COLLEGE FIT

Now it’s time to narrow the field to between four and six schools to visit. Ask yourself this: Will we have chemistry? A program may look perfect on paper — or from the carefully selected pictures they post online — but it is very difficult to figure out whether a program is right for you without first visiting the campus, meeting some faculty and students, and experiencing the environment. Before and during your visit, consider the following factors to help you determine whether a college will be a good fit.

First identify whether the school’s program fits your overall educational goals. For example, if you are interested in immediately training for a specific role in professional theatre, a Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) program may be the better fit. If you want a broad range of experience before you choose an area of concentration, you might instead select a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) program that requires experience in many facets of theatre arts. If you’re thinking about double-majoring or majoring in something else while doing theatre on the side, make sure that the school’s offerings meet your interests and allow for the flexibility you seek.

Strengths
To identify a theatre program’s strengths and weaknesses, start by reading major requirements, course descriptions, and faculty bios. Of course, ultimately, you should tour their facilities, specifically performance spaces, rehearsal spaces, and scene shops. If possible, sit in on a lesson, rehearsal, or performance to see the students and professors at work inside and outside of the classroom. Ask about the availability and quality of those aspects of theatre that interest you most.

Location 
How far are you willing to travel to make the relationship work? Are you looking for a school just a few hours’ drive from your family so you can come home most weekends, or are you comfortable relocating anywhere, only coming home during longer breaks?

What type of campus environment are you looking for? Do you want a college located in a large city, small city, suburban area, or rural area? Explore the campus and its surroundings.

Size
How much attention and personalization are you seeking from your college? Typically, the larger the school, the less attention you receive from your professors, as their efforts may be divided among undergraduate classes, graduate classes, research, and professional theatre obligations. This is not always the case, especially when it comes to schools with specialized performing arts programs, but you should ask about the average class size for your program of interest.

You should also ask yourself how confident you are meeting new people and being in crowds. Smaller schools typically provide opportunities to know more of the people on campus, whereas at larger schools you may have to take the reins in meeting new people.

Campus culture
What kinds of students are attracted to this school? What do they like to do in their free time? Why did they choose this school? The best way to answer this question is to meet with current theatre students and ask them to describe their experiences. While in-person conversations work best, you can talk over the phone or via email, or check out resources like The Princeton Review and the Fiske Guide to Colleges. These print sources offer more details on a school’s population than typically provided by demographic statistics.

Summer opportunities
If you’re willing to stay on or near campus during breaks, ask professors and students about summer theatre opportunities. Some colleges have partnerships with summer stock theatres and other organizations (children’s theatres, talent agencies, study-abroad programs) so students can gain hands-on experience and network with professionals outside of a strictly academic setting.

Post-graduation opportunities
Ask about a school’s alumni base or post-graduate statistics to get a sense of how the “exes” are thriving. There you can see what percentage of students became professionally involved with theatre arts after graduation and how. Colleges keep track of their recent graduate outcomes so they can brag about them to potential students, alumni, and potential donors.

Costs and funding opportunities
Working with an agreed budget is vital for any relationship. When looking at the price of college, it’s important to understand a college’s sticker price and financial aid options. The sticker price is the advertised full cost of tuition, room, and board for one year. While it may seem daunting, few people pay the full sticker price, because it isn’t reasonable for every family to pay $20,000-$80,000 per year.

To figure out if a college is a good financial fit, first identify your family’s Expected Financial Contribution by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This online government form estimates how much your family can reasonably pay for college each year. While you complete the FAFSA at the beginning of your senior year of high school, you can do an informal version (FAFSA4caster) online to get a rough estimate during your junior year. Once you understand what the government expects your family to contribute, you can look at how well each college can meet your demonstrated financial need (sticker price – EFC = DFN).

Some colleges may be able to meet 100 percent of your DFN with grants and scholarships, while others can meet 50 percent or less. Do a search online for the “average percentage of financial need met” by each college. This works best with private colleges, as the average stats on financial aid met for public colleges can get deflated due to the difference of in-state and out-of-state tuition. Public universities strive to provide affordable education to in-state residents, so these schools should be mostly affordable if you’re a resident of their state. Meanwhile, if a private school can meet 75 percent or more of demonstrated financial need, they should be relatively affordable, especially if your GPA and test scores are above those of their average admitted student, as this opens opportunities for additional scholarships.

When considering education loans, you should know that the average student in the U.S. graduates with just under $30,000 of student loan debt. Aim for a school that requires $30,000 or less in terms of loans. Anything over $50,000 is a red flag.

In short, financial aid is a complex matter. To learn more, contact your guidance counselor or a financial aid representative at one of your local colleges to see if they host a financial aid seminar.