SUNY Cortland

<p>In Vtbroadwaybabys post a while back, Soozie mentioned that SUNY Cortland is non audition BA MT. I have applied there and they sent me a paper saying I have to schedule an audition for entry into the program with a monolouge and 2 songs. Could this be a new development or could this eb an optional audition? I am pretty sure it is required but am a bit confused.</p>

<p>I don't have a lot of specific information about this program, but after reading your post I looked at the website, and it does appear that an audition is needed to declare a musical theatre major. It does not appear that an audition is needed for the theatre major, so it may be that this audition for musical theatre is a new development.</p>

<p>DG....SUNY Cortland is the one school from that post you are referring to that I know the LEAST about. I have not researched them thoroughly, nor have I recommended that school to any clients yet. I can't recall now, where I was getting SUNY Cortland from when I put up that post but it may be from the Big List on CC. Now that I view their website, I see that there is a required audition for SUNY Cortland's BA Major in Musical Theater. Sorry for that confusion. All the other schools from my post are ones that I have researched. </p>

<p>I thought you were going for Vocal Performance schools now. I am not sure what you are doing or where you have applied and it is late now for seniors. </p>

<p>If you want a BA in MT schools with NO required audition, I suggest (all of which I have researched):
Susquehanna (though it may be too late to apply there now)
McDaniel
West Chester University of PA
Cal State-Chico
Rhode Island College
University of Alabama
Santa Clara University
Indiana University </p>

<p>However, if you go the BA path in MT, there are some good options that have auditions, but I don't think these are quite as competitive artistically to get into as the BFA programs.</p>

<p>There is Muhlenberg with an optional audition, though it is not officially a MT program but has ways of piecing together a MT curriculum. I recommend this school a lot but don't know if your academic qualifications are in range or not. Their deadline has not passed. Check it out.</p>

<p>For BA in MT with an audition required, these are good options (all of which I have researched):
American
James Madison
Wagner
University of Southen Maine
Manhattanville
Nazareth College of Rochester
Seton Hill University
SUNY Geneseo
Plymouth State University</p>

<p>It is likely too late at some of these schools (past deadlines) but some have rolling admissions.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

<p>PS, as to your question about if an audition is REQUIRED at SUNY Cortland...based on their website today, that appears to be the case for MT. So, call to check. Always research schools in depth before applying as to the right fit, the curriculum, the requirements, etc.</p>

<p>Thank you soozie and kat. To answer your question, Soozie, I am doing a mix. I am doing Webster, Elon, and Illinois Weslyan for BFA MT, Muhlenberg for BA Theater ( and would do what you have described). Lawrence for VP and SUNY Cortland for BA MT and one of the CUNYS for a BA in theater which you only need an interveiw. I was going to do SUNY Geneseo for BA in MT but they have crazy audition requirments for a BA and if worse came to worse and I had nowere else to go I would major academically for a year, minor in theater and then look to transfer. Also I was going to audition at JM but have heard both some unfavorable things about teh current state of the program and there is only one possible audition date for MT and it is next Saturday and I am ready with my songs but not monolouges, so I would do the same thing as I would at SUNY Geneseo if it came to that. Also I would go to Elon academically if I got in, so. I am very worried that I only have 3 BFA's on my list but I jsut felt that they are the only three I felt drawn to so to speak, and I wanted a school with musical theater and liberal arts which cut out the strictly conservatories like BOCO,CMU,CCM and I did not want to go to college in NYC so that cut out NYU and I do not have the grades or SATS for a place like Michigan. ( As I have an 83 GPA ( make a long story short I did not find out I have a LD till sophmore year and therefore failed math freshman year, and subisiquently have trouble in math based science courses like chem and physics, though I have strong grades in history and english. My SAT is a 1760 ( 450 math :-/ , though I did bring it up from a lower grade the first time around), 660 verbal and 650 writing. So about an 1110 on the old SAT.</p>

<p>DG, I don't know your academic qualifications but if you say you don't have ones in the ballpark for Michigan, I want to mention that SUNY Geneseo is academically selective. Make sure you are aware of the stats of admitted students there, as well as their 49% acceptance rate (not counting the audition based programs). Muhlenberg is pretty selective too.</p>

