For every high-schooler, the most daunting decision they will make in the four years of their career will be which college to pick! And for a performer, it gets even trickier, since no two programs run exactly the same. But how do you know you’ve chosen the right one?
First, take a deep breath. I know there’s a lot of information being jammed into your head right now and it’s all really confusing. My first piece of advice is look at one college at a time and compare notes that way.
Second, come up with what you want. Do you want a program that will get you onstage the first day, or do you want to talk about theory before you step foot into the spotlights? Think about all the different things you’d like in a program, and come up with the perfect one in your head! Now, go back and only look at the schools who offer programs similar to or dead on what you’re looking for.
The next thing you’ll of course want to do is go see the school. Use this visit to your advantage. Talk to the professors; ask them anything you’d like. Ask to see the living arrangements. This is where you will be living, growing, and creating your craft and love; you should be comfortable and inspired by the place you’ll be spending all of your time during the next four years. If the living situation isn’t what you like, then you don’t like the school. Same goes with the food. Have a meal on campus if you can and eat in the cafeteria. If you don’t like the food maybe that will be a deciding factor as well.
Next, go to the facility that your program will be in. Go look at the theater, at the costume shop, backstage, the TV studio, or whatever it happens to be. There’s nothing worse than loving a program but seeing that the materials the school has to teach with don’t match up with the program itself. I went on a college tour and they had a great communication/theater and TV program –but they had no television studio.
Remember, above all else that this is your decision. You are the one who needs to live and go to school there. You should love everything about it, and not regret it. That being said, I wish you the best of luck as you find the program perfect for you!