Is this realistic?

College Majors Musical Theater Major
1

<p>Hi, I am a high school junior (female).
I loveee musical theatre and am considering doing it in college HOWEVER I know it is very difficult to get in and I was wondering if this is a realistic option for me.
I do not have a lot of experience or resources. I am not someone that has been doing theatre my whole life, nor do I come from a theatre family. My parents know absolutely nothing about theatre.
I only really discovered it when I was in 7th grade and decided to do the drama club at my middle school. So I really haven't done that many shows. However, of the ones I have done, I have had 3 leads--2 from local summer camp programs, freshman and sophomore year (there wasn't really THAT much competition) and 1 this year at high school (junior) (where there was a bit more competition--my high school theatre program is very good and there are many talented people at my school).
I do take voice lessons, and have taken them for about two years. I am a very strong singer.
Dancing is something that concerns me. I took lessons maybe once a week when I was very young--so I really have no dance training.
I cannot go to expensive fancy camps over the summer; I have a part-time job and can't take the time off, nor do I have the money to!
Whenever I am in a show or sing, both my parents and I get many compliments and rave reviews. However, this could just be a local stardom kind of thing.</p>

<p>So I guess what I'm asking is...is it realistic for me to try to pursue musical theatre in college, considering my experience? I am also considering a double major.
Does anyone know anyone that has not been doing theatre since they were a wee little tot?
And how well do you need to be able to dance/what do you have to do at dance auditions?</p>

<p>If anyone could answer these questions, they would be an ENORMOUS help, because I really need to get started on the college process!</p>

2

<p>My D got in to two BFA programs and has only danced the last 2 years. She was however a gymnast for many years. She has been taking voice lessons since 6th grade. However she was fortunate enough to get some coaching in the last year before auditions which helped immensely. I am sure there is someone better suited to address this issue for you. You could always try and audition for schools at Unifieds that don’t have a dance call. I think you should definitely pursue this as long as you have the support of your parents financially. You will need to travel to auditions (unless you choose only schools within driving distance of your home). Hope this helps. Good luck!!</p>

3

<p>lala - Of course it is possible for you to pursue musical theatre in college. Not all programs require an audition to be admitted to the program. The audition process is very competitive but you won’t know whether or not YOU are competivie unless you try.</p>

<p>I suggest you first read through this entire Preparing to Apply thread and get a feel for what all is involved:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/477658-preparing-apply-information-h-s-juniors-seniors.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/477658-preparing-apply-information-h-s-juniors-seniors.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>A few key points:
Find out now about what your parents are willing to pay for college. That is true no matter what your degree but this can be an expensive process so find out now if they are willing to support you during the audition process.</p>

<p>Build your list. Make sure you include several non-audition safety schools - schools that offer the training/major you want that are also financial/admissions safeties for you and that you would truly love to attend. Try and find at least one of these schools that is rolling admissions and apply as soon as the application is up. It is great to go into auditiion season with a safety acceptance in your back pocket. It is very difficult to double major if you are pursuing a BFA so keep that in mind when you are creating your list if that is important to you. As you begin creating your list, read through the individual school forums here and ask questions!</p>

<p>How are your academics? There is talent money out there but not as much as there is academic money at many of these schools. As you look at school options check on how much merit money you would qualify for. Keep you grades up and be prepared for the SAT/ACT!</p>

<p>Find a ballet class and start taking lessons now. If you are in a dance audition many of the dance terms come from ballet so knowing the “lingo” is important. Check at your local community college to see if they offer classes if you can take in ballet or jazz if you don’t have a dance studio you can attend. As Lulu mentioned not all schools have a dance audition but many do. Getting training now will help you with your confidence when you do go to those dance auditions.</p>

<p>Work with someone knowledgeable to help you in picking your monologues and songs. Perhaps your theatre teacher at school or someone from your local community theatre. It is ideal to work with someone who is up-to-date on the current world of MT college auditions but you can get lots of info right here. Start NOW working on your audition material. </p>

<p>Read through the Freshman Experience thread to get a feel for waht the average week in the life of a colleg MT student is like. This isn’t for everyone so just check it out so you have a feel for what it’s like out there if you do pursue this in college.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1067706-freshman-experience.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1067706-freshman-experience.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Finally, have FUN with the process. I am not going to kid you. It is a stressful process. Go in expecting rejections (they happen to pretty much everyone in this process) but also confident in yourself if this is what you truly want to do. Come here for support. There are many wonderful people here who will be here to help you out. </p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

