@ParachuteBoy by all means, sing a song from a show you were in!..IF it’s your type 
If you would be cast as Jekyll in “the real world,” that could potentially be a great choice for you.
Yes, I believe I look the type. I’m a 6’2" bass baritone guy with brown hair so I can play the sort of scary sexy vibe that can be portrayed with the song out of context of the show.
It works well to contrast a more golden age up tempo love-y song. Glad to hear that it won’t be looked bad upon by auditors.
Hi all, I guess it’s time I officially joined in the conversation and introduced myself. I’ve been somewhat of a “lurker” on CC since about 2011 when my son was going through the process, but have spent TONS of time researching/reading here in the MT forum for the last 18 months or so. My D is about to start her senior year, and like the rest of you, I can hardly believe it’s time. . . it fills me with excitement and stress/worry at the same time, and I’m sure you can all relate to that!
We are in VA and, due to financial constraints, would much prefer our D stay in-state. She, however, would love to go OOS and experience a completely different area. My husband and I are both career public school teachers, and through scrimping and saving for 30 years, have been able to pay for our son’s in-state college expenses to the point that he will graduate debt-free. We are desperately trying to explain that to our D but she really has aspirations of going somewhere beyond our budget, meaning she’ll have to take on debt that she’ll very likely have a rough time paying back. If she wants to take on a small amount of debt, that’s one thing…but $30K+ a year or more? I can’t stomach that…
She wants a BFA but finally understands that he list needs to include some BAs and non-audition schools with MT concentrations/minors as well. Her in-state list will include (I think) George Mason, Shenandoah, Emory and Henry (non-aud), Christopher Newport (non-aud), U of Mary Washington (non-aud), JMU. Her OOS state list includes Otterbein, Montclair State, UArts, Ohio Northern, SUNY Cortland, Ithaca, FSU, BoCo, Hartt. There are probably more…most of the last few schools are way beyond our financial means as I mentioned above.
I have used the Net Price Calculators on most of these sites and those last several are still out of reach financially. We don’t qualify for any financial aid really, because we’re married and have full-time jobs. Our EFC for our son was higher than his expenses (a joke) and was a little less than half of my teaching salary.
D’s grades are good, not exemplary though, but she does have some good leadership skills and ECs and has held a part-time job since 9th grade, so I’m hoping some of those will help in the acceptance process. SATs need improvement, she’ll be taking again this fall, along with the ACT for the first time.
I am willing and open to hearing any and all suggestions and input as far as schools to add (or remove) or any other advice. I really feel it’s important that we let her audition at some of the top-tier schools she’s interested in, b/c otherwise I fear that she’ll resent us in the end. I am also an arts person (band director and have been involved in directing/music directing several shows) and I am optimistic, but also realistic. She has stated she wants to get her master’s in counseling later on, so she does have a “plan.” I want her to give it all to her dream but am glad that she has another passion as well.
Sorry this is so long–thanks in advance everyone.
I am a single mother who is a school teacher and my daughter was given no monies either from the government. Here’s a small suggestion…my daughter is going to be a resident assistant this year and possibly the two after that. This saves me $12,000 a year in room and board (it’s free for RA"s). They are going to work with her crazy theater rehearsal schedule and hopefully she finds the time to fit everything in. If your D is not afraid of hard work and staying VERY busy this may be a good option after her freshman year.
Great suggestion @bisouu thank you! Where does your D go? I was an RA in college, but we didn’t get free room and board or anything close. I think my D could handle this; she’s pretty accustomed to a packed schedule. Crazy that you got no aid. . .
Of course there is Texas State - hard to get in but a bargain if you do. Look for schools that give a lot of non-need money. Pace gives a lot, but again, hard to get in. Wagner gave my daughter a lot, and they don’t require SAT’s/ACT’s (my daughter did not submit them). We also did not qualify for need-based aid. I would cross BoCo right off the list.
Thanks @Calliene I am working on getting D to cross BoCo off, but she really likes Boston. Maybe there are other Boston area schools I should look into? I had Texas State on my list originally (left it off by accident) b/c of the great tuition price, but as you said, very hard to get in. Is your daughter at Wagner?
@mspamela … I think the the in-state = cheaper vs out-of-state = expensive can be largely false.
I have two kids, one MT, one not. The non-MT one’s out of state private ended up being cheaper than our in-state flagship - including merit/scholarships on both ends. The same with my MT kid - she’ll be at an out of state private that will end up cheaper than most in-state alternatives. (And my in-state schools are Indiana University & Ball State.)
I think everyone’s knee-jerk reaction is that in-state is always cheaper - and it’s untrue a lot of times.
You’ve got a well rounded list @mspamela. A good mix of programs.
I totally agree with @KaMaMom. Our private school options and OOS options were often more generous with aid than we anticipated. Don’t rule them out until you really investigate what types of financial packages are typical.
I also agree that if $ is a concern, Boston Conservatory, even with generous aid, will probably not be a good option. I would ask others who go there, but if you’re trying to pare down your list, that might be one to let go of like @Caillene said.
As far as other Boston options, my understanding is that Boston University is adding some sort of MT track to its program. And there was some talk Berklee may be doing something with MT?. Boston is a great town, but an expensive one.
