@DoinResearch I agree. We’ve been working on adding some financial safeties to our list and have been very clear with our son about how much we can afford to spend. He understands that if the expensive schools don’t offer him a large scholarship then they are off the list.
Thanks @techmom99. We do know that it is interviews and portfolios for tech theatre majors - not prescreens and auditions. But I think it can be almost as emotionally, financially, and physically exhausting for us tech theatre parents as for the MT parents. 
S19 wants a BFA and his preferred concentration is lighting design. You make a very good point about schools that offer both MT and acting majors and how that impacts the tech people. My S wouldn’t be happy at a school without an MT program because he loves working on musicals.
It’s worth noting that many straight acting programs put on one or more musicals per year, so don’t immediately discount a tech program because of that. Take a look at the school’s theatre website and find out what performances they are staging for the season before you rule them out.
@RKmom -
My son is also planning on a lighting design concentration and he is happy so far with his BFA program. The first year, all of the tech kids take the same program and then they declare their concentration by the end of the second year. He did a couple of group projects last semester, and the kids kind of self-divided along their interests, so S17 did the lighting part, another kid did the costuming, etc.
I do agree that it can be stressful as well for tech families and I am glad that S17 was accepted into Fred’s program. It’s financially feasible and it’s a well-thought of program.
I believe you are in NJ? Some SUNY schools offer OOS scholarships and Fred offers scholarships as well. S17 was invited to enter the honors program (3.4 and 27 ACT) and received a $1500 award for the first year only, he also has a $2K renewable retention scholarship requiring a 2.8 to keep. He has applied for departmental scholarships for next year, but many of them are need based so I don’t know if he will get any.
My point was that tech kids also need to consider the type of shows and productions put on because they are heavily involved. My son also didn’t want a program without MT. Even though he has no interest in performing, he finds musicals fun to work on.
Just an interesting footnote about affording and paying for schools. My daughter’s number one school is NYU, and with their high price tag, they’re only offering $1836 a year in scholarships. The other schools she’s weighing a decision on is Manhattan School of Music, and they’re offering $20,000 a year for a bit lower tuition. I find that fascinating and it’ll be interesting what she decides. Both schools offers Musical Theater, her goal, but MSM is only in itsthird year for this program (with rave reviews), and Luis Perez, the fabulous director is moving on. However…and for you parents who’ve already gone through this, you’ll know what I’m talking about, at least she has a choice. Several of her friends (very talented and committed to their art) are either getting no’s or being waitlisted. Brutal!
@sfbobbo new programs that are trying to build up their recognition and attract more students generally tend to offer larger scholarships as a way to do that. My D’s friend went to UT Austin when they first started their BFA Acting program because they offered him a full ride.
@theaterlove -
My son likes most of his professors. He’s really only had one acting professor, for his required acting for non-majors class. He got an A-, which is great for a kid who has no desire to act, and he liked the teacher very much.
However, the curricula for MT and Tech don’t overlap all that much. They both require a class in make-up, which S17 is sorry he didn’t choose this semester because his friends are enjoying it, and an Intro in Tech Theater seminar the first semester, which all of the BFA’s take together. They are all required to take theater and dance production every semester, which is basically working on the mainstage productions in assigned tasks.
S17 has been assigned to lighting work, so I am guessing that this probably goes by interest - they won’t force him to audition and an actor probably won’t have to build sets, although either can try to step out of their comfort zones if they want. I actually think that this is a good thing and apparently a lot of programs don’t have such options as I have been reading about programs where MT’s can’t audition for straight plays and vice versa. Take a look at the degree maps and the TADA pages. The Facebook page will give you a good idea of the types of shows the school has done over the years.
Again, the price can’t be beat by almost anything else.
My daughter is leaning towards NYU, even though Manhattan School of Music gave a very generous scholarship. The lure of Tisch is so strong. Only thing that might change her mind is the studio she’s assigned to.
@sfbobbo my D graduated from NYU in May so if you have any questions regarding studio placement, please feel free to ask. My D had her heart set on one studio and was placed in a different one and was extremely disappointed and felt that NYU got it all wrong. Fast forward 4 years and she will tell you that NYU knew exactly what they were doing when they decided where to place her and that it was the best experience of her life. We were discussing it the other day and she said that out of all of her Tisch friends she knew only 1 person who really ended up unhappy with their placement. Another nice thing about the studio system is that although you receive your primary training in the same studio for your first 2 years, you can the move into different studios for your last 2 years so you get to experience more than one type of training (unlike many other programs where you receive the same method of training for all 4 years). So my advice would be not to hold too tight to preconceived notions about what studio you want.
I believe she will have to make her college choice well before she gets her NYU studio assignment. (BTW- My daughter is at Tisch and was very happy with her studio assignment and loves her group of actors).
@MimiCat did your D not get her studio assignment until after May 1? I remember my D got her placement about 2 weeks after her acceptance, so not a lot of time but it was before May 1 – but that was 5 years ago! I’m happy to hear your D loves it. Which studio is she in?
Mine got her NYU Studio placement about 10 days after acceptance in 2014. I would not be surprised to see that they were out by the end of the week
Yes, the admission office confirmed this.
@jbcat22 Thanks for the offer. I was reviewing all the characteristics of the studios with my daughter, and she’s open to more than one. There is actually only 9 available since I doubt she would be placed in the tech studio
@sfbobbo that’s great! (Yes, you are right that she would not be placed in the tech studio!)
