<p>Hi, I am a high school student living in Georgia. I want to major in either Musical Theatre or Theatre. I want to apply to seven schools. Here is my list so far, and I applied to UGA because my mom wants me to appply somewhere in state in case nothing out of state works. There are no really good theatre programs I'm interested in here in Georgia, so I went with a music major.</p>
<ol>
<li>University of Georgia: BM in Music Performance- Audition </li>
<li>Arizona State University: BM in Music Theatre- Audition</li>
<li>Northwestern University: BA in Theater- No Audition</li>
<li>University of Alabama: BA in Theater (Musical Theater Track)- Audition</li>
<li>The Catholic University of America: BM in Music Theatre- Audition</li>
<li>?</li>
<li>?</li>
</ol>
<p>I am wondering if there are any safety schools that don't require an audition, and if they do require an audition it is not too selective. I would prefer a big school or a school that is located in a city where there is a lot to do. If it helps, I sing Baritone/Tenor 2, and I would rank myself on a scale of one to ten as follows: Acting:9, Singing:9, and Dancing :7-8. I don't have dance training, but I am flluid in movement and have natural rhythm, so I'm not terrible. But I am trying to stay away from the BFA MT route due to a lack of dance training. So any sugggestion on BA or BM Musical Theatre programs or BA/BFA Theatre/Drama programs to add to my list as safety schools? Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>I applied, auditioned, and was accepted into Catholic and I absolutely loved the school but could not attend due to financial issues. But I am happy to see it on your list.</p>
<p>I don’t think you can truly consider a school with a “not so selective” audition as a safety school. Any school with an audition should not be considered a safety.</p>
<p>University of Tampa in Tampa, FL has a pretty well rounded BA in Performing Arts (MT). I auditioned (via videotape) and was accepted and I was pretty impressed with their program. However, I went with the school I am at now- Jacksonville University (BFA MT- not too heavy on the dance so if you want a BFA look here. Many students actually add a dance minor to have more dance classes). </p>
<p>I believe that there are other threads about this so look around.</p>
<p>If you are staying away from BFA programs ONLY because you don’t have the dance training, don’t. We know plenty of people who have been accepted to various BFA programs with little dance experience. This has been discussed on this forum before a number of times. Many programs just want to see how well you take direction and what kind of a stage presence you have, rather than the technical aspect of your dance. I don’t think it is uncommon for many students to have more experience in voice and acting than in dance; especially males. I would definitely add a couple of BFA programs into the mix, unless there is some other reason you are avoiding them (maybe you want more academics, etc.). Also don’t stay away from programs because of cost as some of the more expensive programs offer good talent scholarships. Look thru the threads here to get suggestions for how many and what kind of programs you should look at. As many students here can attest to, this is a very competitive process, and the more schools you have on your list, the more choices you will have. I think one of the biggest mistakes I have seen during auditions is not auditioning for enough or the right kinds of programs, and then being stuck with a limited choice. Good luck!</p>
<p>I did a little research since my post, and what do you think of West Virginia University as an ultimate fallback. They offer a BFA in Acting and it requires no audition to be accepted into the program. They also offer a Musical Theatre Initiative to Acting majors. Morgantown is also close to some good theatre communities. Not to mention… They’re academically easy to get into. Good Fallback?</p>
<p>Have you also looked at the academic stats for the schools already on your list? If you have the academic stats to be competitive for Northwestern, Muhlenberg could be a non-auditioned “safety” for you. It is a BA in theatre with many opportunities to participate in and train in music, musical theatre, and dance.</p>
<ol>
<li>University of Georgia: BM in Music Performance (Voice)- Audition </li>
<li>Arizona State University: BM in Music Theatre- Audition</li>
<li>Northwestern University: BA in Theater- No Audition</li>
<li>University of Alabama: BA in Theater (Musical Theater Track)- Audition</li>
<li>The Catholic University of America: BM in Music Theatre- Audition</li>
<li>The University of Texas at Austin: BA in Theatre and Dance (Acting)- No Audition</li>
<li>West Virginia University at Morgantown: BFA in Acting- No Audition</li>
<li>West Carolina University: BFA in Musical Theatre- Audition</li>
</ol>
