@SuddenlySeeMore I did CMU Pre-College this past summer and I can clarify that @NYYFanNowMTdad is right. Doing the Pre-College program at CMU doesn’t get your prescreen passed anymore. Still an amazing program!!! Definitely consider Pre-College!!
I know my daughter posts here but since I get no info from her - I decided to try to find out what I could on my own! Our situation is much like a lot of you I am sure. My daughter is a senior with strong academics - 1300 SAT ( she only took it junior year and isn’t willing to take it again : ) - 4.49 GPA - top 3% of her class in a well respected school system with a large class. Will graduate having taken 12 AP classes and 2 DE classes. And, you guessed it… she wants to sing and dance for the rest of her life!! It’s minimally hard to accept because I know what living in the real world is like and I know that she could likely go to any college we could afford ( minus the Ivy Leagues - her test score won’t get her in there! ) . But this has been her passion since she was 5 years old. She has done a lot of community & regional theatre as well as every school show possible and a few professional shows. She is a lifelong dancer and gymnast so she has some skills that help in terms of dance for sure. Her acting is very strong ( so we are told) and her singing is very good, although definitely what she has to work the hardest at. She takes voice/acting lessons for about 5 years and is always cast well in shows in our area - outside DC. She went to Penn State summer program the summer after her sophomore year. However, we are realistic and know how competitive this is! Her dream is to find a program where she can load up on dance/voice/acting experience. She LOVES the process - her dream day is tech week - 10 -12 hour rehearsals, dance classes, etc. She is one of those kids who can’t imagine herself doing anything other than this. We are looking for the best fits for her where she will be challenged and be surrounded by those who take this as seriously as she does - and a place that her academics may help get her in! She will go anywhere - the smallest little obscure school in the middle of nowhere - as long as she can do MT!! ( would prefer it be on the east coast ) Does anyone have any “diamond in the rough” places that we may be missing? She’s got Penn State, Coastal, Elon, Rider, JMU, Montclair, Kent State, Point Park, Ohio Northern, Ithaca, Otterbein, University of the Arts, Ohio U, Wright State, Emerson, East Carolina, Indiana, Roosevelt and Syracuse on her list. She also applied to Christopher Newport as her back up plan as they have a non-audition program that seems good and we are in Virginia. Whew, that’s a lot!! Any advice from those in the know would be appreciated!
@Melanie97 Look into Pace, NYU/Steinhardt, NYU/Tisch, Viterbo University, Marymount Manhattan, Muhlenberg College, Ohio Northern University, Ball State, Otterbein
@Melanie97 Look at Molloy/CAP21. CAP 21 did the studio training for NYU/Tisch until 2012 or 2013. They ended their relationship over finances. CAP21 is now partnered with Molloy for the BFA. It is an amazing and very unique program with 2 days (3 days as freshman- 2 the rest of the years) on campus in Rockville Centre on Long Island and 3 days (2 as Freshmen and 3 the rest of the years) in the studios in Manhattan. (About a block from the bull on Wall street.) Many of the staff including leadership of the program has remained the same. The price tag is quite a bit lower than NYU even considering the train costs - AND they provide nice merit packages.
@DramaLove2020 I beleive it takes a few weeks. It was the first school my D heard back from.
@Melanie97 - if you are looking at schools like Ball State and Wright State, then I would take a serious look at Western Michigan. These programs are all very similar and are located within schools that are very much alike. My d was similar to your d with good grades, lots of AP courses, and a passion for theatre - I chronicled my her sojourn (she graduated this year) at WMU in this thread: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/western-michigan-university-mt/1809907-why-my-d-chose-western-michigan-p1.html
Other programs that are similar include Missouri State and Kent State.
Is anyone considering Cleveland Musical Theater College Unified Audition Weekend next month?
@Melanie97 Check out UW Stevens Point. It’s got a great program with lots of dance opportunities
@GeddyMcNutty My son is going. We are local, so it makes a lot of sense for us. My daughter attended it last year, although it was just a workshop then (no auditions or live prescreens). She found the workshops helpful, and it’s always helpful to do mock auditions in front of program directors who give you feedback. We are not doing the additional prescreen filming package; my son would prefer a more informal, non-time-contrained atmosphere for those.
