Hello, new MT mom of a junior here and I have been stalking this site for a while reading all of your experiences. This is so overwhelming and I thank you all. I have a D who is a stronger dancer and actor than singer. What schools/programs would you recommend for this type of performer?
Elon has an amazing dance program, along with their theater. If your daughter wants a dance-heavy curriculum, she might want to consider minoring in dance along with a major in MT.
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https://www.elon.edu/u/academics/arts-and-sciences/performing-arts/majors-minors/ Here’s the website. They only offer a BFA in MT, but she can do a BA in Drama.
Thank you, we will look into that. She is very interested in MT but as with many performers, they doubt their abilities and she feels that only the individuals with great voices get into the good MT programs.
I hear Point Park is quite dance heavy. Girl at D’s school attends and she was dancer first, singer/actor second for sure. Very storng dancer.
My younger daughter - a senior this year - is the same way. Look at Roosevelt - they have a BFA MT with emphasis in dance - they are the only BFA MT we’ve seen where they incorporate dance this way. Also, my older daughter is in the BFA MT at the University of Tampa - singing is her strongest - and my younger daughter was recently accepted into the BFA MT there. It’s high on her list because they have a dance major and will allow you to do a double major of BFA MT with dance.
^^^You might not want to look at Roosevelt. They recently had some major race and sexual harassment scandals in the MT department.
https://www.onstageblog.com/editorals/2019/6/11/prominent-performing-arts-college-rocked-by-explosive-allegations
Roosevelt is a GREAT choice for dancers as they have a 2 MT tracks. MT- voice and MT- dance. Both w equal performance opportunities and post grad success.
@izrk it is my understanding that the person involved is no longer at the school.
Syracuse is another school that has two different MT tracks. One requires u to be stronger in dance. Then they have the “actor-singer” track.
Pace, Point Park, Ithaca are equally great choices for a dancer.
@izrk02 The person you brought up is no longer employed at Roosevelt.
Two students from my kid’s high school have gone on to study MT-Dance at Roosevelt and love it. One of them has been cast in a variety of summer stock programs since he started there. The controversial stuff was shut down a number of years ago now, so the program has bounced back quite well since then. Chicago Unifieds takes place right next to the Roosevelt campus, so it’s a great opportunity to check it out.
Point Park is a heavy dance school. S’s dance instructor got her degree there and is exceptionally talented.
BoCo, Ohio State, and UArts are some others.
Baldwin-Wallace raved about their 7am ballet classes 4 days a week. My kid was not thrilled by that. 
@stagedoormama @HAHCx4 I’m quite aware. The idea of attending a program with such awful problems so recent seems concerning though, and OP might not want that.
I have a student at Roosevelt and can speak to the state of things at the present time. The University and CCPA dealt with the professor who is no longer employed there. The program has made several changes to their curriculum and their production schedule to create a more inclusive and diverse environment. It was wonderful to see the school, faculty, and students come together during this difficult time and be agents of change.
@iowamtmom I have a triple threat senior that is in the midst of auditioning for 14 schools that fit this criteria–strong dance in an MT program; bigger university setting in a warm climate; 30k a year. I know what you are going through. Not easy to find, and we have some outliers on our list like Wisconsin SP, Temple, Ball State, Elon, but you need to find out what’s most important to them/you FIRST. Before I give you a list, I suggest figuring out what type of university the child wants to attend–big/small, warm/cold, near/far, conservatory/university, big city/small town, BFA/BA and other minors/majors, academics, and cost. To find the dance focus you want within an MT program, you need to look specifically at the COURSES they will take. Don’t assume that because a university has a strong dance department, strong voice/music department, and strong theater department that they will also have a strong MT program bringing the three together. It doesn’t always work out that way.
Next, be honest whether they can sing at an A, B, or C level. If you want to be at a top 25 MT school, strong voice is essential. In fact, I would argue that voice is more important than the acting and dance. Just think about watching the movie version of Momma Mia! Do you remember Meryl Streep or Pierce Brosnan dancing, or do you remember their singing? For me, I remember their singing, ugh!
My D was a B- singer and actor with A dancing skills going into junior year. Why do I believe this to be true? She applied to several summer university MT programs and was rejected from all. After more training junior year, she was accepted to 3 summer university programs last year. Now, she is an A-singer, dancer, and actor as a Senior. Every university has youtube videos of their performances. Watch and see how your child compares. If they don’t compare well, get them the training, explore a different university, or focus on majoring in dance. Everyone doesn’t have to go to NYU, Pace, Elon, or CCM to be successful. THERE IS A PROGRAM FOR EVERYONE OUT THERE.
@iowamtmom Don’t put too much stock in this, but below are links to a blog highlighting some MT schools. Are they a fit for your child? Refer to my prior post.
The lists are a great mix of universities and conservatories as well as small and big schools.
Thank you all for the information. Really appreciate this - As a parent who has never gone through this, it is very daunting. I want to make sure the schools that she will eventually audition for can be a right fit. She is currently working with a vocal coach to give her more confidence in that area. She loves to perform and has been in over 30 MT productions since she was little but still has to work on her self confidence in singing. She was able to get into SSTI summer program for 2020 so hopefully that will help her.
@csuram1994 Thank you for the info - my daughter said that she would does not have to be in a conservatory and would like to have the college experience. Area is not was important as long as it is not Iowa LOL. Price point is also important to us.
