Please help me with college choices!

[LightingManEvan]

Hi everyone!

I am a senior and have been looking at colleges. I wanted to get some more opinions, even though my applications are mostly done and all...

I am going for a BA or BFA (depending on the school) with my concentration in lighting.

The schools I have looked at:
-UNCSA
-CalArts
-Univeristy of California, Irvine
-Southern Oregon University
-University of Northern Colorado
-what else can I add to my list?

And more recently, University of Northern Colorado, not because they are up to par with schools like NCSA, but because that is one school I know I can get into no matter what. The other schools, while I have good grades/scores, they depend more on portfolio/interview.

I have looked into Purchase, NYU, Carnegie Mellon, etc, and while they have great theater programs I did not like the "feel" of those schools. I do want to enjoy a bit of the "college experience" while gaining the necessary skills to transfer into a career after college.

So, does anyone have any input on CalArts, Irvine, Northern Colorado, Southern Oregon? And what other ones can I look at?

I have looked at so many recently, my brain is frazzled. So, outside opinions would be greAT.
Thanks so much!

[sstolnack]

I'm also a senior looking at college, my two top choices at the moment are Southern Oregon and University of Evansville. I've heard that some people have been unhappy with SOU, but I'm still looking into it.

[Footer]

If you have not read it already... take a read: http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/e...education.html

All of those schools you mentioned are great schools. There is no amount of advice we can give you beyond go see the schools and consider financial packages that you will get from those schools.

[JohnHuntington]

And now for some shameless self promotion: I suggest that you at least consider our unique program at City Tech; I have some info here. Also on that link I have an article I wrote for the USITT journal called Rethinking Entertainment Technology Education that describes our approach and attitude.

I'm not sure what you mean by the "college experience", so we may not be right for you. We are very non-traditional--we don't have a traditional campus, no dorms, etc. But we have many students who move to NYC from all over the country and get our B. Tech degree. And even with tuition on the rise, we are very affordable, especially for NYS residents (about $5K/year).

Feel free to contact me if anyone has questions.

John

p.s. If you're into lighting we're one of the few schools to have GrandMA2, rig on truss and chain motor, have a bunch of Martin and High End movers, and are the only ones I know of to fire the GrandMA2 from Medialon for our haunted hotel.

[museav]

It also helps when addressing schools to list any criteria or considerations like geographic location, whether out-of-state tuition is an issue and so on. It is also interesting that people never seem to bring up academic acceptance. I find it hard to believe that everyone asking about colleges would be accepted at any university to which they might apply, so if that is a potential factor then it is probably best to identify it.

[dbthetd]

I don't know if you have, but you should definitely talk to a current student or two or three or come visit before making a final judgment about "feel"

Email me off list and I can hook you up with current CMU people.

dboevers AT cmu DOT edu

[cpdibari]

Hi everyone!

I am a senior and have been looking at colleges. I wanted to get some more opinions, even though my applications are mostly done and all...

I am going for a BA or BFA (depending on the school) with my concentration in lighting.

The schools I have looked at:
-UNCSA
-CalArts
-Univeristy of California, Irvine
-Southern Oregon University
-University of Northern Colorado
-what else can I add to my list?

And more recently, University of Northern Colorado, not because they are up to par with schools like NCSA, but because that is one school I know I can get into no matter what. The other schools, while I have good grades/scores, they depend more on portfolio/interview.

I have looked into Purchase, NYU, Carnegie Mellon, etc, and while they have great theater programs I did not like the "feel" of those schools. I do want to enjoy a bit of the "college experience" while gaining the necessary skills to transfer into a career after college.

So, does anyone have any input on CalArts, Irvine, Northern Colorado, Southern Oregon? And what other ones can I look at?

I have looked at so many recently, my brain is frazzled. So, outside opinions would be greAT.
Thanks so much!

I'm in the same boat, people have highly recommended Rutgers Mason Gross School program as well as UArts in Philly.

[cbetlyon]

i would recommend UNCSA as im a student there now. i went to CMU for summer classes, wasn't for me.

one thing to take into consideration for sure is networking. ask your self and the school what kind of connections can you make there? this business is all about who you know.

[ruinexplorer]

I would recommend anyone who is looking into lighting design to consider schools with a strong projection design as well. There's no doubt that you will be running into the world of video and lighting once you get out of school, so you might as well be learning about it now. While a few colleges are now offering an emphasis in projection, a few more are definitely offering some classes in it. I'd also recommend Arizona State University if you are looking exclusively on the west coast.

[Cadmium6855]

I am currently a junior, begging to look into colleges, one I found in-particular is Full Sail University in Florida, it might not suit your needs, but you finish in 21 months and then they get you a job, right off the bat. If your looking to go more into theater its probably not the best place for you, I however, prefer live productions, like concerts and things like that.

Show Production Bachelor's Degree : Full Sail

They don't offer a Ba or BFA but they have a phenomenal Show Production Program.

This is where I plan on going so far, but as I said before I am looking more to go on tour with a band or something of that sort.

[derekleffew]

Cadmium6855, many here have strong opinions on "training institutes" as opposed to a traditional college degree. Type "Full Sail" into the search box above. You might also find http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/e...education.html and Getting a Job in the Industry - ControlBooth useful.