<p>Hi
My daughter wants to study acting in college but at a Liberal Arts College. We have heard Oberlin has a great theatre program. Can anyone comment on this.</p>
<p>Yes, it does. But Muhlenberg College has a better one, top 5-7 in the country. Muhlenberg’s location offers equal access to Philadelphia or New York City theatre opportunities. My D is an Obie but seriously considered Muhlenberg, a school that also accepted her. She decided she was into music more than theatre.</p>
<p>Thank you plainsman for you reply. My daughter will apply to Mulenberg…and is also consi also Skidmore, Bard, Goucher, kenyon, ohio wesleyan and Denison…maybe Smith. Do you know anything about these programs? We are off to visit the midwest schools in a couple of weeks, but would love your or anyone elses insights.<br>
Why did your daughter choose Oberlin over Muhlenberg?</p>
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<p>I don’t know anything about the theatre programs at the other schools you listed. My D didn’t apply to any of them. I do know that of all the schools you listed, including Oberlin and Muhlenberg, Oberlin is the most selective, in terms of the admission rate and test scores. Smith might be about the same as Oberlin. They are all fine schools but there is a range of selectivity among the schools. </p>
<p>The difference maker for my daughter, between Oberlin and Muhlenberg, was actually a few things. But as I recall (we had a lot of discussions about it) she compared the schools this way:</p>
<p>Muhlenberg pros: closer to home–so close she could live at home and commute every day if she wanted; less expensive tuition; slightly smaller student body; one of the top theatre programs in the country; one of the dorms was a converted hospital from the 1920s–very cool; outstanding physical fitness equipment and building</p>
<p>Muhlenberg cons: very little racial diversity; not as intellectual as Oberlin; not enough geographic diversity (most students are from NY, NJ, and PA); less selective than Oberlin; offered average financial aid; tiny campus; not in a college town–nearest city (Allentown) is not an attraction no matter what Billy Joel sang about it.</p>
<p>Oberlin pros: top music conservatory to go with top LAC (D was in HS orchestra); more racial and geographic diversity than Muhlenberg; midwest location and sensibility (D was raised in midwest but went to HS in Northeast); more selective; merit scholarship; more on-campus dining options than any LAC in the country; awesome campus; a real college town; more liberal politically than Muhlenberg. But that’s not saying much because Oberlin is more liberal than most colleges. Muhlenberg is not conservative. It just isn’t quite as progressive as Oberlin. To my D, progressive/liberal = good.</p>
<p>Oberlin cons: Far away from home.</p>
<p>My D’s decision was easy</p>
<p>D is a freshman, planning to double major in Theater and Hispanic Studies (at least that’s the plan so far!). She participated in 4 productions during her first semester, acting in 3 and teching in 1. She went to see numerous other productions. She is doing an on-campus winter term theater project currently; and she has acquired a work study job as a theater tech. She took two theater classes her first term, and I think she has two more planned for spring semester. She is actively involved in both the department and the student-run theater group (OSTA). She also says she wants to jump into the improv scene soon, that is, if she has time! She’s made many theater friends and has many good things to say about the faculty. Her Intro to Theater class was team-taught by the entire department faculty, so she has a good idea of what to expect from them. She will take her first acting course in the spring and she is excited and jazzed about her instructor. Her freshman advisor is on the theater faculty, and she feels quite comfortable and supported by him.</p>
<p>In sum, D is loving Oberlin theater so far. How does it “rank” against other schools? Perhaps there are better programs elsewhere, but the combination of a lively theater scene with ample opportunities to participate, a stimulating creative and intellectual campus community, and top-notch, challenging academics, fits D to a T. She’s done very well her first semester and she loves the place.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your responses. It sounds like a great place…now if she can get in :)</p>
<p>Plainsman, what music is your daughter doing at Oberlin? Does she take private lessons?</p>
<p>No private lessons. She’s never asked for them. She did play in a string ensemble last year, and experienced no difficulty being accepted. She’s a cellist. However, she is in the college, not the conservatory.</p>
<p>My daughter, who is not in theater, looked at Muhlenberg but was put off by the MANY requirements they had…Something like 13 required courses–more than any other school we looked at.</p>
<p>My daughter’s ideal school would be a small, selective / academically liberal arts school where she could major in musical theatre. It also needs to be politically liberal and LGBT friendly and “geek” friendly (full of people who get crazy excited about learning about their passions… whatever those passions are). Here’s the list of where she applied… all have tons of strengths (that’s why she applied there), but I’ll just note here what we think are the potential weaknesses of each school (for HER criteria - yours may vary). </p>
<p>Oberlin - only one class in musical theatre… but, she can take dance classes and music classes; it’s in a small town in Ohio.
Nebraska Wesleyan and Muhlenberg - GREAT theatre programs, but are they academically challenging enough? Also, at Muhlenberg, there’s 250 theater majors - will she get lost in a crowd?
American - great musical theatre, but not geeky enough. (People seemed serious about learning there, but not excited about it, if that makes sense.)
Brown - feels pretty good… maybe a little big.
Vassar - feels good… do they have enough musical theatre?
Whitman - they’re a small school, with only about a dozen theatre majors… but, 60% of kids participate in a show before graduating, and audiences pack every house.
Yale - maybe too big, and can she get in? (we’ll find out in two days… so far she’s heard from 7 schools and is in to 6 of them)
Ithaca - it’s a very challenging BFA program, but my husband and I wondered whether the school was academically challenging enough… turns out to be a moot point, as this is the one place so far that has rejected her… they auditioned PILES of people for 16 spaces.</p>
<p>Hi THanks for the feeback and sounds like your daughter is doing great. Another school we are considering is St. Olaf. Do you know anything about its theatre program? It isknown for music and has a number of classes in lyric opera. THey put on 3 operas a year and a number of dramas. Can’t really get a sense of its theatre program from the website. Does anyone know?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>