Hello! I am a hopeful future MT major but I also spend a lot of time on academics. I was wondering if anyone can steer me towards programs that have more academics in their curriculum/weigh academics into admissions? Thanks!
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The University of Miami, TCU, NYU, UMich, & CMU were some of the programs we found that tended to require higher ACT/SATs and GPAs for admission purposes.
NYU fits the bill best because academics are half of the admission decision and the BFA curriculum allows a student the flexibility to add an academic minor or second major. I think Elonâs academic admit is a little harder than average and I know they allow academic second majors. Michigan and Penn State (and others) state that they have an academic hurdle to admissions but from memory their standards are not very high.
There are also many BA Theatre or MT schools that offer a balance of training and academics. UCLA offers an audition-in BA and prescreens their applicants based upon academic record; their standards are a lot higher than most academic prescreens. Temple has both a BFA which requires an audition and a BA which does not but has a performance track. American has an auditioned BA.
Maybe more recent parents can offer more ideas!
@madamet All of those schools are tough academically. However⊠you donât have to have an amazing gpa to be accepted to all. I know NYU weighs grades heavily. Umich I am not sure. My D was not accepted to the school but DID pass the prescreen which Iâm told means u qualify academically. CMU (passed the prescreenas well) is mostly on your audition, not academics. My D was accepted to TCU w âokâ grades and a lowish ACT (i couldnât get her to take it againâŠugh), 3.3 and a 24. U just never know. I am only writing this so that others are not discouraged to apply.
BU, Syracuse and Northwestern
just a follow upâŠif there are two students of equal talent at certain schools, will the student with higher academic achievements get in over the other, or will that not even be considered? Will my grades be considered to get into a musical theater program?
@msh1217, I think it depends on the school, but for the most part, most schools do a 2-tiered approach. The first tier is whether or not you qualify academically and the second tier is whether or not you qualify artistically.
In terms of academics, an auditioned BA may fit the bill well for you. My daughter is a BA theatre major at JMU and she came into the major wanting to try a lot of things. She is minoring in dance and planning to concentrate on acting and theatre studies (where she will take classes in dramaturgy, directing, and text analysis). She was going to also minor in history, but realized this semester she likes electives and projects a ton, so she wants to have more flexibility in her schedule. She has a nice balance of academic classes and theatre/dance classes, which suits what she likes.
This decision to have an academic curriculum is really personal because there are tons of super smart people that choose to go a BFA route that is largely performance-based. For example, I know a kid that is at UArts in directing. He was a super academic high school student (e.g., even though he did a performing arts HS, he took Calc 3, Spanish 6, multiple AP classes, and scored almost perfectly on his SAT). He likes an intellectual challenge so supplements his arts classes with more intellectual classes at other Philly schools. I also know many people that wanted a more academic route and either chose BAs or schools known for a more academic theatre program (e.g., more text analysis in acting, more theoretical work in music, etc.). You can really get a sense of what this would look like by looking at curriculum, talking with students, etc.
One final thing. If you have great grades and SAT scores, it will typically get you more merit money at a school. And, if thereâs an honors program, you can either apply or get invited to do that as well. But again, I know plenty of smart kids who passed up honors to do more theatre and performance work, so itâs completely up to your preferences.
Anyway BAL to you as you navigate all of this!
American University is another great audition BA program at an academically competitive school.
@msh1217 I believe having strong academics does give you an edge for some schools. My daughter was MT accepted at NYU, UMiami and some other strong academic schools and some of the auditors asked her about academic interests, grades and test scores after her audition!
I half wondered if this was an April Foolsâ thread because it (largely) doesnât matter for artistic admission. Certainly donât lead with your academicsâitâs not that kind of world.
Overwhelmingly the admission decision is about your audition, your type, and your readiness for college (maturity, potential, willingness). Do everything within your power to have an absolutely stupendous prescreen/audition, to be memorable, and to know who YOU are as a performer. Donât try to be who youâre not, sing what you canât, or play against type. You should already have started to plan your audition/prescreen material.
Strong academics gets you more scholarship aid. In some cases A LOT MORE. However, we have a STACK of academic admissions and scholarships and a very short list of artistic acceptances. You could go to school for four years or more at an Ivy with the money that is dead to us because the artistic decision was âno.â
While youâre studying programs, be sure to research what financial aid you can get where. This is a GREAT assignment for a parent or friend because you donât have the time. But it needs to be in your âmatrixâ because as many families are discovering after their audition and scholarship results, the $60-80k/year AFTER AID that theyâre expected to swing is real money.
Many of those higher priced schools donât care about your FA comps or your amazing SAT/ACT/GPA; for them youâre just average because admission is super competitive, and they have a wait list as long as your arm of people who are willing to pay the freight.
Similar training is available for half or less those amounts if you find the right academic scholarships at the right school. Cast a wide net.
