<p>Thank you, everyone. I am checking out every suggestion that I had not already examined. I had actually looked for such schools myself during the summer for my son, and found it very difficult to find much, but since his grades are in a much better range I did not have that constraint. Susan, most of the schools on your list are really very selective, and many do require an audition. It is surprising that some schools do require a drama audition when the programs are not that well known, and even more surprising how selective the program is. I called a few places that I had not known were strong theatre departments and found that their stats were often MORE selective for drama majors, and some did not give much concession if any for academics. If he were more a B student than a C student, it would have made a big difference.<br>
Both Ursinus and Susquehanna look good along with some former women's colleges like Goucher and Wheaton. Connecticut College is a tough school admissions wise as are Skidmore and Vassar. I had not heard of Evansville and it looks like a good bet too. Several other possibilities too. </p>
<p>I can't believe what a great resource you all are. This is more help than the theatre guides and the counselors.</p>
<p>It's funny how I did not really think of Goucher having taken classes there myself many years ago. I still think of Goucher as pretty selective, and I do feel that they are definitely on the upswing. I was at Vassar a couple of weeks ago, and it is no longer such a safety for males as it is has a solid 40/60 ratio which many schools have like Wm & Mary, for example that are not associated as female schools. Skidmore, too is very selective for males though not quite as tough as for females and the same with Connecticut College. And Goucher is really a nice location, I know, in Towson and pretty easily accessible. Am not going to go in today with them as originally planned but have given a list to the mom and son to run by the counselor and I wish them luck. I think the original panic has subsided somewhat as there are alternatives out there.</p>
<p>Is Hofstra not an option....near a city, has BA in theater....I know he has Cs but he has much better than avg. SATs and did go to a demanding prep school.....plus decent theater involvement in HS, am wondering if a school like this would not work out?</p>
<p>Let's see, I had already had Hofstra and Santa Fe on the list, but Santa Fe does want an audition for entry to Theatre but I know it is not selective and he should do just fine with it, I took Drew and Rollins, but left out Marymount and Sarah Lawrence as those schools were already suggested and the boy did not like them--had had summer experience at those schools already. We'll see if the counselor comes up with anything else for him.</p>
<p>How about University of North Texas? (Shauna of MT thread fame is there.) From their website it looks like no audition. They have both BA and BFA in theatre, but you don't audition for the BFA till spring of soph. year. It's a large theatre dept.--275 kids. I don't think it is that difficult to be admitted--a friend's D went there, and she had a rather checkered academic past.</p>
<p>Evansville would not be a good choice for this student, as they do require auditions and are a competitive program. They participate in Unified Auditions. Two of our best theatre students from our high school attend there.</p>
<p>Jamimom, Goucher is still pretty selective but their stats for accepted males are lower than their overall stats would suggest. And, they are trying to increase their size from 1300 to 1500 over the next two years so have loosened up a bit in terms of acceptances. They don't have the kind of yield that will allow them to grow unless they do that. The feeling that I got when we talked with the adcom rep, and from their web sites, is that they are willing to overlook certain weaknesses in transcripts for some students (they are also trying to diversify geographically). The school is also on a building binge - building new dorms, a new library, new student center - to accomodate the goal of growing the student body. So far, they are also hiring new faculty to keep up with the growth. All in all, right now Goucher is a good admissions value for B and even some C students with good SATs.</p>
<p>Have you considered Earlham in Indiana? The theatre major is non-audition. They have internships for their theatre majors and students can do a semester in London. Earlham is known around my neck of the woods as a good LAC.</p>
<p>How about Columbia College in Chicago? Their theatre program is non-audition. Columbia's big advantage is the Chicago location. As you know, there's a lot of excellent theatre in the area.</p>
<p>Bookiemom - I was just going to suggest North Texas..good friend of mine went htere a number of years ago and loved it...had a double major (with English) and taught in hs for many years after deciding not to go the professional route...I think it's still a well thought of program...</p>
<p>Don't be fooled by the admission rate of Ohio Wesleyan. You may get in but the people who get financial aid there get well above the average scores of the school. Check out <a href="http://www.studentsreview.com%5B/url%5D">www.studentsreview.com</a> for comments on the selectivity of the school.</p>
<p>North Texas would be a definite consideration except for the size and location combo. One or the other would not be a problem but both would be. I will throw it out as a suggestion but my own feeling is that it is primarily an in state school and someone from the east coast may not adjust so quickly there. I get the same feeling for Illinois State, a school that I am very familiar with as I lived in Normal for a short time. My own son was loathe to go to Binghamton as he felt there were just too many New Yorkers and the 94% in state stat supports that. Trinity in Texas is more the size I am seeking for this kid and with a 30% out of state enrollment, it is attractive. The issue there is that it is a Presbyterian affiliated school and I have no idea how much of that permeates into the school atmosphere. It is something the family will have to decide on their own from literature and visits.</p>
<p>I will say that I did not realize how many theatre departments do require an audition. And it is not always obvious. You really have to dig into the web sites. I am compiling the info to put in the Theatre School and MT threads as some of the colleges I am finding are not listed. I am spending a bit too much time on this but it takes my mind of some other things and for some reason I do enjoy doing directed searches of this sort. </p>
<p>I agree with the post on Ohio Wesleyan. I am looking for schools where the boy's SAT1 is close to the upper 25%. OW has 25% of its kids with a 1300 which is somewhat higher than what he has. Goucher is at 1290, which is a little better and is also mitagated by the fact that they are looking for more males and would probably be more generous with them. Wheaton also looks promising for males and offerings. I am eyeing Hobart & William Smith, but they don't seem to have much in the way of theatre offerings.</p>