I would love to hear your experiences and recommendations for drama programs. Feel free to post about audition experiences, quality of the program, etc. Stories of where your kids applied and were accepted as well as their ultimate decision would be great. My D is a Junior and my list of 45 schools is really from just searching online and not from first hand experiences from those who have gone through the process. Would love to hear your stories!
@marg928 your question is very broad. 45 schools is huge. You might want to consider size of program, area of country, BFA vs BA, you D’s current GPA, performance experience. You have a coach. Use their guidance and does your child have a list too!
So I saw your post over on the MT board and followed you over here to answer your question. We also used MTCA and I agree, it is important to distinguish MT versus acting when you are researching. Trust your coach’s advice on schools but the BFA acting programs you may want to look at Rutger’s Mason Gross, Minnesota Guthrie, Syracuse, Ithaca, DePaul, CMU, Pace, Otterbein…I know I am missing the west coast schools…my son’s list was regional-ish. Juilliard as well although in hindsight the cost and time to apply there is something I would rethink. They really do skew towards older students/transfers although there are exceptions to that rule.
On the BA side, Fordham and Muhlenberg come to mind.
The schools I listed are all super competitive so you’ll want to balance the list with others. My son auditioned for all the schools above and got to call back weekend with mason gross and Guthrie, did not make it past the first cut at Juilliard, was wait listed at DePaul and CMU and accepted to the others. He enjoyed all the auditions - some more than others. He preferred the auditions where he was given redirection versus those where the auditor simply says “thank you” and does not engage. But you cannot read into either approach - my S was accepted even when it was just a thank you. The one audition he found to be really cold was Juilliard. CMU is known for being a warm and engaging audition experience and that was certainly true for us. I think he did four monologues and sang for them (despite being an acting audition). Barbara also offered some great advice that shaped his thinking the rest of the audition season. Guthrie also asked him to sing so be prepared. Some common questions asked in my S’s audition bedsides “why us?” was “How will you pick your school from your final choices?”
Pace, DePaul and Juilliard do a preliminary cut after the first round of auditions of the day and then have a longer audition. All and all the auditors are pleasant and kind and the entire experience is far more positive than I imagined. Happy to answer specific questions.
I know it’s broad but I thought it would be better to just be general in order to help out anyone else out there. That being said right now her highest SAT is 1760 (taking it again today) and GPA around 3.8 weighted with two AP courses this year.
@VaTheatreMom2020 thanks so much for finding me! My D has her heart set on the West Coast, USC in particular but I know it’s an extremely long shot so I want to open her mind up to other choices. I feel like the coach knew a lot more about MT schools than straight acting. For example some of the schools on my list she didn’t know much about their program. Towson in MD for one has a new BFA program and Ioved the school when I visited with my older daughter but she didn’t seem to be familiar with that. Also she said Penn State is not good but their BFA is starting this September so how can it be not good?
@Ducky312 LOL I know the list is way too big! The coach was pretty impressed with it though! Anyway it’s so big because I kept reading all the MT stories on the other board and kept adding schools. Also as a side note my D has two agents (one for legit and one for Commercial voiceover) and has a very marketable look. Ellen at MTCA seemed to be quite taken with her yesterday at our consultation and suggested she apply to Juilliard which wasn’t on my crazy long list since I’m realistic LOL.
I agree with the schools discussed above. Would add in my daughters final choice UNCSA. They are an acting program but do a lot with voice and dance training too. Require a song at auditions. Several current students and some incoming next year were also accepted to CMU (both acting and MT) and several had final callbacks at Juilliard, RADA, etc. it has a very competitive applicant pool but not as huge of an overall number applying as some others. Their profile continues to rise though.
My daughter and other kids I know were not sold on it due to location and simply NOT knowing about the program. My D applied as it is ranked as a top drama school in the world and wanted to explore it but was not that interested at first. Turned out to be her favorite audition during Unifieds (which included guthrie, pace, cmu and Juilliard among others–with decent callback results)— after hearing about the program and meeting faculty, other top choices on her list began to look less interesting to her. This made me nervous because I knew UNCSA was a long shot and she needed to keep an open mind. But she was focused on UNCSA from Unifieds on. Luckily it was her “fit” and she was admitted.
