<p>Also, applicants need to keep in mind that you can't just look at GPA without looking at the rigor of the courseload the candidate took in HS as colleges will examine that. </p>
<p>In the class that entered in 2004, for example, my niece was an applicant to JMU. She had SATs in the range of about the 25%tile for JMU and had all A's and Bs but she did not take hardly any Honors and took no APs. She was not admitted. She went to Penn State.</p>
<p>When my son went through the MT app process, there were schools where you had to be accepted separately to the MT dept and the School. He found himself in the interesting position of being accepted to the schools and not the MT dept in a few cases and in one case accepted to the MT dept and not the school. (That was his school where he ended up and he did get acceptance to the school; his app had been misplaced). One of his schools was UMich and I do believe that he was below the GPA standards of school, in general but they still gave him a pass. I spoke to someone there during his auditions, and she told me that for audition students, some leeway was given for grades/SAT scores if the resume showed heavy focus in the arts they wanted to pursue. </p>
<p>As for you niec, Soozievt, wow, I am surprised. Penn State but not JMU? I know a number of kids who did not get into Penn State and went to JMU (out of state) instead. I had heard that VA schools are very picky about those GPAs. Did she have a good class rank? I think Penn STate is very much about that rank number rather than GPA.</p>
<p>cpt....I don't know her exact stats and this was also a while back (she just graduated college) and in fact, now I am dealing with her brother's stuff as he is a senior in HS, LOL. I know she was a good student with As and Bs but not her exact GPA, but I recall she didn't take Honors (maybe just one) and no APs and her school offered these. And her SATs were somewhere in the ballpark (I forget the real number now) of 1100. I do not know what her rank was. She did get into PSU from out of state and liked it very much. I also believe she preferred PSU anyway (I recall it as a first or top choice at the time).</p>
<p>My point in using her as an example....is that I see many who go by SAT and GPA and there is also class rank and rigor of courses. One GPA is not the same as another...the rigor of classes matters (in the context of one's own school's offerings) and also what your actual grades were in each course (not just the GPA itself), and then essays, recommendations, strength of extracurriculars (i feel her ECs were weak....the only one I recall was she had a job) and so on. It is not simply numbers.</p>
<p>Just curious, as I know Penn State is very much into class rank. Don't know about JMU. Also how early you get that app in is very important with Penn State whereas I believe JMU is not rolling in admissions.</p>
<p>Soozie, Thank you for posting the more current stats! I had found those in the past, but today on the website all I could find quickly were the 2004 stats (in FAQ)... I clearly went to the wrong page! :) </p>
<p>Yes -- JMU has become more and more academically competitive over the past few years. It is interesting when you look at the changes from 2004/ 2007/ 2008.</p>
<p>From what I understand JMU admissions tries to be pretty wholistic in the admissions process. Looking at the whole kid. I am not in admissions, so I am not sure how this actually plays out in terms of admissions decisions. cptofthehouse -- you ar correct JMU does not have rolling admissions. In the Musical Theatre Concentration even EA admits to JMU have to wait until RD admit decisions have been made by JMU to find out if they are into the Musical Theatre Concentration. </p>
<p>In terms of being accepted to the university before the concentration, a student who auditioned for Musical Theatre and is admitted to JMU will receive a letter from us in the department letting them know whether or not thay have been accepted to the Musical Theatre Concentration.</p>
<p>A student who auditioned for the Musical Theatre Concentration and is NOT admitted to JMU will not hear from us one way or another as to IF they would have been admitted into the Musical Theatre Concentration if they had been admitted to JMU.</p>
<p>After the auditions in January we send a list to admissions with our top candidates. Our recommendation can help boost a competitive applicants admission (since the admissions office sees more qualified applicants than they can admit), but will not help a student who is well below the admissions standard. </p>
<p>We make our final decision in the Musical Theatre Concentration once we know who has been admitted to JMU. Our letters are sent out a few days after the letters from the JMU admissions office.</p>
<p>Thanks again Soozie for posting the more accurate information!</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>My senior is my oldest so I am trying to learn as much as possible. Cpt wrote above:</p>
<p>"I think Penn State is very much about that rank number rather than GPA."</p>
<p>Can someone explain the possible logic of doing this? It seems to me rank depends heavily on the other students at the high school and I would rather
- my child go to a high school where there is lots of possibilities of being challenged by other students and thus get a lower ranking
- than my child go to a high where it is easy for her to excel pass the other students and thus get a higher ranking.</p>
