Point Park

[Lesleysgirls923]

hello everyone,  my daughter was admitted to COPA for the fall of 2021 for the ballet concentration.  Edited: We got it figured out.   [With her admission letter we were pointed to a Facebook group where she could talk to other dancers who may be at PP next year.  We have been waiting weeks to be let in.  Has anyone had any luck with this?]  My daughter is so excited to have been accepted.  She still is waiting on some audition results before she decides but she loves the idea of Point Park for sure!  

Edited November 10, 2020 by Lesleysgirls923

[Steffie]

Can anyone speak to the audition process at PPU? What was the audition class like? Do you think it’s possible to be accepted if you don’t have much jazz experience but are strong in ballet and modern? 

[DancemumCD]

My daughter applied through "Dancewave" online and was accepted. She submitted one ballet and one modern/contemporary video. She is not a Jazz dancer at all. She applied for the modern concentration. 

[Steffie]

DancemumCD- thank you! This is really helpful to know. 

[Lesleysgirls923]

On 2/13/2021 at 11:53 AM, Steffie said:

Can anyone speak to the audition process at PPU? What was the audition class like? Do you think it’s possible to be accepted if you don’t have much jazz experience but are strong in ballet and modern? 

My daughter was accepted as a ballet concentration and I can tell you the jazz part of her audition was not as strong as the other two portions.  I hope this helps.  

[Steffie]

Thank you! It does help!! 

[lbanitt]

How long did it take to hear about admission after submitting the video?   Thanks!

[DancemumCD]

Our daughter applied through Dancewave in mid-October. She heard from the dance department on January 7th.

[NeuroMom]

My daughter submitted her video at the end of February, was accepted today. I'm sure this is always a challenging process (college applications always are), but it's hard to do it all remotely. 

[lbanitt]

My DD was accepted and is considering whether to enroll at Point Park or another school.  She is very academically focused and would like to minor in another area (I understand it is quite difficult to double major with the dance BFA).  can anyone give their opinion about the academics at PP?  Thank you!

[Amie]

lbanitt, I was hoping someone with first hand knowledge would respond but since that hasn't happened, I will try to give you at least a bit of information.  It's difficult to really give an opinion of Point Park's academics because I don't have first hand experience and everyone has a different idea of what is a good/acceptable level for academics. I can tell you locally Point Park is eclipsed academically by a couple of other well known Pittsburgh universities, but it is viewed as comparable to some of the smaller regional state schools .  Also, I've done a couple of recent college searches for 2 of my kids and some ways to gauge the strength of academics include:  ratio of students to professors, full time professors vs part time/adjunct professors, qualifications of professors (education, real world experience, research/publications, etc.), reviews by students, and to some degree the academic strength of the students who attend and the ability of the university to attract solid students.  Now that I read back over this, these are the same things we use to judge the strength of the dance programs 😀.  Congratulations on your DD's acceptance and best of luck to her and you making the final decision.

[lbanitt]

Thanks for the helpful reply!

[NeuroMom]

I grew up in Pittsburgh and have attended PA schools spanning state to Ivy. My daughter is likely to also want to minor in Psychology (my husband and I are Psychology professors at a Research 1 university). I have no concerns about her doing this at Point Park. The faculty have good credentials. If she wanted to be a Psych major, I'd advise her to look for a larger department. But, those are everywhere. She's going to Point Park for the BFA.

[Nordictwins]

Thank you lbannit and NeuroMom for asking/answering the question about the academic rigor of PPU.  My daughter is also a serious student and was accepted to the dance program and honors college with academic and artistic scholarships but was wondering about the reputation of the university academically.  She really loved the dance program and studio spaces.

[NeuroMom]

In my Psychology department, we have an applied track and a more traditional basic science track. PPU's psychology looks more applied- which fits with the overall university's approach. They have a solid reputation, and are known for this more real-world orientation.