What she liked - the program, training, rigor, faculty,etc. turns out it is very similar to the “Juilliard experience” which my D holds in high esteem. She wanted a very focused program that truly prepares her for a career and has connections to help get there. UNCSA has an amazing alumni pool. Many many (most?) recent grads are actively working in NYC, LA and regionally. I had no idea how many I had seen on tv and in film recently. May not be names I knew, but I know their faces. A large percentage have representation upon graduation. Yet the staff is humble - down to earth, welcoming, no nonsense. Very caring people when it comes to their students. That really is apparent.
I won’t go into details about the incredible staff and coursework but what they offer is pretty amazing. Happy to PM other info if interested.
I find it sad that many kids don’t apply due to its
Location My own D was almost one of them. She would have really missed out! This is a gem of a program that some people know about but often overlook Others don’t know much about it and pass it over quickly. Take a look!!!
This is not to say that there are not other amazing programs. Of course there are. But I feel UNCSA doesn’t get talked about enough and I just can’t believe how impressed we were. A visit only solidified it all. An amazing program that kids should really think about - especially if truly wanting the type of training and rigor offered at some of the other well know top drama schools.
That is my biased opinion! ;). Good luck in your search.
Another school I was impressed with was Southern Methodist University Meadows School of the arts. Wonderful experience from start to finsih. Generous scholarships too.
thanks @bfahopeful UNCSA is definitely on my list. I was supposed to go visit next week but my plans with a friend fell through. My only reservation really is the size but I do plan on visiting at some point hopefully before auditions. The coach also gave it a thumbs up…
I guess I shouldn’t have named this “Best BFA”…I know what the “best” schools are…what I’m really interested in is hearing about the off the radar schools that are not as well known but have BFA/auditioned BA Theater programs. The ones that come to mind are Towson, American, UNC Greensboro to name a few…
I would put SMU Meadows school of the arts into that off the radar carltgeogry (I posted above about it briefly). They have both an acting and theater studies specialization. They have a more balanced curriculum with academics too. Very nice college campus feel vs conservatory only.
Others I know that fit this are SEMO (southeast Missouri) and Stephens Point - university of Wisconsin. Both BFAs and SEMO has MT
St Louis university has a good BA program. St Mary’s university in Minnesota is also good (bfa) and lesser known
Farleigh dickensin in NJ has good BA and so does Drew university
There are many. If you are going to nationals in Lincoln this summer many of these schools are there recruiting
We liked Webster a lot too but that is fairly well known.
@marg928 Keep in mind, a coach is speaking to national reputation when they are offering their perspective. That doesn’t mean a school isn’t great or that a school doesn’t enjoy a strong regional reputation or doesn’t have the perfect balance of X and Y for your daughter. My S’s list was truly a mix of apples and oranges from a national perspective because we did have lesser known schools that were more regional to us on the list (Catawba, George Mason, etc.). I love MTCA and used them and would again in a heartbeat but it is okay to have your own opinions about what works as a fit for your family as long as the list is balanced. They will support your decisions.
You mentioned visiting before auditions. A word of caution as someone who just completed this process. You may want to hold off on visits unless you have unlimited income and time or it fits into a family vacation. I cannot begin to tell you how much my S’s idea about what he wanted shifted over the last 12 months and with the low admission rates, it can be premature to visit. The experience of visiting after acceptance is night and day to visiting before audition season. That being said, pulling out the 4 year curriculum at each school from the registrar’s office is incredibly enlightening.
Much luck in settling on the list and it is okay to change the list as the season goes on!!
I would like to chime in with another enthusiastic vote for UNCSA, where my daughter has just completed her freshman year. Word is that all of the graduating seniors are now either signed with agents, or set up for very prestigious interviews. UNCSA was the only school we saw that was willing to say how many of their students were signed with agents upon graduation. In 2014, that was 66%. I suspect this year, it will be even higher. No other college was willing to volunteer that statistic. So, UNCSA gives extraordinary training, at a reasonable price, and connects its students particularly well to the industry and to work. Check it out!
@marg928 it looks like your D is in a great position for this wonderful crazy ride. I might suggest NYU, or Yale and best to you on your journey!
@VaTheatreMom2020 George Mason is also on my list and the coach had nothing to say at all when I mentioned it. My older D was admitted there as a dance major and I was really pulling for her to choose it but she went with Pace. I loved the campus and the dance facilities were like no other we saw. I don’t want to cross that one off just yet.