<p>Numbers 6 and 7 are safety schools. I academically qualify for full academic scholarships to WVU and Univ. of Alabama. I know multiple people who have gone to Alabama and I should have no problem getting into their school or theatre program, so Alabama is a good target school. I have also heard that West Carolina is an up and coming school for Musical Theatre. Their faculty is headed by Terrence Mann, a prominent broadway performer. They offer a BFA and they’re an hour and a half from home. Plus their campus is beautiful. Thanks everyone for your advice.</p>
<p>You may also want to look at Coastal Carolina near Myrtle Beach. They have had a BA in MT all along, but Fall 2010 is the first year of a BFA MT…and also a BFA in Acting. We were VERY impressed with the campus/faculty and program at our audition! It is an up and coming program and one you will be hearing alot about in the future :)</p>
<p>I will second the suggestion to look at Coastal Carolina! My D loved the students, faculty, facilities and the classes she attended when she visited and is very excited about the MT curriculum. We saw The Will Rogers Follies and thought it as a great production. I will PM you a link to a really great interview with Ken Martin, the head of the program, here he talks about the program and outlines the different degrees at CCU if you are interested.</p>
<p>I will third Coastal Carolina. I auditioned there (when it was still a BA) and I was completely impressed with the school and the program.</p>
<p>(I forgot to mention that I was a transfer student so I’ve done the whole college audition thing two times…and I’m starting to look at grad schools…the cycle continues…haha)</p>
<p>BFA in MT and BFA in Acting starting this coming Fall. Don’t know whether they are still offering a BA MT to new students, though. Maybe someone a little more knowledgable about the BA program can chime in…</p>
<p>Good luck, Famousactress2b…don’t even want to THINK about going through this process again anytime soon…I’m just now recovering from the undergraduate audition season. We plowed through it though, and came out successful on the other end! :)</p>
<p>Hey I just checked out CCU’s MT program, and I’m VERY impressed. Actually more impressed than almost any other department on my list… I just kicked WCU off the list of eight. So now here’s the list. I am still considering WCU though for financial reasons and proximity to home but thanks for the CCU suggestion. Great find!</p>
<p>University of Georgia: BM in Music Performance (Voice)- Audition
Arizona State University: BM in Music Theatre- Audition
Northwestern University: BA in Theater- No Audition
University of Alabama: BA in Theater (Musical Theater Track)- Audition
The Catholic University of America: BM in Music Theatre- Audition
The University of Texas at Austin: BA in Theatre and Dance (Acting)- No Audition
West Virginia University at Morgantown: BFA in Acting- No Audition
Coastal Carolina University: BFA in Musical Theatre- Audition</p>
<p>Think you’ll like CCU once you visit personally. And they do offer Visual and Performing Arts Scholarships which are sweet! Makes it financially competitive to many others</p>
<p>Just a note since the title of this thread is Safety Schools. While the University of Texas theatre program is non audition, entrance into the university itself is extremely competitive. And Coastal Carolina is by no means a safety school for BFA students. The BFA MT program accepted 16 students this year to yield a freshman class of 13. And the number of applicants is growing each year so the level of competitiveness should be going up each year.</p>
<p>Break a leg songandstage! And try and enjoy all the experiences you will have this year as you go through the application and audition process.</p>
<p>Why the rush to finalize your list? Maybe set a “deadline” of early August and spend the next weeks researching? Go through the links on the top of the forum and the Big List. Go on the websites for each of the schools to see what programs pique your interest.</p>
<p>Don’t discount BFA programs because of the dance component of the audition. Also realize that some BA programs and BM programs require dance as part of the audition.</p>
<p>It appears that you are in GA, and many of the schools currently on your list are mid-Atlantic on down. Other schools you may want to look at:</p>
<p>UMaryland - Theatre BA American U. - MT and Theatre BA (audition required for MT, not sure of Theatre)
Shenandoah - BFA
James Madison - BA MT and Theatre (audition required for MT)
Christopher Newport - BA Theatre w/ audition at end of freshman year to enter MT track.
Emory & Henry - BA (auditioned)
UNCSA - Theatre BFA with MT opportunities I believe
Elon - BFA MT and Acting (auditioned)
Shorter College - Can’t remember where the MT program is located.
Eastern Carolina - BFA MT
Western Kentucky - BFA (I believe audition I sophomore year)
Ol’ Miss - BFA (??) Audition after freshman or sophomore year
FSU - BFA
UCF - BFA
Tampa - ??
Jacksonville - ??
Tulane - BFA MT (through SOM, I believe)
UMiami - BFA</p>
<p>A little further north of the Mason-Dixon line you may want to look at:</p>
<p>Temple - BA MT (audition)… Not sure of audition for Theatre
U ARTS - BFA MT, Acting
Muhlenberg - BA Theatre
DeSales - BA MT (audition)
Rider - BM MT (audition)</p>
<p>… and more, and more…</p>
<p>Why not take a little more time to explore options? </p>