SHould I apply to these musical theatre schools? What are my chances?

College Majors Musical Theater Major
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Hi all! I am a junior in high school interested in majoring in musical theatre with a possible minor in psychology (if the school allows). Sorry for all of my comments, but I would love some advice! I was thinking of applying to the following schools:

NYU (Tisch of Steinhardt- which would be better/ difference between the two)
Carnedie Mellon (Can you minor in something else there?)
Ithaca OR Syracuse (what are main differences between the two, they seem similar)
Emerson (love the school but recent alumni doesn’t seem as impressive as the others)
Pace??? (I heard easier to get into than others- but does that mean the training isn’t as good?)
Then a few safe schools near where i live that have theatre programs, but not a BFA in MT

Are these good choices for what I have? Too difficult for me? More? Better Schools out there? How much of a chance do I have? Experiences? Thanks so much!

Here is my info:
I have about a 3.6 or 3.7 GPA (unweighted)
By the time I graduate I will have six AP credits (10 honors credits total) (Pre AP English 9, Pre AP physical science, Pre AP English 10, AP Human Geography, AP Biology, AP World, AP Lang & Comp, AP US History, AP Literature, AP Government)
3 years of Spanish
4 years of History, English, Math
3 years of Science
Electives- choir, drama, stagecraft, photography, AP Human Geography, Psycology
FOur years of choir in high school- in select since sophomore year, on the leadership team, section leader, and in select women’s beauty-shop quartet
4 years of dance lessons- ballet, jazz, tap
Been in 21 musical theatre productions through theatre troupes and school, acted with 3 different troupes
Taking Vocal lessons for 8 years
Key Club/ Volunteer Club
Thespian Club
National Honors Society
I am only a junior so I have only taken the PSAT but I scored about a 2080, around the 85th percentile in all categories.
I also babysit and pet sit- do those count as jobs??

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*Carnegie Mellon and *Psychology (typos!)

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@beccaW444 - it’s great that you are starting to think of the schools where you would like to apply. The next step is to do some research into the programs. If you look at the top of the musical theater homepage you will notices lists of schools- those are all discussion threads devoted specifically to information about that school. Great place to get a feel for programs. All of the programs you listed above are extremely competitive for admission. You need to start researching, and then work on creating a list that includes a wide variety of programs, not all “reach” schools (which is what you have now).

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It is impossible for anyone to tell you what your chances are of getting into an auditioned MT program without seeing and hearing you firsthand - and even then, it is a very subjective process. You may have the talent to be successful at all of these schools, but you may not be a type for which they are looking the year you apply to college. There are so many variables that play into a school’s decision whether to extend an offer of admission. I would read up as much as possible about the college audition process . Then, I would work really hard to select monologues and songs that really suit you. If possible, work with a teacher, director or coach to polish all of your audition material.

Having said that - here are a few bits of info about the schools you mentioned:

NYU Steinhardt is a music degree whereas the Tisch degree has an acting foundation. For both, academics and test scores play a large part into the admissions process.
Carnegie Mellon is one of the most difficult programs to get into. Although the school itself has strong academics, the MT program is much more concerned with your audition than your academics. It is an intense program. It may be possible to get a minor, particularly coming in with college credits. But it may be difficult to find the time to take the classes you need for your minor. This is true at many MT programs.
The only similarity between Ithaca and Syracuse is that they are both in upstate New York. Ithaca is a small liberal arts college. Syracuse is a large university. Academics will play a large part in admissions at Syracuse than they will at Ithaca. Both have strong MT and acting programs. I would visit the campuses to see just how different they are and figure out what type of school/campus you enjoy the most.
Emerson is a good program. It is an urban school and campus. Very different from either Ithaca or Syracuse. Again, I would recommend you visit to see what type of school you like. Emerson does have a reputation for “redirecting” people out of the MT major if they feel they aren’t up to the task. We have a friend who was redirected to dance. The interesting thing is - she is now on a national tour - so it did not thwart her MT dreams at all to be redirected.
Although Pace may be an easier admit than Carnegie Mellon, it is far from easy to get in. They do have several majors that people consider outside of MT including commercial dance, and some a new commercial acting degree (?? I don’t know the exact name of the degree) Unlike NYU, they allow and encourage kids to work while in school which is why some like the program.

All of the schools you mentioned are highly selective. You will see on CC that those who’ve already been through this process will strongly suggest that you add some less competitive audition schools to your list (although anything with an audition is not a sure bet) and also make sure you have a non-audition safety school as well.

There are so many great schools out there. These are really just the tip of the iceberg. I would recommend you start with the Big List of schools on this forum. It appears you are concentrating your search in the Northeast? Some others you should look into in that are include Montclair, Rider, Boston University, Penn State, University of the Arts (Philadelphia), Point Park (Pittsburgh), Muhlenberg, Wagner, and CAP21/Molloy. There are others. But these should get you started.

