I would like some current info on this school for the MT minor BA in Theatre . The threads on here don’t seem to be real current & I see there to be some negativity but that was a little while back . D has this on list but I also remembering reading that the aid was underwhelming in general…
Just an FYI, the threads aren’t current because when the format changed a year ago, we lost the little notification symbol letting us know there was a new post. Now it is too time consuming to check each school heading for new posts, we’ve stopped using them.
And back in 2013, D received a very good merit award from MM.
My daughter got nothing from them. Then after she notified them that she was turning them down, they offered her $1,000. Which we laughed at. We did not have a good experience with TPTB there (like, we really had to make a stink to get permission for her to observe a dance class during the decision phase), but that was 2 years ago.
Well, we could never afford it if there was no offer of aid. was just wondering about the program itself, pros cons etc also. The brochures they have sent us are quite impressive but we all know that means nothing. Guess I need to look over the website more in depth.
Well @theaterwork we were quite involved in the pros and cons of this program 2 years ago, which I’d be happy to share with you, but sadly that doesn’t help if you want more current info.
@theaterwork you are very much like I was last year and I can identify with all of your angst and questions. I over thought every tiny detail. Let me give you a tiny bit of advice. Nothing anyone can tell you about any program will help because each of us and our children experience things so differently from what you will experience. I know this is hard to believe but your child will “know” the right school when she walks on the campus or sits in on a class. Somehow the right school will become apparent and it really will be all about “fit”. And for each kid that is such a personal, individual feeling. Keep asking questions, don’t think we don’t want to help in any way we can. Just know that in the end it really will all work out.
No, @Calliene please share. I did not mean to sound like I did not want to know. I am sure not that much has changed from 2 yrs really. I just thought there was someone maybe who had experience with them from this past audition season. @bisouu angst is an understatement! LOL I know things do tend to fall into place. I am mainly just trying to narrow down a list that, right now, is WAY too long. So, gathering info on the ones my D seems to be focusing on. I am actually cheered by the fact that we will be going to the SETC in March & hoping that will be helpful.Of course that is right when her PA high school is in crazy rehearsals w/ spring musical but oh well…she needs to go to check out schools & audition & get started on the process plus its within driving distance for us.
I’ll PM you, @theaterwork, but @bisouu is right that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Of course knowledge is power, too, so keep all that in mind.
My daughter isn’t an MT minor but her friend is. She got a significant aid package that tipped the balance toward MMC and is happy there, particularly with the faculty. (So is my daughter so far!)
My son is currently a freshmen in the BFA Acting program at MMC and is rooming with 2 MT majors and another BFA Acting major. He got a pretty decent financial aid package. So far, he absolutely loves it (he has only been there since 8/23)! If you are looking for a small, urban school with individualized attention and a performing arts program that is gaining momentum and national recognigition, then MMC is wonderful. The freshmen dorms are 16 blocks away from the school itself (about 1 mile walk) but truthfully some of the other college campuses we visited in the process had jaunts on campus that were comparable. My son loves that NYC is his campus and, most days he runs to school and back. Public transit is readily available, though, as of course it’s the city.
I do know that his MT roommates have dance every day at 9 am and the distance can be even further to the studio space, however, I hear students report that the truly feel like they are living in the city and not just in a dorm environment as the freshmen live in a high rise on East 55th Street, on the Upper East Side.
We couldn’t be happier with the decision so far.
@theaterwork this goes back to. does your D want a traditional campus or not? As the stage603 said above the dorms are not near the school buildings so it is not like a campus feel. Its a way to start narrowing down,does your D want traditional campus? Although NYU also is in the city as is UArts in Philly, the buildings and dorms for both of these are nearer to each other but still none of those are traditional campus’.
The MM website says that Musical Theatre usually falls under the BA Theatre Studies. I don’t know what that mean in terms of curriculum. Something that I haven’t looking into yet but thought I would mention.
@BuckeyeBell, the way MMC does it, the Musical Theater Minor contains all the MT classes except acting (singing, dancing, music theory, etc.). The reason they do it that way is so that the student can pair the MT minor with either the BA in Theater Studies (which is the most common way to do it) OR the BFA in Acting. Similarly, the BA in Theater Studies alone (without the MT minor) can be paired with another major to double major. Combining the BA in Theater Studies or BFA in Acting with the MT minor results in the equivalent of a BFA in MT in terms of the number of classes, but they do it this way because the school is big on letting students put together the different “puzzle pieces” to create the education they want.
