<p>If you to the Webster thread up above and click on the main Webster thread, at the top currently, you will see some posts from today that very accurately describe what a conservatory program is like compared to a BA program. In two words-very busy! Also, go to the thread on Freshman Experience and you will see many broken down into daily hours.</p>
<p>FF once your HYPOTHETICAL test scores become ACTUAL test scores, you (and we) will have a more realistic picture of where you stand academically.</p>
<p>SDonCC said where your grades stand in relation to your ranking (or approximate class position) matter more than the GPA itself at most schools. </p>
<p>I humbly disagree. Looking at class standing without consideration for GPA can be misleading. For example, FF is in the top 14% of his class with a 3.3 GPA, which is great, but compare it to my sons graduating class last year where the top 10% of his class had an unweighted 4.0, and the top 11-15% had GPAs from 3.8-3.99 (uw) all or most of these kids took honors and APs classes.</p>
<p>When researching MT programs at schools in 12 states, we have found that academic requirements run the gamut. Yes, schools in TX, OK, IN do require and use class standing, with or without GPA, in their formulas for automatic acceptance and/or scholarship, but that is not typically the case with most midwest, northeast, east coast schools.</p>
<p>One upstate NY school states that they review your schools profile to put your course selections and grades in proper context. Class standing may be part of that profile; it certainly does not supersede GPA.</p>
<p>A New England school said of its current freshmen class: 92% of secondary schools reported a GPA; 39% of secondary schools reported a rank in class. </p>
<p>So if applying to schools in various regions of the country, be aware that both GPA and class rank are significant.</p>
<p>Finally, while Michigan is one of the few schools to do an academic pre-screen, some schools require academic admission before you can set up an MT audition. Whether its before or after you are accepted into the MT program, most schools require that you meet their academic admissions requirements (some conservatory programs make exceptions).</p>
<p>Conservatory life in a nutshell. Eat, drink, talk, sleep MT from 8AM - 11PM every night plus weekends and enjoy every minute of it.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! I’m really, really appreciating all of these replies!</p>
<p>My D is in a university setting, BFA program and she also eats drinks, talks, sleeps MT that same amount beenthere, so there is more to it than that. I am sure it varies depending on the program at either conservatories or university settings. In addition, at a conservatory, you will (for the most part) be surrounded only by performing arts students with little or no interaction with students of other disciplines. While at my D’ s university most of her classes are in a particular geographical area of the school and she is surrounded most of the day by performing arts students, she rooms off-campus with non-performing arts students and is on a campus where there are a number of other types of activities such as sports, non-p.a. speakers, etc. She does take more GE classes than at a conservatory, however as a sophomore transfer, she already took most of her GE and only had one additional GE class this year. The rest of her schedule this year included all dance, acting, vocal, and theater tech classes plus a main stage show, a graduate student directed show, a vocal choir ( made up of major and non-major students, the majority non-major), teching for a a show, etc. In other words, she is up to her eyeballs in theater. The difference is she is on a very large university campus, with a very small MT class.</p>
<p>Many conservatories reside inside large university campuses like: Penn State, CCM, UM, CMU, Hartt, Miami to name a few. Not sure in other parts of the country but a lot in the east. </p>
<p>Conservatories where ever they reside are usually a small group. I do agree that a BFA in MT is equally intense just about everywhere.</p>
<p>You will also not find many varsity sports played at a conservatory.</p>
<p>I’m curious. What exactly is a conservatory?</p>
<p>I guess I would not consider Penn State or UM to be conservatories, while I would consider CCM or BoCo as conservatories. I would consider a program that is dedicated to teaching the arts as the primary mission to be a conservatory. While CCM is on a university campus, I would still consider it a conservatory as there are few GE classes required; it is based almost totally in the arts. Penn State, while also in a university setting, features a curriculum that is more general and “well-rounded”, but includes a large number of performing arts classes, especially in the last 2 years. BoCo is also totally arts-based with fewer GE classes required. I also would not include program size in my definition of a conservatory as it varies all over the place; BoCo(which I consider a conservatory) has class sizes up around 50, while Penn State (which I would not consider a conservatory) is down around 12-14. I’m sure my definition is not very accurate and that kjgc or many others could provide a better definition.</p>