Early to the party. --HS Freshman

College Majors Musical Theater Major
1

Hi. First post to the board. I’ve been a lurker for over a year now and I’m thinking there may be others with the same question I have.

My D is not yet a freshman in high school but is quite certain that she wants to major in musical theatre with a possible minor in vocal performance. Since many of you are several years ahead of us in this process, what would you recommend that we do now to benefit her once she is a junior or senior? I don’t want her to be looking so forward to college that she misses the fun of high school, but we will be relying heavily on scholarships to get her through, so I want to make sure we stay on the right track.

Thanks for your input

2

I did find this post helpful. And I figured out how to search just the MT board and not the entire site!
=D>
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1562701-advice-for-high-school-freshman.html

3

There will potentially be general academic scholarships and scholarships related to the major. Academic scholarships can depend on PSAT score in 11th grade, on valedictorian status, or on challenging curriculum with all As or close to it. Scholarships in the major will depend on achievements in musical theatre – including activities or recognition outside the school, and at a national level if possible. Knowing this, consider your child’s likely strengths and focus on that throughout high school to have the most scholarship opportunities. For example my daughter aimed to be National Merit Finalist because she has always been a good test taker scoring in 99th percentile, while her friend who does not do so well on standardized tests but is diligent always aimed for valedictorian status which she achieved. If neither of those sound like your daughter then have her take the most challenging curriculum she can handle with all As and workhard on musical theatre achievements. That will be fun for her also. Look for summer programs, national competitions, local and reguonal opportunities, etc. universities evaluate achievements by first asking is it international, national, state level, local or school. Achievements only at the school level will not get the best scholarship offers. Choose a high school with an award winning theatre program and/or other performing arts that your daughter can participate in.

4

Welcome, @mom2MTgal! Tell us about your D…is she a dancer? If not, get her in ballet NOW. If she’s already a dancer, keep it up…or increase the classes. And, if I had to do it all over again, I would have my D do two things differently: 1) become proficient in an instrument OTHER than drums, piano or uke (my D has been drumming since she was 4…gives her great rhythm, but she needs a portable instrument that is not the uke); and 2) take aerial classes. I know it’s a lot, but I see kids getting hired for summer stock b/c of their instrumentals. And, I think aerial skills is going to be more important in the future. Plus, it’s something new and different on the resume.

LOL, now that I think about what I’m typing, you must think I’m crazy. But this is said with honesty and 20/20 hindsight. That’s what I would do if mine were a freshman in high school! (My husband, however, would say that he would spend more time and energy trying to get her AWAY from MT).

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Arial sounds like a lot of fun, but if it is a matter of using time and finances wisely, I agree that dance training is more important. I also agree that strong academics are most likely to yield the most scholarship $$. I disagree to a point about the talent scholarships - while a great resume is nice, I think most of the talent scholarships are awarded based on what they see in the audition, not on the resume. I also agree that another instrument is helpful, but if your D doesn’t already play piano, I would suggest starting with that - it will be so helpful in her vocal work, as well as sight-reading, basic theory, etc.

6

Some rambling thoughts …

Merit scholarships. And this advice pertains to ANY major: keep that GPA up! I would also advise taking the SAT and the ACT as early in junior year as possible. Most kids do better on one or the other - the earlier you can figure out which one you test better on, the more chance of increasing your score between junior & senior year. (A lot of the automatic merit awards are like this: have X gpa + X act = x amount of dollars.)

In state vs out of state: I really don’t understand why a lot people haven’t really caught on to the fact that your in state university may not be your best financial option. Some of the very best automatic merit $$ awards we found were at small, private schools.

Some more specific to MT:

A lot of the school names that you hear tossed around on here may not be familar to you - but make no mistake: a bulk of them are akin to an academic Ivy. For example: the 2014 Harvard acceptance rate was 5.9%. The acceptance rate for the BFA MT program at Western Michigan University for 2015 was approximately 3%. Yikes!! Do yourself a favor and research the smaller, lesser known MT schools - there are lots! And in my research, every single one of those lesser known BFA MT programs have something very unique and desirable about them … every single one.

Caution your kid to not fall in love with a school prematurely. It’s tough and sometimes the heart wants what it wants. But from the beginning, my D knew that she could end up at a 2000 student school in the middle of nowhere or a 10,000 person school in an urban setting. Perhaps your kid will be lucky and have a choice, but you really won’t know for sure until you’re farther in the process.

