@EVDLLD - your daughter and mine are twins! Mine refused to apply anyplace “local” (we are also in S. Cal). They are going to miss our weather when they are freezing their buns off…
Mine also wanted a University setting for identical reasons but @elsacc makes an excellent point - many of the university programs are really conservatories. That may be okay with you - it was for us - we figured if she decided she needed to transfer majors at least by staying at the same school she wouldn’t lose her friends and the Gen Eds would be the same.
The other thing I would have you strongly consider is where your D’s academic record will help her in admissions. You may not yet be fully aware but auditioned programs are hell to get into - think of trying to get into Harvard and your entire acceptance hinges on one 5 minute slot of time when you perform for strangers in a hotel conference room… now make it harder. Some audition-in programs weight academics but most do not. Some have “basic” requirements for academics but it comes as a surprise to non-PA high school counsellors that having straight As, a 1600 on the SAT and leadership roles up the kazoo won’t even get you brownie points with most BFA-Acting or MT programs.
In addition to all of the above: Wagner, Webster, Rider, Ball State, Nebraska Weslyan, Drake, Hartt (at U of Hartford), Coastal Carolina, Elon (reach). Look at the MT board for where people got in and you’ll get a good idea of some interesting programs. For non-audition: Muhlenberg
Honestly, there SO many programs now. Research, research, research. This site is great, too, obviously, but you will want to look at the programs and their curricula. Some schools are known for being stronger in particular areas. Othes more balanced. What many of us have done (I certainly did) was start to build a spreadsheet tracking the schools, degrees offered, cost, audition requirements, competitiveness (both artistic and academic), etc.
This is mentioned frequently all over the MT forums here in CC, but please please please make sure to balance your options by including safety schools. Do not put all your eggs into the top programs because they are EXTREMELY competitive, most with small admission classes. The 4.1 GPA will definitely help, especially in possibly securing some merit scholarship money.
@EVDLLD There are also big universities that afford in-state tuition to all MT students. Texas State and Montclair State (NJ) come immediately to mind. If your stats are good, Florida State will put together a package which is close to in state tuition for MTs.
If she is truly interested in piano, in addition to the traditional triple threat skills, have her look at Baldwin Wallace. This program is a BM in Musical Theatre, and is heavy on music theory. Lots of opportunity for composition, the program is housed in the Conservatory (which is an “all Steinway” school), and piano is required of all students!
Oklahoma City University is another MT program that is a Bachelor of Music and The Wanda Bass School of Music facilities are extraordinary. For those of you who haven’t had a chance to go to OCU in person, the music school itself includes:
1 Black-box Theater
5 Music Labs
6 Ensemble Rehearsal Rooms
11 Recording Venues
21st Century Apple Digital Campus
38 Teaching Studios
60 Sound-isolated Practice Rooms
133 Steinway Pianos
210 New Conn-Selmer Instruments
319 Students
113,000 Square Feet
If you are into composing, checkout Project 21 at OCU. Project 21: Music for the 21st Century is a student-run organization where student composers of all majors get the opportunity to showcase pieces of music that they’ve written. Project 21 hosts four free concerts per semester and presents a variety of musical genres like chamber music, music theater, film scoring, and choral pieces. Project 21 collaborates across disciplines of OCU throughout the year. Composers will collaborate with five student choreographers and dancers to perform a show to their original music in January. Most recently, the music of two student composers was featured in TheatreOCU’s production of The Crucible.
“We really allow the composers to have their own voice and write all styles of music,” Knight said. “We often have musical theater majors who double major in composition and only want to write music theater, but I tell them if you want to work, and everyone does, it’s good to know how to write everything. We try to expose the students to different styles and give them a chance to do everything.”
Dance is taken at the Ann Lacy School of Dance which has its own state of the art facilities and Acting is taken at the OCU School of Theatre that also has its own facilities.
If you want a music based program for MT, OCU is definitely worth a look!
Hello! If you are on College Confidential - and found the Musical Theater major thread, you are in the right place. Read the Final Decision Background for MT thread ( http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/2059578-final-mt-decisions-background-class-of-2022.html#latest ) and the Final Decision Background for Acting thread, as well as other MT and theater threads on this forum. There are MANY good colleges that will get you where you want to go. The key is FIT! Every kid is different in their artistry. Just because something is well respected, doesn’t make it the best fit for your child. You have probably heard to Cast a wide net - and that is true. This process is crazy. Every kid here is the best of the best of the best… and you are auditioning with thousands of crazy talented students for a chance at 12 - 40 spots at each school. I got a list from Broadway Artists Alliance and studied from there. Look at the curriculum at each college. Are you heavy into dance? You might not want a college that cares little for dance, because you will lose all of their skills. Do you want to be classically trained? Then you might not want some of these new contemporary schools.
That’s why I would start with the Final Decision page, and see how these insanely dedicated parents dealt with college auditions and the decision process - and how it all turned out! Good luck!
Just be aware that performance opportunities are very limited at Muhlenberg. My son is a sophomore MT major. Nice school, good training, but very scant offerings to be on any level stage. 2 MainStage productions a year, some student run stuff, and that’s it. All for a cool $62K per year. He’s seriously considering transferring.
UCF might be good for her. It’s a huge school and they take a triple-threat approach with their students. Everyone feels that it’s rather “low-key” in the sense that the pressure isn’t insane as it is in other programs. The only downside is that it isn’t a typical college experience as it is more of a commuter school and it isn’t in a true college town like UF.