<p>Did you ever look into McDaniel, Susquehanna, Seton Hill or Nazareth? Indiana University would be a great option and is rolling admissions. Have you researched their Individualized Major in MT? There is no audition. There is a new BFA by audition there as well. </p>

<p>For a BFA, did you ever look at SUNY Fredonia or SUNY Buffalo (since you are trying for some SUNY schools)?</p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>

<p>PS, you edited your post AFTER I wrote this post, and added some stats.</p>

<p>Given the stats you just shared, SUNY Geneseo and Muhlenberg are very reachy for you academically.</p>

<p>Have you ever looked into Hartt, Montclair State, Point Park, West Chester U, Indiana, SUNY Fredonia, McDaniel, Susquehanna, Plymouth State, Keene State, U of Southern Maine, Rhode Island College, Seton Hill, Nazareth....any of these? Might be better chances on the academic front.</p>

<p>I did and decided not to apply for Fredonia , I don't remember why at the current moment, but I def. wont be heartbroken if I do not get into Genseo. I am pretty sure I will not get in, so I will be suprised if I do. I know they are known as the honors SUNY ( as I went to the SUNY fair at the Javits center). SUNYS are only my backups as they are teh new york state schools. I also have 3 CUNYS including Brooklyn which is a BA Theatre with no audition. I knew MUhlenberg was tough btu I do not think I was clear on how tough. I am crossing my fingers but as I said I will not hold my breath. Thank you so so much for the suggestions. Are they all audition? Point Park I've heard is one of the hardest dance auditions so thats why I shyed away from that, also I heard it is not much of a campus but I shall look into it. Thank you again and i will def. look into all those schools. How is S. doing at NYU btw?</p>

<p>DG, I can't give you the kind of individualized help that you may need here on the forum. I am speaking more generally. </p>

<p>I would pick "safety" schools that are truly sure bets. I wouldn't rely on SUNY or CUNY just because they are state or city schools, but find schools you truly love as safeties. You already said you don't want to be in NYC and so I would not have chosen CUNY schools then. There are safeties that might suit your college criteria better. </p>

<p>You asked if all those schools are by audition. I outlined in posts on this thread some schools that have an audition, some that don't. Please go back over that. BA by audition schools, however, very generally speaking, may not be as tough ARTISTICALLY to get into as many of the BFAs, though there are also some BFAs that are "easier" artistically than some others, though all are selective. At end of my last post, I mentioned schools that were BFA, BA by audition, and BA with no audition mixed since you seem to be applying to a mix anyway, and was just mentioning schools more in range with your basic stats that you shared (and I truly would need more information as to the rigor of your HS curriculum in relation to what was offered at your HS, exactly what courses you took, class rank, and more). </p>

<p>As far as Muhlenberg goes...be aware that their admit rate is 43% (that's pretty selective) and it is an SAT optional school and in your case, I suggest applying under the SAT optional "option" which means you must interview and submit a GRADED paper from 11th or 12th grade. Maybe you write well if you have a pretty good SAT Writing score. However, also note these stats of admitted students to Muhlenberg:</p>

<p>42% are from the top 10% of their HS class
82% are from the top 25% of their HS class
98% are from the top 50% of their HS class
(I don't know where you fall in terms of rank or percentile at your HS)</p>

<p>The avg. GPA of admitted students is 3.4.
(I don't know your GPA, but it appears it may be 2.8)</p>

<p>The mid range of SAT scores:
Verbal 560-660
Math: 570-670
Combined 1130-1330
(note: ONLY 5% of admitted students to Muhlenberg had a Math SAT 499 or below and often for those very few who got in with that Math SAT, there was something compelling to override it....high GPA/rank, legacy, recruited athlete, under represented minority, high achievement in some talent area, development case)</p>

<p>This isn't taking into account rigor of secondary courseload which the 'Berg considers very important (and I don't know yours), extracurriculars, recommendations, essays, character traits, etc.</p>

<p>I can't review this for all schools but this is the sort of thing you need to look at to assess your academic chances at a school. This doens't count the artistic chances if there is an audition involved. </p>

<p>I think you might just want to explore places like University of Southern Maine, Nazareth, Manhattanville, Montclair State, College of Santa Fe, Baldwin-Wallace, Indiana, Seton Hill, Plymouth State, Keene State, Hartt, West Chester University, Susquehanna, Rhode Island College, University of New Hampshire, or McDaniel. Look at these. I realize you cut SUNY Fredonia but if you want some BFA's, that one might be worth a shot. Or maybe SUNY Buffalo. </p>

