<p>These schools came on our radar recently. I have searched The forum but haven’t found much. I viewed their web sites and got a handle on their curriculum. Has anyone visted, auditioned for or attended these schools. Any insights would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Vicki</p>
<p>My friend is going to IW for a double major in Theater and English...but idk what all that entails. I can find out if youd like.</p>
<p>Chris</p>
<p>I have heard many good things about IWU from my friend who is an acting major there. She says its a great program with alot of talent but that the location leaves alot to be desired.</p>
<p>I know someone who recently visited and liked Wichita State. It is currently a non-audition program (but be sure to check in future years). You can audition for scholarships.</p>
<p>The people I know who visited are recommending Wichita State as a school that should be considered.</p>
<p>My s was considering Wichita State and he was set up with an audition, so I was under the understanding that you had to audition. He got accepted at his first choice, so he didn't end up going. ?</p>
<p>IWU was my daughter's first choice school. She had visited there as a junior, saw Rocky Horror Picture Show and fell in love! The campus is very pretty and the academics are top-notch. The Bloomington-Normal area is not very attractive but does have a lot to offer in terms of things to do. </p>
<p>What really sold her though was the musical theater professor, Tom. Really an engaging, enthusiastic guy. She was sicker than a dog on her audition and was not accepted but one of her her good guy friends was accepted and is very excited to be going there. She is very happy now to be going to OCU. </p>
<p>Carole</p>
<p>PS: Just to let you know IWU is very selective for girls. I believe they only accept eight total students per year - 4 girls and 4 boys - and the number of girls auditioning outweigh the boys at least tenfold.</p>
<p>Wichita State is audition for scholarship...from their website:</p>
<p>Audition Requirements for Music Theatre Majors (BFA in Music Theatre)</p>
<p>Music theatre scholarship auditions will be on Saturday, October 22, November 12, 2005, and Saturday, March 4, 2006, from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. in the Heskett Center Dance Studio. Students auditioning at these times will be under consideration for Fall 2006 scholarships. Please contact Elnora Watson for an appointment, 316-978-3368.</p>
<p>Auditions will begin with a general meeting. All students will then learn and perform a short dance combination. The dance audition will last approximately 30 minutes. Students will then have time to change, if they wish, and will present their songs and monologues individually by appointment. Two contrasting musical theatre songs (uptempo/belt and ballad) and one 2-minute contemporary monologue are required. Material must be memorized. Please bring your own sheet music in the correct key and a picture and resume if available. No recorded accompaniment will be permitted, an accompanist will be provided.</p>
<p>My D and I visited Wichita State and she auditioned for scholarship on March 4. This year auditions were only for scholarship but we were told that that will likely change for coming years as more and more students are coming to the program and they will need to scale back on the number of students accepted. We really liked the campus and my D said all of the faculty she dealt with were very nice....she really liked the dance instructor that taught the dance portion of the audition. We have not seen one of their shows but their facilities are nice. The price is very reasonable, too. I would recommend Wichita as a 'safety' school.</p>
<p>We appreciate all of your information. Didn't realize IWU was so selective. Is the Bloomington area economically depressed or unsafe? </p>
<p>Chrisnoo, I'd like to hear what your friend thinks of her experiences so far.</p>
<p>We checked with Wichita to clarify whether the audition was for scholarship or entrance because the web site didn't seem all that clear to us. It was confirmed that it was for scholarships. Didn't realize that it might change soon. We had considered it as a possible safety. </p>
<p>The curriculum of both schools looks pretty good and balanced on paper, but it is good to get perceptions from those who have had interaction with the program or college to get a feel for how the program REALLY plays out.</p>
<p>Thanks again for your help</p>
<p>Vic</p>
<p>I would not say that the Bloomington-Normal area is depressed. Geographically, it's pretty boring and just not aesthetically pleasing. It is the headquarters for a large number of companies, however, including State Farm Insurance and in addition to IWU, it is the home of Illinois State University so it offers college students a lot of options for things to do.</p>
<p>Hi Vicki,
I know three kids, 2 boys (including my S) and a girl, who auditioned for IWU MT this year and all were accepted. Only one of them going to IWU next year - my S's best friend. My son decided on Otterbein MT/dance and the girl is going to Emerson for MT. I also know another boy, one of my husband's former students, who is a junior there this year.
My husband is their vocal coach/teacher so I know these kids very well. It just so happened that all 3 auditioned on the same day - this was not the planned but was a happy coincidence. Here are my impressions of the school.
1. Academically, IWU is very selective. You need a strong G.P.A. and good SAT scores. Most of the kids who go there are high academic achievers.
2. The MT program is very small - I'm not positive about the numbers, however, 4 boys and 4 girls seems reasonable.
3. The school is small - approximately 2,000 undergraduates. It is in Bloomington, in a suburban setting. Although it is not in a big city it is certainly not in the "boonies". The areas outside the school are growing really fast. There are new houses going up, new retail areas and new restaurants. We had one of the best Italian meals I've ever had less than 2 miles from campus.
