<p>So far my D has been rejected from 5 BFA MT programs (this process is torturous and I may be having a more difficult time than she is...although the Emerson rejection may have really presented the actuality of the situation to her).
She has been accepted academically to several wonderful schools and Elon, Muhlenberg and Indiana are at the top of her list for possibilities as a BA Theatre major. Anybody have any opinions comparing the BA programs at these three schools?</p>
<p>Know that Muhlenberg and Elon are excellent (daughter is not involved in MT but attending Elon in the fall; Muhlenberg was her 2nd choice)…</p>
<p>No idea about Indiana…but from a diff viewpoint, couldn’t be more different as a university from the other two…</p>
<p>My D had been accepted to IU and Elon schools as well, and at the time someone did say that because a BFA was offered in both schools that a BA student might unintentionally be considered a ‘second citizen’. I don’t know if that is still the case, but in many schools they take different courses with different teachers and don’t have many of the same opportunities. Muhlenberg does NOT have a BFA program and therefore levels the playing field. My D went there for a year and LOVED it. The school supports the arts in a very big way. It is a small beautiful campus, yet as small as it is my D had many performance opprotunities in that year, and she felt she learned a lot. BTW her reasons for leaving had everything to do with her and nothing to do with the program!</p>
<p>I think also that the 3 campuses are very different and offer very different experiences. They are all in very different locales of the country which needs consideration as well, as well as things like ease of coming home, etc. Sometimes we forget to look at the logistics!</p>
<p>In my opinion, I’d have hesitancy attending a BA Theater program at a school that also has a BFA program, though may not entirely rule it out until I explored the opportunities deeply for the BA students at such a school. But overall, I generally feel that BA Theater students are second tier in a program that also has a BFA. I’d want to hear who can take which courses and be cast in which shows in such a set up. </p>
<p>One school where I might make an exception, however, is at Indiana, because it is such a huge school, that I believe there are opportunities for those in the BA program there to be in musicals, and to take voice and dance. </p>
<p>My first choice, if doing a BA, however, would be to do one where the BA constitutes THE PROGRAM, such as at Muhlenberg. Also, in the case of a MT kid, which I presume your kid is if you are on the MT forum, Muhlenberg is not simply straight theater but offers a way to combine voice, theater and dance. </p>
<p>If narrowing it to Indiana and Muhlenberg, I’d think about FIT as these are two entirely different schools…the sheer size alone. Also, Muhlenberg (and also Elon) are more selective schools than Indiana and if your D cares about that academically, that should factor into the decision.</p>
<p>PS, I cross posted with snoggie but agree. Also, the geographic location of each of those schools is very different.</p>
<p>cassie22 - Like soozievt said I would be hesitant to have my kid attend a BA program where there is a BFA in MT. My D almost went to Muhlenberg last fall to double major in Theatre/Vocal performance. She visited the campus last April for two nights on her own and really loved the school, the classes she sat in on and the kids.</p>
<p>The only reason D did not attend was that she came off the waitlist at a school she really wanted to go to. I suggest you contact teriwtt (she is a poster here) who’s D goes to Muhlenberg and was a great help in answering all of our questions.</p>
<p>Good luck to your D in her decision!</p>
<p>Muhlenberg has a great non-audition B.A. I have many friends who attend there now and love it, and say they are getting just as good (if not better) training that you can get at some BFAs. I know it’s pricey, but the academics are great as well and it would be a great option if she liked the school. Just my two cents.</p>
<p>I would go with Muhlenberg. Elon and Indiana will have MT kids running around the place and I know that if I were in that situation, I would be too jealous of the MT kids. I also agree that BA programs in schools with also a BFA in MT are considered second-tier, regardless of what the school is trying to tell you. Most of the times the BA kids are also considered as being more interested in the non-performing aspects of theatre and while you MAY be able to take some voice and dance, I really doubt the training will be comparable to the actual BFA MT program. A lot of MT programs have classes closed only to their majors.</p>
<p>Muhlenberg has a wonderful BA program with PLENTY of MT opportunities, plus the possibility of double-majoring or minoring in dance and music. I would seriously consider it.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for great insight and support!</p>
<p>We did visit Muhlenberg when my daughter auditioned for scholarship money. She loved the acting class she sat in on and facilities, etc. I thought the campus was charming, so welcoming…a gem. </p>
<p>She has had her heart set on Elon after a wonderful audition day experience and commented that she could see herself there even if not accepted BFA. However, your advice of caution in attending a BA Theatre program at a school that also has a BFA program makes so much sense. We assume since she hasn’t received “the” phone call, a rejection is imminent.</p>
<p>swoozievt: you are a wealth of knowledge! As far as Indiana, I also wondered how having a graduate program would impact casting opportunities.