Thanks @actorparent ! Great info 
my son entered mmc as a freshman MT minor Theater performance major in August. He initially wanted a campus, not a city school, but turned down offers with scholarships from 3 of those to move to mmc (which also offered botha scholarship (@40% of tuition) and loans. he loves the city, and has learned the subway system. the dorm is 2 bolcks from teh subway that takes him to dance at 9 every day. he takes a train back to the east side after dance, going to the dorm or up to the 69th street stop to go to classes. voice is down near times square - but the subway to 34th and a 2 block walk get him there just fine. everyone is different, you need to want the city to be happy there - though, if you are a mt kid, you want a job on broadway, so why not learn and get comfortable with teh city as you learn your “job skills”?
I just want to add, and this is no offense to @actorparent, but as far as I know, you can not minor in Musical Theatre with a BFA Acting major at MMC. That is what we have been told anyway. If you wish to focus on Musical Theatre, then you must enter into the BA program. Although double check, because colleges change their programs all of the time.
my son is in the BA Performance with the MT minor. The BA and the BFA are exactly the same until the end of sophmore year. BFA’s get more classical training at the upper levesl, BA’s get some classical and some acting for cameral classes. The MT minor adds a ton of work, and the school prefers that MTs stay with the BA since it i 45 credits as opposed tto the 60+ for the BFA, and the minor adds 40 to either program) obviously, there can be exceptions (a kid with a bunch of AP credit who can opt out of universtiyt requirements for example) My son got @40% of tuition on merit. He turned down more cash at other schools to go to mmc. He finds the trek to dance each morning to be no problem - the kids all go to the subway 2 blocks away and ride to the west side and walk a block or two, though some in other levels go to the times square area for their studio - the train leaves from teh same station but stops right at the corner across from teh studio for them) He loves the fact that the city is the campus, and the dorm is 10 min walking ot times square. He doesnt mind the walk from 55 th (dorm) to 71 st (school) it takes 10 minutes. My son had a Boradway vocal coach for 5 years before college ( the coach happened to cme from our area and he took on a few kids for lessons - we got lucky), and a real acting coach (also works wirh Broadway and movie pros) and he reports that his vocal coach and acting professor are first-class. he is also learning alot from his dance instructor, though he discovered that tap is not as easy as it looks (unlike most other schools that want fairly well trained dance kids as freshmen, mmc has 6 dance levels from beginner to kick-yourself-in-the-face trained and they will have your kid trained by graduation since dance is daily for 4 years.)
@thestage603, you wrote “I just want to add, and this is no offense to @actorparent, but as far as I know, you can not minor in Musical Theatre with a BFA Acting major at MMC.”
This is not correct. You CAN pair the BFA Acting with the Musical Theatre Minor at MMC. We have seen a number of shows at MMC, and in the Playbill, there are ALWAYS one or two cast members whose bio says “So-and-so is a senior in the BFA Acting program with a minor in Musical Theatre”.
Also, when you sign up online to audition for MMC, you check off which programs you want to audition for, and among the choices are: “BFA Acting,” “BA Theater Studies,” “BFA Acting with Musical Theater Minor,” “BA Theater Studies with Musical Theater Minor.” So it’s right there as an option on the audition form.
It’s more common to pair the MT Minor with the BA in Theater Studies, but it is definitely possible to pair it with the BFA Acting.
@actorparent: I totally stand corrected. Turns out you can have a BFA Acting Major with a minor in Musical Theatre. I confirmed with theatre recruiting this morning, as I wanted to know this for our own personal information. I asked that question at a parent information session last year at MMC, and we were discouraged from pursuing it.
The reason being, unless you are a transfer student, or have a good list of AP credits transferring in as a Freshmen, it is really difficult. It usually means at least 1 extra semester or even a fifth full year at MMC to pull that off. So while I should have never stated that it is not offered at MMC, the theater department will tell you, it is very difficult, and most kids without AP transfer classes have to plan on additional classes at MMC past the 4 year mark to make it happen or a steady stream of summer classes need to happen.
Happy auditioning to all!
Thanks for clarifying! That is very useful to know. My d is a high school sophomore, but MMC is very high on her list specifically BECAUSE of the possibility of a BFA Acting with Musical Theater Minor. So I will pass along the important info that if she wants to pursue that, she needs to take AP classes in junior and senior year. Thanks for looking into it, @thestage603!