<p>or at least me!</p>
<p>There is always talk about the "#3 school" or the #1 school" in the country for Musical Theatre.</p>
<p>Has any one actually seen a list of the top ten schools for musical theatre?</p>
<p>I know BW, Michigan, and Cincinnati are pretty high up there, but does anyone know what the actual numbers are? And what is this judged on?</p>
<p>Thanks!!</p>
<p>haha i tried this thread already...</p>
<p>the main answer was "the top school is the right fit for you"</p>
<p>but id say that the top four, in no particular order are:</p>
<p>ccm
michigan
nyu cap
cmu</p>
<p>and maybe boco/emerson/ithaca following that... i dont know much about bw, my friend just auditioned there AMY I HOPE YOU GET IN! </p>
<p>idk, please no one rip me apart.</p>
<p>i think its hard to judge, because it comes down to what you want to focus on. do you want a triple threat program, or one that is focused more on acting of the three disciplines. </p>
<p>anyone else?</p>
<p>chris</p>
<p>I'm hearing..</p>
<h1>1 Cincinnati</h1>
<h1>2 B-W</h1>
<h1>3 Michigan</h1>
<p>I would say any of the schools that has its own thread on at the top of the MT page could be considered for top 10 status. But many of these schools offers different things. Like I know BW is one of the best programs for connections. Vicky knows so many people in the business and has many of them come in to do masterclasses. Thats one of the best things about BW, the master classses and the connections you are able to make through those.</p>
<p>Where are you hearing that from?</p>
<p>Certainly not the posts on CC, or even this thread! While the 3 schools you mention are all fine programs, it is sort of silly to even come up with numerical rankings - the programs have substantial differences - so as Chris said - it's a question of fit for you. What might make a school # 1 for you might make it an appalling choice for someone else.</p>
<p>And, certainly, among the 30 schools listed in the subforums at the top, I'm betting that at least 15-20 of them would lay claim to being in the top 5 or 10 schools, if they wanted to play that numbers game - and undoubtedly some others not on the list as well.</p>
<p>Trying to pin this down is really an exercise in futility. Investigate which programs fit your needs - the training you desire, the industry contact you feel is important, the college atmosphere you desire, then assemble a list of places to audition based on those criteria, NOT "I'm auditioning at the #1 school in the country!"</p>
<p>Syracuse claims they are #3 in the nation.
CCM Brags about being #1
People say BoCo is as good as CCM
People say NYUs Reputation is better then its training
People say CMU used to be the best, then got too full of themselves.</p>
<p>Its confusing, really. Its all a matter of what you believe.</p>
<p>okay,
so musical theatre is great and all;
but i don't want to be confined to that,
so i'm wondering;
what are the "top" just... theatre schools?
and not even just theatre,
what are the top ACTING schools?
i heard u.o.evansville is #2
and webster is #3 ((i just got accepted there!))
but... anyway.
