<p>Happykid and friends would like to visit potential transfer-to universities during their community college’s spring vacation March 13 - 20. No more than a day’s drive (or bus/train ride) from the DC area. Right now my carload is Lighting Design majors, but other techies may join us.</p>
<p>So far the options include:</p>
<p>Overnight road trip to Pittsburgh to see CMU and Point Park. Possible stop on the way back at Frostburg (in-state ultra-safety option).</p>
<p>Day trip to Shenandoah U.</p>
<p>Day trip to Towson (in-state safety) and UM-BC (in-state match). None of them wants to visit UM-CP just yet.</p>
<p>Overnight bus trip to SUNY Purchase. (No, I am NOT driving there! They can take the Megabus to NYC, and then local public transportation. A graduate of their CC is currently studying there.)</p>
<p>Overnight road trip to East Carolina U.</p>
<p>Have I missed anything? NCArts is on break at the same time, and I don’t think there would be much for them to see if we went there that week. Should we leave ECU for later in the year when we go to NCArts? Is it possible for them to visit more than one university in a day, or will that be too much? Are any of these places simply to be avoided for general awfulness (you can let me know by PM if you prefer not to go public with your opinions)? Are any of these so transfer-unfriendly as to be avoided?</p>
<p>If you are going to East Carolina University I would suggest you check out Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC. They are transfer friendly and a wonderful school with, I think, a great tech program. The head of the theatre department is a “techie” himself and their shows have wonderful production values. It is a small department - currently a little over 100 kids total - and very supportive. My D is a freshman MT major and LOVES it. Lots of opportunities for getting hands on experience both at the school and at Atlantic Stage.
[CCU</a> Department of Theatre](<a href=“http://www.coastal.edu/theatre/html/bfa-technical-theatre.html]CCU”>http://www.coastal.edu/theatre/html/bfa-technical-theatre.html)</p>
<p>They are on spring break March 14 - 18 but I know my D has to be back on campus early (March 17 I think) for Philadelphia Story rehearsals so there will definitely be theatre people around that week, especially at the end of the break. Feel free to PM me if you would like more info. And your S can always contact my D if he has specific questions he would like answered by a current student.</p>
<p>Best of luck to your S and his friends! It sounds like a very busy week for them so hope it is productive!</p>
<p>Take the hour drive down I-81 from Shenandoah to James Madison University. If you do PM me or send me an email, I can arrange for a tour of the new performing arts center, and hopefully for your group to meet with a design/tech faculty member and students.</p>
<p>PS. With many programs you may find them to be transfer friendly, BUT that the student will need to still spend 3 - 4 years at the new institution (even if he or she already has an associates degree). This would be a good question to ask of the schools. Also, ask how the portfolio review is weighed in the admissions process.</p>
<p>Rowan in NJ. It’s about a half hour from Philadelphia. Frostburg has a much better theatre program than you would think from it’s reputation as an ultra safety. Towson has a really nice new theatre building. UMBC also has a good theatre department. My daughter has friends who are majoring in theatre at Frostburg and in theatre tech at UMBC and they are very happy at both schools.</p>
<p>Is there an easy way to find out if transfer students will need to spend 3-4 years to complete the program? Would this be obvious on the websites, or do we have to get there and ask the department? Happykid has been told that NCArts operates that way, and if it is true, NCArts would be off the list. She is only interested in places where she can have a reasonable expectation of finishing in two years after her AA.</p>
<p>With CCU you can either email Ken Martin or post your question to him over in the Coastal Carolina thread in the MT forum (he’s kjgc.) Coastal does take CC credits as my D got credit for her dual enrollment classes from high school. The issue is the actual BFA required classes and how they are sequenced. Not sure how your D could fit them all in but Ken would be the person who could answer your question. (And sorry I had gender confusion with your D!)</p>
<p>happymom – I think the best way is to contact the department first to see what they say, and then the transfer admissions counselors. Many theatre programs have a 3 - 4 year sequence of major classes, so a student would not be able to complete them in 2 years. </p>
<p>I think you are in MD? Do any of the schools in your state (like Towson and UMBC) with theatre programs have articulation agreements with the state CCs? Depending on the departmental major requirements this might be her best bet to complete a program with only two more years of study. Those college are more likely to accept the CC credits (even for some of the major courses possibly).</p>
<p>Towson guarantees transfer admissions for AA grads from the community colleges. However there isn’t a theater department articulation agreement so those courses transfer on a course-by-course basis. We will visit in two weeks so we’ll find out more. Right now Towson does look to be a solid option.</p>
<p>I really liked the program at Towson when we visited there last year. We had our daughter visit and sit in on theatre classes at Towson, Salisbury and Rowan, just so she could compare schools. Towson doesn’t get a lot of mention here, but I think it’s a got a great program, especially with in state tuition.</p>
<p>I think you may also have a “4 year problem” with CMU, as well as many other BFA programs. Check the websites, then follow up as necessary. No point in visiting such places if you really think this is a dealbreaker. On the other hand, if you’re hoping she might change her mind, maybe visit to a couple of programs like this might be a good idea. ;-)</p>
<p>I called CMU last week, and the admissions officer was able to confirm that performance majors face a 4 year program, but she wasn’t certain about design majors. After I spent about 10 minutes in looping-phone-tree-hades, I gave up on them. 4 years is a dealbreaker not only because of the tuition costs, but also because Happykid wants to be out there working and making money yesterday. </p>
<p>The admissions counselor at Point Park told me that all of the credits from an AA would transfer, but that depending on how the design department evaluated the transfer credits student might have to be there for 2 1/2 or 3 years. It may still be do-able.</p>
<p>We’re visiting UMBC and either Shenandoah or Towson next week, and will report back with what we learn!</p>
<p>On 3/15 we visited UMBC. We did not have a formal campus tour, but the admissions office gave us maps and information sheets so we could see whatever we wanted before the Transfer Information Session. We found the current theater building and a student there introduced the techies to the costumier who gave them a mini-tour. A new building is under construction which should be open before any of my car-load would transfer in. We saw plans for the new building but not the construction site itself.</p>
<p>About 45% of the UMBC students live on campus. Housing is not guaranteed for Transfer students, but applying early will make a difference in your position on the housing list. UMBC has bus service to some nearby apartment developments so off-campus housing is not impossible to find. All students can bring a car to campus and parking fees are included in the general student fees. There are priority dates for application, but students are accepted until much later in the year. Transfers are admitted to the university, rather than to a particular department. Once admitted, students need to have their previous records reviewed by the individual departments to find out which courses they will need to take at UMBC.</p>
<p>On 3/16 we visited Towson U. It is about twice the size of UMBC. Housing is not guaranteed for transfer students, but early application gets them on the waitlist. There are many private apartment complexes near Towson, and most have shuttle buses to campus if they aren’t in walking distance. Freshman usually can’t get parking permits, but as they are guaranteed on-campus housing it isn’t such a problem for them. Towson is walking distance to shopping, movies, etc. which the techies liked a lot better than UMBC’s location.</p>
<p>We took a general campus tour, and saw the inside of the Fine Arts building. The techies approved of it, as well as the looks of the dining facilities on campus. Students who complete an AA in Maryland are automatic admits, and although there are priority application dates, both freshman and transfer students can be accepted later in the year “as long as there is space”.</p>
<p>The techies like Towson, and want to go back another day to meet people in the department. But, the Baltimore Beltway is just as horrifying as I’ve been told, so I may send them up by commuter rail!</p>