assassins”, to Hartt and saw their musical “All Shook Up” and next week we will visit Western CT on the day “Crazy for You” opens. In two weeks we are visiting Coastal Carolina to see “A New Brain”. To me, the productions are more important than some generic accepted student’s event. And sitting in on classes is key!
@el-cee We are visiting Coastal to see A New Brain too! Have you already scheduled a department tour or observing a class?
@32barMom, son chose Otterbein BFA Acting and never looked back 
@Elcee would love to know how you liked Rider. @MTmama42 we are visiting Coastal next weekend to see A New Brain!
The glamorous traveling life - stuck in the Baltimore airport en route from campus visit at Ithaca to campus visit at Oklahoma University. 3 hour layover + 3 hour delay. I will be very glad (and a little sad) to be done with all of these travels.
@Divamamacita Enjoy your stay in BWI - I recommend visiting a gift shop and picking up one of the many Maryland flag themed items while you’re here… we love our flag! I also recommend the DuClaw restaurant for craft beer (but not sure if they are inside the security screening area or not).
I"m assuming that the grounding of the 737 Max planes is having some impact on travel. As usual, bring your patience with you
Lol @Divamamacita - the glamourous jet setting likestyle! My eldest (non-BFA) chose between Madison WI, W Lafayette IN and Syracuse NY. I was pretty darn stoked when my younger (BFA) kid said she wasn’t going to any school outside a major metro area. So much easier!
@El-Cee Please let me know if you have any questions about Rider. My D has been loving her life at this school (she is Freshman - MT BFA, Class of 2022). She has grown so much from her classes - not to mention she has already booked a Summer Stock company due to auditions that were brought directly to the school!
@32barMom - My S initially applied last year as an MT, but switched to straight acting after prescreen results. He ended up at Syracuse and loves it. Let me know if you have any questions.
Any thoughts on UC Irvine drama where you audition for MT BFA after you arrive vs. Utah MT BFA? We are out of state for both, but Irvine is much more expensive. We see that Irvine has more of a national reputation even if you never switch from BA to BFA, but we are trying to decide if there is a big difference. My husband and I both went to grad school in southern CA, and we have taken the kids to visit nearly every year, so our D would feel very at home there. We visited Utah and liked it, but it is less familiar. Any leads on either program would be great. Thanks, hive mind!
@Fergie978 oh that just made me second guess everything! We just eliminated Rider because of the cost- has she found any way to make it less expensive? Even with the general scholarship it is proving to be too much to take on.
@4angels - I would call their Financial Aid department. I found them to be very helpful!
@katzenbogen - some of the older CC threads for UCI mention that the graduate program is really strong and the graduate students get most of the performing opportunities. I wouldn’t eliminate a program because of that but if it’s still true it should be a consideration.
Thank you, @CaMom13 !
@soozievt thanks for your response about acting vs. MT. DS has several MT offers so we’ve kind of disregarded his acting offers because I was under the general impression that the acting programs would be comprehensive, and somewhat prohibitive of the time to deeply study voice and dancing as well. In at least one case, I know it was dance that eliminated my son for MT consideration. I’ll dig a little deeper in the curriculum. I also felt he would feel “second class” for not being in the program that he wanted to be in, and that might eat away at him inside.
@brieduck can you share which programs, some redirects are basically MT Lite w ability to supplement w dance and voice…
@El-Cee, @MTmama42 and @4angels - just saw that you all are visiting Coastal to sit in on classes and see New Brain. That makes me so happy - my son is in the production. You will love the faculty and students. Let me know if you have questions. I think I’ve almost posted enough to be able to PM. I will be there the second weekend of the show.