D22 says engineering – mechanical, probably – is the primary focus, but would like a school where she could participate in building sets for theater productions, as that has been her main EC in HS and she loves it. Quick stats: 4.0 UW GPA, IB Diploma candidate, AP Scholar, 36 ACT (one sitting), 1570 SAT (one sitting), NMSF. The state needs to be LGBTQ+ friendly. Would like input as to which school(s) are most likely to allow a non-theater major to participate in set build, and have a strong engineering program.
Schools currently on the list:
Safeties - UC Boulder, CSU Ft. Collins
High Matches - UW Seattle, CalPoly SLO
Reaches - Stanford, Brown, CMU, JHU, Harvey Mudd, UCLA, UCSD
Going to UC Boulder is ok/fine with her, and she’s guaranteed admission to the CoE due to an agreement with her HS (she checks off all the boxes for guaranteed admission). But going OOS calls more to her, and we can afford it if there’s a school that fits better. Please share any thoughts, including more school suggestions if you have them. Thank you for your help.
I can’t speak for the others, but my son did that at Cal Poly. He didn’t build sets, but he worked for ASI. They have lots of campus jobs. There aren’t many listed right now, because they’ve all been filled, but here’s one that could work. Like I said, LOTS of campus jobs at the beginning of each term. Good luck. Lot’s of good schools on the list.
I’ve worked for years in academic theatre, and I can’t imagine any theatre department would turn down help in set construction. Most students do it for credit, but some volunteer their time. Some schools may have paid positions, but that’s probably less common at the undergrad level – however, that’s very school-dependent. If it’s a larger theatre program – typically, at any of the larger state universities (usually with grad programs) – you’ll find many more productions in a season, and each one requires support in the technical areas – so generally lots of opportunities. If you’re reliable, flexible, enthusiastic, and have some aptitude or are willing to learn, you’ll likely be snapped up, whether or not you’re a theatre major. Of the schools you’ve listed, I know that UC Boulder, UW Seattle, CMU, and UCLA have great theatre programs. Good luck to your daughter!
It sounds like CU Boulder isn’t exactly at the top of her list, but if she hasn’t already, she should check out CU’s Atlas Institute which does some really interesting things with engineering and theater, music, and other creative arts.
My daughter graduated last year MechE from Purdue and progressed from set design/costumes (which she did in HS) through directing to VP of the Purdue Performance Collaborative
I would bet that most sizeable schools have something similar.
Ok, how good is Indiana wrt LGBTQ? According to Out Leadership, Indiana is 36th in LGBTQ climate, and the OP is coming from Colorado, a state ranked 10th.
Anyway I would also consider NYU or Columbia, given the stats posted and being in a LGTBQ friendly community with a lot of opportunity for theater. If OP’s daughter wants to stay in the west, then probably USC or UCLA.
I can’t speak for the entire state but the Purdue community and the surrounding area is very, very accepting. The vast majority of my D’s friend group identifies LGBTQ+.