<p>**By Mtmommy (Mtmommy) on Saturday, September 18, 2004 - 12:52 am: Edit **</p>
<p>Mezzomom–Add Kushner’s A Bright Room Called Day if you’re just making a list. </p>
<p>**By Wct (Wct) on Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 12:53 am: Edit **</p>
<p>just didn’t want to lose the thread. </p>
<p>How are the college applications going? </p>
<p>**By Catherdingmom (Catherdingmom) on Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 12:04 pm: Edit **</p>
<p>I had a long talk with my s. last night about what he would consider the ideal college. This is what he came up with. </p>
<p>"There are a lot of factors that would be nice to have, but I don’t want to compromise on the training. Other things I can do without, but I don’t want to say at the end of four years that I wish I had gone to a school with a stronger acting program. I’m afraid that I will wind up in a school that the whole program is the theater warm-ups and games I have done all these years. </p>
<p>Also important–the people I would be working with. I want to work with people who can help me grow as an actor rather than telling me how to act. </p>
<p>I’d like to be in a program in which actors are not locked away in the corner of the campus. I want the bulk of my classes to be drama/theatre, but I’d like the opportunity to take other classes. I’d like them to be classes I’m interested in, though–philosophy or sociology rather than so many hours of physics. </p>
<p>I want the opportunity to explore other areas. Not necessarily having to take classes in those areas, but not being hindered from exploring them either. I expect to be busy, but I would like even a little bit of time to play my music or study things on my own. Another example-- I’m interested in Native American studies. I don’t really expect to be able to take classes in that, but it would be really cool if there were a resource such as a professor knowledgeable in that area I could talk with informally. </p>
<p>I’d like to be someplace interesting which to me could mean a couple of different things. Being close to a city would be great because of the different things available to do. On the other hand I could be happy in a place that is surrounded by beautiful countryside. But I’d like to be someplace that I won’t die of frostbite. </p>
<p>I like diversity. I have a diverse group of friends, and I enjoy getting to know people from different backgrounds. </p>
<p>A school of midrange size sounds good, but I wouldn’t turn down a school in either extremity if there were other things about it I liked." </p>
<p>As far as schools that place equal emphasis on academic record and talent, he is at a disadvantage. He has a GPA of 3.5, but he had three C’s last year in core classes and I’m sure that will hurt his chances a lot. He has a LD (visual sequencing) that he has always been able to compensate for, but all three classes covered material in which correct sequencing is crucial. He also had 8 plays going on during the school year so he just couldn’t juggle enough and dropped some balls. He has an ACT score of 29. He is planning to retake that. </p>
<p>If his “wish list” brings any school to mind, please let us know! (Sorry this is so long.) </p>
<p>**By Thesbohemian (Thesbohemian) on Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 06:04 pm: Edit **</p>
<p>Catherdingmom,
Has he looked at SMU? It’s not too competitive academically, but it’s a fairly good school with an outstanding theatre department. The overall school has a reputation for having lots of preppy, Republican, rich kid, business major, frat boy types, but the people I know who go there in different arts discliplines are a very diverse crowd in and of themselves. Really, any school that has a prominent school of the arts like SMU’s Meadows will have some diversity. If I end up there, they’ll have at least one token redneck chick. </p>
<p>He might look at the University of Evansville and Otterbein, too. They’re both tiny schools and I imagine it gets butt freezing cold in the winter, but the theatre departments supposedly rule both places so he won’t have to worry about them being “locked away in the corner of campus.” Both are great, highly selective, but sometimes overlooked departments and the overall schools are good without being especially competitive academically. </p>
<p>My homegirl, notarebel, and one of my other studiomates have decided they want to audition for the University of Minnesota Guthrie program. That’s truly butt freezing cold and it’s a pretty big university, but it seems like it has a lot of what your son wants other than that. I assume he’s looked at FSU and Miami? It looks like most of the really good BFA programs that aren’t too academically competitive for out of state students are in places where it gets cold. Has he looked at the University of Northern Illinois? What about Shorter College in Rome, Georgia as a safety? Their reputation is apparently growing. </p>
<p>All,
Since the powers that be have decided to archive this thread again even though it had posts just a few days old, I’ll start linking it to the MT thread until interest picks up and newbies show up with more new questions. </p>
<p>**By Fosselover (Fosselover) on Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 06:50 pm: Edit **</p>
<p>In an effort to get this thread out of the archive I’ll ask a question that could go either here or the MT thread. Can anyone recommend a program that is a BFA in Acting, but has the ability to supplement with Voice and Dance? I guess it would be a build your own musical theater program. </p>
<p>**By Thesbohemian (Thesbohemian) on Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 09:36 pm: Edit **</p>
<p>Fosselover,
It seems like I remember the University of Utah requiring two years of singing lessons with private study encouraged. They apparently sing a lot at Miami, too. They even want two songs for the straight theatre audition. I’ve been told the University of Evansville only has two dance classes available, but they do a musical every year. I think Shauna, the girl who was doing links on these threads, is putting together her own MT program at the University of North Texas, but it seems like she was having some trouble coordinating between the theatre and music departments. I think she got it worked out, though. </p>
<p>**By Mtmommy (Mtmommy) on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 05:01 pm: Edit **</p>
<p>Shauna isn’t putting together her own MT program. UNT offers an MT program wherein one can specialize in voice, dance, OR acting. The courses are laid out on their website. It’s a non-audition program through the dept. of theatre, but if one wants to specialize (concentration) in voice, one needs to audition for the music dept. There is a scholarship audition. </p>
<p>So far I can’t remember hearing from anyone who has successfully put together their own MT program, though the subject has been brought up several times on the MT threads. </p>
<p>Thesbo, I’m glad you’re back!</p>