DM me anytime!! I also have a rising sophomore daughter!! I will be SO much more prepared for her!! 
Wow - I just created an account here and this is ALOT of information! Congratulations to all of you whose children have gotten accepted into programs! My daughter is a rising senior and wants to attend an stand out musical theatre program. She is participating in Arts Bridge this summer.
Any other advice specifically for me as a parent starting this process?
We already have a great audition coach - what else do we need or should we be thinking about?
I know that is fairly broad - just looking for any and all advice.
Many thanks!
Wow – what a journey you’ve all been! Congratulations on her acceptance and commitment to UNCSA. Can I ask, are they in person in the fall?
100%!!! My S will be there too and he can’t wait!
Really - how amazing!
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Hey! Coming on after a long hiatus. Has your DD moved in yet? So…my DD decided to take a gap year and she is looking at Miami, both theater and VP. Love to hear how your daughter is doing and any tips for acing the audition in VP!!!
Thanks a lot!
After orientation week, I can categorically confirm that my daughter is having the time of her life at Miami. No surprise there! 
I’ll PM you more details about her experience so far, but it is all extremely positive, VP faculty beyond my wildest dreams kind and supportive, theatre department crossover possibilities seem real so far.
such awesome news!!! did she apply early decision or early action? thanks!!
This is a great story. I have to laugh a little though, your daughter and I sound like very similar people! I’m going into my senior year and starting the MT process. My top choice is ithaca for a BFA and wagner for a BA. I also happen to be more of a classical singer too! Best of luck to your daughter, and maybe I’ll see her next year!
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My twin boys are MT freshman at Ithaca. I will say, they are still adjusting…to EVERYTHING!! I was very impressed with the way the faculty handled the auditions. They were so kind, and emphasized musicianship a bit more than most. Threw out a sight singing passage- which was very encouraging for those trained singers. Best of luck to you over the next few months!!
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What were the strengths and weaknesses at Otterbein.My granddaughter is black,but they took no black students for musical theatre .She will need a talent scholarship as 3 or 4 siblings will be in college.She has performed in 2 professional theatres and 3 community and civic theatres. Also looking at Ball State,Indiana University,Uncsa,
I know Otterbein accepted diverse students but they might not have ended up enrolling. It’s a very small program - they shoot for 8 MT and 8 Acting - with a great reputation. The college is small and quaint, in very pretty suburb of Columbus. My son loved Otterbein but ended up choosing a different program.
This is long overdue but since this site was helpful to us last year I thought I would share a short version of our story. My son came to MT and acting late (8th grade) but fell in love quickly and showed real promise. He is also a strong athlete (had considered college athletics) and has top grades. He is a practical guy, and all of this world was so new to our family, that he/we decided to apply to two sets of schools - one set for BFA and one for his other academic interests - so he would have more options. I honestly have no clue how we would have gotten through the MT portion without all the information shared here, thank you so much!
Background: private voice since 9th grade, a few dance classes, no formal acting training, high school musical roles/leads, SSTI essentials summer program, and a few local summer theatre camps. SSTI faculty contacts were so valuable during the college audition process, cannot recommend that program highly enough, amazing impact on my son’s life. My son had strong pre-screen acting and song materials going into the fall after a ton of review and feedback. He is a dance novice so we focused on his athleticism and rhythm to demonstrate his potential, but that was definitely a weak area. His supplemental wild-card prescreen item showcased his personality/other interests and was a way to get to know him a bit better since all was online. He did well on prescreens.
Applied to 14 (all BFA unless noted): Indiana U, Penn State, Ithaca, U of Miami, U of Arizona, U Oklahoma, CCM, Point Park, Elon, U Michigan, Shenandoah, Boston U, American (BA), Case Western (BA).
Prescreens passed, moved to audition phase(10): Penn State, Indiana U, Ithaca, U Miami, U Arizona, Point Park, U Michigan, Boston U, American and Case.
Post-audition Artistic Acceptance (5): Indiana U, U of Miami, American, Case, Boston U
Waitlisted (1): U Arizona (they released as a no in May)
Thoughts on Auditions: short, online, hard to interpret how things went (ones that felt good were no’s), inconsistent across the board as far as requirements so there were no real efficiencies in prep. Suggest spacing out since prep was significant (from dance videotaping to Q&A prep, it was a lot to balance with school and other activities, and we jammed all into a short period).
