Personally, I’m happy that some people who get into the “Marquee” programs are turning them down. Because whenever this happens, the school they DO go to will get a better reputation. And every one of these schools and the mega-talented kids studying there deserves an awesome reputation! I’ve always thought that casting directors, et. al. deserve a little credit and CAN’T be so dumb as to think that the ONLY reason Student X is at School Y is because they couldn’t get into School Z. They very WELL may have gotten into School Z, but it was too expensive, too far from home (and some kids have very valid reasons for needing to be closer to home), or the student didn’t even apply to School Z because _____ (name your non-fit reason). My daughter turned down a “name” school for an “up and coming” school and if for one second she or we believed that the actual training would have been better at the name school, she’d be there. But we looked at both schools very closely, and felt both programs were equally good training-wise. Of course, the “name” school had “the name.” But it just wasn’t the best fit for my daughter, and we got reassurance from MANY people, including people in the business and professional coaches, that the “name” has a short shelf-life. I do believe that with social media taking over the world and with the rise of SUPER talented kids going to basically every program out there, the strength of the “name” will diminish, and kids from ALL these super competitive programs will have equal footing starting out.
@learnin Ditto! Same reactions and issues for my S. Like your D he went with the right choice for him… To say it was easy … nah, it wasn’t. In fact it was VERY hard.
@Calliene Exactly!
This is such a valuable discussion. Thank you to all who contributed. One of the things I think is important to keep in mind is that it is very easy to get wrapped up in thinking about what happens after graduation that you lose sight on what the next four years of your life is going to be like. Considering which program has the curriculum that fits your needs, kids and teachers you click with and is affordable enough that financial stress or collapse doesn’t threaten your experience or ability to finish is more important than what a casting director might think of a school on your resume maybe in a hypothetical audition in the future. College isn’t just a preparation for a career. It’s an important stage in a young person’s development. These choices are highly personal. I applaud @MTDadandProud and his son for going with what he needs over the opinion of the general public.
@4thtime I soooo much agree with this. College is about becoming educated and growing and is not simply job training. An educated mind is not a waste and is valued in the work place as well.
@MTDadandProud and @learning, my kid went through an almost identical experience two years ago. I feel your pain. I haven’t been back here in a while, but after seeing this thread, I thought it would be good to post our experience in this most difficult month of decision-making. My son was accepted at many of the “top” schools discussed on this forum with generous amounts of merit and talent aid. But there were still loans involved. We are in the arts/higher education ourselves, so with that knowledge, we were also fairly cautious about the amounts of money we thought reasonable to be spent on an arts education. There’s more backstory, but, in the end, he decided on our in-state university costing us practically nothing where he is combining a rigorous liberal arts education with voice, dance, and theatre. It’s not always easy to fit everything in. But with the money we are saving, he tapes auditions and travels to callbacks when they come up. He is lucky that he already has an agent in LA and NY. He also took four weeks off last summer to study at an acting studio in LA and also took many hours of intensive dance at the amazing dance studios there. Upcoming summers will probably see him do the same in NY and/or abroad. Will he need a finishing year or two after graduation or go on to an MFA? Possibly. Although we don’t live in NY or LA, he’s also managed to book a few, small co-star roles on well-known television shows, and thus is building professional credits while in college. He does shows at his college. He has been to a number of Broadway callbacks and producers’ sessions over the last two years. He has worked professionally in regional musical theatre/opera, and it looks like more work will follow from that. What an amazing learning experience that is! Luckily, his profs have been understanding about his need to miss classes for these opportunities. He is also a very responsible student academically, so I’m sure that helps. Do we wish we could have sent him to one of the “name brand” programs, and do we see the advantages that attending such a program might have brought him in the future? Absolutely. But as several have pointed out here, so much of casting and finding work later on is about so many things beyond the actor’s control, and that includes where you went to school. True, it definitely may help initially, but after a short bit of time, it’s about the breakdown and your fit — your type, your age, your skill set — combined with what happens in that room. And then there is just luck, serendipity, right place/right time, or whether the CD is starving because it just before lunch or he/she is happy just having come back from a delicious meal, and that’s when you happened to get your audition appt. There are no guarantees in this business, so making the best decision for your student, family, and financial situation should all play a part. Good Luck to everyone this month!
I really urge those of you whose kids have made their decision to attend a particular school, to not allow others to make them doubt their choice. As has been said a million times here, there are many paths to a theatre career. It’s going to be difficult for ALL these kids, regardless of what school they attend, to support themselves entirely by performing. In fact, most will not be able to do so, again, with a degree from any school.
It’s important for kids to find a program that suits their needs, that will provide the training they need, and where they can be happy for four years. I’m not saying that there aren’t differences in schools, there are, but that doesn’t mean that a school that is the right choice for one kids is necessarily going to be the right choice for another. There will be successful grads and unsuccessful grads from every school, including the top/best known/most popular/marquee choices.
