Looking for a good musical theatre school with good academics

<p>I've reached a massive personal conundrum. I know I want to major in musical theatre, but I'm having trouble balancing that with my need for good academic. I'm a workaholic type student. I go to a governor's school for math in science, and so I like (and am used to) being around intelligent peers. I'm already aware of the best academic musical theatre schools, (University of Michigan, Carnegie Mellon, NYU, and UCLA) and have them all on my application list already. Are there any others (possibly ones that are a little easier to get into for Musical Theatre?) that I should consider? I have an unweighted GPA of 3.85, and my SATs are currently 730 for reading, 690 for writing, and 620 for math. I'm working on improving my math score, and think I can bring it up to at least 650 when I retake them. I have taken one subject test (US History, and got a score of 680) and intend to take more. I am aware that in musical theatre, the most important thing is talent, but I thought that would help paint a picture of my academic capabilities as well.</p>

<p>What is your home state and what can you afford? Right now you have at least one OOS public U which will cost >$50K/year for your family.</p>

<p>^^^All of the schools mentioned above will be at least 50K/year w/o any aid for OOS students.</p>

<p>Another to consider might be Webster University in St. Louis, MO. Strong Musical Theater program there I believe.</p>

<p>First you should look on the MT thread here at CC. Second, CMU is not academically diverse for MT but it is one of the hardest MT schools to get into as they take about 4-6 kids total. You cannot take any classes outside of MT so forget about any other mental stimulation.</p>

<p>Probably your best choice, if you can be admitted, would be Northwestern for both academics and MT.</p>

<p>GPA of 3.85, and my SATs are currently 730 for reading, 690 for writing, and 620 for math. I’m working on improving my math score, and think I can bring it up to at least 650 when I retake them</p>

<p>Currently, you have a 1350 M+CR SAT. </p>

<p>Alabama has a very good MT program. With your current stats, you would get a 2/3 tuition scholarship. If you bring up your score to a 1400, you’d get free tuition.</p>

<p>The MT program does have auditions and does have additional scholarship offers.</p>

<p>[Department</a> of Theatre and Dance ||  Musical Theatre Track](<a href=“http://theatre.ua.edu/department/bios2/musical-theatre-track/]Department”>http://theatre.ua.edu/department/bios2/musical-theatre-track/)</p>

<p>Bama is also building a new Performing Arts bldg because it’s outgrowing its current one.</p>

<p>“Probably your best choice, if you can be admitted, would be Northwestern for both academics and MT.”</p>

<p>…or Michigan, but you already know about the quality of Michigan.</p>

<p>rjkofnovi - Michigan is an audition school with moderate academics. You do however need to be admitted academically before auditioning so they do theoretically turn kids down before they audition. They might also have a pre-screen which has become popular at audition schools in the last two years, before my daughter’s time. </p>

<p>This is why the OP needs to look at the MT forum on CC.</p>

<p>“Michigan is an audition school with moderate academics.”</p>

<p>Try top academics and a top musical theater program. Even the OP is aware of that already…</p>

<p>I’m not going to get into a ****ing contest with you rjkofnovi but there is a difference academically between most classes at UMichigan and Northwestern. There is no denying that UMichigan has an outstanding top-rated MT program, but overall, academically, it is not at the same level as NU. Therefore, based on the OP question, another school to consider is Northwestern.</p>

<p>NU is certainly another school to consider but I don’t think I’d be saying UMich is not on the same level. Yes, US News ranks NU higher (you can debate the actual difference between #12 and #29) but international rankings have the school’s places reversed. Fortunately the OP can just add a school to the (very expensive) list</p>