schools with numerous, high quality student theater

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
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<p>hullo! taking a break from my backbreaking (eye-straining?) college research to ask you guys for a little help.</p>

<p>I'm quite set on a BA program, preferably at a school without BFAs and MFAs. right now I'm on the look out for top schools with great student theater opportunities. it's become a top factor, really. I need help because this kind of thing is best learned from those who've visited the schools or are already attending or have children there or have interrogated the faculty themselves.
:)</p>

<p>if the school has any clips on youtube.. even better! example: Basement Arts at the University of Michigan posts well-edited trailers for their shows, and from what I can see, quality and creativity run high among the students there. that's exactly what I'm looking for! </p>

<p>...well, minus the big out-of-state price tag + lack of substantial merit aid. and they have a BFA rather than BA. curse U Mich for being so appealing to me.</p>

<p>I understand that bigger schools like U Mich will have more performance opportunities, but I'm trying to find the same quality/quantity of student productions at smaller schools-- small to medium-sized. I have an open mind about cost for now, but I'm really digging for good merit aid opportunities. </p>

<p>and student film opportunities would be a bonus! again, offered at U Mich. (it's like it's teasing me.)</p>

<p>ps. I've done the most research on Muhlenberg so far, which is high on my list. can't tell much about student theater there though. comments on that are appreciated!</p>

<p>please and thanks, everyone!</p>

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<p>dangnabbit. I missed a word on the title. it was supposed to be “schools with numerous, high quality student theater opportunities”.</p>

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<p>Our daughter starts at Muhlenberg later this month with a double major in theater/English. She was captain of her HS basketball team but gave that up in her senior year to concentrate on theater where she starred as Daniel Webster in The Devil and Daniel Webster, and the Countess in The Mad Woman of Chaillot. Her senior project was to produce and direct a stage version of Crime and Punishment. She was clear she wanted a BA program. When all was said and done, in order her top 5 schools were U. of Minnesota, Muhlenberg, U. of Kansas, Drew and U. of Wisconsin. She was accepted at all but MN which made Muhlenberg the choice. Of these five she only auditioned at Muhlenberg. We were very drawn to the warmth and friendliness of the staff and students. The theater program was very impressive. Geographical diversity is a bit of a challenge since only 6% of the student body comes from west of PA. You may have read that several months ago College ******* rated the theater facilities of Muhlenberg the second best in the nation. I would rank MN right there. Last week the Princeton Review ranked Muhlenberg’s theater program the best in the nation. I doubt you’ll go wrong with Muhlenberg if you’re looking for a small college with a BA theater program (they do not offer a BFA). Take your time, don’t obsess and good luck.</p>

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<p>FYI, Butterflies is a top student who has the credentials to get in anywhere (not that she WILL get in, but that she’s got the qualifications to!). My hope is that if people chime in with advice is that they will let her know how a very high stats kids might fare intellectually in terms of compatibility with the student body and the chances for good FA and / or merit aid with any school they recommend. </p>

<p>For example, Muhlenberg has the honors program. Does anyone know what that experience is like? </p>

<p>Sorry, Butterflies, I’m just being an adoptive mom here. I want to be sure you end up where you belong intellectually as well as artistically… (Perhaps Muhlenberg would be fine in that regard, IDK). Personally, I wouldn’t want my kids to be the smartest one in their classes. It doesn’t make for the most engaging college experience, both in and out of the classroom.</p>

<p>I’m sure I"m going to incite some anger at this, but I want to be sure that Butterflies is given the most helpful information to make her decision.</p>

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<p>The corollary to this as well is to understand the odds of getting cast in these schools where students flock to them because of their renown for theater. At Skidmore, audtiions go on for days because so many people try out (I heard this from a student; but she didn’t tell me whether most students do get sufficient opportunities for roles.) At Oberlin, Pohaku’s daughter is transferring because she couldn’t get cast in anything – the Conservatory students were so good, they were getting all the parts.</p>

