<p>I'm going to be a senior in high school this year, and I'm really starting to narrow down my list of colleges I'm applying to this fall. I've got pretty good grades (3.6 GPA with an 1860 SAT), and ideally I'd like to go to a school that could offer me some merit financial aid (or something of the sort). I've decided that I'd like to go to a school that can offer me a BFA in Acting, and that allows for either a double major or a minor in dance. Money is definitely an issue, so I haven't been able to visit any of the colleges I'm considering (except for one), but that's why I'm asking all of you to tell me about them! So this is the skinny: I really want to go to a school with a strong conservatory-styled program, but within an awesome college town (maybe my expectations are a little high, but I know that these types of programs exist if you just look hard enough! ex: U of M @ Ann Arbor). Another main factor in my college searches is how selective a program is. I'm an incredibly unique individual, so I definitely want to go to a school that isn't "cookie cutter" (so if any of these schools are known for being that way, please give me a warning!). In addition, I want to go to a school where I would be able to participate in musical theater as a non MT major (which is slightly contradictory to why U of M is my top choice). Anyways, this is my list of colleges as of right now:</p>
<p>1) University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
2) DePaul University (I'm a little worried about how the cuts work...)
3) Ithaca College
3.5) Carnegie Mellon
4) Boston University
5) Emerson
6) Syracuse
7) Penn State
8) University of Massachusetts, Amherst</p>
<p>Some other schools I'm slightly looking at but haven't put too much research into are: MN Gutherie, Evansville, Muhlenberg?, and Roosevelt. </p>
<p>I'm also seriously considering Northwestern (it'd probably go between 3 and 4) but I haven't looked into it too much. Do they offer a BFA program? And if it's just a BA, I think it'd be work it to go anyways. The degree is not that huge of a deal, if it's got a strong arts program anyway, then I'm fine with a BA. </p>
<p>So I really want to go to a "college town" that also has a great acting program. Please help me! I'd appreciate any and all responses/comments/general insight as so which programs you know ANYTHING about. Thank you so much for your time!!!!</p>
<p>Northwestern is a BA program. Its theater department is notably strong. It is also very competitive academically.</p>
<p>One thing about your list is that it is heavy with competitive audition programs. Its important to have a diverse list that includes non-audition schools which are likely to accept you (in other words, safeties). Any school which requires an auditon can not be considered a safety, unless you are willing and able to attend even if not accepted into the BFA program. Your guidance counselor may be able to tell you which schools would be likely for you.</p>
<p>You also mentioned finances as a concern. You should look at each school’s website to get specific information regarding merit awards. For example, I know that DePaul gives merit awards to students who have certain stats. Generally for merit aid, look at schools at which your stats place you in the top 25% of students. Schools use merit to attract top students.</p>
<p>University of Minnesota meets your criteria in that it is BFA program with a conservatory feel within a larger university. It is also less expensive than the others, even for out of state students. It does require an audition but they also have a BA program which you could choose to attend if don’t get into the BFA program. It is not an MT program but does provide opportunities for MT performance.</p>
<p>There is a ton of information in this forum so spend some time reading and I think you will get a lot of answers to your questions.</p>
<p>There are several schools where you can start in an unauditioned BA and then audition for the BFA your second year. Columbia College in Chicago, Hofstra University on Long Island, and several public schools - UW-Milwaukee is one I know of - have this option. They are all good for someone with your academic stats, and they are all in or near great theater and college towns. This is a way to keep the BFA a possibility if you do not get accepted to one your first round.</p>
<p>Things may have changed since I was undergrad at Syracuse and in grad school at Penn State…</p>
<p>I do not believe that Syracuse has a dance major or minor. BFA Acting students may audition for musicals, you would need to check on dance class availability.</p>
<p>Penn State offers a BA in Theatre, not a BFA. The BFA programs are in musical theatre, stage management, and technical production. I am not sure how likely it is for non-BFA MT students to be cast in musicals. There is a dance minor. </p>
<p>It looks like your stats may be low for Northwestern.</p>
<p>I agree with LeftofPisa you will want to identify matches and safeties for your list. </p>
<p>You definitely need to put some non-audition schools on your list. These schools are very competitive. Muhlenberg is non-audition, but academically competitive. I suggest doing some more research. Check out the threads that discuss how many applicants these programs accept each year. You may be surprised how few kids are accepted - even in audition-based BA programs. (And I agree that your academic stats are a little low for Northwestern - check average scores of this year’s class).</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for responding! About the whole “safety school” issue, I definitely agree, I just really haven’t looked into non-audition BA programs but I totally understand how important it is. I have no idea about which schools have a non-audition BA program into which I’d be accepted academically and are good, upstanding universities. Do you have any possible school suggestions? </p>
<p>About Northwestern - thanks! I also think I’m iffy about the grades. </p>
<p>@EmmyBet, I will definitely look into those schools! @LeftofPisa, good to know! I’ll also look into MN.</p>
<p>Muhlenberg would be a good target school, not a safety. They do give out merit aid, but not sure you’d qualify for that. They invite you for that.</p>
<p>Again I’ll mention Columbia in Chicago (I’m not sure about your location preference). Your GPA is well above their norm, and they are test-optional. Columbia College is an arts-focused school with good liberal arts, so it may meet your “conservatory feel” criterion, although I’m not exactly sure what you’re looking for.</p>
<p>Many public schools have wonderful theater departments, and are excellent safeties. You seem comfortable with big schools, based on where you’re already interested. I’m not sure where you are a resident - you have UMass on your list, and they certainly have plenty of opportunities, including being part of the 5-college consortium with lots of arts activities in the area. UMass should be pretty solid for you to get into.</p>
<p>EmmyBet-Colombia sounds excellent! I’ll definitely look into it. From what you’ve said it seems appealing (about being a big city, having a strong arts program with good liberal arts). Basically what I meant by “conservatory feel” is just that I’d like to go to a school tha has a strong arts program.</p>