You might also look at things like the academic common market. It is possible you could qualify for in-state tuition at some schools like, say, Coastal Carolina. We have friends there who are Physical Theatre majors and are taking advantage of that in-state tuition available to them thru the academic common market. They are getting great acting training and yet still get to be in musicals, etc… My understanding is all of the different majors that fall under the theater umbrella act as one big family. Something to look into.
One tip is to investigate private schools known for “good” aide - like Pace, which was mentioned earlier, or BW- every kid I know who goes there (and I know 6-7) has gotten decent aide. Boston U is a fabulous school, but not known for aide, my D was accepted there- would have been more expensive for her than NYU (also not known for good aide)
No, @mspamela, my daughter is at Montclair, which this year is starting to offer in-state tuition to all BFA’s, as you may know. And though I am not familiar with the VA state school system, I agree that in some cases, out-of-state with a scholarship can be less than in-state. But do your research and know which ones are going to possibly give you a decent amount of money. BoCo is not one, especially for girls.
We crafted D’s list with finances in mind, as well, and so we researched the chances of substantial scholarships and aid. Of the school’s she seriously considered on the list you gave above, these were our conclusions:
Otterbein–excellent aid
Montclair State–potential for excellent aid, made better with IS tuition for all BFAs
UArts–excellent aid (proven by my D, as D is attending there with full tuition and the majority of r&b taken care of–they were extremely generous)
Ohio Northern–D didn’t look into this program too much, but I know they can be generous
BoCo–forget it–not much aid at all–although, if it’s a dream school, why not try and see what happens–just make sure your D is realistic (we did that with NYU)
Hartt–D kept this one on her list as a financial reach–likelihood of substantial scholarship money is low even with solid academics
If I were you, I’d have your D get a tutor for the SAT/ACT or have her take a good class for it. Higher scores really make a difference in scholarship money! There is book that delves into which test is better for the individual student, filled with sample questions and practice tests. It might be good to get it so that your D can just concentrate on one test.
I was going to suggest Wagner, Pace and Texas State as schools to check out. But nevertheless, I would always say if there was any school that your child was really interested in and it seemed out of reach, talk to the school’s financial aid office and find out what’s available to you. Just like others have said on here, you’d be surprised how much you may be offered oos. And once you do get all your financial aid offerings back and the school she wants to go to still falls short just ask if they could contribute a little more. Tell them you were offered more at other schools but your child would really like to attend their school and you would like to know what they would be able to do for you. I was at a workshop with Mary Anna Denard and she definitely recommended doing it. I did it for a summer program my daughter was interested in and it worked. They gave her more aid so she could attend. On the flip side I will also say that I heard a lot of good things about JMU’s program. My D has friends that go there and they love it!
My daughter did a lot better on her ACT than her SAT.
My S just completed the audition cycle. The most generous schools with aid for him were: Texas State, Florida State, Otterbein, OCU, TCU, OU, BW, Pace.
Wow thank you ALL so much. It helps so much just hearing your thoughts, and knowing that you’ve walked this path before me! @myloves THANK YOU, you have me very encouraged about UArts, which is a top choice of D’s, although she’s never seen it or anything. I’d love to hear more about how you worked that deal for your D, maybe you’ll be willing to share some of that in a PM?
And I should’ve shared that I do realize a lot of the privates will give a lot more $ than the in-state public school options and we will definitely be researching that route. @toowonderful how do I research which schools might give good aid? Search here on CC? Is that something I could email their admissions office to inquire about? @vvnstar I love the idea of Coastal Carolina, and the location! I glanced at the Common Market website once…but I thought it was only applicable if your home state didn’t offer the program that your child wanted…but I see you said Physical Theater, so maybe I get what you’re saying now. I’d still like some clarification if anyone has any more info on how the Common Market thing works. @Calliene I am very interested in Montclair, since they offer in-state tuition as you said.
Again, many thanks to you all–I am feeling more encouraged, instead of so discouraged, like I felt when I posted this morning.
Thank you @MTDadandProud for the info. Where did your son end up?
There are a couple good threads on the MT forum with excellent info. Sorry Hyper linking doesn’t work on phone (for me- I am the Perpetual driver of the the technology struggle bus)
Which Schools Give the Best Merit Aid? Another Freakonomics post
Musical theatre programs that offer in-state tuition for out of state students
LOL @toowonderful thank you! I will try to find them on here!
@mspamela- The Academic Common Market can be great. I checked for VA, and it looks like the only qualifying programs for VA residents at CCU are Middle Level Education and Marine Science. If your D is truly interested in studying Physical Theatre, then you might contact your state ACM rep and find out why that major isn’t included since CCU is the only university is the US to offer that major. No harm in inquiring. The PT major is really incredible, but it’s not a back door way to get in-state tuition at CCU if what you really want to study is MT.
The PT program is continuing to evolve with the addition last year of a fabulous new PT professor. I know there is a new theatre website coming soon with all the newest information, but here is some basic info about the program: I’ll make sure I post the updated one once it is available.
http://www.coastal.edu/theatre/html/bfa-physical-theatre.html