<p>Hello!</p>
<p>I am applying to Musical Theatre Colleges and I have one more spot for my list.. and I am deciding between </p>
<ol>
<li>Cornish College of the Arts</li>
<li>CSU Fullerton</li>
<li>Michigan State</li>
</ol>
<p>Does anyone have any info comparing these schools or what the MT programs are like and how good they are respectively ?!</p>
<p>THANK YOU!</p>
<p>Make sure you have one safety/non-audition school on your list.</p>
<p>yes i do!</p>
<p>But out of those three whats the best program for musical theatre?</p>
<p>What area of the country are you from?</p>
<p>I don’t think Cornish has a Musical Theatre major - and it doesn’t look like Michigan State does either. And you probably know that the MT program at CSU Fullerton is by audition once you are a student there (I think auditions are at the end of the freshman year -?) There might be other schools that would be better options to add to your list.</p>
<p>^That is why it would be helpful to know what part of the country you are from. Fullerton would probably not be a great option unless you are from the OC area. In addition, MTM is right in that it is by audition once you are there. They are definitely giving priority to students from the local area so may not be considered a safety for many.</p>
<p>Cornish does have a musical theatre major, but it is by audition. However, Cornish is housed in some older buildings in Seattle, in kind of an odd area, and I’ve heard that it doesn’t have a university campus feel at all, if that is important to you.</p>
<p>Thanks Christie for that update about Cornish - is musical theatre a new major for them? I can’t find any information on their website.</p>
<p>MTMama, </p>
<p>The confusion about the MT program at Cornish may lie in the fact that the BFA is not called “BFA in Musical Theatre.”</p>
<p>They have two tracks.</p>
<p>One is a BFA in Theater, which has an Acting Track. Seniors must do a Senior Thesis Project. There are many internships such as at Seattle Repertory Theater, Intiman Theater, ACT Theatre, Seattle Opera, Oregon Shakespeare Festival. They also put on new works by student authors. They also stage both contemporary and classical plays. Must audition at the end of your sophomore year to continue in the program into classical theater. </p>
<p>The other track is a BFA in Performing Arts, which integrates acting, singing and dancing. Those in this track get private voice lessons the first two years, as well as dance classes. The school puts on operas and musicals. This track is the one that Christie is likely referring to as the BFA in MT. That seems to be what it is but is not named “BFA in MT.” For example, at Tisch, they have a BFA program with MT training (formerly CAP21, now New Studio on Broadway), yet the degree there is called BFA in Drama even for the MT students. </p>
<p>At Cornish, the MT program is called BFA in Performing Arts. The Acting program is called BFA in Theater (Acting Track).</p>
<p>Be aware that there is NO housing offered through the school, though they offer help in finding housing.</p>
<p>I just want to slightly revise what I wrote above as that was based on my notes from prior years and admittedly I did not look at any updates this year. The revision is that The BFA in Theater has different tracks and one is the Acting Track and another option is the Performing Arts Track (the MT track basically). Both are under the degree of BFA in Theater.</p>
<p>They offer housing now. It is a new addition…</p>
<p>Did you confuse Michigan State with Western Michigan University? WMU does have a BFA in Musical Theatre Performance…</p>
<p>Also CSU Fullerton is seriously impacted right now so they are doing the following:</p>
<ol>
<li> Holding placement auditions for incoming freshman to determine who may have access to the MT classes. They are taking approx 80 I believe. They will have juries at end of freshman year to determine who can stay in the MT track. Then at the END of the SOPHOMORE year you can audition into the BFA MT program…they take approx 10 at that time.
If you don’t make the BFA track you can still complete a BA in drama degree.</li>
</ol>
<p>The audition as a freshman is quite new this year.</p>
<ol>
<li> It is true that priority for incoming students both freshman and transfers are given to local students (part of their state charter) So those out of area or out of state have to have higher academic stats to be admitted. Hope this helps.</li>
</ol>