Program evaluation/final selection criteria: academic reputation of school (outside of MT since he wanted a minor), location (he preferred urban campus and/or large overall student body), ability to minor/program flexibility, his perceived fit with faculty that he met during the process, schools that had acting as top priority (vs voice or dance). We visited the campuses of all his final selections (student interaction at those visits was valuable since tours were not being held at most).
Thoughts: During this loooooonggg process my son realized he loved acting most of all. Had we known that from the start we might have applied to more BFA Acting programs or focused on MT programs that emphasize acting (vs triple threat programs). We contemplated a gap year and re-applying to Acting programs, but COVID had disrupted so much of life that he didn’t want to wait. And once he finished touring BU, we had our answer.
Final Decision: Boston University School of Theatre BFA Acting, MT concentration
He is having a fantastic year, loves the program/faculty, the city, the students, and has absolutely no regrets! He is thriving, and it is a great fit.
Good luck to the class of '26!
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DS is a freshman in college now so I’m sharing his results in the hope that it helps someone currently going through this grueling process.
20 Programs Applied to:
BOCO, BOSTON U/Acting, CMU/Acting/MT, ITHACA/Acting/MT, INDIANA/BA, JUILLIARD,
MICH STATE/Acting, MONTCLAIR/Acting/MT, NORTHWESTERN/BA, NYU/Acting/MT, PACE/MT,
PENN STATE/Acting/MT, SUNY FREDONIA/MT, SUNY PURCHASE/Acting, UAB/MT, UAZ/MT, UGA/BA, UMICH/MT, USC/MT/BA, WESTERN MICH/Acting/MT
Prescreens:
Many rejections - 7!! - before the first pass, which didn’t come until late January, so our anxiety was VERY high. There is stress throughout every stage of this journey, but the agony of apps, essays, and prescreens in the fall/winter is the hardest in my opinion.
PRESCREENS NOT PASSED:
BOCO, PACE/MT, CMU, UAZ/MT, UMICH/MT, MONTCLAIR/MT, USC/MT (note: for USC they must choose either MT or Acting, not both, and he chose MT before he later realized he preferred Acting)
PRESCREENS PASSED:
BOSTON U/Acting, ITHACA/MT, MONTCLAIR/Acting, PENN STATE/Acting,
SUNY FREDONIA/MT, UAB/MT
Accepted to:
Indiana BA (no audition/did not apply to BFA)
Michigan State BFA Acting
Montclair BFA Acting
NYU BFA Acting
SUNY Fredonia BFA MT
UAB BFA MT
UGA BA (no BFA/no audition)
USC BA
Western Michigan BFA Acting
Withdrew: None
Wait-listed at: Ithaca MT
Coach: College Audition Coach
Summer Programs:
TPAP summer before Jr year, pre-covid, in-person
SSTI summer before Sr year, during covid, zoom
Background:
DS started theatre later than most, in 10th grade. He performed in only 2 plays and 2 musicals during 10th and 11th grades (plus a little zoom play in 12th grade). He attended a regular city public high school with no training. We sent him to the TPAP summer intensive for 3 weeks before 11th grade to get a taste of real training and to see if he liked it. He did. Started ballet lessons over zoom in March of 11th grade. Took some voice lessons with 2 teachers and found the right one in Aug of 12th grade. Never had acting lessons. We decided we needed help to find monologues and to survive zoom auditions so we signed up with a coach in April of 11th grade.
Last Thoughts:
Over the course of senior year, DS came to realize that he wanted to study acting the most, singing second, and not dancing. So the MT programs became less important to him. He also realized that he preferred an academic school with opportunities and flexibility to take other courses. We did not visit any schools until after acceptances, so we traveled a lot in April before the May 1 decision deadline. Waiting to visit allowed him to keep an open mind and not fall in love with a dream school. The visits, although mostly outdoors, confirmed his desire to attend a big school in a big city.
Final Decision:
USC BA with Acting Emphasis and undecided minor, possibly cinematic arts or comedy or game design or…
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Congratulations!! What a terrific school, and program!!
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Congrats!! Thank you for sharing- hope he’s having a fantastic year!!
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