Break a leg!
Northwestern has such a low admission rate that I have to think that academics matter more there. Plus you donât audition until after youâve started your freshman year.
So the OPâs question was which schools DO care about academics. The question gets asked every year so I looked up a couple of older threads which also might be informative:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/22380769
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/21643538
The second thread has links to even earlier threads! :). As I said - itâs a good question, this gets asked in different form every year, there are programs where good grades help with admission and many more that are all about the audition. Itâs good to know which is which. 
One thing I can tell you for sure is that BU cares about your grades and scores for admission. They told us that if your SAT is below 1300 you should absolutely not submit it because you will not get in. The theatre department negotiated with the university to allow BFA students to go test optional just for this reason. Other schools may care about academics, but none were so adamant as BU.
The other schools I understood to care about academics in terms of admissions were Michigan- they have a minimum to be considered, but it also plays into final decisions- and NYU where they say academics are 50% of the decision. I understood that 90% of CMUâs decision was audition so Iâd guess academics would not matter there.
Moving beyond the getting accepted aspect of this question, I advise you to apply to some programs where your grades/scores will put you in the top 25% of applicants because that will get you academic money, which is more plentiful than talent money at many schools. Good luck!
At UMich they said al of you are here because academically you have the criteria needed to go to this school. They didnât pass your prescreen if your GPA and test scores didnât fit criteria.
If you do want to have an academic type of college experience, I would veer more towards a BA program vs. a BFA. Those usually have minimal academic requirements. My son is in a BFA program and I think he has most of his core classes just from dual credit in HS. I donât think he ever has to take a math class, which is disheartening for his BS - Mathematics dad and incoming college freshman Engineering sister.
Your excellent academics will be helpful with passing prescreens. Our D is 2nd in her class and with a near-perfect SAT, so this helped a ton with passing prescreens. The bottom line, though, is that schools are not necessarily looking for the best performers such that the scenario to pick one from another equal might exist, theyâre looking for the best performers that fit the niche they want to fill that yearâitâs very subjective. Once past the prescreen stage, itâs anyoneâs game, and youâre all on equal footing. Keep in mind that while you were acing AP Chem, someone else was taking an extra voice lesson, and itâs your audition performance that is going to matter from that point forward.
Baylor is another one to add to this. Their theatre program is not strictly MT, but they do have high academic standards. Stan was very excited to learn the GPA and SAT of the young man I work with. TCU is also another one (not sure if it was mentioned). And they do have a strong MT program.
@msh1217 - My d worked her but off in school - has a 4.3 GPA and was in all honors - going into this process getting into a school where grades mattered was very important.
However I warn you that this is a highly selective process and you really need to cast a wide net - we still ended up applying to schools that were less academic - but anyway here were the schools that we found:
For a BFA program:
NYU - not as competitive as the school but still requires hight academics
BU - the admission needs to approve and as somebody above said you need a 3.7 unweighted GPA but donât submit ACT unless its a 31 - its ACT optional
Emerson - they look for of artistic and academics
Elon - not as competitive as BU - but you still need to make the school academically
Syracuse - not as competitive as BU - but you still need to make the school academically
Northwestern - (not BFA - but great program) very competitive academically - but we did the supplemental and D got in⊠so they must do a little bit of a blend
USC - has MT and theater - this is a highly competitive academic school
FSU and Michigan - will look at arts and academics - although they will push if they want you.
I also agree TCU - although they mentioned they would push people through here and there too.
Other schools you may want to look at are Skidmore, Vassar, Wesleyan, Tulane, Wake Forest - all have theater - not BFA - but they are very competitive schools. Linn Manual Miranda went to Wesleyan - so thatâs going to be more content than performance-based - but still might be an interesting option.
And then pf course there are the Ivyâs - I think all of them - I know Brown has a great program, and Yale⊠HarvardâŠ
BAL!!
Great list, @DivaStageMom ! Iâll add a handful of BA programs to the ones you mentioned: Connecticut College, Sarah Lawrence, American U (audition), JMU (Audition), and yes, the Ivies - Yale is the best known but they all have strengths. Dartmouth has a great department with connections to the local regional theatre for a handful of âe-termâ slots where, if accepted, you get to spend a term as an undergraduate interning at an equity theatre.
It really depends on the school and the program. My S had âokayâ grades and SAT. He did not pass the prescreen at Michigan, which we think was probably more due to his grades. He did get accepted to and is attending the University of Miami, a university with high academic standards, but the BFA MT program has flexibility.
When we visited the campus and spoke to an admissions person in 2017, he said if the MT program accepts a student, the admissions department does not question it. And the head of the MT program says he does not accept anyone he does not believe will be successful at the school. He said heâs only been wrong twice.
My S is finishing his junior year and has been doing just fine with his courses outside of the major. Being at a university where everyone has high academic standards certainly doesnât hurt.