This may be of interest to anybody still making a decision. My daughter just released the following schools for MT:
Millikin
Drake
Ohio
Columbia
Viterbo
Good luck and best wishes to everybody!
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Son will be attending Molloy/CAP21 this fall. Will post a longer post on the FINAL DECISIONS, share your journey 2026 - #21 by dramamama2424 thread.
What a journey! I wanted to thank all the parents and students, past and present, who posted their experiences here on this board. Ours\ journey (like most?) was a long roller coaster ride but we survived thanks to everyone posting their advice and experiences. 
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Such a grueling experience! With such unpredictable results! Passed MT prescreens for some major schools like CM but not for some not so major schools. Itās all over the place. Our girl is at the top of the game in her HS. Pres of ITS, leads in the shows, IB Theater, music theory, very good training. STILL didnāt get into a lot of MT programs. More competitive than anyone can know. But FINALLY, thrilled to be landing at Ithaca for Musical Theater. Incredible program, beautiful area, 16 will be in the incoming freshman MT class. Tough few months for my blondie and for all of them going into this. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE! Itās a relentless business but worth it if you can stay the course and NEVER GIVE UP!! Oh yeah, and that āmake a livingā thing. ITHACA HERE WE COME! #Ithacamt2026
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These were all acting BA/BFAs. Iād like to underscore for folks that there is no rhyme or reason and it is all so subjective so no oneās kid should feel bad about their work or potential (same pre-screen that got our daughter into the call backs for Carnegie Mellon - where she went two more rounds - didnāt get her a call back at Brooklyn College or Purchase BFA for example.)
Applied:
Brooklyn College BFA
Rutgers BFA
Hunter College BA
American Academy of Dramatic Art Assc.
Carnegie Mellon BFA
Juilliard BFA
Northwestern BA (no audition or screen so I guess it is on academics?)
Sarah Lawrence BA (no audition but submitted screen and portfolio)
Pace BFA Acting, BA international ensemble and the BFA Film, TV etc.
NYU Tisch BFA
The New School BFA
University of the Arts BFA
Fordham Acting
DePaul BFA
Purchase BFA acting and BA Theater and Performance
Prescreens/first auditions which she had callbacks for:
Fordham
Carnegie Mellon
Pace
University of the Arts
The New School
DePaul
Rutgers
Accepted:
NYU Tisch
The New School
Pace University BFA Acting
Rutgers (waitlisted 1st then accepted)
Sarah Lawrence
Purchase Theater and Performance
Hunter - including acceptance as a Muse Scholar
University of the Arts
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
Decision: Pace BFA Acting
She really struggled with her choice and didnāt decide until the afternoon of May 1st, though she had narrowed it down. She has some learning disabilities so at first she had ADDA on there as it is almost pure theater, but she ultimately decided she wanted a four year school. She really LOVED Sarah Lawrence as she could study many things and it is a beautiful campus with great interesting people, but eventually came down on that she wanted to focus more on acting for now, but was still looking for a program she could do other creative things and a school which could support her academic challenges. I think she really wanted to leave the City (we live in NY) so I was assuming Rutgers or University of the Arts and she surprised us by coming back to Pace, which is in an area she finds hectic. She had been impressed with the two performances we saw there, they have room for some electives in addition to the acting training and have a good office of accessibility for academic support. (They also had the strongest financial package and if she had to, she could live at home.)
She didnāt use an audition coach but she goes to an arts school, took the time to go to all the information meetings, audited classes when she could, toured virtually or in person and saw performances. Iād say what made her choice the hardest was that all of the people at all of the schools - faculty, admin staff and students - were all SO great. She didnāt have any safety schools in the sense that there were none on her list she wouldnāt have happily gone to. I hope that all of your children enjoyed their process and have a blast wherever they landed!
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Hey there!! HUGE congrats on IC!! I have two freshman boys there- just returned from a show weekend, and was SUPER impressed with everything, once again. The love and support the students and staff have for one another, is beyond amazing!!! Message me if you have any questions!! Iām still āhereā because I have a hs sophomore, likely to go through in a couple years!!
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My D got off the waitlist for Point Park MT. She was given an offer. Things are still moving.
No word still from Syracuse and Miami. Both schools have said she will hear soon.
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Point Park has a great program from what I am hearing! And they offer in state tuition as part of their merit based scholarships. We canāt wait to visit in May, but definitely on our list! Good luck!
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What does it mean āmade it all the way to the final roundā with Carnegie Mellon? My son passed pre-screen and auditioned at Chicago Unifieds, but he didnāt say anything about rounds? It was a 4-hour block where you auditioned and did movement. What am I missing? Thank you.
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No worries, thatās for last yearās virtual audition only. After prescreen, my daughter had a few callbacks within 2-3 weeks. In 2021-2022, many of us couldnāt goto Unifieds due to Covid, and Carnegie Mellonās arrangement was quite unique, and rewarding.
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Thank you!
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DS was accepted last year. One of the reasons he declined was that they donāt have auditions every year- they just cast shows according to who is in the class. He thought that wouldnāt prep him for future after college? Best of luck deciding!
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