<p>My daughter is back at NYU and still lovin' it, thanks. She was just in Brazil! </p>

<p>Good luck on your college process.</p>

<p>Thank you so much for your help and taking the time out of your busy schedule. My school does GPA by number so i do not know how to convert it to scaled but I have heard that that a 3.0 is an 80 but I do not know if that is correct. I was going to apply to Santa Fe but it is simply to far away and I am apply to BW after some rethinking. I will def. look into the colleges you and Kat have recommened. I only applied to CUNY because I was forced to by my parents and school. Yes I am very worried about the math and will look into SAT optional. Mulenberg takes the common app so I do not know how I would indiate that I want to do SAT optional. I am jsut very confused eee.</p>

<p>Also what is a development case? I am half hispanic I do not know if that would be applicible but my mother was born in Cuba.</p>

<p>DG...an 83 is a 2.8 GPA. An 85 is a 3.0 which would be a solid B average. Examine the average GPA for accepted students at each school. </p>

<p>It is important to pick safety schools that you truly like and would be happy attend, rather than tack on any schools. </p>

<p>For Muhlenberg, if you are applying under SAT Optional Plan, there is a form you must download and fill out. You also must do an interview and submit a graded paper from grade 11 or 12. Here are the directions about applying and links to the necessary forms. You should get the interview and optional audition lined up now, however:
<a href="http://www.muhlenberg.edu/admissions/apply.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.muhlenberg.edu/admissions/apply.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>A development case is an applicant whose parents have made a VERY VERY significant contribution to the school (I'm not talking a donation)...I'm talking very large.....maybe have a building named after them ;-). My guess is that you are not one of these. Very very few people are. HUGE donors are fairly rare. Somewhat related to that is the VIP cases. Not worth worrying about ;-).</p>

<p>If you are Hispanic, then you are an URM or Under-Represented Minority and should consider filling in Hispanic on your applications. That can be a "hook" in admissions. I'm assuming your mom is Hispanic.</p>

<p>Are you a "first generation" applicant? That is an applicant who doesn't reside with a parent who earned a bachelor's degree. If so, that is also a "hook". </p>

<p>Meanwhile I mentioned several schools that are more in your ballpark academically speaking. It is very important to not just pick out colleges you like but to pick ones where your qualifications are realistically in the ballpark of admitted students to that college. Explore deeply. It is on the late side at this juncture.</p>

<p>Defying - good luck to you at auditions. I don't know the statistics for academic admission at Elon, but we've known 2 people who have tried to go there for other majors that have been rejected for admissions. It seems to be fairly competitive to get into Elon (unrelated to the auditions). IL Wesleyan may also have high academic standards. It certainly doesn't hurt to apply and audition, but you may want to look at their average scores and grade point.</p>

<p>In an effort to help you DG, I have to agree with Ericsmom that Elon is not that realistic for you academically. It is fine to have REACH schools, but they should be within reach. A FAR reach is not so reasonable and there are so many schools out there where you can build a list of reach, match, safety relative to your academic qualifications. I am only talking of Elon academically speaking, not even adding in the very selective BFA process, though I realize you are willing to attend without the BFA there. </p>

<p>I can't accurately assess your chances without knowing the courses you took in high school, the rigor of those courses in relation to what your HS offers, or your class rank or where you fall in general in your class, plus I don't have your actual grades, just your average. But even with that little information....you need to put your stats up against the stats of admitted students to Elon. </p>

<p>The admit rate at Elon (generally, not BFA) is 41% which is pretty selective, though not most selective. </p>

<p>32% of freshmen were in the top 10% of their HS class.
67% of freshmen were in the top 25% of their HS class.
93% of freshmen were in the top 50% of their HS class.
Compare where you rank in your class with this information. </p>

<p>The average GPA for entering Freshmen is 3.7. That is unweighted. You have a 2.8 GPA. That truly is not within range. If everything else was tops to override the GPA (most demanding courses, high SATs, superb recs, amazing achievements or talents), it might compensate. </p>

