Colleges for Musical Theater Major - Part 35

College Majors Musical Theater Major
61

<p>Catsmom,</p>

<p>We, too, know many very talented students who made it into very good MT programs without having extremely high grades or without attending an academically challenging high school. In fact, two of my D's friends had around 900's on their SAT's and while neither went to one of the very top tier MT schools, one is in a BFA Drama program at a very well known "arts" school and the other in a lesser known MT program in NC, but loves it! Remind your daughter, as I had to mine only a few days ago, that there IS a place for her and not to give up hope! My D had the opposite problem, getting accepted academically but not talent-wise, which I think is probably even worse for an MT person...to question if you have the talent...but she did get an acceptance and I know your D will get one as well. I know that most of the schools we talked to told us that if the talent is there and they REALLY want the student, then sometimes academics count a little less. Remind her also that this is only preparing her for her career...there will be a lot of rejection down on this path they have chosen and then will come the "yes", "you're in" otr "you've got the part" that they have been waiting for and working toward.</p>

<p>Have a wonderful time in Hawaii...try to put the whole school thing out of your minds...and come back refreshed and ready to try again.</p>

<p>Lexasmom</p>

62

<p>Catsmom--I'll make mine short but just another word of support. I think the advice is right--stay away from NYU and Mich--and check closely schools like Syracuse. Definitely look at the conservatories and I think the advice about local and smaller schools is right on the nose. Ultimately it will come down to how much she not only wants to do theatre, but has to. If she has to do it, she will find a way, and will do what she has to do. And this isn't to sound harsh, but if she doesn't have to do it, she--and any of our kids--won't ultimately stick with it because the life of an artist is just too damn hard. (I'm a visual artist, so I know something about this.) But all of our advice doesn't take the pain away for your daughter--or for you. And it is hard to watch our children be disappointed. So enjoy Hawaii. And hugs to both of you</p>

63

<p>Catsmom-</p>

<p>Your daughter needs to keep her "chin up". She will face many rejections in this business. Gotta get used to it!</p>

<p>My S was a B student with an average SAT score. Very bright, but he is not a good test taker, and we did not invest in an outside SAT workshop that would help to increase his score because he was just to busy being involved in what he loved at the time.</p>

<p>He was not accepted at any of the conservatory programs at colleges that looked for good grades/scores. He was accepted at all the programs where grades were not an issue with acceptance. </p>

<p>As many of you know he is a second year acting major at CMU. He almost didn't apply there because he thought that he did not have the grades. We didn't know until we talked to someone from CMU at a college presentation in our city that the College of Fine Arts based MT and Acting entrance into the program heavily on the audition, (85%). Look for those opportunities. There are many out there. </p>

<p>There IS a school out there for your D.</p>

64

<p>MTmommy, we must live close to ea other if your accident is the same as the one I heard about. I didn't know the extent of the accident when I was using Winchester Rd. Can't help but think of the sorrow his parents must be going through.</p>

<p>Catsmom-more hugs and support.</p>

65

<p>I have been pondering this lately as the semester ends for my sophmore MT major daughter. When she applied to schools it was very important to her,and to her parents, that her college choice include a well rounded liberal arts curriculum as well as excellent MT training. We feel she is receiving this at Penn State. However, the harsh reality of trying to maintain a balance between these two very conflicting areas became very apparent this semester. She was cast in a mainstage production that required a HUGE amount of rehearsal time as well as on her own time working on the challenges of the role. Often she did not even begin her gen ed homework until after 11:00 pm after being in classes from 9:00 until 4:30 and then rehearsal from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm. She also had to fit in time on her own with her scene partner to prepare for acting class as well as practice voice work and sophmore studio work. It really felt like she was trying to find her way and be at the top of her game in two very different worlds. She pulled off an outstanding semester in all and miraculously also maintained her health. I still am a believer that a thinking actor is a better actor and that students grow a lot as performers by being aware of the world around them by studying other things than performance areas. But I can also see the path for strict conservatory training being a valid way to go in order for a young actor to really be able to concentrate on his or her craft. I think this is an area of choice that is worthy of great consideration as students are deciding colleges to which they will apply.</p>

66

<p>Lamom--Yes, we must live very close to each other. I can't even imagine what that boy's parents are going through. I saw in the paper today that he did not survive. And I was so frustrated at taking 1 1/2 hours to pick up my D at the high school. Is your son a singer or musician? Did he graduate from a high school in our area? You don't have to mention which one if you don't want to; I don't plan to for my D's privacy and security.</p>

<p>Monkey--Thank you so much for sharing those observations. That's something that I've wondered about. It's so difficult to have "it all." You must be very proud of your D for pulling it all off this semester.</p>