@iowamtmom OK. I think this a good list to start with. Again, look at curriculum at schools to ensure they have quality dance classes for an MT major and for the level your daughter is at to elevate her skills. Programs focus on becoming a triple threat who can “move” while others focus on triple threats that can dance.
Florida State
U of Oklahoma
U of Central Florida
U of Indiana
U of Arizona
Texas State
Texas Tech
Texas Christian
Sam Houston State
Ball State
Elon
Rider
Temple
Wisconsin Stevens Point
Rider
PennState
Oklahoma City Univ
Montclair State
There are many others, but we didn’t consider them–Pace, NYU, Michigan, CCM–because they were either conservatories/small or too expensive. Most of these are public and relatively affordable. The most academically rigorous schools are Florida State, Elon, Penn State, and TCU–27-28 ACT plus 3.8+ GPA. The Texas public schools, as well as other public universities, will offer in-state tuition based on high school grades and test scores making the “affordable” school even more affordable. Uof A gave us a table that outlined grades, test scores, and scholarship money. Easiest/best thing I have ever seen from a university. If your D is an outstanding student, she may get a lot of money from a school like U of A, UCF, TT, or TS because they are less academically rigorous schools. That being said, all/most have honors programs that she can apply to elevate the academics. Yes, the private’s have more money to give away, but when you start at 60-70k in some cases, they have to give you a lot to get close to the public schools. OCU is private and more affordable, but small, and they are a good example of a more affordable private school with a stellar program.
Last piece of guidance. It is never too early to start. Plan everything well in advance.
You are starting this process at a great time. It is a long, complicated, mind-numbing process. Rough draft of process and timelines:
- Make a list of colleges based on criteria I already highlighted earlier. Attend a college fair to get a feel for them. Most MT people apply to 10-20 schools. Programs only bring in 10-20 students each year and are extremely competitive when you consider the 100s and sometimes 1000+ applicants.
- Consider your budget for the audition process. Coaches, pre-screens, applications, travel, camps, etc. all take time and money. Think about what you are willing to spend because it can get out of control quickly.
- Take ACT/SAT tests and improve scores where possible. Best to have this completed by mid-summer. You can re-take in fall to improve if needed. We paid $1k to a college prep tutor resulting in 3 point increase in ACT and thousands more in scholarships. Money well spent.
- Decide on whether you want to hire a college audition coach. If nothing else, they know more about the colleges and audition process than most. Their coaching and prep has been extremely helpful. Mary Ann Denard is great, but you need to contact her now. At a minimum, get her book and watch some of her free videos for guidance. There are other people in this same business, but I, like many others on CC, can vouch for her.
- Contact school teachers by May/June for recommendation letters that are required from the school and/or program. You will need these in August/September. We found that we waited a ridiculous amount of time (1-2 months)to get these. We had to hunt them down in the fall and it delayed some of our applications.
- Start reviewing application requirements–essays, costs, auditions–in June/July. Some will change from year to year and the colleges won’t post until the summer. You will want to complete and submit all college applications by August/September.
- Get your prescreen materials completed by Aug/Sep. These will need to be submitted with your college application. Some may say that you can apply to the program and prescreen without the college application, but we haven’t found that to be the case mostly.
- Submit all materials to the universities by August/September/October.
- Build a songbook and monologues for auditions–Unified or on campus.
- Plan to do your high school musical/play in the fall, but stay away from winter or spring. If you plan to go to Moonifieds with Mary Ann Denard, fall musical may be out as well. We missed Moonifieds because of fall musical. Our college auditions start January 25 and run through end of February…might go into the first week or two of March. Crazy!
- Build a calendar of activities and audition dates. You will need to specify after prescreen pass or with your application when you will audition.
- Finally, watch your email and mailbox for acceptances; monitor CC for activity and a sanity check; have a glass of wine often; know that your D will land somewhere; and pray that you all get through this alive!
Fantastic posts @csuram1994 ! I get so frustrated seeing people year after year ignore the basics of “fit” in searching for the best schools. It’s so important for parents and performers to think critically about what aspects outside of training are important in a school. There are a ton of good schools out there, craft your list based upon your unique kid, your finances and priorities.
@csuram1994 Outstanding, should be required reading. We did most of these things and it’s still arduous and stressful. Dealing with the HS was a challenge (and it’s a Performing Arts School). Getting LORs and transcripts in a timely fashion was like pulling teeth. Director of the program (also director of the fall show) didn’t want to do anything until after the show which was too late (like late October).
Start early, be proactive, be relentless if needed. A positive side note is we required D to take charge of many/ most of the tasks required. She’s not an organized person but she got really organized for this including posting a giant check list in our family room. Listed all the schools, requirements (broken down by things like common app, common prescreen, LOR, transcript, Test scores, pass pre screen, audition date, etc.) She checked them off in real time. Amazing to watch it go from empty to full over the past few months. When we’d ask her about school X or Y, she’d say “look at the chart”. Now it’s about auditions but everything is set.
Time for the talent part 
@rickle1 Your D sounds like my D on the organization front! She says she is organized, but that is from her perspective. Combine that with her desire as an 18 year old to be “independent and in control,” and you have a recipe for major conflict at home. Won’t go into that now…
Our recent challenges have all been on the follow up required for scholarships and honors colleges. You submit everything; get accepted academically to the college; and think you are done–big sigh of relief. Kick back and have a beer! In one sense, that’s correct. But then, more deadlines, more process and requirements to understand (all different from college to college), and more essays for scholarships to make all this more affordable. I shouldn’t complain. Great problem to have. So fortunate she is smart and talented unlike dad.