<p>All I’m saying is that sometimes being a big fish in a smaller pond can be beneficial, and I wouldn’t only put “known” theater schools on the list. I hope you’ll consider some other schools and look carefully through the curriculum to see what’s offered, check out the professors’ credentials and see what is offered both through the department and student-run. </p>

<p>If a school is in a city, then chances are the professors are working professionals still in theater, which i think is good. </p>

<p>My D, also a high stats kid, had a variety of schools on her list but in addition to the “known” schools she also had other on the list, and in fact, her top BA choice ended up being WashU in St. Louis (she was ready to pick that over Brandeis, Skidmore and Muhlenberg, eg. – but aid wasn’t an issue for us. Wash U does offer merit scholarships, though). She did see a capella groups perform – thought they were great – and sat in on an acting class. She really liked the professor’s comments, and thought the ability of the kids themselves was mixed, but she did not see a show being performed. She ended up just loving the school itself and some of the academic opportunities (for her, in particular, the Fox School of Art). But, she was also fortunate to get into Tisch, so that put the wheels of a BA screeching to a halt for her…</p>

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<p>dreampoet, may I PM you at a later date to see how your daughter likes the school so far? particularly the casting opportunities. </p>

<p>SD, thanks for stopping by! and I don’t mind at all about the ‘adoptive mother’ bit; you’ve been awfully helpful. I know Muhlenberg has 3 honors programs that come with $4000 stipends each year, but like you, I’d love for someone from one of the programs to post about their experience.</p>

<p>and you’re absolutely right: I do want a school that will challenge me intellectually and still provide casting opportunities. Muhlenberg is trumpeted a lot on these forums and the Princeton Review, so there’ll be lots of talent flocking to Allentown PA and thus a lot of talent competing for roles. :stuck_out_tongue: It could turn out to be a small fish big pond situation for me. anyone have input on that?</p>

<p>By the way, I looked at Wash U, SD, like you suggested. I loved everything I read about the food, housing, activities on campus, the amazing area, and even intramurals. but FISKE’s says they accept most kids ED and notoriously turn away great students that they suspect will enroll elsewhere. I know Muhlenberg accepts most kids ED, too, but I don’t know if I want to place all my eggs in the Wash U basket just yet, especially over Muhlenberg or other schools. actually, I’m hesitant to apply ED at most places because I need to compare financial aid.</p>

<p>I’ve been so focused on safety/match schools lately that I’d given up on the more expensive (but also more intellectually/artistically stimulating) reaches like Northwestern. but I was recently e-mailing the head of yale school of drama-- had a few questions on BAs who go to grad school-- and he emphasized shooting as high as you can for each level of schooling, undergrad and graduate, and not discounting schools solely on price. thought I’d share!</p>

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<p>btw, dreampoet, your daughter applied to which U Minnesota? I know Guthrie is a BFA that requires an audition, and you mentioned your daughter only auditioned at Muhlenberg.</p>

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<p>butterflies, I think that alot of the reputation for Wash U is unfounded. They reject alot of high stats kids, but yes, they accept alot of them too (as do ALL these top schools). I do think they look for fit and campus character. Somehow, they find it, perhaps by reading through the lines in the teacher recommendations? We found it to be a campus with friendly, unpretentious students. </p>

<p>I have to say that Wash U was the one school that I never would have picked based on the Fiske guide. The experience there was different than what it seemed like in that guidebook. This was all based on the Discovery Weekend visit. But, while my D was sitting in on the theater class, I spent the time in a cafe talking to students, one of them a theater student who turned down Northwestern for Wash U – I do NOT know if she had gotten in for theater at Northwestern, though. We also spent time talking to some kids in the Art School, and again, they were just the kind of kids that any theater kids would want to be friends with (or at least my daughter would). Kids could be artsy and individualistic, but not have to be in your face hipster / pretentious about it. At least, that’s the sense I got.</p>

<p>I think that if you can show interest in Wash U somehow that might help (but I say might, because some people show interest and get in but others don’t and still get in…). Perhaps start by emailing an admissions counselor with some specific questions about the theater program. </p>

