This thread is to evaluate NU’s BA Mt Certificate Program against the traditional BFA MT program.
Last night my d was lucky enough to find out she got into NU. while she has impressive academics I was not sure they were NU impressive and therefore we never really evaluated this program - I figured there may be others in the same boat.
First I will share some background and stats:
Accepted
White, Female, NJ
ACT - 32 (SS), 29 not SS
4.3 GPA weighted
2 AP’s senior year
all honors classes
President of NHS
great Rec’s - one from Tony Award winner Lindsey Mendez
Lots of EC’s - including school theater and community theater
Started photo business - headshots and special events
Directs small films
In addition to this, she submitted a digital interview and an essay - which I guess were impressive? I would have to imagine there was some other kind of hook - her grades are good but I was told they took the top 150 according to academics - I’m not sure she would have been in that 150 ranking - but maybe?
Anyway, she spoke to somebody in the program who said the MT certificate program is HIGHLY competitive of the 150 admits very few are admitted to the program at the end of freshman year - and then you are stuck at NU as a BA theater major - granted NU is a pretty great school to be “stuck” at - but still - we just went through this hyper-competitive process and we are leaning against going through this again!
Well, in a traditional BFA MT program, you are stuck there as well. Even more so, in fact. In fact, in a traditional BFA MT program, most classes would be MT related: https://www.okcu.edu/music/academics/degree-programs/undergraduate/music-theater/
They train students for careers solely in MT.
At NU, she would get the opportunity to branch out in to other fields as well, double major, etc.
So the question is whether she wants a complete liberal arts education at an Ivy-equivalent (and possibly do something other than MT as a career), or go all-in on MT.
Just my 2 cents: I have a daughter studying drama at NYU/Tisch and a daughter starting at NU to study theatre in the fall. We feel, as parents, that given how unreliable and unsteady a career in the theatre can be (I’m the black sheep psychologist in a family of actors - we know the world of acting really, really well), that our girls needed to go to world-class universities and get serious educations in addition to their theatre training. My Tisch daughter is a drama major (obviously) and a politics minor and my NU daughter has many interests she plans on pursuing at NU, in addition to theatre. That’s why, to us, one would choose a school like NU. Good luck in your decision making!
@4gsmom - the other school we are considering is BU - which would be more like NYU - in lots of ways - fantastic school academically (although maybe not NU - but few are) and great training program - plus she loves Boston and the city campus. But I agree - we wanted a program that checked both the academic and artistic boxes.
My d at Tisch LOVED BU. It’s a great choice - and it’s easy to double major or major/minor there.
@4gsmom - D applied to NYU - loved the academic school and location - she really vibed with the head of the department at BU and felt more of a connection - but they are very similar schools - both great choices and then it comes down to that feeling…
Hey there,
I’m currently a theatre major at NU in the MT Cert. program. Want to clarify that there are only 100 admits in the major, not 150 as you said.
Voice, dance, and performance studies people can audition for MT as well. There’s usually 2 or 3 of them who get in, but none did this year. You can also re-audition as a sophomore if you don’t get in as a freshman.
People who don’t get into the program are still very much a part of the MT community. The only thing non-MT people absolutely absolutely cannot do are the private voice lessons. Most of our other classes are also supposed to be certificate-exclusive, but in reality they’re flexible. There’s usually a few kids every year who work their ass off and beg to get into all of these classes, usually with success.
Non-MT people also do get cast in shows without bias!
Hope that helps.
I should also say that I auditioned for and got into many BFA programs. But Northwestern, in my eyes, is 100000000000% better––you get to explore so many other things you never would’ve thought you’d love, inside and outside of theatre.
FInal thing: I applied to BU too. Don’t fall for McCaela’s info session speech. It’s poignant, memorable, and 100% rehearsed. Almost made me want to go before I found this out.
@personhere123 - we did a lot of nfo sessions and I have to imagine everyone’s speech is fairly rehearsed. My D also auditioned with MCCaela and they had a very nice conversation in the room as well. Honestly, a lot of people know her from Arts Bridge etc… and I have heard nothing but positive things - but you are entitled to your opinion.
Unfortunately, NU is a school we didn’t visit and since it is non-audition its hard to get a vibe. In a normal year, we would do an accepted students’ day - but this is far from a normal year!
Anyway, that’s why I started this thread - and I appreciate your input - Thank you for sharing!!
@personhere123 Thank you for the information you posted. My D (and us, parents) are thrilled she will start at NU in the fall as a Theatre major; plans to audition for MT certificate. (Admitted ED in Dec)
Do you know how many people audition for MT every year? She submitted the optional, but strongly encouraged, MT supplement- do you think that is a preliminary pre-screen for MT? Or that evaluators might be a bit familiar with her? Any recommendations on what she could do once she gets there to increase her chance of making it into the MT Cert.? (classes, groups, etc?) Or even anything not obvious she could be doing before she goes? She plans to continue with dance (her 3rd skill behind voice and acting) and of course continue vocal training. She can move well, but is not a trained ballerina… will that hurt her chances at MT? Do they look for type in the MT program?
Also, out of the 100 theatre admits, how many are actors versus tech, directing, playwrights, etc?
Sorry to bombard you with so many questions. We didn’t get a chance to tour the dept- had to cancel our spring trip due to Covid, and D’s summer Cherubs program got cancelled.
But we are all thrilled she will be there in the fall!
I hope you are having a good year there, in spite of the current challenges.
I there, I have a question about opportunities for private voice lessons and dance courses if student in the theater major is not accepted into the MT Cert. program. When you say the cannot do private voice lessons, do you mean they can’t even engage someone and pay out of pocket? Also, having a hard time getting a clear idea of what exactly is required for the Freshman curriculum for an MT student, would you mind sharing what your own course schedule was? I know there’s a LOT of variety, but would be helpful. Thanks!
Hi @Lano123, a lot of the same questions for my D. Did you ever get an answer on how many of the 100 are actors, how the prescreen is or isn’t used, etc. Thanks!
OP, it sounds like a fantastic choice for someone who doesn’t want to be 100% theater all the time. The BFA programs are tricky if you want to explore other things as there just isn’t time. My D is in a BFA MT program and wants to add a Writing / Composition minor. She was able to place out of several core academic classes thanks to AP credit and this MAY open up that opportunity. The minor is 6 classes and she will be challenged to fit that in over four yrs (with a few other academic classes). Think about that. That’s really a full theater commitment, which is fine for her because that’s what she wanted.
For those with academic interests beyond theater, hard to think of a better setting than NU.
Hi @Rohana - I never received answers to my questions- looks like poster might no longer be active. Do you want to start a new thread with our (common) questions and I will follow up there as well? My daughter is set to start in September and very much looking forward to it, but some clarification would be very welcome. Thanks!!
Sure - my daughter is also starting this Fall, but we definitely haven’t been able to get clear answers on a few things. BTW - are you one of the folks that’s also on the MT FB group?