Choosing between two great schools

[MNstudent123]

Im new to the sight and was hoping to gain some insight on choosing the right school. I am a stage management/design tech major graduating from High School. I have been accepted to both University of Wisconsin Stephens Point (BFA technical theater), and Syracuse University (BFA stage management) and I now have to choose between the two. If any of you are familiar with either program, or especially if you are familiar with both I would appreciate your input on there pros and cons.

[gafftaper]

Try calling the drama school's office and tell them you would like to ask a few questions of a student who is currently in the program. Ask them to help you connect with a student. Although community impression of the school are important and alumni feedback is also great, the best information you can get is from a student in the degree you are seeking.

[derekleffew]

MNstudent123, welcome to ControlBooth. Have you read FAQ-Recommendations about college education ?

Perhaps answering these questions can help in your decision:

...Factors in choosing a college:
Do any NOT have a graduate program?
Would a change in climate be good? Do you like oceans, mountains, or plains? East coast or left coast?
Do you want to live, car-less, in a large city? Or in the middle of nowhere in a town of twenty-thousand, fifteen-thousand of which are students?
Have you traveled to each campus and met representative faculty and current students?
Which has the best meal plan? Dorms? Non-theatre campus activities?
Cost is a factor to many, but for everyone: don't put yourself in the position of having a to pay back a $100,000 student loan while making $10/hour after graduation.
College should be about needs (education) and opportunities (experience/contacts); wants can interfere with success.
Does the college have an associated professional program? Attached road house with IATSE crew?
Where are recent graduates and alumni working? ...

[MNstudent123]

Thanks for the input guys, the reason I was asking for alumni or others familiar with the programs to weigh in was mostly because I was hoping to gain a better understanding of how well the schools are networked, as many of the other factors listed in dereklettews post are essentially a wash or cancel each-other out in my opinion. However I'm now thinking that if I ask to speak with a graduation senior from my program I can probably get that figured out.

[StNic54]

Networking is more up to you than the school - either program will have professors with friends in the industry, and it is important if they have jobs attached to the program, but ultimately you will need to get out there and meet and greet - attend the big tech conferences, keep up with the industry changes, hire on to different summer stock theatre programs, and, most importantly, burn no bridges. Oh, and it's good to be a jack of all trades, but the college program you choose should help you refine your career path and that growth will lead you to create the best network possible. No matter which school you choose (or by now, chose) remember you are in the most creative industry since the beginning of civilization.

[MNstudent123]

thanks for the info, and your right I have made my choice and ill be attending Syracuse in the fall. I posted this when I was a little more ambiguous about what part of the industry I wanted to be in, and Stage Management has caught my eye more and more since then. And i know that networking is ultimately my job but Syracuse provides an excellent system to make initial contacts, and work with a wide variety of people already in the industry. Thanks again to everyone who gave me there input.