67

<p>mtmommy,
It was a very successful semester for my D and yet there wasn't much else in her life but the consuming demands of the show, working on voice, dance and acting, and the academic challenges. My husband would say that this is the way it should be in college, and I acknowledge that the path she has chosen is more intense than other areas of study. However I also feel that the four years one spends in college should include lots of social time with the ability to explore people and activities new and unique. She does seem to be very happy and fulfilled by it all. Right now she is in absolute heaven watching movies, seeing high school friends, chatting online, and sleeping late! Regardless of how focused a young person may be who is choosing a performance field in college, I'm not sure they can really recognize how difficult and overwhelming this course might prove to be. Those that accept that and even thrive on it, will probably be the ones who succeed. There is also the reality that for perhaps the first time, they are the "small fish in the big pond", surrounded by a group of passionate and talented young people. This can be incredibly motivating but also cause one to question where they fit in the big picture. It has been fascinating for me to see this process evolve for my D as well as her classmates. Wow, not a path for the weak of heart.</p>

68

<p>Does anyone know the minimum SAT requirements for admission to Emerson? My D auditoned there EA for MT. She got a letter stating that she was deferred to the MT program, but didn't get accepted to the college as of this point in time. Quite frankly, I was surprised. Her GPA is 3.95 and her SAT scores are 1280. I know the SAT's aren't tremendous, but I think they're decent. Does anyone know if these SAT scores are too low for Emerson or is it that they get so many applicants that they only take the very highest SAT scorers for EA? Could there possibly be another reason that she wasn't accepted to the college? She did indicate that Broadcast Journalism was her second choice for a major. Could this possibly have been the reason? If anyone could shed some light on this, I would very much appreciate it. Good luck to all of you MT applicants out there!</p>

69

<p>Shauna,</p>

<p>My son is considering UNT. My bottom-line questions for you are:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Do you feel like you're learning there? and</p></li>
<li><p>Is the faculty there supportive of the students?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks.</p>

70

<p>Seashells29,</p>

<p>I don't think these decisions are ever cut and dried, i.e., minimum SAT's or GPA required. Every admissions office we talked to, for both my D (freshman BFA/MT at Michigan) and S (junior, Arts and Sciences at Cornell) stressed that they are looking at the entire package each applicant presents. There are so many things that can influence an admit/defer/reject decision, I think it's a waste of time to try and figure out the "real" reason. Although I never did it, I've heard that some people call admissions offices and ask for a rationale for a decision, especially if they think they can learn something that will help improve an application that has yet to be acted upon. My daughter was admitted to Emerson EA last year and though I once posted her stats here, she was unhappy with me for doing so, so I'll just say they were VERY similar to your D's. I also wouldn't worry about the indication of a second option for a major. My D, when asked at her Emerson audition if Emerson was her first choice, said she didn't have enough info about all the schools where she had yet to audition to have a first choice yet. If THAT wasn't the kiss of death, I don't know what would be!</p>

<p>I do have one question, however. How can they say she is deferred for MT if she didn't get into the College academically? Maybe she was also just deferred academically as well? Couldn't hurt to call and question them......</p>

71

<p>Seashells, I cannot answer your question specifically and I doubt that Emerson has a minimum requirement for the SATS. But since I am familiar with college admissions in an overall sense, I would say that you cannot analyze it simply on the numbers you just provided...the SAT and GPA alone. Perhaps this might be so at a large state university where admissions is numbers driven. But it is not so at other colleges. The application package is weighed holistically. So, even the GPA for instance....an adcom would look at the course load and if it was the most challenging of courses available to the student...whether that means Honors or AP or IB at your school (not penalized if your school does not offer something, ie., AP, but only that the student challenged herself by taking the most rigorous courses available), then there is the class rank, the SAT score and of course this school does not use the SAT 2 but I doubt it hurts a student who has taken those and they are on the score report and seen and so if they are decent, it can't hurt...plus any AP scores, if available. Then there is the counselor's report and the teacher recs. Then the essays too which Emerson had a few, if I recall. I doubt there is a cut off on SATs alone. Sometimes a lower SAT can be compensated by some other things like some major academic awards or other recognition on a state or national level. It is hard to say. I think as far as SATs you can look at any college directory and see a RANGE of SAT scores for accepted students. If your D's SAT scores were within that range, particularly above the 25%tile of that range for accepted students, then the SAT would not have kept her out. In fact, as I just looked up Emerson's range of SATs for accepted students in a directory, your D's scores were in the 75%tile which means she was well within range in that ONE particular area for Emerson.</p>

<p>As with any college admissions process, there are far too many students who have the required "stats" than they can admit so lots of other factors come into play. As well, as you can see in this instance, there are far more kids who were both academically qualified as well as talented, who get denied admission or deferred. My guess is if your D is deferred, it is a positive sign that her academics were ok because they would not have kept her in the running otherwise. I believe a very small percentage (the adcom said this to me) were admitted academically but deferred for musical theater, probably as they could not guarantee all those slots at this time until spring. But your D's academic stats likely are ok or in the ballpark because she was not rejected. I doubt all the deferred MT kids could also be accepted academically at this time only cause of how many slots they are willing to fill this early. It almost seems a little like a "rolling admissions" process there to some degree. In my view, while you gave numbers in isolation without a total review of her application, your D's SAT scores and GPA are good enough for almost all these BFA programs. I don't think she will be kept out on academic grounds. </p>