<p>The mid 50% SAT range for first year students is:
Verbal 560-640
M 570-650
Combined 1130-1290.
While your 1110 puts the school in Reach range, and it is fine to have some reaches, schools don't just look at the combined score. The 450 Math score might be a problem here. Only 4% of enrolled students at Elon had a math score below 499. So, the chances become slimmer when you factor that in and GPA, etc. </p>

<p>There are some schools that truly suit your desire for some non audition MT that are more in range academically, AND have higher rates of acceptance (less selective). I'm sharing this to show you how to examine your chances a bit at schools and how to build a realistic list. I have no idea if you looked at the many schools I suggested in an earlier post today but many of those are more realistically in your ballpark, based on the little bit you have shared. And to be fair, I don't know that much about you other than what you shared. I don't know about your awards or achievements, special talents, extracurricular endeavors and the roles you played in those activities, and so on.</p>

<p>Thank you so much both of you for the honest realistic picture. As, I have said I do have a learning disability in Math and therfore have trouble in math related subjects, though I am by no means using this as an excuse. I like to think I worked very hard to overcome it and went from a 50 to an 85 in math with the help of tutors and managed to pass chem and physics (which are required courses to graduate). Hopefully since there is such a descrpency between the humanities and math grades the colleges will look at the individual grades over the subject averages. Hopefully same with the SATS. Though my disability is in no means a crutch I do hope the colleges I ahve applied to (most which are small) will take into account what has happened and will hopefully give me a chance. I know what I am up against and will not take things to hard if I do not get in places. There is always community college, though I dread it. I have def looked at the schools though a few of the deadlines like McDaniel seem to have passed. They havent really as it is Feb 1st but since I have the next week of school off and Feb !st applications have to be filed through my school 3 weeks in advance of the date it would not be feasible. I have looked at Montclaire State which is def. a option and I will look into Plymouth tommorow. Again thank you everyone, esp, Soozie for all your help and honest opinions. I have been doing my own reasearch and my GC told me they were all matches so I guess I naievely (sp?) assumed what I should not have.</p>

<p>Defying, if you can still figure out a way to apply to McDaniel, I would strongly urge you to try to do so. I know of several people whose kids (involved in theatre and musical theatre) who have gone there and have been very happy.
Have you looked at Towson University? I am not sure if they have a BFA or just a BA, but their theatre dept. has a good reputation and they do apparently do quite a bit of musical theater there. In fact, for all I know, they may have a musical theatre degree. A very talented young man who graduated high school last year who was in a lot of musicals and plays with my own D matriculated there this month, after finding the college/university that he went to first was not a good fit. Just a thought. I think the web site is <a href="http://www.towson.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.towson.edu&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p>

<p>Russell Sage College in the Albany/ Troy area also has a program that I forgot to mention when I PMd you. They are an all women's school... and have an affiliation with the NY State Theatre Institute. They appear to have rolling admissions so it is not too late to apply. The degree is a BS (Bachelor of Science) which is usally somewhere between a BA and a BFA in terms of time spent taking courses in your major. They are worth checking out:</p>

<p>MT page: <a href="http://www.sage.edu/academics/schoolofprofessionalstudies/creativeandperformingarts/index.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.sage.edu/academics/schoolofprofessionalstudies/creativeandperformingarts/index.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Admissions page: <a href="http://www.sage.edu/admission/index.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.sage.edu/admission/index.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Believe it or not, it is not past deadline at several places you should consider....I looked up the deadlines. </p>

<p>McDaniel
Nazareth
University of New Hampshire
Montclair State
Manhattanville
Susquehanna
Towson
Wagner (even if you don't want NY, you already ARE applying to some in NY and this one is at least a BA in MT)
Pace (I know, NYC, but more appropriate for your field than CUNY)
Salem State
West Chester Univ. of PA
Wilkes University
Plymouth State
Indiana
Millikin University
University of Oklahoma
Fairleigh Dickinson (Not MT progam, but audition theater program)
Hofstra (not MT, but non audition theater, can audition for BFA after first year)</p>

<p>Even if your HS wants three weeks lead time...you could get YOUR part of the application in ON time.....colleges sometimes forgive if the transcripts and teacher recs come in a bit past deadline if your part is received on time. You could also ask if your school could try to help and get their part in as soon as possible, since the mad rush with most seniors is likely over by now.</p>