Carole J. Everett
From a standard college guide you can find loads of statistics about student-to-teacher ratios and women-to-men ratios, SAT averages and grade-point averages, number of applicants versus number of acceptances, and how many parties there are on a Saturday night (much of which is included here, too), but if you're looking to major in the performing arts, you'll have some specific needs the general book will not address. Carole Everett's
The Performing Arts Major's College Guide provides specialized sections for dance, drama, and music. She discusses the audition at length, going into what to wear and how to deal with nerves, when to time the audition and what to expect, by what criteria the auditions are evaluated, and what
not to do.
For these audition sections alone the guide is worth it. The book goes on, however, to explain the various degrees possible for each major and discuss matters relevant to every college applicant--such as visiting campuses, college interviews, the application process, and financial aid, plus matters particularly pertinent to arts majors, such as assessing one's talent and setting realistic goals. The most vital section follows: the selected listing of performing-arts programs, where for dance and drama, it ranks programs from "most highly recommended" to "recommended" to "noteworthy," and does the same for music, also detailing programs for every area of study, from jazz to orchestra to composition, and many instrument programs, as well, from accordion and bassoon to tuba and voice. In addition, there's an informational section on conservatory programs, and a number of appendices covering alternative careers, an index of schools by state and country, and a checklist for parents. With such focused information, this is a singularly helpful guide for the student pursuing one of the performing arts. --Stephanie Gold
1 Helpful guide to music schools
I used the 2nd edition of this book when I was an undergraduate searching for a good grad school. I found the information to be clear, and, for the most part, accurate. Of course, teachers and institutions can change rapidly, so a student would be wise to consult a university's website or recruiting materials for the most up-to-date information, but I found the print guide to be a good starting point. I am now a university music teacher and recently had one of my students use the 3rd edition while searching for a grad school.
Yes, this book is primarily intended for high school students. However, a graduate student may also find it to be of use...I did!
2 WARNING! NOT FOR STUDENTS ALREADY ENROLLED IN COLLEGE!
You might think that this is a guide for students already in college, but beware. Though it has some good advice, it is supposed to be written for high school students wanting to major in drama, dance, or music in college.
A second warning: This book is dated, five year-old material.
3 Faulty Editing in Dance Section
I bought this guide to help me decide on a dance program, particularly between two in Arizona. Unfortunately there are lots of typos in the book, it seems as if it hasn't been edited (at least the dance section). Some of the mistakes are the following:
1-The schools such as Temple University, Texas Christian University and Towson State University appeared under the "recommended" and "noteworthy" categories for dance. However, in the full description of each school the Author's Comment states all three as " recommended" for dance.
2- The University of Arizona, Tucson is listed in the "noteworthy" category for dance, but later in the full description the Author's Comment reads, "highly recommended" for dance.
I was very confused as to which to believe; the list of schools by category or the Author's Comment. Over all, for me these mistakes are misleading and detract from the credibility of the guide.
On the good side the guide provides you with a lot of information on what to expect from the auditions, and even show you examples of evaluation sheets the teachers use in schools such as Julliard.
It is mostly geared to High school students so if you are an adult seeking to study dance, most of the information will not be helpful.
4 Only guide you need!
Of all the college guides for performing arts majors, this turned out to be the most reliable and comprehensive. (The others, like Petersen's, is basically only a collection of data you can get online.) This guide was like sitting down with an excellent advisor. The recommendations for Drama programs were eye-opening, especially if you read and compare the short author's comments under each school. It's not the famous names that are the best! Don't trust those general rating books & magazines, for these majors are highly specific and focused areas within the universities. Our child got into a wonderful acting program thanks in part to following this guide carefully.
5 The BEST RESOURCE for a serious Performing Arts Major
After a long and grueling search, I was coming up empty handed on a really thorough resource to satisfy what I was truly looking for to speed up my college choice. This is what I was REALLY looking for to give me the substantial and real answers I desperately sought after for all my college questions. Finding this book was by far the best thing to help me along in my difficult college search.
6 Great resource for those considering the performing arts
I have the second edition of this guide and it is loaded with not only a listing of schools and programs in schools for every type of preforming art but also gives hints on how to audition for these schools, what monologues to do,what to wear at an audition , types of careers a performing arts majore can go into after completion of a preforming arts training or education plus a slew of periododicles(sp?)on the performing arts and sources where they can be bought or ordered. So I can only imagine what is included in this newer 4th edition of this valuable guide now I think with an additional 34 more pages than before. I highly reccomend this Guide.
7 Great Research Tool
I got this book as resaerch tool for my college search for the theatre arts major. I was able to narrow it down to the ones I wanted to apply to. Now I am an Acting major at Boston University. It gives great information about the programs at the schools and is highly respected by the majority of all the colleges in it.
