Hi !
My D is a Junior. We are approaching this insanity. My daughter had a lesson at Shelter Studios in NY last weekend where some Unified’s were happening. Seeing the gorgeous girls and hearing amazing voices through the door kind of freaked us both out. We are using MTCA selectively. My D is interested in strong acting as well as MT, is a dancer/actor, the singing is good
but not yet where these voices were. I really want to make sure we have one or two great choices that are strong safety’s that are theatre/non audition. She is a strong student but hates academics and wants a life in the performing arts. This is scary stuff. Thank you : )
Muhlenberg if her grades and SATs are good.
Hofstra & Muhlenberg.
DeSales
Western Connecticut State University has an MT program that is growing leaps and bounds every year. There is an audition but I think it’s a good, safer program to add. Wesleyan also has a strong theater program. I don’t think they have an audition…
DeSales is not non audition
Thank you so much for the help. Yes CTDramaMom I live near Western Connecticut State U (in the same town actually-maybe too close for my girl). That program is up and coming and excellent. We’ve seen a few productions and were floored. She will audition for it for sure. These are great suggestions. Need to visit Muhlenberg and Desales.
I really want her to like/love at least one non-audition school. It’s so very competitive and you just don’t know. Many parents seem to find the zen and the joy. I feel the total joy in my child and the arts but to be honest I am dreading this process. I do not say this lightly. The ups and downs look daunting. Thanks for these great suggestions
@laylamom apparently DeSales is audition. It used to be audition for scholarship. You might want to checkout Arcadia. It’s a small but very cool school outside of Philly. Not sure if its audition or not.
Also if Virginia isn’t too far you might look into the Univ of Mary Washington. They have a BA in Theatre with an MT minor. Non audition. You can interview with the school itself for additional scholarships. It’s my D’s non audition safety. Nice campus, smaller school but in Fredericksburg which is a nice area. It seems to not get much attention on this forum if any but I think it is a good safety option
I wouldn’t recommend Muhlenberg if she hates academics. It’s academically competitive for admission and fairly academic in its curriculum.
Marymount Manhattan–http://www.mmm.edu/departments/theatre-arts/
suny purchase–https://www.purchase.edu/Departments/AcademicPrograms/arts/
Sarah Lawrence – https://www.sarahlawrence.edu/undergraduate/arts/theatre/
Drew – https://www.drew.edu/theatrearts/
Ramapo – https://www.ramapo.edu/majors-minors/majors/theater/
Marymount Manhattan is audition-based (but accepts a higher percentage of applicants than some other programs, so still good to add even though it’s not a true “safety” per se).
FYI, SUNY Purchase’s BA in Theatre Arts doesn’t have musical theater (neither does its BFA).
Rhode Island College in Providence has a non audition BA MT. Has auditions for scholarships. We saw a show last year, and it was good. I also know that Dean College in Franklin Mass. is a safety.
Drew only does one musical every other year but is an amazing school for Theatre Arts. Message me if you want more info.
If Muhlenberg is top choice but SAT/grades are just slightly below lower end of range of it’s acceptances, then good idea to apply Early Decision (better chance to get accepted vs Regular Decision). Heard that advice directly from a current, long-time Muhlenberg theatre professor.
I am finding there are no such thing as safeties if it’s an audition school. Marymount takes 40 to yield 24 out of 900 to 1000. How is that a safety? If you have a 3.6 or above Muhlenburg is a safety. Drew is great but no musical theater! I am shocked to find the smaller schools I put on my list that I thought were "safeties " have 800 to 900 people auditioning. We are in the thick of this, so anxiety level is high now. Just saying…
Just to clarify, you would not want to apply early decision to a safety school.
@Ducky312, Hello! I see you mention above about Arcadia being a cool school and someone else just mentioned it to me as well. Can you tell me more about it? I’m intrigued. Feel free to pm me if you prefer! Thanks!!
@tpcrd66 - My D auditioned for them at Unifieds and loved them! Please keep me posted on what you find out. We are only visiting schools once (and if) she gets acceptances to cut down on costs.