I know there’s a thread about admit numbers for different programs. I was just on otterbeins site and noted they have on there something to the effect of "there are 4 men and 4 women spots in the BFA MT major which includes BFA MT w/ the dance concentration. Wow is that accurate I wonder? I guess so if it’s on the website! I didn’t know they took so few . So similar to CMU etc… Don’t think my D will be applying there …
I think I figured out the MT stats for Western Michigan this past year - it was something like a 3% acceptance rate.
The best odds I could come up with I think (and these are the only out of the numbers I crunched - there may be more favorable odds at another program somewhere) were at So Illinois University … and that was a 20% admit rate.
BFA auditioning: Let the odds never be in your favor.
Many, many of these programs have small classes. The incoming freshman class at Coastal Carolina University is 7 men and 5 women. You can’t let the numbers get to you! (I know, easier said than done!) I say this all the time and I truly believe it. It’s about finding programs that, based on your research, are going to be the best FIT. If in your D’s case, Otterbein seems to be a good fit, then she should put it on her list.
I just know how time consuming the process will be and stressful and to apply at some of these schools that take 4 girls seems like craziness. Not that you’re crazy for trying I just know how stressed we get at our house & it may not be worth the added stress. My D is applying at Coastal as it seems to be a great fit and we get in state tuition thru that common reciprocal agreement thing. So…seems she will apply to one school that has extremely low numbers. Her other choices seem to get a more regional draw and not national, therefore somewhat better odds. It is indeed the Hunger Games @Jkellynh17 !
@theaterwork when my older D auditioned for dance, she auditioned last minute for a top tier program that took a small amount of people. She got in but did not get into one other that took a larger number. So you really never know.
odds are small in all bfa programs. But one thing to look at is the number auditioning vs class size too. There is a thread on MT admit stats that says Otterbein had 600 kids audition. (IDK if that is 600 submit prescreen or 600 audition). There are other schools that see 1000, or several thousand, and still only take 12, or 18, or 20 etc…
I still believe that Otterbein is hardest admit…
They are all hard- but if CMU auditioned 2400 people and took 12 in MT that is statistically tougher than 600 that took 8 in MT
Well, they are all tough admits unless you get in 
But out of the 2400 that auditioned only 600 were serious contenders… so Otterbein is tougher JHMO
what makes you think that all 600 who applied to otterbein were all serious contenders?
The stats and admit rates are crazy. It’s tougher to get into a BFA program in most cases than it is any of the Ivies/Top 20 schools.
But just like those elite schools, you can put yourself in the best position as possible to be accepted. Nothing is guaranteed of course - but you can increase your odds.
Apply/Audition to at least 15 schools
TAKE DANCE CLASSES
Get a coach
Pick appropriate material
TAKE DANCE CLASSES
Be the best version of yourself you can be
Continue acting, voice & DANCE CLASSES
Is it discouraging? YES. Should you be discouraged? NO.
My advice is this: TAKE DANCE CLASSES. 
And find the smaller programs. The lesser known programs. Lesser known doesn’t necessarily = lesser. I found great, unique things about EVERY school I researched. Every single program had positives … every single one.
The 600 number refers to folks who had sent in pre-screens because Otterbein instructs students to apply after they have passed the pre-screen, though I thought I had heard a larger number when we visited. Who knows how many kids at any audition is a serious contender? Volume doesn’t equal quality.
Very true. Did 600 pass prescreens?
I don’t know how many passed, but 600 was the number used for pre-screens submitted.
Here are just a few stats from this year’s auditions that included my D that I’m pretty sure about (I either know a faculty member so have heard it from him/her or heard it first-hand from faculty at an audition session): Otterbein had around 600 prescreen; I forget the number they passed. Shenandoah had about 700-800 prescreen (the person who told us included at least one early regional audition as a prescreen); about 150 passed the prescreen. They saw a couple hundred more at walk-ins and regional auditions, so the number seen was around 1000. UArts had about 900-1000 audition. (They attend all Unifieds and have optional prescreens.) Wright State, who only auditions on campus (and has optional prescreens) had about 600 audition. Northern Kentucky, who only auditions on-campus, had about 200 audition. Illinois Wesleyan had about 200 prescreen and auditioned about 75, also on campus. All accept between 8 and 50, hoping to get classes between 5 and 25. Think the odds are better at the ones where only a couple hundred audition or submit prescreens? Sure, but those aforementioned schools only took 12-25. Nope, the odds aren’t in anyone’s favor at any of these programs!
But, don’t lose heart! Go for it! Just create a balanced list. We know a boy who is auditioning this year who is only putting the top tier programs on his list. Now, he’s a guy, obviously, so his chances are better than our D’s, but I’m nervous for him! The odds are still small for guys; it’s a challenge for them, too! He refuses to follow our advice to think about what he really wants in a program and look at what programs might fit that; he is only going by what he considers to be top reputation. Scary, and, IMO, a bit shallow.
As far as the number of people who audition at CMU, how do we know how many are serious contenders? There are many super talented people out there; maybe most of those auditioning there are serious contenders. Who knows, unless one is in the room with them or hears directly from a faculty member there? I assume most really talented people would go for it there. (My D didn’t, and neither have other super talented people, but that’s another story…) And, then, at Otterbein, who knows how many are truly serious contenders? Yes, they screen, but people involved don’t always agree on those prescreens (what one would pass, another would not), and, often, even after presceens, auditioners can come into a room and have key people be uninterested right away.
So if 600 people submitted prescreens (and not all were serious contenders), we can assume a significantly smaller number actually auditioned. So a person who got to audition at Otterbein (or I suppose any school with a prescreen) had better odds than at schools than at other some other schools.
I think most schools include their prescreen numbers as part of the total reported number of people they audition because essentially, it is an audition and is just the first cut in their process. All those people who submitted a prescreen did audition for them whether it was a taped or in-person pre-screen. So I don’t think you can say that the odds were better for someone who got audition in-person at Otterbein. It was just a 2-tiered process. What you can say is the odds for the 2nd round, were better than the odds for the first round because of the cuts that were made after the prescreen. But in total, they still had 600 people participate in their audition process. Not that it really matters. Being accepted, as many have pointed out, is very difficult no matter if the number auditioning is 200, 400 or 1000. Passing the prescreen is an accomplishment. And being accepted is obviously an even bigger achievement. Either way, it’s a tough, tough process and kudos to those who come out with an acceptance at the other end.
And I don’t think numbers tell the entire story when it comes to how competitive one school is compared to another. There is often a different set of students who apply to X college than to Y college. The talent pool may run deep to one college and not so much at another college.One may draw from a national pool of talent and one more regionally. Some schools have a renown reputation and some less so. Some schools have different admission criteria than other schools. Some schools are harder to get into academically than other MT programs. It is not all a numbers game when assessing one’s odds of admission to a BFA in MT program.
In any case, I don’t think there is a huge difference in odds between a MT program that accepts 7% vs. one that accepts 4%. Those are difficult odds no matter what.