4. The school is GORGEOUS!!!! Next athletic and fitness facilities that are the best I've seen at any school. A huge new library, a fabulous dining hall (with really good food:-}) plus a "sit-down", ala carte restaurant, and other food places, a coffee and juice bar etc. The dorms are some of the nicest I've seen. For upper classmen there is even a 2-story suite linked by a spiral staircase. Each floor has it's own living room and bath.
5. Tom, the MT head is a very enthusiastic. Unfortunately he will not be a IWU next year. He will be at Florida State. He is a great loss to the program as he had lots of connections that helped get his kids summer work. Lucky FSU! He told us during orientation that ALL the MT kids work in the summer - some at theme parks, most in summer stock, some of which is Equity work. The junior guy I mentioned earlier has three offers to choose from for this summer. Also, Tom told us that all of last years' graduating MT class had contracts before they left school. Most of the work wasn't Equity but work is work! Tom's replacement has not been announced.
6. The kids we talked to were very knowledge, pleasant and enthusiastic about the program. Although it is not a big deal, one of the dance teachers is certified in 7 forms of stage combat. Interested students can work towards their certification.
7. They have 2 nice dance studios and last year hired 2 Russian ballet mistresses. My S's friend, who will be attending IWU in the Fall, is a phenomenal dancer and he felt that he would be challenged in the advanced dance classes there.
8. The Admissions officer, Chris K., who helped co-ordinate our visit, was incredible even waiting in his car after work to give us a map and directions to the Italian restaurant I mentioned earlier.
9. IWU offers both academic and talent scholarships however, you can only hold one. The top academic award is $11,000. I'm not sure how much the talent awards amounts are worth. The academic awards are based on GPA and test scores.
Hope this helps,
MTaussie</p>
<p>My D and I visited IWU in February of this year. I will say it is a very nice campus, decent theatre facility etc. They operate a little differently than most universities in that they have two long semesters, and one short semester that is essentially the month of May. In that month students are encouraged to take a condensed class, do internships, or study abroad. All good options.
Another good thing was the way the audition process was run. Essentially first, there were people from admissions there, who explained that they did not make an admission decision until you were accepted or rejected from the theatre department. They also spoke a little about their particular financial aid process. Next the department head spoke about what they were looking for, class size etc. (Sorry I wish I could remember the specifics, but that was on a four school audition tour swing). Finally they broke up the kids into Acting or MT candidates and auditioned. They did a full dance audition, but my D felt it was low stress. D also said current MT students were dancing along with them. Once the kids auditioned they did the school tour. It is a small campus, and the facilities were nice. Everyone got a chance experience cafeteria food and the day was done. They did make every effort to answer questions. We unfortunately did not get the opportunity to see a show while we were there. That always answers so many questions.
My D was disappointed in the city surrounding it, but we were only there for one day and I am sure missed many of the local fun spots. The campus was walking distance to Illinois State School, so I am sure there is a lot of interaction. I have heard good things about the program in general and you would be only a couple of hours away from Chicago for more cultural opportunities.</p>
<p>i auditioned at IWU through the influence of one of my friends who is a freshman voice major there....i ended up being snowed there an extra day because it was the weekend of the crazy blizzard in New York back in February....but I found the library easily to do some work for one of my classes back home. it was nice and there was a cute place that had good ice cream lol.</p>
<p>The campus and students were nice. I'd have to say a set-back was that the theaters were definitely not as gorgeous and stunning as some of the theaters I saw at other schools. I saw a musical there that night, which was good....especially considering I didn't like the show itself.</p>
<p>according to tom at the auditions, he was only taking 4 girls and 4 guys. they do not get as many applicants for MT as a lot of the other schools, but of course the odds are not in your favor because he takes so few.</p>
<p>one thing i must add is that IWU does NOT do a senior showcase...</p>
<p>My S just fnished his freshman year in MT at IWU and he absolutely loved the program and the school. It is a beautiful campus as has been mentioned before and honestly the fact that Bloomington is a little sleepy didn't bother him a bit - beisdes their incredibly busy schedules, there were always so many activities on campus (concerts, shows, comedy acts, improv groups plus the usual footbal and basketball games, etc.) Plus, Chicago and St. Louis are short train rides away so a trip to the big city is very close by. He was definitely sad that Tom is leaving but he had many other amazing teachers so he knows the quality of the prgram will remain high. The academic level of the students is definitely high so his academic classes are challenging as well. He got a good talent scholarship ($10K) so that was a plus. I don't know how many auditioned this year but there were about 120 the year he auditioned. There are 6 in his MT class - 4 boys and 2 girls. S thought that they would be taking a few more girls for theclass entering the fall after this becuase the class of 2007 has a lot of phenonmenal girls that will be graduating. Just to echo a couple of things mentioned earlier - the food is amazing and residence halls are great. Next year S will be living in a huge manison converted to a residence hall "Blackstock Hall" that is a theater house. If you need any other info, feel free to PM me.</p>