Guide to Performing Arts Programs: Profiles of Over 700 Colleges, High Schools, and Summer Programs (Princeton Review Series) (Paperback)

~ Carole J. Everett (Author), (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Before you can frame newspaper reviews of your sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall, deliver an acceptance speech to the Screen Actor's Guild, or dance your way to stardom, you'll put in years of hard work and make many important decisions.

It starts with finding the program that's best for you. The Princeton Review's Guide to Performing Arts Programs helps you choose from over 700 colleges, high schools, and summer programs in dance, drama, and music. Carole Everett and Muriel Topaz, both formerly of The Juilliard School, are experts in the arts and the admissions process, and will guide you through school selection, auditions, interviews, and more.

700 programs are profiled--more than any other guide--including addresses, phone numbers, and contact names for each program. Plus:

Entrance requirements
Costs
Financial aid and scholarships
Curriculum options
Student population and faculty
Audition information
Performance opportunities
Practice and performance facilities

About the Author

Carole J. Everett is the former director of admissions at The Juilliard School in New York City. A renowned mezzo-soprano, she has performed with opera companies and orchestras around the world.
She lives in New York City.

Muriel Topaz retired director of the Dance Division of the Julliard School, is a writer and senior editor for Dance Magazine and executive editor of "Choreography and Dance." Currently a Guggenheim fellow, she lives in
Milford, Ct.

Product Details

• Paperback: 656 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Review (December 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375750959
• ISBN-13: 978-0375750953
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.7 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,382,165 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lack of Information, June 20, 2003

By	Amanda MacDonald "nancymac58" (Katy, Tx. United States) - See all my reviews

While this guide boasts having a beefy number of pages, the information is what is lacking. Only the largest universities (i.e. University of ____ or ____ State) are properly defined in the performing arts areas. The majority of colleges out there are not the most popular but should be given this advantage anyway. Instead, a grand majority of this book's universities are shown as not even having fine arts programs when they actually have fantastic ones. I bought this book with the hopes of being able to narrow down my own college options and was appalled when I saw that it clearly does NOT own up to "700 programs are profiled--more than any other guide." So, when you're out searching for universities offering performing arts, just go to CollegeBoard. It's a much safer and cost-effective deal.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Useless, January 1, 2005

By	L. Lapp (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

We bought this book because standard college guides focus only on traditional majors and standard academic measures (average SATs, male/female breakdown, etc.), without any kind of detail on the many performing arts programs hidden within U.S. universities. We hoped it would fulfill its promise of profiling hundreds of programs, so that my daughter -- an aspiring actress seeking good artistic training amid a rich liberal arts environment -- could zero in on the best schools for her needs. But upon reading through it we were appalled -- at first by the countless typos (clearly no copy editor reviewed the entries) and then, increasingly, by the lack of adequate information on well over half the schools we looked up. As a previous reviewer noted, the book completely misrepresents many respected and extensive programs by simply omitting much of their basic data from their entries. We finally gave up on the book because we could not trust it; how could my daughter use it to compare programs when so many listings omit extremely important program data -- such as whether there is an acting program at all, what the course offerings are, whether auditions are required, how many theaters the campus houses, etc.?

The impression I got after reading through several dozen entries is that the editors had sent surveys to hundreds of schools, but that they had a rigid deadline and went to press regardless of whether all the schools had sent back the requested information in time -- that they went to press thinking, "If these schools can't find time to send us information, that's their problem. They just won't have their information included in our book." And that would be an acceptable attitude if this were the Yellow Pages and the entries were paid advertisements -- but this is supposed to be a reference book, not a collection of ads. The readers shell out a hefty sum for it, and the editors owe us more than a "here's the information we got before deadline" attitude. This book is missing so much critical information, and the information it does include is so poorly presented, that it can't possibly be considered a valid resource.

Young performing artists have precious little information to draw upon when they are searching for a college, and this book does almost nothing to make their search any easier.

8 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Practical Guide, October 31, 2000

By A Customer

This is a good book for 2 reasons. It clearly profiles college music programs, and also recognizes that there is a lot to be learned at the high school and summer camp level. The irony is that some high scools and summer camps are actually better than some colleges.It is very easy to read.