Dance classes, dance classes, dance classes. And did I say dance classes? :wink:

I never thought I’d say this, but seriously consider hiring a coach. If I could go back to Ds junior year, I definitely would’ve sprung for private coaching. Some kids are very successful without one, that’s very true … but I really do think that the money spent would’ve been a great investment.

If you go back and read my posts, you’ll see my D had a very rough go of it … and I’m a researcher by nature! I thought I had this all figured out - but I made some serious judgement errors and thankfully, came to my senses before it was too late. (And with A LOT of help from some great parents on this board!)

This process is not an easy one, and no one who hasn’t had close up experience with it is going to understand. From friends to co-workers to guidance counselors and especially the high school attendance office (lol!) - no one can really grasp it. I really don’t know what I would’ve done w/o this forum on CC … there is a truckload of knowledge to be culled from past posts and posters - use it!

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A few things we did that were helpful:

. summer after freshman year, D attended an MT summer camp on a college campus. Small school. Lots of supervision. First time she was able to compare her skills and abilities to others from around the country. Seeing what it might be like to be immersed in MT 24/7. Learned a lot. Made great friends who are still friends today. And most of all had fun. It reinforced her desire to study MT in college. There are many such programs to choose from. D went to OCUs High School MT camp.

. summer after sophomore year, D attended a different college program, this time at a large university. (mPulse, University of Michigan) On the way there and on the way home, we drove and stopped at a number of college campuses. Not official visits. Just walked through the campus. Talked to people we encountered (students, faculty and administrators) and got a general feel for different types of campuses (small schools, large schools, urban campuses, suburban campuses, rural campuses). I would suggest any time you are near a college with an MT program you may want to consider that you do this sort of informal tour from now until all applications are in. It really helped her get an idea of what type of college campus and experience felt right to her which also really helped us fine tune our list of which colleges she wanted to apply to. (for example, D decided the urban setting was not what she wanted for college… so all schools in NYC and Chicago and even Point Park in Pittsburgh, came off her list when we were finalizing it).

. spring of junior year, D started working with a college audition coach. There are many good ones to choose from. This included selecting monologues and songs, fine tuning a list of schools to which to apply and working on all things to do with auditions. Summer after junior year she worked with college audition coach in person (most sessions had been by Skype) as well as attended master classes with some college program heads. (D worked with Mary Anna Dennard). I think there are also some wonderful programs like TPAP that exposes you to faculty from many different college MT programs. I wish it had been available when D was that age as I think it is an excellent program. D also had some friends do Baldwin-Wallace’s one week audition prep camp. There are many other workshops and camps that can help you prepare for auditions. Artsbridge is another I can think of. But that is what I would focus that summer on – getting ready for auditions. D also worked on preparing college essays and applications as soon as applications became available. She also notified guidance counselors and teachers she would be needing recommendations early in the school year so they were ready for her!

. senior year - do an early audition or two - perhaps at a school that you like but is not your favorite, just to get your feet under you and practice your audition material. That way, you can get the jitters out. See how the audition material is going over and make changes if necessary before you get into the heart of audition season. If all goes well, an early acceptance can take some of the stress out of the rest of the audition season too. And if it doesn’t go well, you can re-evaluate your material, performance, etc… so you can do better at the next audition.

D also participated in a lot of community service and leadership activities throughout high school. These resulted in a number of significant scholarships for her. Find something outside of MT that you are passionate about, work hard at it, look for outside scholarships and apply for them. It will expose you to a larger set of friends, interesting opportunities and open up more possibilities for college and beyond.

Also, if you can, get your ACT/SAT out of the way as early as possible so you aren’t stressing about it senior year or, if you wish to improve your score, you have plenty of time to study and re-take it.

Things I wish we had done/known during high school:

. take music theory in high school. Including AP music theory.
. not take such a demanding academic schedule her senior year. It was too stressful. Someone else may be able handle it just fine. But with all of the school that was missed, it was tough.
. taken more dance throughout high school. especially ballet and tap
.

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@vvnstar : I feel like saying, “Jinx! You owe me a Coke!!”

=))

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haha Oops - @KaMaMom! We must have been posting at the same time :slight_smile: Good thoughts for those new to the process though!

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Honestly, I highly suggest doing something outside of MT before your junior year, but still preparing and keeping up your training. The summer before junior year, I went on a leadership trip to a third-world country I knew I’d probably never get to visit again. It was a great experience, looked awesome on my transcript, and since I figured out a way to use theatre to fund raise, it was an interesting thing to bring up in interviews. You can do it without a coach, if you have amazing local coaching and do a ton of research. I managed without one, but I kind of wish I hadn’t!