@Melanie97
Other schools to consider:
Baldwin Wallace (since you listed Ohio U)
Webster
AMDA
LIU Post
Temple
Pace
Manhattan School of Music
Shenendoah
Hartt
@Melanie97
Also it the east, take a look at Hartt (U Hartford), and Western CT State U.
Here’s a question from a clueless parent–after complaining before Labor Day that D was behind, she’s made a big push and is now basically ready to pull the trigger on her Common App. Whew! But I’m wondering about how this works for MT programs?
I’m assuming she can send the app to each school from the Common App website, right? But then how does she let the school know she wants to do MT?? There’s no question about that on the app itself. Once she “pushes the button” does the school then ask for additional info? We’re both a bit confused and didn’t want to bother her guidance counselor, as D met with her briefly last week to sign some forms and got push-back about bugging her the first week of school… (sigh!)
I’m probably just feeling overwhelmed and this is obvious, but figured I’d ask the experts!
@toystorymom like everything in this crazy process, every school is different, in the common app the main section it wont ask for the major, but when you enter in all your schools there is a separate tab for " colleges" which each of your schools will have their own questions…this is where the supplemental essays show up and in most cases where you will enter intended major… often after you send that in you will get invited to their school portal via email where audition and prescreen info is.USUALLY …my advice is once you file the common app w all of your schools double check their website, if they dont require a pre screen AND you didnt get asked for a preferred audition date AND you didnt get that option though accepted & or the school portal, call the Musical theater department and they will usually be very helpful…i know exhausting even to write it now 
how are you notified? Email? Get Acceptd?
NYYFanNowMTdad–thanks so much! Was definitely one of those overwhelmed/panicky moments… So much to think about! Now that I did a little more digging, I realize my D said she’d done all her Common App info, but she didn’t look at the individual schools to see that she has to answer a bunch of additional questions for each school–all those little details about financial aid, SAT scores, when you plan to enroll, etc. Once we looked now that she’s home from school, we saw that colleges also ask for a planned major… Big Aha moment! 
Was also helpful to see she has some additional questions to answer for a few schools, other than the supplements she was aware of–a pain, but good to know! Was probably a bit of wishful thinking that she thought she was done!
My daughter did the optional prescreen at Wright State and found out today she passed! Boost of confidence for sure for her - even though the prescreen is optional its a good feeling knowing someone thinks what you did at least merits an audition!
@melanie97 my younger son is a freshman BFA MT at Temple University in Philadelphia. In his first semester, he is taking Voice for MTs, Ballet, Music Theory, Voice and Movement, Acting, Choral Ensemble and weekly private voice lessons within the department. The GenEd he chose this semester is also theatre-based–Race on Stage, in which they read and discuss plays that have a race (or another diversity) element, and attend three professor-chosen plays/musicals in Philly (which seems to have dozens and dozens of theatres!), which they report on. At least one dance class is required per semester (ballet at first, then jazz and tap) and as the students move through the curriculum, there is more freedom to choose additional dance classes if they want to. There is also an option for MTs to potentially minor in Dance as well. Private voice is part of the curriculum every semester. Also important for many is that Temple often offers good financial aid for strong academics. It is a campus environment within an urban area and has all the pros and cons that come with that environment.
My older son is a senior BFA Acting major at Fredonia. Although Temple’s MT department seems to have a more rigorous required dance curriculum, Fredonia offers a number of dance classes that are above the minimum required available for students who want to take them. In the shows that I’ve seen and the MT students who I know, gorgeous voices seem to be an area of focus in how students are accepted and how they are trained. In addition to voice lessons and music theory, there is a piano class required for at least three semesters. The in-state tuition is nice and scholarships are plenty. Every parents weekend, there is a university-wide scholars breakfast where every scholarship recipient and their parents are invited to a buffet breakfast and every student is recognized (every benefactor is also recognized and many attend). This takes place in the large gym in the fieldhouse and is packed, wall to wall with people, which is amazing because it’s a small-ish school. Fredonia is in a rural-ish area that is pretty close to Canada and has all the pros and cons that come with that environment.
@BrennaK here for you, sister! wishing you and your son a successful audition season.
@SuddenlySeeMore (re: does summer program mean automatic pre-screen pass) NYU Steinhardt summer program students automatically pass pre-screen and then audition as required.
I noticed on Belmont’s Musical theater website, they offer both a BM and a BFA? is that accurate, can anyone explain how this works re audition , and other factors? curriculum, school performances etc? thanks