My D attended a ‘marquee’, as defined by some here. She’s done very well since graduating but not everyone in her school or studio have been as fortunate. I’ve seen kids from Michigan do well, and others who haven’t. Same with Northwestern, or BoCo, or CMU or any other school discussed here. I’ve mentioned before that a few young actors I know in the city who have been the most successful, and they’re all in the 30-32 age range, attended Brown, AMDA, and UCLA (in a non-theatre major). I know that none of them regrets their college choice. Each chose their school for particular reasons.
One advantage that I think my D’s school provided was the connections that it allowed her to make in her time there.
Lastly, debt will be a real problem for these theatre grads. Help them to make wise decisions to avoid this in any way they can. Graduating with debt that must be serviced will put them in a very difficult position trying to pursue a career in theatre.
And remember that every time a student turns down a spot at a marquee school they aren’t passionate about in order to attend a school they DO love, a spot opens up from the waitlist so that someone who IS head over heels for the marquee school has the chance to attend. There’s really no losing!
I think that with a degree from a more prestigious school (not just in MT), there are some preconceived notions that a person might be more talented or smarter. That halo effect that might sway someone’s opinion at first, or it might open some doors. But in the end, if you don’t deliver, you are not ahead of anyone. Networking can help at more prestigious and more well established schools, too. But even there, you are only going to get recommended by your peers if you are good.
In our personal experience, I found that I was the one second guessing the decision to give up the school with bigger name. As many of you have discussed here, the name of the school where you trained and that school’s network might not get you a job, but might ease your foot through the door, at least in the early days of your career. As the parent of child aspiring to enter an incredibly difficult industry, I couldn’t help but think that any little advantage would be a good advantage. That said, I raised a D who knows her own mind and who is determined to follow her own path no matter how many people have a different opinion. She did her research, she visited, she talked to people, costs were similar between her final 2 choices, and in the end, she knew where she bELONged. And as @Jkellynh17 said, it’s not like she’ll be slumming. We could not be happier with her decision!
It seems that we are fixated on top-notch schools, but we are, most importantly, talking about a top-notch talent here @MTDadandProud . I’m really not sure if it matters where they go to school, I mean, these are the kids that everybody seems to want. Is it going to be so different after four years of excellent training, even if it is not CMU or Michigan (and, of course, Tish:))? And please don’t crucify me, these are just examples, I do not have extensive (or any) knowledge of US programs, just quoting some that seem to be highly regarded on CC.
Different twist to the story: let’s say my D wins a MT lottery in two years and is accepted to CMU, one of the prestigious UK schools and Sheridan. At all of these schools she would receive excellent training. She has a dual citizenship, can work in Canada and anywhere in Europe, but not in US. Would the CMU brand matter?
Nope…and if she could work in the US I would still say Nope.
Hmmm. . .
My thoughts @bisouu exactly, but lacking experience to say so 
If it truly mattered where these kids went you would see in every program of every show only kids from CMU, UM, or Juillard…it clearly doesn’t matter. JMHO
If it were me and my kid could work in Europe, I would apply to a ton of UK schools. The CMU brand is valuable everywhere, but RADA is on a level with Julliard. The main problem with RADA, LAMDA etc. is that US kids have a tough time getting work after…you’ve eliminated that problem.
I think the choice is very personal- and people are going to defend “their” choice. A parent making sacrifices (and or taking out loans) to pay for a 40-50k+ a year education is doing it b/c they think it will be “worth it”. Those making a different choice are certain that school “brand” it doesn’t matter. Examples can be found to defend BOTH viewpoints (in the arts and in many other majors) and frankly- I don’t think one side is ever going to convince the other- and I don’t think they should try. The last thing EITHER group needs is to doubt decisions made (esp those of us with kids already in a program) The best path the me seems to be that each family should do what feels right to THEM- and let others do the same
Sorry @toowonderful, but have you ever considered taking $10000 loans a sacrifice? Please stop equaling putting yourself or your kids in debt as valuing an education. It might be just a valuing a ‘brand name’ - I find it offensive.
I am very sorry to have offended you @alphascorpii- that was certainly not the intention of my post. It seems obvious to me that any parent on cc clearly values education -or we wouldn’t be spending time and effort worrying about it. Paying more or less doesn’t mean you “value” the education more or less. The son of our closest family friends has a complete full ride to college- his parents aren’t paying a dime- I would never say they don’t value their son’s education. What I was saying is that a person who chooses a more expensive school over a less expensive one has reasons that THEY think it’s the right choice. A person choosing a less expensive school over a more expensive one has reasons THEY think that is the right choice. Why isn’t that ok? Shouldn’t every family decide what works for them?
Just for fun (well, it wasn’t actually “fun”) I went over to the “Law School” section of CC to see what kind of questions or topics were being “forum-ed.” Many of them are similar to the MT forum. Things like, “School A vs School B.” and “What are my chances to get into School C?” and “Can I transfer?” or “How can I pay?” even, “Am I good enough (academically) to succeed at School D?”
Guess what wasn’t being discussed in at the 25 pages I perused through?
I find the energy we put behind this topic fascinating.
What?