Expert: Kitty Kavey - 5/8/2008

Question
Ok I was one of eighteen accepted into the Theatre Conservatory at SUNY-Purchase for BFA Acting and I was accepted to Roosevelt University Chicago College of Performing Arts for BFA Musical Theatre and I have no idea what to do. I love Chicago, but I am so afraid that if I turn down SUNY I will have made a huge mistake because of the opportunites that I will have from being a part of that program. Please help!!
Lilly

Answer
You are correct in that SUNY is a more well-recognized school that may be able to provide you with better future opportunities than the Chicago College of Performing Arts.

So, your choice will have to weigh the pros of the better program, against your location of choice, Chicago.  If you haven't already, take a look at the Wikipedia entries for both schools:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_College_of_Performing_Arts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchase_College

If you can locate a notable alumni list from the Chicago College, as is listed for SUNY you can also consider that in the future, you will then have a connection to those alumni as well, which can be helpful in networking and making industry contacts.

Perhaps there are alumni that you admire, or wish to follow in the footsteps of, more in one school than another - that can also be a consideration, along with which school will be able to teach you more, and be more valuable to you on your resume.

Of course you will need to decide what works best for you personally - if you are miserable in one location, no matter how good the program is your focus and dedication to it may suffer.

Also, take into consideration the possibility that you may be able to try one school for a period of time, and can transfer or leave the program and continue or start over at the other school.  As it sounds like the SUNY school is more difficult to gain acceptance in to, perhaps trying that program for a year would be possible - and if you don't like it there, you can more easily reapply to the Chicago College of Performing arts.

Usually, nothing is set in stone - people do drop out of programs, or transfer credits to other colleges, or take a break for a while before finishing a course of study.  There may be available counselors at both schools who can also advise you on your decision.

Good luck to you,
~Kitty