I’m probably sounding like a broken record here, but you might consider having her audition at SETC Convention next March in Greensboro, NC. Many schools mentioned here and others in your geographical parameters will be there for a unified type audition for HS juniors. There are also many schools not mentioned here that are “hidden” gems. At the convention there is a large exhibit hall where you can speak to college reps from all the attending schools. Not the same as visiting the campus, but unlike typical college fairs, the reps will be familiar with theater/music programs and will have all the usual marketing materials. Auditioning students may be offered scholarships and prescreen waivers.
All good advice…Remember that your child’s priorities may very well change as she matures and grows as a student and performer. As you develop and evolve your spreadsheet I highly recommend that if you eliminate a school from the list, you copy and paste the details you had already researched to another page in your spreadsheet and mark it with a reason for the elimination so if you want to reevaluate the school you have a starting point. If your child makes a decision that eliminates a large number of schools from your active list you will want to look for other schools to add back.
I worked on my spreadsheet almost every day through the whole process. I added hyperlinks to the schools’ program page and to the admissions page. My columns included: # students; Location (including distance from home in hours); Type of program (BA,BFA,BM), Average GPA/SAT admitted; Cost; Whether I thought it was academic safety, reach or target; General notes that included opinions discovered on CC and by reviewing the websites.
Once we determined which schools she was applying to, I created another page in the spreadsheet that included all the audition and academic application requirements.
I do not think you should start with the schools featured at the top of the CC MT forum. It has not been updated to include many of the newer programs. Since you have a geographical limit anyway, I would recommend visiting the Big List of MT programs and systematically reviewing every school. There will be many you can eliminate quickly for one reason or another (remember to keep that list of why you are eliminating them). Also remember that CC is a collection of opinions not facts. Although extremely insightful, many of these opinions were gathered years ago, and applied to one person’s experience. Do your own research and check facts!
I fully agree with @shaun0203 - it is super important to do your own research and focus on your needs/wants/goals. CC is an absolutely invaluable resource, and people here are incredibly generous and knowledgable about the BFA process as a whole. But we are all human beings with our own likes/ dislikes and point of view- and that often gets reflected in the recommendations we make and the opinions we give. It needs to be right for your kid and your family
thanks so much to all of you for your advice! We are definitely going to the SETC in NC in March. D’s school does not participate in it but we are taking her ourselves. I think that will be a huge help or at least I hope so ! LOL. We are working on the college list this summer and our goal is to whittle it to a manageable list. We are going to visit one campus this summer that she is interested in just so she can see a campus somewhere else that has MT. It is Coastal Carolina. She has repeatedly said she does not want a rural campus…ugh…wants near a city at least. She does like the south though so she is making exception for that one! I can see this is my new PT job for the next few yrs! I am completely intimidated by the video prescreens…so tech challenged. We have a potential person at the university near us that has MT that can coach her for auditions when that time comes. I am just so overwhelmed right not with the admission processes…applying academically and then setting up an audition since every school seems to be different…I guess I am most confused as to how many schools she should apply to for a good chance at several acceptances. I am thinking at least 6?
@theaterwork - I would say 10-12 schools would be better if you can.
Or even a few more - D started with an initial list of 17 & then narrowed - ended up auditioning for 12. I think 10-15 is pretty normal.
Not sure how applicable it would be to a music program, but after looking at the obvious criteria (location, size) DD whittled down her list by 6-yr grad rate (if it’s <70% (my arbitrary #), either the kids are unmotivated or the administration is a bear to deal with). She also cut any schools with retention rates <85% (again, arbitrary) thinking it may be an indication that there is a problem with the school. She also eliminated schools with avg GPAs <3.0, as they would be below the lower end of her range. That brought her list from Naviance down from about 275 to 60.
@theaterwork - S’s HS also did not participate in SETC. We took him on our own. He was too busy to worry about whether, or not he knew anyone and totally focused on auditioning, talking to program reps, workshops with faculty from MT programs and other professionals. This put some really nice schools on his radar that had not been there before.
theaterwork - My D is a 2014 grad of Coastal Carolina. It’s a great location, although obviously not a big city campus. Conway is a great small town, and then you have all the attractions in Myrtle Beach right down the road. Charleston is actually a really fun road trip just a few hours away. Being from Austin, it was an adjustment at first., but my D loved her time at CCU, and is headed back with a fellow 2014 alum for a visit/vacation this summer. Lots of the alums go back for shows when they can. It’s a very connected alumni network!
a friend of my D’s that graduated with his BFA in 2014 found Otterbein because of SETC. It’s a great resource if you can get there. Prior to that Otterbein wasn’t on his radar.
SETC is absolutely great for finding schools that aren’t on the radar of most students!
SETC, the International Thespian Conference in Nebraska, and various regional Thespian events are awesome because the college reps in attendance are mostly theatre faculty and department heads, not recruiting reps like you meet at typical fine arts college fairs. Students can sit down at their tables, ask in-depth questions about the curriculum, and get informed answers. D went to Nebraska and our regional auditions with a set of questions pertinent to her interests (What is the acting sequence for MT majors? What is the approach to acting technique/development? What is the approach to teaching voice? Who are the voice teachers? Is there cross-over in performance opportunities and training between Acting and MT? etc.) and loved the resulting discussions with various programs. She added and dropped several schools from her list based on table discussions and callbacks at these events. D found that these discussions were much more helpful than some of her college visits. She also found some “hidden gems” and discovered that focusing mostly on well-known and very popular programs was not the best plan for her.
The discussion on this thread is outstanding. I just sent a new CC MT parent here to start! Way to pay it forward, all!
ok so SETC is a must it appears LOL. Yes, austinmtmom Coastal Carolina is a top contender for her actually but they accept so few girls it seems that I dont want her to focus on it. She LOVES the south and they have that college reciprocal agreement with our state so we can get instate tuition! YAY! I am trying to not totally eliminate expensive schools since they may offer a good pkg of aid but some of these even with aid are not do-able for us. We are near Shenandoah so its on the list & Otterbein is also broadway95 but wowsa they take so little kids that it is a reach school I guess.
OK so it appears she needs to audition/apply at at least 10 or 12 schools…yikes…my stress is building already:(
You might want to add James Madison to your list if you are near Shenandoah. Ive heard wonderful things about that program here and its a public Va. school I think.
theaterwork - Don’t let small class size of Otterbein and Coastal put you off. Son was accepted to three schools, two of them were Otterbein and Coastal Carolina. I know he is a boy, and odds are more difficult for girls, but it is worth going for what you want 
@theaterwork, if you are coming to Greensboro for SETC, you might want to do campus visits at Elon (40 minutes East of Greensboro) and UNCSA (40 minutes West of Greensboro). UNCSA is primarily a straight acting program, but with a lot of MT components. There are also opportunities to take additional dance classes and private voice.
Anyone know about William Peace University in Raleigh?