<p>I’m incredibly comforable with big schools! Just as long as they supply a fun college experience (does that make sense?) I’m from the bay area in California, if that helps at all. I’ve looked at schools in California, but I kinda want to go out of state and explore this world during college. However, I am applying to CSU Fullerton as a back-up. </p>
<p>And about U-Mass - Thanks!! It came up as number 1 in the college match tool CC has, so I looked into it, and it looks great! That makes me feel a little safer, haha.</p>
<p>Two other schools to look at are Temple University and University of the Arts, both in Philadelphia. Philadelphia has a very active and dynamic theater scene with many major professional theater companies and venues and numerous smaller companies and venues. The city is filled with students from these schools as well as Penn, Drexel, several fine arts colleges, medical and law schools and technical colleges. A big city with a small feel, it is a great place to be a college student.</p>
<p>Temple is a state related liberal arts university so the tuition even for out of state students is lower than private colleges. It’s acting program is a BA non-audition program but you need instructor permission to take upper level classes. It also has a BA MT program which requires an audition either upon application or after your freshman year. The department has a very good reputation and students have done work which has even been picked up off Broadway. All students must also meet a liberal arts core and distribution requirement. The academics are strong and there is an excellent honors program. Your grades and SAT scores would make Temple a solid match to a safety.</p>
<p>University of the Arts is a private university that offers BFA degrees in acting and MT (as well as other arts). Its programs are audition based. The acting and MT programs are excellent and draw students from all parts of the country. It is a conservatory type of program housed in an arts university but there are liberal arts requirements. As a private university, tuition is higher but UArts offers merit scholarships based on the audition and high school academics from $8000 - $12000 per year and need based scholarships and grants are also available. Your grades and SAT scores would make UArts a safety academically (but you would not have an unusual academic profile for the school, there are lots of high academic achievers there) but because it is an audition based program that accepts 6-8% of its applicants, it should be treated as a reach.</p>
<p>MichaelNKat-Excellent!! I was actually considering looking at U of Arts, and now that you’ve told me more about it, I’m definitely very interested. </p>
<p>Thank you so very much for recommending Temple!! I just looked into it, and it sounds like a blast. It’s so relieving to find a school that qualifies as a safety and has an awesome program. I’m definitely adding it to my safety list, thanks!!</p>
<p>I’m just curious, do you have any advice or tips about applying to a non-audition BA program? I’m guessing that the application is incredibly important, since there’s no audition.</p>
<p>OP, let me know if you have any questions regarding UMich.</p>
<p>You cannot minor in dance here, but a double major is possible, but will probably take 5 years. Although the University Production musicals are usually cast with all MTs, there are still opportunities in student groups, such as MUSKET, that puts on a large scale musical every semester. Also, Basement Arts, another student organization, sometimes puts on musicals and anyone can audition for those shows.</p>
<p>Complexlife-SUNY Purchase is another school I’m looking at as well! The program looks incredibly upstanding and the more I hear about it the more convinced I am to apply there. The only problem is that I find so many schools appealing that I have a huge list of potential schools that I’m having trouble narrowing down (because I like something about every single school on that list!). Other than the list I posted here, I have about 14 more schools that are all academic targets and are all audition BFA. So, I guess I’ll have to look into each one more meticulously. </p>
<p>be_somebody-Thank you so much for replying! U of M is my top school as of right now. I actually went there for the summer theater program, and I have since fallen in love with the school.
About the dance, the more I think about it, the more I realize that I probably would be just as happy finding a studio somewhere near school and dancing there, as opposed to dancing through the school, mostly because I’ve been really busy for so long that I’d like to slow down, and I’d be just as happy dancing on my own time.
About MT, thank you for posting that! I’d forgotten how many different performance opportunities are on campus, and while MT is what I’ve always done, I’m just as content without it all the time. Thanks again, and I will most definitely let you know if I have any more questions regarding UMich! :D</p>
<p>In your original post you mention that you would like to be able to double major or minor in dance and participate in musicals. Depending on how important these two factors are, you may be able to whittle schools off your list that do not allow for these things.</p>
<p>You also mention (in the title of your post) that you are looking for a “conservatory feel at a good university.”. Do you mean a traditional university with many different majors, athletics, clubs, etc… Do you want this environment so you an take classes outside of your major, participate in activities and events outside of the Theatre Program? If so, you may be able to use this criteria to remove a few more schools from your list. When you say conservatory feel do you mean a program where most of the classes you will take are within your major, a highly structured sequence of required classes from year to year, etc… If so, this criteria may allow you to remove some schools from your list. </p>
<p>Posters have suggested a wonderful array of schools for you to consider. Have fun checking out websites, contacting departments with your specific questions, visiting (if able). :)</p>
<p>House of London – Thanks. I was not sure if they did. I do not remember it being a major when I was a student there… but that was along time ago </p>
<p>I just looked on the Syracuse website, and I cannot find the major… what school is it in? Thanks!</p>
<p>KatMT-Your post is incredibly helpful! I will absolutely use that criteria to try to narrow down my list. What I mean by “conservatory feel” is just that I want to be able to learn in an intense art environment but still get that genuine “college experience”. Thinking about what I really want in a school is definitely going to help narrow down the list…I’ll have to sit down and look into all these fantastic programs later today and see what I can come up with.</p>
<p>House of London-Thanks! I’m really starting to like the sound of Syracuse.</p>
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