<p>It reminds me of the discussion on CC of the importance of attending a college that pushes you in all areas of becoming a triple treat (even if one is a weak area for you) and not simply attending a college that only emphases the area you are strongest at. </p>
<p>++ Note: I apologize for posting a general topic on the JMU thread, however as I refer to another post I thought I should stay in this thread.</p>
<p>I personally have never heard of PSU or any other school putting ranking before GPA (I realize cptofthehouse stated this, however). To my knowledge, many schools weigh many factors....rigor of HS curriculum, SAT/ACT, some include SAT Subject Tests, rank or class standing/distribution/percentile, GPA, grades, extracurricular activities (level of participation, commitment, achievements), essays, recs, personal qualities, etc. Some state U's are more numbers based than holistic. </p>
<p>In any case, rank is not going to trump GPA. But it is taken into consideration by most schools. However, rank is looked at IN CONTEXT. In a very competitive high school where the majority are college bound and where the mean SAT is high and the rigor of curriculum is demanding, a college may dip deeper into the high school class for a candidate and at a less competitive high school, a very selective college may just take students from the top. So rank, rigor of curriculum and GPA are looked at in context of one's high school. Further, some high schools do not rank and so not every candidate will even have a ranking. Some high schools provide a class profile and distribution of the GPAs into percentiles and that gives an idea of where a particular student would fall in percentile of the whole class and the guidance counselor will also mention that on his/her report. But some students have neither rank or percentile standing reported and thus, there is no way to say class rank comes before GPA. However, both class rank/percentile and GPA are both examined as both provide information and context. Also, some high schools use weighted GPA for rank and some use unweighted GPA and so this requires different interpretations of one's rank too. All of this is looked at when evaluating the applicant. A GPA alone is not helpful unless one also looks at the rigor of the courses and the class distribution/rank. Those things are all intertwined. I don't think rank trumps GPA but I believe both would be looked at in conjunction. Also, if you examine each college's stats, you have to examine if your class ranking/standing fits with those they accept. If a college reports that 97% of freshmen were in the top 25%tile of their HS class, and you are in the top 50% but below top 25%, your chances are quite slim for acceptance, no matter your GPA.</p>
<p>what the acceptance rate for the theater concentration?</p>
<p>Last year was the first year that there was a required audition for the Theatre Concentration.</p>
<p>We aim for a freshman Theatre Concentration class of about 30 - 35. Last year about 100 auditioned for the Theatre Concentration, and there were about 80 who auditioned for the Musical Theatre Concentration who indicated they also wanted to be considered for the Theatre Concentration.</p>
<p>Kat, can you clarify whether an applicant’s in-state vs. out-of-state status is considered for admission to the MT and theater concentrations?</p>
<p>I know this is the MT board but want to say that I brought my son (a h.s. junior, from Charlottesville) to see “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” last night and we were blown away by the quality of the acting and staging. JMU is now a serious consideration for him. Hope to attend a musical in the second semester!</p>
<p>Hello!</p>
<p>In-state and Out Of State status is not considered in admission decisions by the Theatre, Musical Theatre, and Dance programs. </p>
<p>Glad you liked Dead Man’s Cell Phone! I saw it Saturday night, and really enjoyed it as well! </p>
<p>Even though I primarily am involved with the MT auditions, since most of the days overlap I look forward to meeting you and your S when he auditions in January or February :)</p>
<p>Thank you, Kat–that helps to know. My son’s a junior, so he’ll audition next year, but I hope to meet you them! And we also hope to get to some more shows at JMU.</p>
<p>KatMT: My D is a Junior and we are very attracted to JMU’s program. It seems that training is excellent and intense, but that D would have the exposure of a full university experience, and expand her general knowledge base with the Gen Ed requirements. Are MT Majors able to successfully Minor in somewhat unrelated fields? D is thinking of Music Industry, Film, or Nonprofit Studies. Also, some BA or BFA programs with full Gen Ed requirements map most of those classes for the last 2 years. What is JMU’s culture in that regard? Also, if a student auditions for MT but would be willing to consider the Acting program, does that alter your view of the applicant? Do most MT roles get filled with MT students? Do MT students also perform in plays? Thanks!</p>
<p>Hello!</p>
<p>I am happy to hear of your D’s interest in JMU… to answer your questions…</p>
<p>1) Are MT Majors able to successfully Minor in somewhat unrelated fields? D is thinking of Music Industry, Film, or Nonprofit Studies. </p>
