A good coach will know a great deal about each program, some are more dance intensive, others more vocal… They also know who is getting accepted to what program. They are going to help come up with a balanced list of top tier, middle tier, and less competitive schools based on your child, and what they see as their strong points. You can go on MTCA’s website and see where the kids they tutored the past two years are going. It’s an impressive list.
Other coaches mentioned on this forum are Mary Anna Dennard, Dave Clemmons, and Chelsea Diehl. All get kudos from folks on CC. There are probably others out there. But I highly recommend a coach for help with selecting schools. A coach really helped us come up with a list. I found it way too hard otherwise. D wanted MT with very strong acting programs. She’s a very strong student. I didn’t want her too far from home. How could I have come up with Otterbein? Wright State? Ithaca? Some of these don’t get on your radar unless you live near them or you know someone who attended there. Sure everyone knows the big names like UMich or CMU or NYU. But how about Baldwin-Wallace? There are so many programs out there and so little time to come up with a solid list. Your high school counselor can’t help you, Aunt Maeve can’t help you, Joe down the street doesn’t even know there is an MT major and probably thinks it’s like majoring in underwater basket weaving --a cinch. Your voice/acting coaches probably can’t give you a broad perspective either. They’re stuck back in 2005. Honestly, I think an audition coach (a national one) is almost the only way to go if you want to keep some level of sanity in tact going through this process. Okay, I got that off my chest. Back to figuring out what’s for dinner tonight. 
@HappyDancer98 I concur! Somehow, these coaches (and D also attends a very knowledgeable training program for high school musical theatre students) know info about programs that we would never know. Ours have been dead-on with the info and suggestions for our daughter this year.
Wow! Thank you for all of the great advice. We had an initial consultation with MTCA but they have been a little unresponsive since then. I can definitely see how using them to help with the college selection process. I so wish there were more programs in/near California. I keep thinking about the possibility of needing to get to her quickly and that means trying to avoid flying. I guess every parent worries about that kind of thing…lol. This is our first so the thought of her going to Ohio, for example, really freaks me out a little.
She’s a very strong student, currently NW 4.4 GPA and several university credits under her belt already. Her HS is very academically driven and I think she’s looking forward to spending her time studying what she loves, and taking an occasional class that looks interesting. Would you all recommend printing up all 30 schools, let say, and their course requirements to see if that’s what she’s interested in doing?
Mary Anna Dennard was our D’s coach and we found her to be very helpful with college selection. You might reach out to her or another coach mentioned above, in addition to MTCA and compare services offered. Mary Anna has a lot of online prep. Course requirements are only part of the puzzle. Which school is strong in acting, dance, voice? What does your student need? What performance opportunities are there? Can you double major? What connections does the school have to the industry? Is there an opportunity to study abroad? How generous is the school with aid? How difficult is it to get into the school, academically and artistically? The list goes on and on. Way too much for most people to get their hands around while carting their kid to lessons, shows, etc.
Mary Anna had a lot of California students the year our D auditioned (she was our D’s coach too). She even went to LA Unifieds. It seems like she also had some master classes while in the state as well. We highly recommend her.
@MTheaterMom - Looking at course requirements and typical schedules could be one part of the puzzle - especially if getting well-rounded academics is a priority. Most conservatory and “conservatory-style” BFA programs leave little room for academic choice and generally require very few Gen Eds to graduate. It may be somewhat difficult to get a true picture of what is “possible” to add to the MT studio schedule, even though websites and faculty may say there is “plenty of flexibility”. My S is technically in his school’s Honor College, but as a second semester sophomore is just now taking his first required “academic” class (the afore mentioned English Comp that is far less rigorous than the English class he took as a HS freshman at an academically competitive HS). Not one “honors” class has come close to fitting amongst the studio classes which can often take up more than a single class period. S knows of a few seniors who will not be graduating on time because they did not get in all the Gen Eds needed to make graduation requirements - even though they are pretty minimal. Coming in with AP/college credits can be very helpful for filling in basic Gen Eds, which can in turn free up the schedule to take more desirable classes - provided you can get them to fit and the prof is willing to waive prerequisite courses. If you KNOW that taking interesting academic coursework is a priority, look for a program with more of a Liberal Arts focus. A BA program is more likely to fit that mold, but there are some BFA, and perhaps BM, programs that support/encourage a more well-rounded education. Rather than looking at requirements for all 30 possibilities (my eyes glazed over after looking at about 5), you might start by looking at a few from each category - BA, BFA, BM - and see how they generally compare to each other. Look at 1 - 2 “conservatory-style” BFAs vs. Liberal-Arts-focused BFAs. Not every program fits discretely into it’s designated BA/BFA/BM box, but that might give you a place to start thinking about academic vs. MT training priorities.
