<p>Because of the size of the school and fact they have 4 sororities...does it make it a very cliquey high school environment? Especially curious if the majority of girls in the theater program are in a sorority? My daughter is bright, talented (singing & acting),creative, & outgoing but quirky in a good way. Pretty nerd/geek (loves Dr.Who - anything British) She is a confident and comfortable with who she is. Have been told that college where she will be accepted and fit in. Will this school be a good fit for her? How many of the total population are theater majors?</p>
<p>We took a tour in April, Theatre is the number 1 major, over 50% of the students are in theatre. I’m not sure if it’s cliquey, but I’ve met several students who love the “Berg”, and love to tell you how much they love it!!! lol</p>
<p>Are you saying that out of the 2,515 students at Muhlenberg 1,250 are theater majors?</p>
<p>Our tour guide said 51% of the students are in the theatre program</p>
<p>There are approximately 90-100 theater majors per year; the number tends to drop very slightly between freshman year and senior year for any given class, as I remember (i.e., not everyone who initially declares a theater major ends up graduating as one). </p>
<p>Bear in mind that this includes every kind of theater focus, including stage management, design/tech, etc. The overall population is 2225, so…it’s definitely not half! 
</p>
<p>The only way to assess fit for your daughter would be to visit, and I’d suggest seeing a show. It’s a great program and a very active, vibrant group of majors.</p>
<p>My daughter visited 2 times plus went to an audition. She liked the campus and what the program allows her to do major in acting and minor in music and dance or double major in acting and music and minor in dance etc.
I agree that there is no way that 50% of the kids who come are theater majors…
The school has so many other good programs that will attract students.
Basically, I wanted to get honest feed back about the social community of the school for its’ size - is it a warm community or is it cliquey - especially in the theater department?</p>
<p>vivahg11, I think it would be hard for anyone to post here that a school is cliquey or not a warm community. Plus, the social experience is different for everyone, and can change from year to year. Really it will be up to your D to decide how she feels about the people and the department. What appeals to one person can be a complete turn-off to someone else.</p>
<p>I used to be a hospital social worker and helped people who were looking at nursing homes for their family members. They would ask me if X facility was good, or Y facility wasn’t. I would never tell them anything except what was absolute fact - how big it was, the location, what services were provided. If I ever told them something subjective, I knew I’d hear after they visited that they felt completely the opposite. And I couldn’t decide for them what was important - some people were sticklers for cleanliness, others would leave if they didn’t like the smell, or if a staff person had the wrong expression on his/her face. This is a very personal choice, and none of us can make it for you.</p>
<p>Also remember, the population at a college changes by 25% every year. Both of my Ds have experienced warm communities AND cliques at their schools - and they’ve met an entire new group of friends every single year. Faculty changes, too. Much of this decision has to be made on faith, not only that the experience will be positive, but also that the student will have the maturity and resourcefulness to balance the good with the bad.</p>
<p>Well said Emmybet
I do know three people who graduated from Muhlenberg and they all speak very positively of the school.</p>
<p>My son got to know a couple of Muhlenberg dance students when he was at a performing arts program in Italy, and they were really, really nice…for whatever that’s worth.</p>
<p>You know, if your daughter loves “anything British”, has she thought about going to college/uni in Britain?</p>
<p>She would LOVE to but considering she is my only, I am not keen on her going that far away. I am open to her going there for a summer 4-5 week program and a master’s program. College in general is where you make the transition to adult world - a place where you get the opportunity to mature and become more responsible. After her internship this year at a Shakespearian theater company, I might reconsider???</p>
<p>Vivahg11, are you saying that your daughter’s internship would make you more willing for her to go to school in Britain?</p>
<p>Is/was her internship by any chance at Shakespeare & Co in Lenox, MA?</p>
<p>Muhlenberg is not heavy into Greek life like Lehigh, Franklin and Marshall or Bucknell to name a few. Muhlenberg is a very interesting mix of preprofessional majors and theater majors. Everyone seems to get along and be accepting of their fellow students. All you have to do is get a coffee and sit out in some of the common areas and watch the interactions. It is a very interesting mix of kids who are very accepting of others. It is also one of the few schools we visited where kids would either hold the door for you or look you in the eye and say “thank you” if you held the door open for them. It is a small community, but really a very special place. Good luck in your daughters search!</p>
<p>Informed by another poster on MT forum, that the number of students that are in the theater program is about 500? I’m assuming some of these are interested in other aspects of theatre other than acting/MT? How much competition is there to get cast in performances? With some other college programs you are guarantee casting.
Being that Muhlenberg is a non-audition school with so many in the theatre program, I am wondering about performance opportunities and casting. How does it effect students who are serious when auditions are open to anyone in the school?</p>
<p>I don’t know the percentage of the 500 that are cast each year but there are a lot of performance opportunities in addition to the mainstage productions, (even more if your D is a dancer), such as student run shows. You would have to ask them for specific #'s
When we asked about performance opportunities we were told “The cream rises to the top”.
While we liked to think our D was “cream”, that was one of her concerns about the program. We LOVED everything else about Muhlenberg, but in the end she chose an auditioned program with way fewer students and guaranteed onstage time each semester.</p>
<p>Austinmt, Curious what school your D is at?</p>
<p>She is a BFA MT-voice major at Roosevelt/CCPA, just started last week. They also have MT-dance and acting BFA’s.</p>
<p>My daughter is a theater major at Muhl and NOT in a sorority; she didn’t rush. My daughter, who could definitely be described as quirky, has had a good time there; she is currently spending the semester at Academia dell’Arte in Tuscany and having the time of her life.</p>
<p>It probably is both cliquey AND warm. There are groups but lots of overlap and acceptance. My daughter is very engaged with theater but doesn’t only hang with theater kids or only do theater, which has been nice. While it is not the most avant garde student body, I can assure you your daughter won’t be the only nerd who loves Dr. Who there. My daughter felt like the straightest kid there when she visited Sarah Lawrence and one of the quirkiest kids when she visited Muhlenberg. But Muhlenberg is very comfortable for her.</p>
<p>Regarding performance opportunities- that is a very real issue. It is definitely NOT like a small BFA program where there are guaranteed performance opportunities. I don’t know if my daughter is “cream” or not. She has gotten a lot of callbacks for Main Stages but is still waiting to be cast in a Main Stage and is perfecting her rejection ritual. 
She has, however, had a lot of other performance opportunities, including student directed plays and films, and even a dance production, has directed a production herself, and is participating in a performance ensemble. There certainly are kids how have fewer opportunities and that is challenging.</p>
<p>If your daughter wants to talk to my daughter PM me and I can put them in touch. Although the time difference makes it challenging! ;-)</p>
<p>I’m glad to hear that your daughter is at the Accademia and enjoying it, LeftofPisa. When my son was there, there were Muhlenberg students, but they were all dancers, not actors.</p>
<p>The question about performance opportunities is, I think, a very valid one, and one that is (for now) keeping Muhlenberg off our list. We have friends whose daughter attended Muhlenberg. While she was happy there, she did not once get cast in a show. Not once in four years. And she auditioned for everything. Were I her parents, I’d be quite unhappy spending my money with those results…</p>
<p>I know this is only one person’s experience, but it does give me some concern. If anyone has non-anecdotal knowledge on performance opportunities at Muhlenberg, I would be very interested in hearing them.</p>
<p>(Back to the OP’s question – our friend’s daughter loved the people at Muhlenberg and found it a very warm and welcoming place.)</p>