The Boston Conservatory
“I’m going to be the Black Swan!” “VDB, don’t make any more Black Swan references.”
PROSPECTIVE STUDENT:
VDB
Dance
Currently a sophomore BFA Musical Theatre major at Emerson College
THE REVIEW:
First Impressions:
Location - 9
The admissions office was conveniently located to the Back Bay office: it’s right across the street. Even if we weren’t coming from the next block, the building still would have been easy to find: it’s fairly close to the T. The building itself was a beautiful example of Boston’s 19th century architecture, but the admissions office was a little difficult to find once inside. We had to ask for directions from a security guard to figure out which hallway to take, but given the nature of the building, our confusion was completely understandable.
Lobby Appearance - 6
The lobby was very “old school”. It almost had a feeling of an academy. The room was a little overstuffed and cramped: there was a large amount of furniture for such a small room. It seemed like more of an office than a welcome center, since the desks in the room were covered in paperwork and forms. We did appreciate the plethora of information and brochures scattered around the room, though.
Tour Guide:
Molly, a graduate student studying the harp, Fun fact: She did her undergrad at a liberal arts college.
Personality -3
Molly was very unpersonable and we did not get any sense of her interests beyond playing the harp. Throughout most of the tour she spoke at a very low volume that was difficult to hear, even though we were standing right next to her. Her speaking volume was so low at several points that she was practically at a whisper.
Appearance - 6
Molly was wearing a button-down shirt with dark wash denim. Although she looked very professional, we would have liked to have seen a little more personality in her outfit. Additionally, we would have liked her to appear a bit more youthful. On the hotness scale, Molly received a 6.
Ability to answer questions - 5
Both of the students on the tour were prospective dance majors. Given this fact, it would have been nice if the tour guide knew more about the program itself. She was able to give a lot of information about academics and the overall BoCo experience.
Ability to relate - 4
We felt very unwelcome at the Boston Conservatory, due to the unrelatability of the tour guide. As a grad student, she did not know much information about what it is like to live on campus, what classes we would be taking, or student life in general. She made no effort to get to know the prospective students on the tour.
Tour:
Informative (1) vs Entertainment (10) - 3
The tour was definitely more informative than entertaining. On the other hand, we do not feel that we gained that much information about the school that we did not already know or could not find out from briefly looking at the website.
Quality/Quantity of free stuff - 9
We not only received plenty of informative literature, but also a free pen, bottle of water, and a letter from a freshman in the dance program. We thought the letter was a nice touch. It was not personalized, but it contained a glimpse of what it is like in the average day of a BoCo student.
Quality of literature provided - 6
The literature does not contain much information at all, but it is very well designed. It gives the basic information but does not go into detail.
Length of tour (1=too short, 10=too long) - 5
The tour was the perfect length. It seemed short, but the Boston Conservatory only has several buildings. We feel that we saw everything that the school has to offer.
Quality of tour content - 4
We felt as though we did not learn enough about the dance program at all. Our tour guide did not seem very knowledgeable about it at all. When going on the tour we were led through the back doors of various buildings and walked through alleys to get to the next destination. This seemed to be a very ineffective way to get a feel for the area surrounding the school, a very trendy neighborhood, and to see some of the impressive architecture that some of the BoCo buildings have. We also felt that some of the information given was not accurate (Molly said there were 80 schools in the Back Bay neighborhood alone: we at Rate My College Tour know that this is not correct).
Miscellaneous:
Was there Dr. Pepper? 0
Was there a sitcom TV set in the library? 0
Font choice/use? 9- The fonts are strong, clean, and create a modern image.
Favorite tour member? Are You Really Ready for a Conservatory Program? mom and daughter. We don’t think they know what it takes for such an intense program and they may be in way over their heads. While touring the studio space the daughter jumped on the floor to see if it was sprung (VDB was unsure if she should do the same to prove herself as a dancer).
Meal Plan Breakdown:
There are 4 different options for meal plans that all have different prices. Each option has a set number of meals and Dining Dollars. The meals are redeemable at the Northeastern dining hall.
The library interior at BoCo: Molly encouraged us to wander around.
This sign in the library was a nice touch: BoCo is a music school, after all.
This was the ceiling of one of the recital spaces. Molly told us that it had been covered up for decades and rediscovered during renovations.
The BoCo student lounge.
Cupcake: A New Musical’s advertising has even spread to BoCo.
OVERALL BOSTON CONSERVATORY EXPERIENCE - 3
We were hoping that we would feel the same “Smash Factor” that we got from the Berklee tour, however we were left disenchanted.
If you want to know actual information about possibly attending Boston Conservatory, head over to StudentAdvisor.com to find out if this is the right school for you.