If you are willing to look further geographically, you will find a whole host of fantastic schools on the Big List. I would do lots and lots of research before finalizing your list. Many outside of the city can be more cost effective and offer great training. Some of the top MT programs in the country are nowhere near NYC (think University of Michigan and Cincinnati Conservatory of Music).

Keep your grades up because it will help in obtaining academic merit money at many schools. And best wishes to you in your search!

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Thanks so much for this; it was extremely helpful. I am only allowed to apply to 8 or 9. Would you say that maybe I should switch out Syracuse for a less competitive one?

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You definitely need to have a safety school. These programs are very competitive and many only admit classes of 12-14 a year and they have thousands of applicants. My S has applied to 15 schools. I certainly understand that time and finances can be a factor so if 9 is the limit find a good school you can afford that has a non-audition MT program. It takes some research but your grades and extra-curriculars look good enough that you should have a great shot at academic admission wherever you go. And, as @vvnstar said. Keep up those grades. Academic scholarships are a godsend.

Good luck!

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Is your restriction for number of applications coming from your school or your parents? To allow for safeties and a well balanced list of audition based programs, you may want a list with more than 8 or 9 schools (though you will read on these threads that students have had lists with less and were accepted). I suggest you read the final decision threads to get a feel of the lists students have had and their results. Break a leg!!! :slight_smile:

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If the restriction is from your parents, you should ask them to research some on this forum to get a feel for why it might be important to increase the number of schools you apply to, if you choose to do that. Your parents should also start becoming well-educated right now on exactly what your application and audition process will be like over the next year, because it will take a lot of commitment from them to help you through this successfully. This process is not a normal college application process, and many parents do not realize this until it is too late.

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Of the ones you mentioned, I would consider Carnegie Mellon, Syracuse, Ithaca and NYU extremely difficult admits. NYU may be the easiest of the 4 simply because they accept more students than the others. But it is still very tough to get in. Emerson and Pace may be SLIGHTLY better odds to get in - but they too are very difficult to get in. I think most of the schools on your list take 10% or less of all students who apply. That’s not great odds! I would do lots more research. If your limit is 9 schools, I would put 2 reach schools (schools like Carnegie Mellon and NYU), 5 or 6 “fit” schools and 1 or 2 non auditioned safeties. If you are not married to the Northeast, I would broaden your search to include some schools that may have better odds for acceptance and/or that are lower cost. You need to ask your self some questions:

  1. What type of degree do you want? One that is acting based? Then consider Tisch, Carnegie Mellon, Coastal Carolina, etc… If you want one that is music based consider Penn State, OCU, Steinhardt or Baldwin Wallace.
  2. What type of campus do you want? Do you want a large school? Small school? City school? Suburban campus?
  3. What type of curriculum do you want? You said you might want to minor in psychology? there are threads on here about which schools might allow a minor. Some I know of include Ball State, Ohio Northern, NYU and Northwestern.
  4. What type of extracurriculars do you want? Do you want to participate in Greek life? I think that’s possible at OCU and Coastal. But it is not typical at Carnegie Mellon or Michigan. Not a big deal. But if it’s something you want to participate in you need to think about that.
  5. What size program do you want? NYU Tisch has 7 or 8 studios with 50-60 students in each. Otterbein typically takes 4 girls and 4 boys each year. That’s a big difference!
  6. How much voice, acting, dance do you want? Really study the curriculum of each program and make sure you get to take the classes you want to take.

It’s good you are thinking about this now. I would definitely get online and look at all of the schools. Go to the individual school forum here on CC. You will see lots and lots of information. And if you are near any of these schools, go drive through the campuses and get a feel for what they are like. This may help you fine tune your list.

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For safe schools- would it be better to do schools around where I live that do not have a musical theatre BFA but do have double major in music and drama? Or something close to the businesses on the East Coast? I am having trouble telling which safe schools are good. Anything considered a “safe school” I will start to research and they don’t seem like they are as rewarding as the reach ones (of course) so I felt like it was a waste to apply to them. BUt then I worry that I won’t get into any!!! I’m just really stressed and have no idea what to do.

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Becca W444- I first would give you the advice that many posters on this board say all the time: “Breathe”. It can be a very daunting experience, no doubt, and it is important to take a step back now and then and relax. One year ago today I had no idea what was involved in this process. Now I do and Wow! Your parents will need to help and be a support system for you. You have both an academic and artistic application process to go through and the audition process requires that you either go to those schools to audition or to an audition at the National Unified Auditions, a thespian festival, or something similar.

You are starting in time. Do your research on here and other places on the internet. Many safe schools with give you a great education. What safe school you choose will be based on cost, location, program and “fit”. While a safe school might not be as prestigious as a reach school, it is all about you. This is an extremely subjective process. You might be awesome and just don’t happen to be what that school is looking for that year. A prominent MT head of program told a workshop my S attended: “You may be an awesome 5’7” blonde soprano but if I already have 4 of those in my program it is unlikely that you will get an offer from me."