4

<p>Thank you so much! These are helpful answers.
As for the academics, I have had straight As in high level courses, APs, honors, etc. I’m hoping to be able to get academic scholarship money. Is it true that some schools don’t offer academic scholarships if you are going into musical theatre though?</p>

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<p>We applied to over a dozen schools and not one of them took away any academic money just because she was going into MT. Now, some schools will “stack” any talent scholarships on top of merit money, (most of ours did) but once in a while, they don’t stack - at one school, they told her she’d get X amount based on all her stats, and then she auditioned and got talent money too, but the financial aid office said they’d use that talent money to make up part of that number. :stuck_out_tongue: They said that after the fafsas and other awards that they might possibly be able to give her X PLUS her talent money, but I figured the way things are currently it won’t happen. It ended up not being her first choice school anyway.</p>

<p>But most of the time I think they do stack. All our other ones did. And being in MT, if anything, helped, because often she got both merit AND talent money.</p>

<p>I am glad your grades are so good. Keep those up. In almost every case, her merit money for grades far eclipsed the talent money. Not because she didn’t do well, but because most programs don’t really give big talent awards. At the one school she auditioned at that did not have low cap for talent, she did get a much bigger award, which was very nice. But that school gave her a smaller merit. Arg. The merit was awarded long before the talent, so one had nothing to do with the other. Had her scores been just a leeeetle bit higher, it would have pushed her into a different category at this particular school and she would have had a bigger award.</p>

<p>So - I will repeat the advice I give out - do the best you can with good grades, because they might mean you can actually afford to go to that dream school when it accepts you. Or, even to your good second choice school.</p>

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<p>When I started reading your post…I swore you were talking about me. Except for a couple of things like how many shows you’ve been in, I was in the same boat. I did my round of college auditions this year, but I didn’t do very many, and because I (like you) am a strong singer, I also auditioned for some VP programs. </p>

<p>The dance auditions can be tough. Like you, I only took dance when I was little and didn’t really have any clue what I was getting myself into. But let me tell you, if you have a good attitude and confidence and really let them see how much you ENJOY performing, that is better than doing all of the steps perfectly with no emotion. But you should go take dance lessons as quickly as possible since you have that chance! I would recommend ballet and jazz. </p>

<p>I auditioned at American, James Madison, BoCo and Penn State for MT. That’s it. I was accepted to American, James Madison and BoCo. I auditioned at University of Maryland, Peabody, University of North Texas and James Madison for VP and was accepted to all of them. </p>

<p>I didn’t even really get into theatre until I was in high school. But when I did, it was a full time deal, and I think my strong music background (I sing and play a few instruments) helped me a WHOLE LOT. But something that other people have mentioned that I think is GREAT advice is to keep your grades up. I got really great grades through high school (goodness knows how—I was so busy!) and it has really paid off. I’ve gotten really nice academic scholarships from schools and it has helped to balance the high cost of attending some of these schools. And if a place doesn’t offer academic scholarships, like a conservatory, outside scholarships can do wonders. Do your research. </p>

<p>Also, I would recommend auditioning for more schools than I did! Looking back, it was really dicey to have auditioned at so few places and I was in danger of the very real possibility of not having anywhere to go for MT or VP. I had no backups! No non-audition schools! Get some of those. It’s worth it. The security is great (or I can assume it is because I felt the lack of it all year…)</p>

<p>If you’re talented, schools will want you. It’s not all about being born performing or having the richest parents or the nicest training. If they see raw talent, they will accept you. If you’ve got potential they will want you, and if you have a great work ethic and don’t expect everything to be handed to you (as I’ve experienced with some of my friends who have been handed every role and opportunity in their lives only to be confronted by college auditions where everyone is wonderful and daddy can’t help) they will see that and be impressed by it. </p>

<p>If this is really what you want, and you know what you’re getting into and how hard your going to have to work, GO FOR IT.</p>

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<p>snapdragonfly…I’m so glad to hear that news about the academic scholarships! I will definitely keep my grades up and try to win some academic money!</p>

<p>And CarolAnne, I’m so glad to know someone else basically had the same situation and did well! Thanks for the advice also…I’ll definitely apply to safe schools, target schools, and reach schools and see how I do.</p>