<p>Yes. A double major with the MT program is difficult, but quite a few MT students pursue minors… Nonprofit Studies and Music Industry are both popular choices. As are foreign languages, communications, english, history, film studies, etc.</p>
<p>2) Some BA or BFA programs with full Gen Ed requirements map most of those classes for the last 2 years. What is JMU’s culture in that regard? </p>
<p>The MT students at JMU are balancing their geneds and major courses from the beginning of freshman year. Freshman are in 3 major classes, and generally in 2 - 3 gened classes for each semester freshman year. Sophomore through junior year the balance of major/ gened classes can vary a bit… but overall it is pretty well balanced. </p>
<p>3) If a student auditions for MT but would be willing to consider the Acting program, does that alter your view of the applicant? </p>
<p>Nope. </p>
<p>4) Do most MT roles get filled with MT students?</p>
<p>Yes… particularly in the mainstage and faculty directed studio productions… but this is not a stated policy, and school of music, theatre program students, and ocassionally non-majors are cast in musicals at JMU. More MT program students tend to audition for musicals than non-MT students overall. To give a sense of numbers – we have done two musicals this year, and just cast the third today… (1) Lucky Stiff (student directed studio musical) - 7 MT/ 2 Music/ 1 Theatre. (2) A Girl Called Vincent (faculty directed studio musical) - 15 MT/ 1 Music/ 1 Theatre. (3) Sweeney Todd (faculty directed mainstage musical) - 22 MT/ 7 Music/ 2 Theatre. </p>
<p>5) Do MT students also perform in plays?</p>
<p>Yes. Just like with the musicals auditions are open to all JMU students regardless of major. Again to give a sense of numbers… Our Country’s Good was the first mainstage play of the year and 1/2 of the cast were MT program students. In the second mainstage play of the year, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, there was 1 MT program student. In the fall student directed plays – There were no MT students in the first play, Macbeth. There were 2 MT students in the second play The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man in the Moon Marigolds. It really varies from show to show.</p>
<p>Hope this helps. Let me know if you or your D have any more questions. Also feel free to email me at <a href=“mailto:arecchkm@jmu.edu”>arecchkm@jmu.edu</a></p>
<p>Kate</p>
<p>Thank you so much for all your answers! It really helped. At this point, JMU seems like a perfect fit for my D, but we are still in preliminary stages. We’ll see how things evolve between now and next school year, and how her grades and skills develop. It’s something to work toward!</p>
<p>Glad they helped. If it works with your D’s school schedule you may want to try to come to campus in the spring semester to see a production. </p>
<p>[Visiting</a> the School of Theatre and Dance at Virginia’s JMU - James Madison University School of Theatre and Dance, Harrisonburg, Virginia](<a href=“The School of Theatre and Dance - JMU”>The School of Theatre and Dance - JMU)</p>
<p>The weekend of April 27th the spring student directed musical, Bat Boy, will also being running. There are two other student directed projects in the spring semester, plus a devised performance piece created by students in the Experimental Theatre class. I will post those dates when I have them confirmed.</p>
<p>Hi Kat!
I am interested in JMU’s musical theatre program, but I am from out of state so the cost of attending JMU is not feasible for my family without significant scholarships. I was wondering if you can say about how much theatre scholarships are worth and if one person can be awarded more than one. Also, do you know if the Dingledine and Madison scholarships are able to be combined? Or if they even award the same person with both of those scholarships?</p>
<p>Hello misskathryn - happy to hear of your interest in JMU! The current theatre, musical theatre, dance and college scholarships range from $1000 - $3000 for one year (non-renewable) to renewable scholarships which start at $2500 for the first year and go up by $500 increments for each following year if the student maintains a 3.0 GPA (Madison Scholarships). It is possible for a student to combine a renewable scholarship with a non-renewable scholarship or for non-renewable scholarships to be combined.</p>
<p>Dingledine and Madison Scholarships could be combined with theatre scholarships (and possibly with other non-renewable theatre or college of visual and performing arts scholarships) but I do not believe they can be combined with each other. You would need to ask this question directly of admissions and the Dingledine Scholarship application area for a definitive answer.</p>
<p>There are also scholarships that continuing students in the program can apply for ranging from $500 a $1500 for the year. These are competitive and must be applied for each year.</p>
<p>We are working on developing more arts specific scholarships that may cover a<br>
greater portion of tuition and be renewable, but I do not know the timeline or the development of these scholarships. </p>
<p>Please let me know if you have additional questions.</p>
<p>Thank you! Are there different types of madison scholarships or just the one?</p>
<p>The Madison Achievement Scholarships are all the same monetary awards. Some are offered by the university, others are offered by the specific program you are attending.</p>
<p>What year are you in HS?</p>