<p>Since there is clearly no such thing as a safety school when it comes to these selective audition-based MT programs, does anyone know of some schools to look into that have a really good MT/theater program and/or do a lot of shows each year? Not too academically rigourous...i mean I'm not asking for a top university as a safety lol!!</p>
<p>Any help would be greatly appreciated because my biggest fear is not getting into any of the places I'll audition for next year!!</p>
<p>I had the same fear for my S so I looked into non-audition programs in our area and had him apply to two. One that we visited and liked was North Central College in Naperville, IL. It's an LAC with an MT major and some good success with its graduates. The people are very welcoming, their theater is older but renovated and a beautiful performing space. The town of Naperville is charming and a very short train ride from Chicago. My S got a nice academic award (and he's not the best student around) and auditioned for scholarships and received two separate additional awards for music and for theatre. He could have gone for almost a free ride! But he's gotten into 3 of the 5 places he's auditioned for (1 rejection, 1 yet to come) so he's not going to attend. But it was a nice option.</p>
<p>Columbia College in Chicago has a pretty nice program. Plus the school is a really big arts school with tons of opportunities. I did a summer camp with them two years ago and it was definatly worth while. The location is great, downtown chicago, and they just opened a new appartment complex which they share with DePaul and Roosevelt (two other great theatre schools). Plus chicago is a great theatre city too, especially with the new permenant cast of Wicked coming in at the end of this summer!</p>
<p>One of the other programs that I looked at was Wichita State University. I really liked a curriculum and it has a really well know regional theatre right by as well. If I hadn't gotten into any of my programs, thats where I'd be headin off to next year.</p>
<p>I live in Cincinnati, and Northern Kentucky University is right over the river. Two girls from my daughter's school attend NKU. They have auditions for scholarships only. <a href="http://www.nku.edu/%7Etheatre/academic.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.nku.edu/~theatre/academic.htm</a>
Also, check out the FAQ at the top of the forum and dancersmom has compiled a list they have on there. look for the ~ before the school - it meant non audition, but I'd check to be sure.</p>
<p>I agree with illinisue - check the ~ next to schools in the FAQ list for a comprehensive listing of schools that do not require auditions. You could then research the schools for how hard they are to get into academically, if that is a concern. You might want to look at geographically appealing locations.</p>
<p>For us, we have visited the following which are almost too good to be called safeties, but which do not require auditions (2 of them have auditions for scholarship purposes): Indiana University, TCU, Tulsa University. My S will apply to one or 2 of these. They are all highly ranked academically - thank goodness he is a good student and will hopefully be accepted somewhere! We really liked them and have written our thoughts previously on this forum.</p>
<p>I would like to second what Mtfan said about Wichita State. We were more impressed by a rehearsal we saw there than at some of the audition schools. They have some very talented students and the faculty were very caring. WSU had a lovely campus great "Real College" atmosphere with good regional theatre in the area. It was very much a possibility for my s. I would bet however it will not be too long before it is a audition program judging by what we saw.</p>
<p>Catawba College in Salisbury NC, Marietta College in Marietta OH, and University of Minnesota, Duluth are all non-audition, BFA MT schools. When we researched most non-audition schools, they required an evaluation at the end of the freshman year to stay in the program. So you might want to make sure of each place's procedures and perhaps find out their numbers accepted, etc. Offhand, I remember U of Minn, Duluth was definitely that way. All three of these schools are quite well respected. Catawba's campus (I actually attended there for my first two years, back in the dark ages) is absolutely beautiful. I saw it recently and it is beautiful and updated. Oh, and by the way, don't get sticker shock at these private colleges. They usually end up giving out money so they are comparable to state universities in the long run. If I had known that when my D started applying, we would have looked at more of them.</p>
<p>Catawba - We considered visiting and it didn't work out, but I know they have an excellent reputation for acting. Please double check me, but I believe they require an official audition (not just an evaluation) after the first year to be considered for the BFA musical theatre program.</p>
<p>Catawba - Can anyone shed any light on this school? A relative actually attends for a sports related major, but we don't know much on the theatre side. We've received a fair amount of info on the school, some theatre info. Some folks at other schools have actually commented on it to us, but it appeared their opinions were slightly slanted. I know there's no audition necessary, till the end of year 1. If there's anyone out there as a student or familiar w/ someone there,we'd appreciate their input. How many students are in the program, what is the success rate of those students auditioning to remain in the program, who makes up their audience ? (an odd question, perhaps, but we're not that familiar w/ the surrounding town) etc? I know it's been a while since this topic has been discussed, but Catawba has come up a bit more recently for us. Thanks for whatever help you can provide.</p>
<p>Catawba - Has definitely been discussed somewhere on this forum - maybe you could search. We considered visiting there when we went to Elon, but that part of the trip didn't work out. They have been sending info. ever since. I believe they have an outstanding drama reputation. Our biggest concern was that you could not go directly into MT but had to be in acting for a year and then audition for MT. If I recall correctly, one of the MT areas other than acting (either dance or music, can't remember which) was recently discussed on the forum as being a weaker area. Please try to find the old post, as my memory may not be that great. We had already ruled them out of consideration. Some people may consider this a good "safety".</p>
<p>Thanks Ericsmom,</p>
<p>I knew you had some info on Catawba, but figured I'd throw it out to any and all. You're right, that full beginning year is a large investment to risk if the student is set on musical theatre. Those accepted numbers are also quite low from what we're hearing; certainly worth confirming. However, I do believe they allow one more chance for audition into the program, if rejected first. The chances are not limitless, though. If anybody believes I'm incorrect, please let me know. What I'm stating is from their literature and info. as far as I can understand. I'll continue our search and keep my eyes open.</p>
<p>I don't want to sound too "green" here, but how good could a school be if it is non-auditioned based? What are the requirements for being admitted, if not by audition, and how much talent is found at these types of schools.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>