<p>I was attending the University of West Florida but now I am financially unable to attend this year (I would have been a sophomore) and I will have to take classes at a college at home for the time being. I have now realized UWF does not offer what I want anyway (as far as MT goes). I was considering at least staying in the state of Florida and highly considering Florida State University (because it could be financially possible) but I want to know about the best colleges for MT in the US that also offer scholarships/grants that can pay for the majority of the costs. I feel like I am stuck (because of cost) and I need to be somewhere where the MT programs are GREAT.</p>
<p>I know I should have auditioned for colleges when I was a senior in high school but I was just unsure of what I wanted to do at that point (major in Voice or MT?). I made my decision to major in MT pretty last minute (UWF doesn't have auditions). I kind of regret that I did not realize MT was what I wanted to major in sooner. Now I am willing to transfer somewhere and even start as a freshman...As long as it is a GREAT MT program.</p>
<p>Please help me! Any help would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>There are many wonderful MT programs in the US, but most are not particularly generous with talent based scholarship money. Even some that have scholarship money available may not be generous with money for transfer students. It all depends on the school. As a transfer into a BFA program you would most likely need to start over at the beginning of the program, taking 4 more years of school to complete the program. I am unsure about what schools have talent based scholarship money, but I think there is a thread titled something like “who is generous with scholarships”, or something like that. You should be able to search the forum for it using the search function. You also can find out about transfer “friendly” schools by searching “transfer”. You may find that the best financial deal you will have is to attend a state school in FL. Florida State and University of Central Florida are strong programs that immediately come to mind. I am sure that some Florida residents on CC may have information on other Florida schools to check out.</p>
<p>I don’t want to discourage your search efforts - but FSU has a great program - and a fairly affordable program for Florida residents. If you can get in as a MT major - I would put my eggs in that basket. Good luck in any case.</p>
<p>… one word of caution, because I know the State of Florida has been severely cutting its support of higher education - check with the program to see who and what has been cut before making a final choice. Again, FSU has had a very good program - I just do not know how hard they have been hit.</p>
<p>Hey! I was sort of in the same situation. I was attending a school in South Carolina, not sure if I wanted to major in Theatre or Musical Theatre. After a semester, I realized that I wanted to major in MT. So I took a lot of general education classes in the spring and focused on auditions. I am from Florida so my parents wanted me to look at schools in Florida (but I was allowed to audition for one “dream school” out of state which for me was the Catholic University of America in Washington DC). </p>
<p>Like you said FSU is a great school and so is UCF. If you want a large, public institution I would also suggest The University of Miami (I believe they have a BM and a BFA MT program). The University of Florida in Gainesville (my hometown) also has a BFA in Music Theatre but it isn’t regarded as one of the best in the state (although I know many people who have graduated or are students in the program and really enjoy it). </p>
<p>As for smaller school, I would look into The University of Tampa (it is a BA program but is taught in a conversatory environment) and Jacksonville University (BFA Music Theatre). Both schools are private but are affordable, especially if you are a Florida Resident. For example, I will be attending Jacksonville University this fall as a transfer student (sophomore) and I have almost all of my tuition covered. I have 75% Bright Futures (which they will give you the equivilent of 75% tutition for a public insititution), Florida Pre-Paid, a $10,000 academic scholarship, and the FRAG grant (Florida Resident Access Grant- given to all Florida residents attending a private Florida insititution= $2,529). Both of these schools have talent based scholarships that you can receive as well. Both are audition schools but Tampa will accept a videotape (I sent one in and was accepted and given a pretty generous scholarship but chose not to attend for other reasons). Jacksonville puts a heavy emphasis on music theory and sight-singing during the audition, something which is worth pointing out. </p>
<p>I should say that Jacksonville University is getting attention around the state. The Music department, especially the MT program has gotten a lot stronger in the past few years with the introduction of a new department head. I will be starting classes there in a few weeks and I will be posting on here letting people know how it is. There is another member on here who’s daughter attending JU this fall as a transfer student too.</p>
<p>Sorry this was so long. That is all I can think of for now. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me! I know the transfering process can be very hectic!!!</p>
<p>That was my bad…I meant to put U of Miami under the private schools. Sorry…my life has been very crazy lately!!!</p>
<p>But please don’t let the sticker prices of these private institutions discourage you. As I said before, there are SOOO many ways to get financial aid(especially Florida residents) at these schools and most students don’t pay the sticker price. I am paying no where NEAR the sticker price for Jacksonville and it is an expensive school if you dont get aid.</p>
<p>We visited the University of Miami earlier this year for my (non-MT) daughter. They offer boatloads of scholarship money if your academics are decent. Wish I could say the same about Northwestern, where my son wound up!</p>
<p>My son is a sophmore in MT at U Miami. There is a small amount of talent based scholarships. While there is a lot more money available based on academics, the criteria for this money has escalated quite a bit in the last two years. For example, three years ago my older son was offered a 75% scholarship based strictly on a SAT score of 1410. My younger son,(above) had SAT scores of 1390, but in order to get the scholarship had to be in the top %5 of his high school class, and had to have a grade point average that I don’t recall. He did not meet all the criteria. You can look up the data on their web site, but it is increasingly difficult to get scholarship at U Miami. Not impossible, but make sure you discuss it with someone in the financial aid dept.</p>