@monkey13, thank you! @TapperDad and others, thank you! I didn’t realize that college coaches could help with more than just audition prep. If they can help a kid narrow the list enough to focus on places that would suit their individual needs, it sounds wonderful! It’s very hard to know about the specifics of the programs, even after reading their websites. It’s all so daunting.
@MTmom019 - I think he means, for example, if the school is traditionally considered heavy in dance and your daughter’s dance technique is the one she’s got the least amount of training in, to possibly pass on that school. My S’s coach did exactly that. S is a competent dancer (4yrs) but hasn’t had years and years of training as he has had with voice and acting. For that reason he suggested to not put a particular school on his list. I don’t want to say the school because this was his personal opinion I recommend a coach, we didn’t use MTCA (we are in CA) but we did hire a coach nonetheless…
@mom4bwayboy do you know which BFA programs might “support/encourage a more well-rounded education”? I’d love to find to at least some liberal arts-focuses BFAs (or BAs) to include on the list of what my son is looking at … I’ll admit to being shocked how few gen ed classes are part of some of the BFA programs he’s looked at so far …
To chime in, @NYPAMom - You may want to opt out of BFA and look into BA. The BFA has SO MANY required performing arts credits, it’s difficult to fit in more than the required non performance based credits. At least that’s how it’s been looking to me!
@NYPAMom - Since my S’s focus was the conservatory-style BFA - mostly in the Mid-West, I am no expert on the more well-rounded programs. Of the ones we looked into, Indiana University and UMIch fall into that category - as audition programs both are difficult artistic admits and above-average academic admits (UM especially) - and really want their students to get a true Liberal Arts grounding. IU also has a non-audition BA program and students in that program are free to audition for all productions (as are all students in the university). From what folks post on CC, it sounds like NYU also encourages their students to extend themselves. There are many more which others can comment on.
My S’s program (Wright State) offers a BFA in Acting and a BFA in Acting with an MT emphasis (basically an MT BFA, but with acting being the main focus), but they also have a non-audition BA in Theater Arts. All Acting/MT and Theater Arts (and Dance major) students can audition for all productions and lead roles can be played by students in any of these programs. Many schools that offer BFAs also have a BA track. Sometimes students who audition for MT BFAs get “redirected” to the BA program (or the Acting BFA), but still have the same performance opportunities as the BFAs. This can be one way to get into a top choice program even if you are not accepted to the MT BFA - or if you are looking for a broader educational experience. At many schools, the Acting and MT BFA students take the same “skill” classes (especially in the first two years), while the BA students might only be able to take those classes with special permission if space permits. At the same time, SOME acting, music and dance classes are open to ALL BFA/BA students. At my S’s program (and I’m sure at many others) there are several VERY talented BA students who seem to tailor their programs to be very competitive as performers. (The young man who played ValJean in Les Mis a few years ago was a BA student with a STUNNING voice).
Sorry I couldn’t be more help. I’m sure others will have much to add.
@NYPAMom My daughter attended NYU/Tisch and while it is a BFA program with conservatory studio training, there is a fair amount of academics as well, and my daughter preferred that and in fact, enjoyed it quite a bit.
@Dankadon, thank you so very much! Your post is very helpful. I actually thought that coaches only helped with the actual audition itself, but now I’m learning that there is so much more involved than just a quick in-and-out audition. LOL It looks like getting help in narrowing the list and giving advice on good matches for each child is just as important!
^^^@MTmom019 Some MT applicants have audition coaches for the songs and monologues primarily and also use independent college counselors for the college selection and applications process.
And yes, the development of the right college list for each applicant is crucial.
Much (belated) thanks, @Dankadon, @mom4bwayboy and @soozievt – you helped me clarify my question so I could figure out which other threads might have suggestions in them. Also you’ve made me think a coach might be what we need to … thank you!
If you are looking for a program where your student can combine excellent training in the performing arts with a strong liberal arts education I encourage you to put Ball State on your list. My D is a junior BFA MT and also is in the Honors College, where she has taken a number of interesting challenging courses. They also have an excellent BA Theater program, and a world renown Communications School funded in part by David Letterman.
Conservatory style training in a liberal arts college environment. A great place to be!
@jeffandann is the BA theatre program at Ball State audition as well? Do you find they play second fiddle to the MT dept? No offense meant there I just know that is sometimes the case…
Theaterwork. No, the BFA programs in dance, acting, and MT are audition but the BA Theater Studies is not. Those taking the BA Theater Studies option can then audition again for the BFA their freshman year and I know of several students who have moved from the BA to the BFA in that way. Plus the kids in the BA program audition for shows and get cast, not to the same extent of the BFAs but they do get cast.