High School Parents/Students - Class of 2008

<p>Glad you joined in Momma4drama! And so it begins for the next group....</p>

<p>EJDsmom and mama4drama-welcome!! we, too,are starting the college visitation over spring break--maybe after break we can share our notes on our visits, along with other parents that went visiting. We are looking at CCM, Otterbein, B-W, and Point Park in a couple of weeks. We, also,have applied to a few summer programs and are waiting to hear as well--It is going to be an exciting time for all of us!!</p>

<p>Hey all!
I'm new to the forums but not to MT and I had a few questions about specific schools. For those MALES who were accepted to CCM / CMU / UMich or are currently attending: How was the dance audition? Would you consider yourselves strong dancers or are you more of a singer or actor? I just want to get an idea of the dance, as I am not the best in that category .</p>

<p>This one specifically for CCM: I have heard a lot about CCM looking for the tall, bulky males and the occasional character type. I am only 5'8 150, and I have traditionally played the ingenue roles.. despite my size. Based on your own size and those you know to be in the program or to be accepted, do you think that this is true?</p>

<p>Lastly, and this is a more broad question to those who were accepted from all the schools listed(I'm sorry if there is a post about this... I looked but couldn't find one), what performance experience (shows, roles, etc) and training have you all had? I'm just trying to get an idea of what it takes to get into these programs. If you think this question is better answered by a previous post you know of, thats great too.</p>

<p>Thank you all for your help!
Tommy</p>

<p>Hi everyone. I am also a mom of a junior. My D has the passion to get her degree in MT also so this board is going to help alot. I have read a lot of posts that talk about OCU, which college is this? Also where can I find out about the pre-college summer programs?</p>

<p>OCU is Oklahoma City University.
There is a thread above this on this page which has information about various summer programs.</p>

<p>Everyone sounds so educated on this site. I am way behind. Does anyone have any ideas on good MT schools that are not so competitive academically. My D's GPA in Acting/Music have been straight A's, but the rest of her GPA is not great probably going to end up around 2.8. Her practice SAT's have been strong in English above/around 600, but her Math score was 330. I'm in a panic for her to actually take the test. She wants to be in or around New York City. We live in the Boston area. Schools like Syracuse, UMich are out of her reach. I like the BA option for English. Any recommendations? Also CoachC comments about springy clothes. I can't get my daughter out of anything black/white checker tights, leopard print shirts and Vanns/Chuck hi tops. Someone came up to us in the airport and said she her clothing was "a work of art". Can you comment on how this type of clothing might detract from any auditions, so I can pass on to her? Also she deviates between platinum blond and dark brown hair, what do you suggest for audition hair? She has a super strong blue-sy voice and received a standing ovation as a sophomore as Mama Noah in Children of Eden, but can't read and has no interest in learning to read a note of music. She has refused to consider any other major but MT. Help!</p>

<p>University of the Arts in Philadelphia is worth looking at. Very strong MT program. While it has a required liberal arts curriculum that has been revised to give it added strength, it is an arts college i.e. an arts school with an integrated liberal arts component as opposed to a liberal arts school that offers a MT component. In addition, the students there are generally the talented,quirky creative type and it sounds like your daughter would fit right in. Only an hour to an hour and a half to NYC - but Philadelphia has a tremendous amount to offer too.</p>

<p>In general the conservatories are not as concerned with academics, but focus on the audition. I have no knowledge of the appearance issue with regards to auditioning, but in general I would presume that your D would choose schools with a heavy audition component (instead of academics). For that reason, her audition package should be as strong as possible. That would include her material and her presentation/appearance.</p>

<p>With regards to your comment about her not being interested in reading music, that jumped out at me. I have a S who is majoring in Music. He's a drummer and never learned to read music because the percussion "music" is beats of time, not notes. He's really struggled with the required Music Theory courses. The MT programs all require Music Theory classes. If she doesn't want to study music, then she's going to have a tough time. If possible, she should try learning now. Some high schools have A.P. Music Theory classes too.</p>

<p>Thanks for the advice. That's a good suggestion about the music theory. She is in A Cappela and has had a couple of solo parts, but I think she learns the parts more by listening than site reading. I should have had her play an instrument as a child and I think that would have helped her. Any schools in the New York area that you would recommend that are heavier on audition. I was looking at Marymount Manhattan because the grade point average seemed attainable and the tuition wasn't outlandish and it was NYC. Does anyone know if this school is good? How competitive? Safe area? Thanks!!! This is very helpful.</p>

<p>PS. Good luck to your S on the music theory. My mother majored in music and she took classical piano all during high school and hated the music theory classes. She said they were extremely difficult. That's why I didn't even let my D consider a music major. If my D can't make the classes, maybe she will have to switch her major solely to drama. I just want her to get a degree, in case, her dreams about the theatre don't materialize and I want her to enjoy herself.</p>

