<p>Hello,
I am a rising senior and I am sooooo passionate about musical theater and really want to study it in college. I really want to have high chances of being accepted into a musical theater program. My for-sure-auditioning list is: NYU (Tisch), Emerson College, UCLA, and University of Michigan.</p>
<p>I AM SO NERVOUS for these auditions though because I don't know if I'm good enough!!! How many programs should I apply to? And based on my top 4 what other schools should i consider? (I'm mulling over Ithaca and Syracause but these two seem almost impossible to get into)..... ADVICE is greatly appreciated!!!</p>
<p>I am not familiar in depth with UCLA but the other 3 schools you list all have a significant academic component to their admissions decisions both in terms of the level of the academic standards and the weight given to academics in the admissions process. The first thing I would do is look at the academic profile for admitted students and make sure you are a very strong match. You may want to add some schools that have excellent MT programs but set a lower academic bar for admissions or do not weight academics as much.</p>
<p>I don’t think my grades will be an issue at any of the schools listed. I’m worried more about the audition component.</p>
<p>Theatergirl123, it’s great that you are planning ahead. But one thing you should know is that it is that the BFA programs at the schools you listed as being on your list are just as selective/hard to get into as are the BFA programs at Syracuse and Ithaca. </p>
<p>One thing that your list absolutely needs (and not just you: every single kid auditioning should have this) is at least one non-audition safety school that you would be happy to attend. Again, this should be a school that is a good match for you academically and which has a good theater program that is non audition.</p>
<p>I know that Northwestern has a good program, but you have to audition at the end of your sophomore year and you receive a certificate, not a BFA. What other colleges have good programs that do not require audition?</p>
<p>theatergirl, one of my best friends was valedictorian, national merit scholar, 35 on the ACT, 4.0 GPA with plenty of leadership experience and community service hours and was not admitted to Northwestern… I would NOT use it as my safety :). </p>
<p>You might look at local schools in your area that have non-audition MT programs… for example, living in Oklahoma, I used Tulsa University as my safety school! Here’s a link to the Big List of schools, and it is indicated which ones are non-audition… hope this helps!
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<p>Muhlenberg is a non-audition BA program that has very strong theatre and dance departments. There is a lot of info on it under the Muhlenberg sub-forum listed at the top of the main MT page. Keep in mind that no audition based program can be considered a safety. Acceptance rates range from about 3-9%. Most of the non-audition programs are BA but there are some non-audition BFA programs. There is a “pegged” thread titled “Class of 2009 and 2010 - Preparing to Apply” at the top of the MT main page that has a ton of info from numerous posters about the school selection and admissions process which you may want to read if you haven’t.</p>
<p>theatergirl – you should definitely consider adding Ithaca and Syracuse to your list. Both are great schools – my D attends Syracuse, and two of my voice students were accepted to Ithaca this year. They are selective, but not an impossible goal!</p>