<p>First timer here - what would be a good first and second tier for musical theatre schools?</p>
<p>In the Northeast:</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon
Ithaca College
NYU
SUNY Fredonia, U Buffalo
Syracuse University
Westminster Choir College
University of Hartford (Hartt SOM)</p>
<p>mtinfo -- your question is very general. What kinds of things are you looking for in an MT program? Where in the country (or abroad) would you like to study? Are you looking for a conservatory environment or a more liberal arts based education with intense training</p>
<p>There are many fine MT programs -- some are more prestigious than others, but there are many diverse routes to obtaining MT training. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>My son is a baritone, really enjoys acting, only has 1 year of dance but will take intensive study this school year (before auditions). He is looking for a no cut program, one that has a showcase, I guess, Sr. year. Does not want a conservatory. In the country, east coast or midwest. High ACT score and a National Merit Scholar. Wants a well rounded training. This is all so new - he did visit U of M and CMU. Loved both places. But in talking to others it sounds as if he needs to apply to a dozen different places???
Does any of this help.</p>
<p>Please take time and read more of the threads on CC MT. There will be hugely diverse opinions on "tiers" of schools - for example there are schools listed by pageturner that I would not remotely consider - but thats me. You need to isolate what qualities you seek in your training and find the schools that are good matches. It will take some time and research - CC is a good start. Good luck!</p>
<p>I agree with mtdog-- read through the threads here -- also go through the individual school threads, and look at the websites for schools there and on the big list posted on the faq link.</p>
<p>As far as number of schools to apply to I think that depends -- it does seem that most apply to at least 8 and try to balance their list with at least one school (that is an academic and financial safety) that has a non-auditioned musical theatre (or theatre program with strong MT opportunities). </p>
<p>CMU and Michigan are two of the most competitive MT schools in terms of admissions. They are terrific programs, but your S will want to round out his list.</p>
<p>Best of luck! :)</p>
<p>mtinfo24 - I noted your comment that your son does not want a "conservatory" and also your comments about some of his academics. If he is interested in continuing an exposure to traditional academics, that will impact on the schools that are suitable for him. In looking at BFA programs, you will see that many of them, while not "pure" conservatory programs, are conservatory "style" programs in which the opportunities to take classes outside the theatre department are very limited. Some BFA programs allow for more. In addition, the curricula at most BFA programs are very structured and sequenced. It is accordingly important to look at the curriculum at each school of interest to get a handle on both the balance between acting, voice and dance as well as the extent to which there is an opportunity to take gen ed or L.A. arts classes, if that is of interest. In this regard, you should be aware that CMU, which you indicated is of strong interest, is in reality more of a "pure" conservatory program than most other university housed programs - the MT curriculum does not provide for any classes outside of the theatre department.</p>
<p>mtinfo24, CMU has a fabulous training program, but it is not well rounded in the sense that students in musical theater there take abundant academic classes. CMU is very, very much a conservatory training program.</p>
<p>I hope this question fits within this forum. My D auditioned for MT at several "reach" schools last year only to discover how competitive it really was, so she opted for her freshman year at a local State university with a BA program in MT. She really wants a conservatory BFA program. So we are making plans to do another round of auditions. A few questions: Should she try as a transfer or freshman? Pros/Cons? Hate to lose a years worth of effort. How do SAT/ACT scores play into this? If we treat this as a freshman attempt, what about required high school recommendation letters and transcripts? As you can see we are in the dark; any help is appreciated.</p>
<p>If she's been a matriculated student at a college, she will have to apply as a transfer student. Some programs will require that she start off in freshman classes if accepted, but the application process will be as a transfer. Her test scores will still be required, as will transcripts, but her letters of recommendation should come from profs at her current college. For details, it's best to look at the websites of the particular schools in which she is interested.</p>
<p>Not computer savvy - it was mentioned to read more threads on CC MT - how do you go about doing that.</p>
<p>Scroll to the top of this page. Click on "Musical Theater Major" and you will be taken to the "home page" for all of the musical theater threads.</p>
<p>Go to the Musical Theatre Major page - that's the one with the list of schools at the top. Click on a school and you will see threads with questions and discussions for each one. Further down on that Musical Theatre Major page, you will see on the right that there are 35 pages of threads. Look through these pages for topics of interest. You can also use the "search this forum" feature, which drops down under the page numbers.</p>
<p>Reading the hundreds of threads in this forum will be very informative for you, mtinfo24. I am going to make a recommendation to you, which I've never done before here on CC. If you are going to be applying/auditioning this year for Sept. '09 entry, and if you are just now starting your research, you are going to need assistance, as this is late to be beginning. College MT admissions is very competitive and it also can be complicated, detailed, and confusing, particularly for someone who is not 'computer savvy'. I would recommend that you avail yourself of the knowledge and expertise offered by one of our longtime posters here who is also a college counsellor for CC. Her username is soozievt. I'll link her profile so you can contact her if you're interested. She prefers to receive email rather than PM, so all you need to do is click on the 'send email' button to reach her. Susan is incredibly knowledgeable and will be helpful to you. She volunteers much appreciated information ON the forum but for someone in your position, I'd really recommend that you engage her on a professional basis.</p>
<p>Thank you alwaysamom. In reading over some of the threads I am starting to feel overwhelmed. I will definitely take you up on your suggestion. My s has a better idea of what needs to take place and has been working on various aspects of this process. I just feel I need to catch up with him.</p>
<p>Look at Elon University.</p>
<p>It has been awhile but all apps are in and on time. My son has applied to 8 schools and will start auditions at Unifieds. He has heard that some schools will be doing interviews along with the audition. Does any one know what type of questions are asked in an interview. He is the type of person that likes to think before he speaks which I can't see going over very well.</p>
<p>Questions tend to be general and open-ended, to give students an opportunity to reveal something about themselves. When doing her interviews, my D was afraid she would get tongue-tied. So she prepared several interesting anecdotes/stories about herself. Knowing that she had something to share made her more relaxed about the whole process, and in fact on several occasions she was able to use them in the interviews.</p>