<p>Great question. I think NJTM answered it very well. My D’s program JUST last year started offering a BFA acting option, but only acting - and she had switched to design so she’ll get a BA anyway as they don’t have a BFA for design at this point. But it’s one of those VERY strong BA programs in a school with a reputation for excellent productions, and the professors are all you would want - excellent degrees, and a long history of professional work outside of academia, and good contacts. I was beyond thrilled when they brought in a costumer design professor last year who went to Carnegie Mellon and Yale and who has strong connections with Suny Purchase (which I think are probably among the very tippy top best places in the country for design) and who has an impressive work history with everything from big ballet companies to Broadway and good regional shows. Since my D is definitely looking at grad school at some point, and since this professor gave her a personal introduction to a professor running one of these programs at USITT this year, which thrilled her to death, I think that these connections are important to look at.</p>
<p>But in yet another of the list of ironic things that happened in our school choice journey, not only was this professor not even there yet when we chose it (and she was looking at MT at that time anyway) but when she made the choice, they had a very well known MT professor there at the school who, right as she started her freshman year, made a surprise move and left that school and went to a different school! Had we picked that school ONLY on the strength of that professor it would have been pretty damn upsetting. And it did derail the new MT program. The few who did start out the year under an MT designation are being allowed to keep it and knowing the school they will do what they can but I wouldn’t be happy with that if she’d stayed in MT. We probably would have transfered her. They decided to start a BFA for acting program option instead (and I have no idea what the decision was based on for sure, but I suspect it’s hard to suddenly recruit a good MT professor up to the standards they wanted) and I have a feeling they won’t have the problems they did with the MT in getting it to take root. (In the meanwhile, the design and tech bunch just keep plugging along being excellent and not getting a lot of attention from anyone except other design and tech people, lol. But we know this!)</p>
<p>So you do have to look at the choice keeping in mind that some of these factors can suddenly change, and if one does, is the rest of the school still enough of a win for you that you won’t need to consider having to transfer.</p>
<p>Perhaps the lesson in our experience to be gained is that although researching all this stuff is still mandatory and important, there is absolutely nothing in life that comes with any guarantee and the best way to make God laugh is to make plans. That doesn’t mean not to make plans…but I guess, to learn how to be flexible and deal with the reality that <em>stuff</em> happens, and you can’t let changes which are outside of your control, derail your process…you have to roll with the punches. I mean, what other choice is there? lol!</p>