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This may seem like a no brainer, but if possible, do not have your child be in a show during the spring of her senior year. After the acceptances (think positive!) come in, you well may need/want to visit the programs again and this can be tough if you are in rehearsals or shows. This was one of our biggest issues. I know…why did we not visit earlier? As you will learn, if you attend Unifieds (which is a wonderful way to audition for many programs in a weekend…but that is a different topic!), you well may have never stepped foot on the campus. My son did not visit most of the programs he was accepted to until after his acceptances.

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If D is possible National Merit material, I would suggest private PSAT tutoring summer before junior year. dance, ballet, ballet, jazz, tap, ballet. . . Go see all kinds of shows, whenever possible - MT, drama, dance, instrumental/vocal, at various HSs, as well as professional/amateur around town. You and D will get skilled in recognizing the good, the bad and the ugly in MT. Also be aware that if your D LOVES MT/voice/performing/rehearsal, her “work” will also be her “play”. Others may think you are crazy for “pushing” your D to do “too much”. If she’s like others on this board, she will thrive on all that “work” and seek it out herself. Keep her healthy, but realize the work begins now and will build throughout HS. If she is very academically inclined as well, the balance is difficult. I would be one of the ones who agrees with backing off the academics in senior year if it looks like it will be too much. Know your child and when she may be doing too much, but also be aware that her “too much” may look different from a non-MT/ music kid’s. Also, as the parent of such a child, be ready for the demands in time and energy it will place on you and others in your family. People on the “outside” will call you"nuts!". It’s exhausting for all involved, but watching/helping/supporting your child blossom as an artist is beyond compare - and even if she decides to change her mind about pursuing MT, if you’re lucky, you get to see a lot of really good shows.

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Wow, thank you all for the great advice! I love hearing lots of different perspectives all with the same goal in mind.

Since @monkey13‌ asked, here is a little background info on my D. I’d say she is a singer who loves to act and can fake her way through some dance. Based on your posts, I have contacted a ballet teacher to see if I could get her started with some lessons. She has a little dance training, but not enough. Dance will also be one of her electives next year in school.

She has been in theatre for 3-4 years now and can’t get enough of it. Musicals are her favorite and where she shines. I’m hopeful that she can keep her grades up as she transitions to high school classes and the more rigorous theatre schedule.

We are mainly looking at schools within a 6 hour drive of Dallas. That limits the number of schools substantially. She will visit OCU (top choice), OU, Southwestern, TCU…and I’m not sure which others. Any suggestions? I feel certain that she will audition for some schools outside of this range, but closer is preferable (for her and for us).

I have loved reading your stories and am so glad I finally took the plunge and joined. :slight_smile:

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Texas at San Marcos is a red hot mt program right now. Should be in your 6 hour radius, but not sure- Texas is big!

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You may feel differently about her going further away in a few years - she’s still very young. Texas State should be on your list, and Tulane. Good for you for starting early. We started visiting colleges when my daughter was a freshman, too. And agree with all who say get her into dance classes. And voice lessons. And read, read, read.

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Here are some schools within a 6 hour drive of Big D:

  • Baylor has a little-known BFA MT concentration within a fine theatre program. They spend lots on their productions and draw large crowds. Competitive for admission, they only accept about 30-35 into the department between all BFA and BA students (the BA is audition-based). Heavy gen ed requirements.
  • Texas State is one of the top programs in the country. Extremely competitive.
  • UT has a new BA w/MT concentration program, and they have all the money in the world. Very competitive as they apparently offer only 6 slots per year.
  • SMU has a new MT minor with a BM VP or BFA Acting major. Both their VP and BFA Acting programs are competitive for admission. The Meadows School of the Arts is excellent for dance, voice, and acting.
  • St. Edwards has an MT minor within their program, and you can do professional work and earn lots of Equity points at the Mary Northern Moody Theatre in Austin while in school.

Also within a 6 hour drive:

  • Missouri State
  • Wichita State
  • U Memphis
  • Tulane
  • Abilene Christian
  • Central Oklahoma
  • UT Arlington
17

Sam Houston State U. - I can’t remember the girl’s name, but Kelly O’Hara’s replacement in Light in the Piazza was a SHSU grad, and did a lovely job!

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^^^ Katie Rose Clarke - how could I forget Sam Houston!

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That’s the one! Thanks, @EmsDad !
And, Dallas is actually closer than I thought to SHSU, so well within your geographical preferences.

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Saw Katie Clarke on Broadway. She was a natural in the role