If her preference is the West Coast then these are all known to have very good auditioned BFA or BA programs: Chapman, UC Irvine, LMU, CalArts, UCLA, USC, all of which are in or somewhat close to Los Angeles.
We live in LA and did the student led campus tours of all of the above except UC Irvine so if you have any questions about campus feel and facilities, location and surrounding area feel free to PM me. I have also seen a student production at LMU and USC, and sat in the theatre specific info session at Chapman’s Open House Day.
CSU Fullerton also has a very well-regarded Theatre school (they say within the top 16 most recommended in the nation) and you can’t beat the price compared to the privates. We were really impressed with the tour given by the Theatre Dept. Chair on accepted students day. We also went back and saw a play there featuring 5 of their BFA actors which was really very good. The performance spaces are all excellent and from a tech standpoint use the most up-to-date equipment. Downside is it is a non-audition school that admits between 75-100 initially into it’s BFA theatre track and then juries the kids a couple of times after Sophmore year to finally end up with 14-16. There is more comprehensive info here: https://www.fullerton.edu/arts/documents/AAA%20Ltr%20to%20Acting%20FTF%205-13.pdf
In the Pacific Northwest you could look at Cornish in Seattle, and Southern Oregon University (SOU) which has connections with the well-regarded Oregon Shakespeare Festival in the same town. SOU requires a video audition.
My son had both Cornish and SOU as his safeties (based more on academic/admission stats that on theatre admits because as anyone that has already gone through this crazy theatre school audition process will tell you there really isn’t any such thing as a safety) and we visited both but ultimately he decided he wanted to go out of state and he got into one of his top schools so they both got crossed off as contenders.
Cornish is a really small school (about 800 kids I think?) but it is right in downtown Seattle in a great neighborhood. They have just opened a brand new 20 storey dorm building (shared with City University?) which has a common area that is the entire 20th floor and is to die for. Includes an outdoor area, and modern kitchen facilities, big-screen TV, pool table, and views of the city and snow capped mountains that are out of this world. I wanted to live there! The school very much has an arts school feel to it, and I really liked the staff I met and the way the admin talked about the close-knit school and their programs. The Alumni panel had all gone on to work in artistic fields within Seattle and all accredited the school for their success (which is probably why they were on the Alumni panel!) It sounded like they have good ties with the Fifth Avenue Theatre and that there is a lot of up and coming theatre in the city (Amazon money has transformed the area the school is in, with at least 10 modern high-rise condo buildings either newly built or currently being built directly surrounding the school) but I wouldn’t say based on the play and musical we saw that it has a really strong pool of kids in it’s acting program, although a couple of talented kids did stand out in both. As a safety though my son thought it could be a good option in a beautiful city.
SOU is in a lovely little town and on the whole is a really nice campus, but it is currently revamping it’s theatre facilities so all we got to see was a shut down 70’s looking theatre building. They are using temporary performance space right now but for kids that are a year or two away from starting they may end up in a beautiful new facility. We didn’t see any student productions there but did see Twelfth Night at the Shakespeare festival which was great. Supposedly one of the SOU BFA kids was cast as an understudy and has ended up playing the role as the principal got injured. Ultimately my son didn’t like the small town feel and none of us got a great impression of their theatre program.
Anyway, good luck in your search and I hope you find the right fit for your daughter.
Be careful CSUF is a cut program in the truest sense of the word. Also, you most likely will not graduate in 4 years due to most classes being impacted so the deal is not that great.
Since you have George Mason and Towson on the list, I would suggest also looking at UMBC (auditioned BFA), Shenandoah (auditioned BFA), James Madison (auditioned BA), and VCU (auditioned BA/ BFA).
I teach at James Madison, went to Penn State for graduate school, PM me if you have any specific questions I can try to answer.
Thank you so much! We were in CA for vacation in August and did do a tour of UC Irvine but it did not include the theater dept or any of their facilities…loved the campus though. I have never set foot in the Pacific NW but my daughter has asked to go to that area on vacation so I think it would appeal to her. Thanks again your comment was very helpful!
I do also have James Madison on the list but my D is opposed because so many kids from our area go there. We live in NJ and she wants OUT! she’s afraid she’s going to run into people who she knows there LOL. We toured UMBC for dance with my older daughter and it was nice but I remember so many people were smoking on campus that bothered me a lot. I will definitely look into the other two suggestions though…thanks so much!