The point is that you need to get as much exposure as your time and budget will allow. As for a safe school, @vvnstar gives great advice. Answer those questions honestly and you will be on your way. Some reach schools have related non audition programs. For example, Texas State has a highly competitive MT program but the school also offers a non audition BFA degree in Performance and Production. The P and P majors get to audition for all the shows.

Remember that eventually talent will win out. Once you are in the business and get in that audition room how you perform that day (not your degree) will determine if you get the job.

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A safe school is one that does not require an audition, but that you can get into academically. Non-audition MT programs do exist. Do a search here and you will find them.

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You also need to consider if it is a financially feasible school for your family.

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Becca, you have gotten some great advice by all those who have replied to you so far!!

By the way, I don’t think you can minor in anything else if you are in the BFA in MT program at Carnegie Mellon.

Vvnstar…both of your posts on this thread (#3 and #8) offer excellent advice, as well as pertinent questions for the OP to contemplate!

I don’t want to veer too off course, but as an aside…

I am aware of Emerson’s redirecting and cutting down the number of MT students in their program. However, you mention a friend who was redirected to dance. I didn’t think Emerson had a dance major. Just curious.

I don’t agree with this statement. I don’t think number admitted is what to go by. I would look more at percentage admitted (acceptance rate), which I believe at NYU for the MT studio/program is on par with the low end (competitive) acceptance rates at other so called “top” programs. While the MT studio at NYU/Tisch is larger than some other programs, it also has more applicants than some of those programs. Their acceptance rate is in the single digits for MT.

While I likely would have said the same as you, every applicant should also know that with such low admit rates, anything can happen at these schools. What may appear to be slightly better odds schools may come back with a rejection and the student is accepted at what appears to be more selective schools. (I know YOU know this, but just pointing it out to a newbie). To use your example (which made me think of this!), my D was admitted to Syracuse, Ithaca, and NYU and Priority Waitlisted at CMU, yet didn’t get into the BFA at Emerson (though was academically admitted there). She did not apply to Pace. That is just one example. I know someone admitted to CCM, but not Syracuse. Someone admitted to UMich but not Penn State. Someone admitted to NYU/Tisch, but not UArts. Go figure. This happens a lot, even though there are rough estimates as to which are more competitive to get into in terms of BFA in MT programs, but with such low admit rates, anything can happen!

In any case, excellent posts that hopefully will help the OP get started and the more she reads this forum, the more informed she’ll be. Nobody can fully predict your chances, but a balanced list of colleges will help your chances of having some acceptances. And you only need one!

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To stay on the slightly off topic topic- for me, the most interesting part of reading the final decisions background thread (and since they are now pinned I have recently reread the last three classes results) is seeing where the yeses and no’s fall. It seems to me that every person who gets admissions (sometimes several) to really top tier programs also has rejections from programs that most would consider “easier” admits. It’s part of what makes this process fascinating- you just never know what will happen…

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At the end of the day art is subjective. After skill, hard-work and talent there is how you are affected as a person. That is a wild card we can never quantify. We try so hard to understand the process but in the end it is impossible because data can’t help us with this one.

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@soozievt - I wnt back and checked. On her bio it says she received a BA In Theatre Studies - Acting with a Dance Minor. She participated in quite a few dance performances while there and has done a good bit of choreography as well so dance is what I remembered. She is currently in the national tour of Nice Work If You Can Get It .

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Thanks so much everyone- this is awesome information. Would SUNY Purchase in NY and Penn State be good “safer” schools? or are those still too difficult? Tell me if I am being ignorant here- but I would rather not do non- audition MT Schools because I would like to be placed with people who I know are the same level as me, if that makes sense. If I’m not good enough to make it into any schools that require an audition then it would be hard to make it in the theatre world. Thus, I think I would to stick to auditioned colleges… is that logical or stupid? Thanks again for all the help!

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Purchase and Penn state are both VERY competitive. As for your audition/non audition question- that is a personal choice. Northwestern is a non audition program (though it is a tough academic admit) and they have been graduating great actors for years. There are also LOTS for great Programs at LACs (like Kenyon, Muhlenberg etc) which don’t necessarily require auditions. There is no such thing as a school that truly guarantees you a career, and there are literally 100s of places in then country where you can get great training and a great education.

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I’m not sure about SUNY, but Penn State is very difficult to get into also.

One thing you could do is early fall auditions to schools that let you know their decision before Christmas. If you don’t get in to any of those, you would still have time to apply to a safety/non-audition school. Another option would be to apply to a few schools like Point Park or Texas State that have both audition and non-audition programs. Then if you aren’t accepted to the audition program, you can still go and do the non-audition program. At most of those types of schools, you would be allowed to audition for all of the shows. I think even Otterbein may have a non-audition program.