<p>My guess, too, is that if you select theater as your major you will be more competitive as well, because Wash U is “known” for being a pre-med school, so that pool is more difficult. It wants to maintain a diversity of student interests on campus, so a top-notch theater student should be a draw for them – my conjecture, no inside scoop here.</p>

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<p>I agree completely with the Yale professor, btw! Get yourself into the environment where you will grow as much as possible in all ways – that will serve you well as an artist and throughout your life. You deserve it!!</p>

<p>You are being, smart, though to have a balanced list. Options is going to be the operative word come April!</p>

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<p>Have you considered Harvard? You have the academic qualifications. There are so many theater performance opportunities at Harvard it could make your head spin.</p>

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<p>actually, the Presidential Scholarship is $16,000 plus the $4000 stipend. I don’t recall if the Honors program comes with money, though. I think that you can get both the honors and the scholarship. The honors program comes by invitation, but you have to submit an essay. My D did not; she was tired of writing essays and had already heard from Brandeis, which she would have picked over Muhlenberg. The honors invitation comes before the official acceptance to the college. (they tell you that it is a “good sign” though.) She did get offered the Presidential Scholarship with her acceptance. But, as I said, we were fortunate that merit aid was not a factor in our decision-making, so I do not by any means want to dismiss Muhlenberg as a credible option for you!!</p>

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<p>This reminds me: when my D applied in 2010, Brandeis offered an early acceptance option to selected candidates. They had to get applications in by an early deadline (December something) and would hear early as well, but not binding on the applicant’s part. Sort of like an invitation only EA. </p>

<p>I don’t know if they do this anymore, but i would go ahead and send your test scores to Brandeis, and show some interest by emailing admissions with a question (a visit and interview is even better). Brandeis does offer merit aid, but I think they’ve scaled it back and I think it is more closely tied to need than previously. You do have to submit FAFSA to be considered for merit aid. At Muhlenberg, you do not.</p>

<p>My D heard in February that she had gotten in to Brandeis, so this made us all breather ALOT easier, as she did not have any other EA schools! And, it confirmed that we were playing in the right ballpark so to speak. With all the horror stories you hear about college admissions, it is easy to panic!</p>

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<p>I will say that Wash U probably does have a more preprofessional feel than some other schools might. For my son, when we visited, he didn’t like that people talked so much about what they were majoring in. He is totally a learning for learning’s sake kind of a guy, whereas my D likes to see a practical application to what she learns. She applied and he didn’t. (my S also was happy going to school “in the middle of nowhere,” my D wasn’t!)</p>

<p>But, again I didn’t get the sense that it was a buttoned-down, we’re in school to be masters of the universe, preppy kind of environment, because that wouldn’t have been right for my D either! I did get the sense that you could be who you were, not fit in a mold.</p>

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<p>I’m quite positive the honors programs come with a stipend, SD. I’ve created a whole word document for Muhlenberg based on their registrar and course booklet and website. :slight_smile: honest, I’m not obsessive about college research… just thorough! and that’s another thing about Muhlenberg… I don’t think it’s possible to earn enough aid to cover even half of the cost of attendance, which borders on 50k, even with the presidential scholarship. actually, I don’t think any scholarships go toward room and board.</p>

<p>DeskPotato, Harvard was a brief and fleeting consideration. :stuck_out_tongue: it sounds great, but isn’t it the most competitive school in the nation? I may have straight As and a great GPA, but so does almost every other ivy league applicant (and if they don’t, they have out of this world extracurriculars). of the HYP schools, I’m looking at Yale most heavily… and in that case, I need to get lucky or make sure my essays are the best things I’ve ever written. OR convince admissions that asians are truly underrepresented minorities! (haha, I joke.)</p>

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<p>oh SD I just remembered… I was on the wash u drama website a few days ago and was put off by the appearance of the student theater site and by how student theater was barely mentioned on the main site. I know, I know, I shouldn’t judge the state of things by the websites… I’ll probably end up e-mailing the department. for some reason, I’m surprised every time when drama professors reply so thoroughly. I always expect a less generous response, I don’t know why.</p>

