North Central College

Date: Jan 20 2014
Major: Perfomance Arts (This Major's Salary over time)
What I am about to say about North Central College mostly applies to those of you pursuing Theatre, Musical Theatre, Music, or Music Ed. It does apply also to the gen ed requirements and Honors Program, but honestly, everything I am about to say can be summed up in one sentence:

YOU GET OUT OF NORTH CENTRAL WHAT YOU PUT INTO NORTH CENTRAL

If you want to be successful here, be prepared to TAKE INITIATIVE. The course work in 90% of Gen Ed credit classes is mindless busywork and soulless papers. The slogan of North Central is "Where YOU are central" but some kids here spitefully refer to it as "Where YOU are central…but nothing else."

The best way I can proceed is by each section. Students and Faculty are for the most part very friendly, approachable, and easy to get along with. However, I have noticed that there is a lot of competition between departments, and some professors view students outside of that professor's major as inferior. Because of this, some students can get very clique-y when it comes to majors.

The Theatre Department is very competitive, but at the end of the day, one really realizes that we are all in the same boat. The productions are above-average, and every show I have been in has been a wonderful learning experience. The Theatre faculty are awesome, although some students worship them unnecessarily. The department offers internship positions at American Theatre Company and Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, but for the love of God, they DO NOT have roles at the Goodman for those of you who want to kiss ass all the time! Stop doing that! Anyway, a lot of students come in very talented, and are content to sit around and let their roles and training go to waste. There is a lot of emphasis on doing your own work outside of college productions, which sadly, many of my peers neglect. Their talent goes to waste because they are content to sit around and glide on their initial talent without developing it, and then they burn out and stop acting after six months out of college. That being said, if you are an independent worker with strong initiative and a DESIRE for theatre, then this school is the best place for you. If you aren't this, then go to NYU or Carnegie Melon or some other chorus factory.

Music is a pretty nice department too. Everyone is friendly, and the only real competition is over practice room availability! There is a real shortage of practice rooms, and the music and music ed departments do go through a lot of bureaucratic bull shit, but honestly, these programs are so well developed that you really can't go to a better school for Music Ed. It is a LOT of work, and a lot of Music Ed majors do not graduate within four years because of how thorough the program is, but you are almost completely guaranteed a job in those fields when you leave.

The Honors Program is pretty good. It is really cliquey if one is not a science or math major, but honestly, an undergrad thesis is AWESOME on a resume, and this school is pretty lax on letting people in the Honors College, so if you are resourceful, you can do a lot.

To sum up here, if you are independent, resourceful, and mature, this school is the best place for you. If you have a lot of learning about yourself to do, or need your hand held all the time, then pass.