What can you tell me about these colleges?

I'm currently a Junior in high school, and I have a list of schools I want to apply to. I plan to go for a B.F.A in Acting. If any of you know anything about them just post whatever information you have. (preferably things you've experienced with the following schools. I don't want anything like "well I heard this school sucks because my best friends cousin went there and didn't like it.")

Tell me about:
SUNY Purchase
Marymount
Emerson
Hartford
UARTS
Adelphi
Columbia College
Sarah Lawrence
Roosevelt
DePaul (I'm really worried about their cut policy after the 1st year.)

Thank You!

SUNY Purchase is one of the highest intensity undergraduate acting conservatories in the U.S. We're talking 40+ contact hours per week for freshmen! Reputation-wise, it's right up there with the Juilliards, NCSAs and Carnegie Mellons of the world. It's also one of the most selective with around a 2-3% admit rate and one of the least expensive for out-of-state students. The training is "toolbox," so you don't get stuck just studying a single dogmatic acting technique like at some schools. Read their faculty bios to get an idea of the range of influences. The expectations for the quality of a student's work are also through the roof. "Good" will no longer be anywhere near "good enough" if you are to survive. It's gotta be great. They don't have a set number of cuts, but they will cut those who for whatever reason can't hack it. Basically, this program will kill you, throw you out, or turn you into a great actor and - if you survive it - you will have one of the few BFA degrees that is considered on par with a top MFA. They showcase in both NYC and LA and their graduates do tend to work ... a lot.

On the downside, they often triple freshmen in dorm rooms and the overall student body is so diverse as to be somewhat bizarre. Some seem to find the campus dog-ugly and depressing. Others don't mind it. The academic classes are no great shakes either, but you won't have time for much of those anyway. It's probably best to get as many of those as possible done in summer school after freshman year if you're into getting more than five hours of sleep a night. Don't even dream of double majoring! Fortunately, they accept AP credit as substitutes for their sparse general education requirements.

This is a truly amazing program ... if you can handle it.

Okay ... Keep in mind that what I'm about to say reflects my bias that the best actors in most genres tend to be classically trained ...

If you like what Purchase has to offer, you should also look into the other members of the Consortium of Conservatory Theatre Training Programs. Those include NCSA, Carnegie Mellon, and Boston U. Then there is Juilliard which also doesn't prescribe any one technique. Some others you might like are The University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater BFA Program, CalArts and SMU. I also want to recommend the Rutgers BFA, but they might not be for you since they're mostly about Meisner technique the first two years.

All those programs are insanely hard to get into, so you'll definitely need to look into some others that might be less competitive if you don't want to risk a gap year. Other than the ones you've mentioned, UConn's BFA might have something you'd like. I've also heard some good things about CCM's acting BFA which is completely separate from their MT program.

Also ... In general and with the notable exception of Carnegie Mellon, you might want to stay away from most programs that also offer an MT major if straight acting is what you're about ... especially if the MTers take exactly the same sequence of acting classes as the acting majors. This is NOT to say that the actor training at those schools is BAD, but it might not be as COMPLETE in the classical sense since time has to be left in the schedule for the MTers to take their specialized singing and dance classes plus complete whatever liberal arts classes are required. There is also the consideration that around half the shows those schools stage are musicals, so it might be harder to get cast if MT isn't your thing.

Another thing that might be telling about some schools is to look at alumni bios. If the notable alums working in straight theatre still needed to get additional training in MFA programs on top of their BFAs, my opinion is that you might be just as well off going to a quality BA school with plans to get professional training later. Really, if there is a such a thing as a BEST degree to have for straight theatre, it would be an MFA although that leaves you finishing school at 25.

Hope this helps.