showmom858: thank you for passing on a contact for me to touch base with.</p>
<p>It’s so hard watching your child’s immediate dreams crushed…but I have no doubt she will end up where she is supposed to and thrive.</p>
<p>^^Soooo not involved with the MT process, but has anyone “gotten the phone call” from the Elon program yet for the BFA?..just curious…</p>
<p>Phone calls were done last weekend. I think they are all completed now.</p>
<p>cassie22 - I know the rejections are HARD - on your D and on you. My D also had a wonderful feeling about Elon last year but was not accepted. A year later, she is very, very happy 2nd semester freshman having a great year at the school that she chose and that chose her! I read all the “you will end up where you are meant to be” postings last year and I hoped that they were true. Luckily they were. I have a feeling that this time next year you will be here reassuring the many anxious parents and students of the class of 2016!</p>
<p>cassie…at Indiana, since it is so huge, there are a variety of productions at various levels and such. A BA student maybe won’t be cast in a mainstage show when up against BFA and grad students but there are other productions available. I’d be most inclined to pick a BA at a school that didn’t have a BFA as well, but just saying that due to Indiana’s size and that it has had a BA for a very long time and the BFA is fairly new, that there are opportunities to take dance and voice if a BA Theater major and to be in some type of productions on campus. I would investigate that at Elon. This is important to explore. If your D liked Elon so much, for one thing, ascertain if she was enamored with their MT program or the college itself. She will not truly be in the MT program there. Her day was spent with the MT audition process. But also, if she liked Elon as a school, then Muhlenberg is more like Elon than Indiana is. Elon and Muhlenberg are in the same ballpark in terms of academic selectivity and size as well. Indiana is a huge state university and nothing like the other two and is not nearly as selective and I don’t know if that matters to your D or not.</p>
<p>I have a neighor who has a D who is a BA Theatre Arts student at Indiana ( a sophomore) and is loving it…she has been in many plays and musicals, so they DO cast theatre arts majors… she has even had singing roles in the musicals. So it is certainly done at Indiana!</p>
<p>If your daughter does not get into Elon for MT, I would discourage going there for the BA. It will not be a performance based degree that she is probably looking for. We never visited Muhlenberg. At the time we were looking, IU did not offer an MT program, but my son chose IU as his first choice of a non-audition program (the BA in theatre). He was most impressed with an acting class he sat in on and a play we saw. Hopefully they still have the good quality performance based acting BA along with the MT program. My son thinks he could have been very happy at IU.</p>
<p>Go to Muhlenberg.</p>
<p>My son is a sophomore at Muhlenberg…theater major (Performance Studies) with a talent scholarship. He only wanted a BA theater program and was sold on Muhlenberg’s philosophy about producing edcuated/thinking actors. He loves it there and has had so many wonderful and diverse performance opportunities (mainstage, musical, blackbox, cabaret, etc.). We went there this past Sunday to see him in a student-directed blackbox performance. We were blown away! Worth the 6.5 hour round trip. What a pleasure (and money well-spent) to see him challenge himself and grow as an actor, and to witness, firsthand, the remarkable talent, creativity, and collaboration for which Muhlenberg’s theater students are known.</p>
<p>Soozievt, do you know anything about Princeton’s new BA program in MT, called the Music Theater Lab? Don’t mean to hijack the Elon versus Muhlenberg thread, but you said that you would hesitate to send a child to a BA program where they had a BFA program, and I’m wondering about the BA programs where there is no BFA in MT, like Princeton’s…thanks!</p>
<p>monkey, I had not heard of the new program at Princeton but will check it out. </p>
<p>Just to be clear, I very much encourage students to attend BA programs! I’m just hesitant to attend a BA program at a school that also has a BFA. My preference would be to attend a BA where the BA is the core of the entire theater program. I’d be inclined, therefore, to go to Muhlenberg, Northwestern, or Yale before doing a BA at a school like Elon that has a BFA as well. </p>
<p>I’ll go check out Princeton!</p>
<p>Keep in mind that some of the Ivies like Yale, Brown, or Harvard have excellent extracurricular MT as well as what the theater departments may offer.</p>
<p>I looked at the Music Theatre Lab at Princeton. It is not a BA in MT, from what I can tell. Even their Theater program doesn’t offer a concentration (major), but rather a Certificate. You can study MT by taking courses in the Dept. of Music and in the theater or dance programs (the latter two are not departments). One can earn a Certificate in Theater, Music Performance or Dance. One cannot earn a BA in these fields at Princeton. There is no major or concentration in them. These are Certificate programs which is akin to what might often be considered a Minor at other colleges. Students who earn these certificates are doing so on top of majoring in something else at Princeton.</p>