Hello,
We are new to the forum and there is a lot of information to look through, so I thought I would just ask.
My daughter is an aspiring musical theater major, and a current junior. She has been participating in school musicals for two years and has had some lead roles. She has been taking vocal lessons for three years and has very little dance experience, but is hoping to start taking dance soon. SAT score is 2260, PSAT is 1440 (new), GPA is 3.5. She would like to go to a small to medium sized school with opportunities for off-campus experience. She would prefer a school on the east coast or midwest, but any school will do as long as it has a very good musical theater program. She would like a four-year college with a BFA option. She is also open to international schools. What colleges would be good for her to apply to? Information on whether the school is reach or safety and audition or non-audition would be particularly helpful. Thank you so much!
My advice is to hire an audition coach who can help you formulate a list. So many programs are in schools you may never have heard of. Three coaches that come to mind are Dave Clemmons, Mary Anna Dennard, and MTCA. Many on this board can speak to their experiences with these three. Others may chime in about their experiences with other coaching services.
@nnirodi my D is a junior too and we are looking at mainly east coast & southern schools but some in Ohio as well . Your daughter has a high test score so I’m sure that will get her merit aid. If you don’t end up getting a coach, which is a great idea by the way, I would suggest doing the nitty gritty research now. It’s a lot of work but I’ve been doing it since sophomore year and passing on info to my D . She then looks over stuff and puts it on a list or nixes it for various reasons… Too large school, too far away etc. she also looks up schools when she has free time on breaks etc. it’s really about reading every possible thing about MT. This forum is a huge amount of info and the list of schools at the top is a great way to start. There are a lot of schools with musical theatre or MT tracks / concentrations. Much more then when you google “top mt colleges” online. BA … BFA … Some BA programs operate like BFA in a lot of ways. Some BA programs have awesome mt tracks and should not be discounted.
We are going to be getting with someone this summer to go over the school list we have now and see what that person thinks about fit as he works at a university that is near us that has an mt program and he offers consulting etc. but really I felt we needed to get the basic list first , taking into consideration finances etc before meeting with someone. You’re the one paying for it so you have to base your list on that too. Look into whether the school is generous with aid etc. tons of info on that is on CC.
Anyway feel free to msg me as I know our time is coming soon!
@nnirodi one starting point may be to look at the final decision threads from previous years. It takes some time but you can see students with similar qualities, where they applied, where they were accepted and where they ultimately choose to go. The unknown factor is what happens in the audition room as even the most talented applicants can have bad moments and an applicant who has never been previously successful can be perceived to be a great fit for the school.
@nnirodi - I know there is a TON of information on this site- and it may seem overwhelming, but there is also no way around doing your HW 
I recommend starting with the following threads
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/801037-big-list-of-mt-colleges-by-state-p1.html
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1335445-big-list-of-mt-colleges-by-program-type-p1.html
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/477658-preparing-to-apply-information-for-h-s-juniors-and-seniors-p1.html
That can help you get a sense of what schools are out there- and how people start the process. Once you have done that- just start participating in conversations. You will find that the people here are PASSIONATE about helping our kids pursue their dreams, and supporting each other along the way.
Welcome!!
@nnirodi … most every school that is audition can be considered a reach. There are lots of schools that are bantered about here, which you may not have ever heard of, that will have MT acceptance rates lower than any of the Ivy League/Top 20 schools. In fact, most schools have acceptance rates lower than 20% (and typically near 10%) when it comes to MT programs. (I number crunched a lot of them last year … I need to find where I posted the numbers.)
Her GPA/SAT won’t help when it comes to admittance at most schools (save for the likes of Northwestern & U of Mich) but those kinds of numbers that your kiddo has will real in the big bucks at many privates. So yay!
Best tips for you …
Dance classes asap - especially ballet. In fact, start right now.
Get a coach. Biggest mistake I made - I thought I could figure all this out on my own since all of the information is out there on the interwebs. Technically, it’s true … but there is a huge learning curve. Also, most high school guidance counselors and local voice/acting coaches will not have a clue on 1., how competitive the admission process is and 2., how to help you. There are several national coaches that are spoken about on here - contact one of those.
She wants to go anywhere that has a “very good musical theatre program”. Ideally, that’s what everyone wants. BUT … kids should really want to go to the very best musical theatre program FOR THEM. Kids transfer out of the elite MT programs all the time … sometimes it’s because it’s just not the right fit.
Use these boards! There are many MANY parents who will go out of their way to help and support you if you ask! Set aside some time to just sit and go through a lot of threads from the past couple of years - you can learn so much about the MT world that way.
Love Dave Clemmons! A really genuine guy with so much knowledge! Also, my daughter knew what she wanted in a curriculum. I started during her junior year collecting/printing MT curriculums from the college sites. I would hide the school name, so that would not be an influence. She would look them over and made her list. She reached out on Facebook to current students and asked for their honest feedback. She was looking for a certain style program, and did not audition for several that she felt did not fit for her. (still auditioned for a bunch though! ) My advice on how many: cast a wide net, see what comes back when you pull it to shore, and hope that you have the option to decide…
Chelsea Diehl (My College Audition) is another coach who we found helpful. She’s out of Boston, but she’ll Skype anywhere. (We’ve actually never met her in person. My D didn’t start working with her until late summer going into her senior year, and it was on a limited basis, but Chelsea was always available for questions or “counseling.” So kind, knowledgeable, grounded, and reasonable…)
Read through this thread about how we compiled a list and how D figured out her final list:
It’s a long process, but it’s rewarding. I even found it fun (but I love researching)!
THank you all. I am so grateful for all the people that have taken the time to respond. with all your suggestions and guidance I believe we have a good place to start researching. I hope some day to be able to hel other parents like me through this great forum. Thanks again,
A good starting point is to get Mary Anna Dennard’s book I Got In! It’s a quick read and a good overview of the process.
An additional suggestion I would offer is don’t automatically start by deciding if you want a BFA or a BA, as surprisingly often the realities “on the ground” in programs do not divide on those lines. Our D’s list, and many of her friends’, had a combination of BAs and BFAs among their top 5 schools.
Don’t rule out BM degrees as well. There are some great programs such as Baldwin-Wallace, OCU and NYU Steinhardt that are BM degrees. Look at their curriculums. You might find you like what they have to offer!