<p>Is that UART that I have seen in some of the posts? I'll mention to her - my daughter is definitely quirky. Thanks!</p>

<p>I'm back, previously posted at MrActor (my S screen name - I forgot to log him off).</p>

<p>As you cruise through this MT forum, you'll surely learn that the MT admissions is so incredibly competetive. For that reason, realistically your D should be looking at programs with a broader geographical range. Many kids apply to 9-12 schools to net just one acceptance. Take a look at the schools listed above the MT forum to get a sense of some of the geographical options in the Northeast. Then start plucking out the conservatory types (there have been lists made of academic stratefication in the past to help people figure out the level of academics).</p>

<p>Continued - </p>

<p>Take a look at the Colleges for Musical Theatre thread, and go back as far as you can stand. Read, read, read and you'l definitely get a flavor for the various programs and what might suit your D. In my own reading quest, I set up a Word folder for the college search. When I found an interesting post on CC, I'd cut and paste into a Word document and then file it into the folder. I have files on audition info., specific schools, unified auditions, etc. It was next to impossible to go back and find a wonderful post on a topic once I'd read beyond it. </p>

<p>So looking at my notes:</p>

<p>SoozieVt has previously posted that BA in MT (via audition) is available at James Madison, Wagner, Fordham, and American. BA without audition at U. of New Hampshire and McDaniel.</p>

<p>Mary Anna (a coach that no longer posts) has previously posted a list of BFAs per academic emphasis. Her list of those with LESS emphasis included: Webster, UArts, Elon, Cal Arts, OCU, Florida State, SUNY Purchase, Otterbein, Oklahoma U, BoCo. I listed all the schools she mentioned without geographic censoring. I would personally add Point Park as their academic profile is fairly low. But Point Park is an audition BA that one can further audition for BFA as a sophomore.</p>

<p>About Point Park - the BA/BFA distinction is very minor there, so being admitted to the BA is the equivalent of BFA admission elsewhere.</p>

<p>I just thought this link might be helpful to the 2008 graduates. It gives a good timeline for preparing for college admissions.
<a href="http://www.chicagoacademyforthearts.org/academics/college_counseling/senior_cal.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.chicagoacademyforthearts.org/academics/college_counseling/senior_cal.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Hello, I have been reading the site for a while, but haven't posted much. I have a junior daughter, so. california, she's been living musical theater since she was 5. I think she's so lucky to have so much passion about something she's also good at. How many of us are that lucky?</p>

<p>Anyway, we've got a good list of schools, and we're going to visit 3 of them over spring break. U of Michigan, Cincinnait, Carnegie Mellon.</p>

<p>Does anyone have any good advice on what to look for, what questions to make sure we ask while we're there? We have classes set up to observe at each place,and appts. with admissions people. We have friends who are students on 2 of the campuses and they will help to show us around, too.</p>

<p>I would like to suggest to all of the upcoming MT parents and students to read from the rejection thread, post 663 and up. These parents and students have been giving some wonderful tips, hindsight that I wish we had last year!! It is wonderful advise for all of us!<br>
Best of luck to you upcoming MT students!!</p>

<p>My daughter is taking a year off from school and will apply for MT programs this fall (2007). In terms of teacer, counselor recommendations what would be the requirement there since she would have been out of school for a while?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>This process can be overwhelming. First, start to develop organizational tools. There have been many posts on this. Some use computer tools, and others use paper. I created a notebook with tabs to start (Junior Year), then moved to a portable file (plastic) entering the senior year. I started with a computer template for each school to record information about each program, academics, SAT/ACT range, cost, scholarships, audition info., etc.</p>

<p>When visiting, choose a variety of programs so that your student can see differences and can hopefully picture themselves in a variety of environments. Learn from previous posters and continue to focus on a balanced list of schools (BFA, BA, audition and non-audition).</p>

<p>Wonderful (lengthy) posts have been made in the past by Dr. John on "Strategy for Choosing Schools" (on the MT forum) and by Thesbohemian on "Evaluating BA Programs" (on the Theatre/Drama thread in the Arts Majors forum). I have those in printed form, but don't have the exact posts to direct you to. Perhaps a search will turn those up. If not, I can send via attachment if you PM your e-mail address.</p>

<p>We've been looking at schools, and my D is beginning to decide where she will audition next year. It is overwhelming to tyhink that if she auditions at 7 schools, she may be one of 50 girls admitted, in total. Odds are plain scarey, but fortunately for her, she doesn't doubt herself at all. Already working on her monologue, and on her songs. We have tried to see some performances on campus, succeeding at 3 schools, which did give us a strong impression of these schools. She has also sat in on classes at another school, which was a good way to check out the program. And, she is beginning to form a mental "schedule" of where she wants to audition first-middle-last, and has some ideas of why as well. To all of you who have gone ahead of us, thanks for sharing! Now, I feel like the hardest part will be deciding on "safety" schools....the non audition programs. Any advice there?</p>