<p>Susan</p>

72

<p>Son is a music performance major-trumpet. Locally he played with Musicians Workshop while in HS. He is out and we don't have others in HS so I don't mind saying where he graduated from. But since your daughter is local, I won't use the name. It is the school that had a bit of scandal last year for athlete grade changes. Many locals hope to separate from the HS district and make the K-8 district a unified HS district. Son had some great teachers, was successful and was even recognized by The Californian, but I am not a big fan of the district.</p>

73

<p>Lamom--I know which school you mean. My D is not in that one. We're reasonably happy with her high school, particularly with the performing arts. In fact, she's an inter-district transfer to her high school, as are others, expressly because of its performing arts. She's sung at Musician's Workshop events several times! What a coincidence!</p>

74

<p>Has anybody here heard of getting accepted to a BFA program and deferring a year? Can you keep a scholarship if you do that? I've had a situation come up in my family and I'm going to need to stay close to home next year. I don't know what I'm going to do. :( </p>

<p>Sorry for the double post.</p>

75

<p>thesbohemian-
The answer to your question is yes.</p>

<p>I hope all will work out for you!!</p>

76

<p>Hi cato, check your e-mail. :-)</p>

<p>Shauna</p>

77

<p>Thesbo,</p>

<p>So good to see you post again! I hope things are all right....sounds as though something personally challenging has come your way. I hope you work through it okay.</p>

<p>I believe that most programs will accept a leave of absence from you...you may have to reaudition, but more than likely they will accept you again. I would think that your scholarship money would also be deferred.</p>

<p>I would explain your situation to the school admissions and/or theatre department. My guess is that they would be extremely understanding. I know at Webster there have been a couple students who needed to do this due to family emergencies.</p>

<p>Hope this helps. </p>

<p>SUE</p>

78

<p>Shauna,</p>

<p>Welcome back....bet you are like my guys....buzzing with excitement, but catching up on much needed sleep. Happy Holidays Lady!! :)</p>

<p>SUE</p>

79

<p>Sorry, but I am confused. How can there be 30 complete threads about one question?</p>

80

<p>To set the record straight....there really are more than 30 pages/threads! When the CollegeConfidential discussion forums changed into a new format, this thread you see here was considered page 30 (though each "page" often had many pages) but with this new format, page 30 now has 42 "sub" pages of its own ;-). </p>

<p>Well, let's forget the math (afterall math is not the big thing to those reading this thread, lol) but suffice it to say the reason that this thread topic is SO huge representing pages and pages from the old forum and now many more pages and pages is because the college selection and admissions process for musical theater is a very particular process that differs from normal college admissions ....or let's put it this way, you gotta do everything a regular college applicant does but WAY more besides! Not that I have to tell the regular participants on here but just to the person who asked.....for instance, this weekend my D finished her 8th application and I think about 20th essay (I have lost count) like any other senior. But to top that off, she has to choose/prepare a few different songs and monologues for auditions, have a theatrical resume on top of the application type resume, and keep up with dance. Well, that is just the beginning. Let's not forget years of lessons/classes/training in this discipline and then most of the kids on here are heavily involved in theater productions throughout the whole college admissions season and have a LOT on their plate. </p>

<p>Tenacious, there is just a lot involved in this process for those going for BFA programs in musical theater. It is a very very selective process where the odds of admission, I venture to say, are lower than at Ivy league schools. Have you seen how many Ivy League forums and threads there are on College Confidential? Well, this is kinda like that process but more involving. Students must audition to get in, be talented in three areas of performing arts (singing, dancing, and acting), and then also do all the academic stuff one would do to prepare for college and complete an application. </p>

<p>Because this process has elements that are specialized, folks have lots of questions about it. There are also not that many colleges that even offer this field. I feel that without a doubt, this forum thread is the best resource on the web right now that discusses colleges for musical theater. It is not only chockful of information, but there are lots of people with first hand experiences to share and that type of posting is invaluable. Sometimes there are posts by current students and sometimes by applicants. There are lots of parents on this thread, both who have been through the process in the past and are graciously sharing with those who come after, and then many parents who have kids going through it this season. It is not like we can ask others in our local communities about these things or even share about them because it is just quite different than the normal college process. I know locally that very few people understand what this process is like or even why my D has such schools on her list (picking schools for this is very different than the normal college criteria and so much is about the program, not things like size, location, difficulty of academics....as much as usual.....because it is a professional degree program). </p>

<p>I do not know that I have answered your question but let me also add that this thread is not answering ONE question like you suggested. There are TONS of questions and issues being discussed and lots of sharing of experiences. It really is a college forum on every aspect of a college admissions process but particular to this specialized type college program. </p>

<p>If you read through some of it...you might get an idea. </p>

<p>And one day, if we are all ambitious on here, we should get all the young folks represented on this thread and put on a musical showcase. I venture to say the talent would be amazing! What a thought!</p>