For those seeking a medium sized college campus in an urban environment may find that Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, is a great option. Known for its programs in the sciences and engineering, Case has a beautiful urban campus–even though it is bisected by a very busy thoroughfare.
Case also is contiguous with some of the greatest artistic and cultural facilities in the world, including the Cleveland Institute of Music (where you can do a joint degree at Case), Severance Hall (home of the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra), and the Institute of Art.
So if you are interested in high culture and want an urban environment, Case is hard to beat. CWRU is also trying hard to lure liberal arts students to the campus to round out its student body.
The very conservative campus, both socially and politically
The earthy-crunchy campus where veganism is common
The laid-back, middle-of-the-road, “I-don’t-take-life-too-seriously” sort of place
The quirky campus full of off-beat individuals
Carnegie Mellon University has a reputation for attracting intellectually-intense math and science geeks who are studying computers, engineering, or likely both. Students have sallow complexions from too many late nights in the lab or the library, and they think a social life is sitting next to someone while in the computer lab working on their problem sets.
Actually, CMU is more diverse than that. It has a renown drama school and and excellent College of Fine Arts. So there are plenty of artsy-fartsy types, too.
Part of my job as a counselor is to visit colleges and investigate for myself the degree to which these stereotypes are true. And sometimes you just have to ask a student (or two or three or four) to get an idea of the sort of student who would be happy on that campus.
So I did. I talked to a student about the stereotypes, and here is what he had to say.
If you aspire to be an actor, you need to consider the sorts of university programs that can train you to become a professional actor. There are many paths to becoming an actor (and not all of them lead through college, actually). You need to decide which path suits you best.
At four-year colleges, your main choice will be between the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree or the Bachelor of Arts degree.
The BFA is more common at conservatories and dedicated theater schools. Approximately two-thirds of your coursework will focus on theater, while the remaining third will be distributed among the general education requirements. With the BA, it’s the other way around: about a third of your courses will be in the drama major, one third will be general education requirements, and another third will be electives (perhaps English? perhaps music? perhaps pre-med, as a safety option?).
You may want to choose a conservatory program, in which all students are involved in theater, or in the performing arts. Or you may want to choose to attend a more comprehensive university, in which there is a strong BFA or BA program in theater. Or you may decide that you prefer a liberal arts college that has a strong theater department, but where you can explore other intellectual interests, too.
I spent some time on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where I sat down to chat with some first year students who had just been through the process of selecting a theater program and enduring the auditions. They provide some helpful information about the nuts and bolts, as they reflect on what was important to them as they made their decisions. Have a look at this short video.