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<p>Harvard isn’t really more difficult to get into than Yale. It all depends on whether you happen to be what that school is looking for that particular year. You clear the bar of being well-qualified–after that, it comes down to some intangibles and things out of your control, so you may as well give it a shot. They don’t offer an undergraduate drama concentration, so productions are open to everyone. It’s all extra-curricular, basically. Which I think encourages lots of people to just jump in. Every house has a drama society. There are multiple performance spaces and people also put shows on places you wouldn’t consider performance spaces. </p>

<p>(FWIW, Brandeis has more or less done away with merit aid.)</p>

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<p>butterflies-please do consider Northwestern, which has a superb B.A. theatre program, as you know, as well as numerous performance opportunities via faculty produced shows and many, many student theatre groups. My son is going into his sophomore year in that program, and I’ll see if I can get him to steer me to youtube links which might be of help to you. Besides the outstanding theatre program, Northwestern draws a diversity of highly academically capable students from around the country. It is important to be with your intellectual peers if at all possible.</p>

<p>ETA-For example, Northwestern students annually are involved in America’s largest student-produced musical. This past year it was Ragtime, and next year it will be 42nd St. You can search on youtube for Northwestern Dolphin Show.</p>

<p>This is a link to the student theatre groups: <a href=“http://nustudenttheatre.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page[/url]”>http://nustudenttheatre.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>NU is definitely one of the best theater programs in the nation! But, you have to declare this major on your application, so it is probably even more competitive to get into than other programs, I would suspect. Absolutely keep it on your list!</p>

<p>I love that you are emailing the professors. That is a great way for you to get your questions addressed, and i’d have to believe that they would be honest in their replies. I can’t imagine they’d want to encourage a student to apply who they think might be unhappy in their classroom.</p>

<p>I have to confess that we did not do nearly the exhaustive examination of the departments that you did. At WashU, the list of courses was great (it does have an acting track within the theater major) and the professor we met was wonderful – to have someone that kind, engaging and insightful as a teacher and mentor was a good prospect for my D! Wash U does have a Freshman Focus program, a freshmen only seminar program, and theater is one offering. The student i spoke to talked about what a bonding experience it was. </p>

<p>Look, I’m not saying that Wash U is the perfect theater program or school for you; and frankly, I really don’t know enough about the production opportunities or how vigorous the student-initiated activity is. I 'm just trying to give some different options, especially since you can compete for merit aid there; it’s one of the few top stats schools that offers it.</p>

<p>A question to ask the professor, particularly at a place like Wash U, is what kind of resources and guidance it offers for a student who is interested in pursuing acting professionally. </p>

<p>I don’t know about the professional aspirations of the Wash U student I talked to; as I said, I don’t know whether she had applied to NU for theater. I just want to clear up what I think might have been a sense that I was saying Wash U is a better school for a serious theater student. NU rivals any of the BFAs for theater, that’s for sure.</p>

<p>In the final analysis, I guess what I’m trying to say is that there is no one right path to success in the theater world. Actors come from all different backgrounds, education (and lack thereof). </p>

<p>I think that being able to get as much acting experience wherever you go is what you’re really looking for, and I guess I was trying to say above that sometimes the schools that attract so many theater kids might actually limit the opportunities to perform – unless these schools offer such a compensating number of productions that all the students really get their moment!</p>

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<p>DeskPotato, thanks for putting things in perspective. I may just apply for the heck of it, but I won’t if my list of schools is already long. a great thing aboutthe ivies-- they have lots of money and, consequently, lots of great offerings in just about everything. crossing my fingers and sending up prayers if I do apply! and what you said about Brandeis is exactly why I’ve stopped considering it, more or less.</p>

<p>momof3sons, northwestern is high on my list of “I’d love to go there!” schools but, like brandeis, it doesn’t offer merit aid… won’t stop me from applying at this point, though. :slight_smile: may I PM you with more specific questions for your son if I ever think of any?</p>

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<p>SD, I understood when you suggested Wash U that it was merely a suggestion! I didn’t assume it would be a top notch theater program. :stuck_out_tongue: I’m glad when anyone tips me off on a school where merit/financial aid abounds.</p>