My daughter is pursuing studies in vocal performance (contemporary/popular) songwriting and recorded arts. Obviously, Clive Davis is a perfect fit in addition to Berklee. Although rare, Berklee has given huge scholarships so I am more open to that audition. However, NYU is definitely not known to give merit scholarships and they are pretty upfront about it. We do know one MT Major at Tisch who got a full ride but I think most was due to financial need. The most I heard of someone getting at Clive Davis was $10,000-an amount that would still make tuition impossible for us at NYU. I don’t want to discourage my daughter but I’m doing some research on schools like NYU and USC and realizing that merit awards are rare and low. I’m not going to direct her not to apply (although that would save us application fees and audition/application time and travel costs) but I am going to tell her our bottom line so she isn’t crushed if she gets in but we can’t afford it. And I’m hoping that SHE does some eliminating on her own knowing our reality but right now she feels it doesn’t hurt to try. Thanks for sharing your experience @sfbobbo. We are just beginning the process (ending Junior year) so I really appreciate any guidance and advice!
@AmyIzzy -
My son just finished his freshman year as a tech major at a SUNY school. I discouraged him from applying to schools like NYU where we wouldn’t be able to afford the tuition and which take GPA and test scores into consideration. You don’t list your D’s stats, but at schools like NYU, Michigan, Northwestern and a few others, an academic acceptance is also needed. Even though I live in a suburb of NYC, so traveling to NYU for an audition would not be onerous, we decided that the remoteness of the possibility that he would be accepted, coupled with the certainty that we couldn’t afford the tuition, led me to recommend that my child not even bother with NYU. Travel considerations made other schools as equally unavailing.
Some people think it doesn’t hurt to try and others, like me, think that you don’t do a child any favors by allowing them to get their hopes up. There is no right or wrong answer to this question. While NYU (to use an example) is an excellent program, it didn’t seem worthwhile pursuing for my son, whose stats were merely average.
Some of the saddest posts on these boards are about students who didn’t get into a dream school. I actively discouraged my children from dream schools and encouraged them to find schools which met their needs, financially, academically and program wise.
Great points @techmom99
I go back and forth on where she should and should not apply, where and when I should push or gently guide. She justifies Clive Davis by saying it’s video audition only and we don’t even need to go for a live audition.
I really do think the audition process is so subjective. We have known mediocre musicians who got into Berklee (and even with a small scholarship) and top-notch, award winning jazz musicians who were rejected. We know one musical theatre major who was rejected from SUNY Fredonia (which was his “safe” school) and accepted with scholarship into Tisch. I guess you just never know exactly the sound or talent they are looking for. So part of me thinks no harm in trying and maybe she’ll get lucky and the other part says just focus on the 100% attainable ones.
She has enjoyed much success locally and even earned some national awards in vocal jazz and theatre but has also dealt with the normal rejection that comes from theatre and vocal jazz work. She’s had supportive, positive music teachers and directors and she’s had the ones who scream in your face to push you. She has built a thick skin and tells me she understands how competitive some colleges are and knows that she’d be going against the best nationally and even internationally. She claims to understand our financial limits and that she knows big scholarships are needed at the costly schools. She says she won’t take rejection personally and it will just push her harder. But my natural mom instincts are to protect her from harm or blows to the ego. I guess we have some time and I really hope she can sift through the pros and cons of applying to certain schools with minimal guidance from me. I’m glad we are at least on the same page of having a mixture of competive schools and safe schools. She has a very talented friend who only applied to the top 7 musical theatre schools and ended up on the wait list for most. In that case the rejection was very painful and eye-opening.
As far as her stats, she has a 3.7 GPA, takes AP music theory and English and will be taking SUPA classes at school next year (college English classes through Syracuse University.) She is in National Honor Society and has many leadership roles. But here’s the problem; her first shot at the SAT was 1160 and the ACT was 24. Math is a big weakness for her so she plans to retake both but not sure it will go up that much (she also has some test anxiety issues which don’t help.) So I just hope those test scores don’t demolish her chances if she is solid on the audition. Love that SAT/ACT scores are optional at many colleges now, including Berklee.
I do think this process of elimination and deciding where your child applies is very different for each kid/family. Lots depends on self-confidence, experience with rejection, attitude and direction.
Good luck to everyone starting this process and congrats to those who have survived it!
NYU Tisch does not give merit aid (without need), but NYU Steinhardt does give it for music and art. D received $11K a year merit aid package (no need) as a vocal performance major (MT concentration.)
@AmyIzzy -
That’s interesting about the kid you know. My son is at SUNY Fredonia and it’s not a safety talent wise. For students with excellent stats, it might be an academic safety, but I have heard of several students who were rejected but accepted to other schools. This year, my friend’s child was rejected at Fred but accepted at Hartt. One thing about Fred is that students who are rejected can audition for the following year’s cohort, whether they attend Fred or not.
Your D’s GPA is solid for Fredonia but her ACT/SAT are average. My son had a lower GPA of 3.4 but his ACT was 27 (superscore 28). He was academically accepted before his interview. He also has issues with math and is actually taking his gen ed math class at a local CC right now to reduce the pressure at college.
If you are instate, you should consider Fredonia. The price is certainly reasonable, the campus is lovely and the program is excellent.
Good luck in your search.