thanks in advance? :D</p>
<p>[blake.]</p>
<p>What if baseball was ranked higher than football in the rankings of life? YOU love football and are good at it, but you worked hard to get onto the baseball team anyway because you were so focused on the rankings. You had a party the day you found out you got onto the baseball team. Then you found out two weeks later that you hate those little round balls and running in a diamond shape without enough padding? This thread is pointless.</p>
<p>From my perspective, any answer that ranks programs on a numerical scale will be terribly misleading. It's like asking who is the prettiest girl in your high school. Please think about what information you're REALLY looking for. Then ask THAT question.</p>
<p>I agree that this is a meaningless question.</p>
<p>I agree that the thread is kinda pointless, but by reputation, Juilliard is the top American acting conservatory though there are some others where the training is probably just as good. As far as large numbers of successful/well-known alums, it looks like it would have to be Juilliard, CMU, NCSA, Purchase, Tisch, and Rutgers from what I've seen. However, like with MT, it really comes down to what you want out of a program/school and there are no reliable "rankings." Here is a list somebody came up with on another thread that breaks them down into categories that look about right from where I stand.</p>
<p>Conservatories
The Juilliard School
Carnegie Mellon University
North Carolina School of the Arts
Purchase College
California Institute of the Arts
Webster University
University of Cincinnati Conservatory</p>
<p>Large Universities with Elite BFAs
New York University/Tisch School of the Arts
Boston University
University of Southern California
University of Minnesota Twin Cities Guthrie Theatre Program
DePaul University
Rutgers University
Florida State University</p>
<p>Small/Medium Sized Colleges and Universities with Elite BFAs
University of Evansville (Best for getting into a top MFA)
Southern Methodist University
Otterbein College
Emerson College
Ithaca College
Syracuse University</p>
<p>Elite College and University BA programs
Brown University
Vassar College
Swarthmore College
Middlebury College
Northwestern University
UCLA (Practically a BFA with single digit acceptance rate)
Cornell University
Emory University
Sarah Lawrence College
Bard College</p>
<p>Large State University BA programs
Indiana University
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Cal State Fullerton
University of Alabama
Arizona State University
University of Nebraska
University of California, Irvine</p>
<p>Less Classifiable, but good BAs
Fordham University
College of Charleston
Kenyon College
Catholic University
Brandeis University</p>
<p>And my wait begins ... again.</p>
<p>Let's not pass on information that we don't know is accurate (I realize you picked up this list from a thread where Susan may have posted this info as a "starting point"). Just a quick glance at the list above, and I can tell you that ASU does not have a top acting program. It's very geared toward children's theater. But unless that's your area of interest, it wouldn't be a good place to go for acting, whereas University of Arizona isn't on your list and has a much stronger acting program. I'm sorry if I sound grumpy this morning. I just think that threads like this and discussions like this water down the usefulness of the Musical Theatre Forum on CC.</p>
<p>I think the BFAs are probably pretty accurate on that list though I'd probably move Rutgers up a few notches on the large universities part. I guess U. Arizona should probably be on that part as well. I can't say I know as much about the BAs, but they almost necessarily imply that grad school or a pro studio will be needed to complete one's training after graduation since they by nature do not produce fully trained actors so maybe none of them should even be included as "top" acting schools. I dunno ... Vain attempts at rankings pretty much proliferate all of CC, so why not here, too? But, you think it waters down the usefulness of the thread, so ... :p ;)</p>
<p>I totally agree with Mtmommy on the Arizona acting programs. I also agree that ranking programs is pretty meaningless.</p>
<p>I know of no rankings of MT programs. I think the CC site has a Big List of programs that exist. Also, 30 MT programs were highlighted for separate forums. There are some amongst those 30 programs that are more known in terms of reputation. That doesn't make them better or best. Anyone who is listing that X college's MT is number 3 or something like that...I'd love to know the source. I know of no such reliable rankings. I personally am not into rankings in any case and my kids did not utilize rankings in finding the schools that matched what they wanted. I think there are "clumps" of schools in terms of challenge academically and there are clumps of schools in terms of selectivity. </p>
<p>I also want to clarify that inadvertantly MTMommy refers to the list of theater colleges that FishbowlFreshman copied above from another link on the forum as being one that I had orginally posted but this is NOT TRUE....that is not a list that I posted but someone else did. That list, however, is not a ranking and is a useful list of theater colleges out there in different "categories". It is a not a musical theater listing. I take no credit for that list. (I don't mind the error but thought I would clarify that.)</p>
<p>I wasn't going to contribute to this thread and only did to clarify that the list posted above doesn't come from me. </p>
<p>I think that since no valid MT program ranking exists, it is pointless and misleading to read claims of X or Y college being number something or other. If someone is going to post that, please give a source, as I have never seen a MT program ranking and am skeptical if one even exists. I think there ARE a handful of programs that are known as so called "top ones" but certainly in no order. Other than that, I know of no list.</p>
<p>I would advise that students pick a school that meets your OWN criteria. There are MANY questions to ask in terms of selecting a school. Perhaps for SOME people, one of their items on their personal criteria list MAY be reputation in the field or level of selectivity or challenge. It could be a consideration but hopefully not the main one. </p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>PS....I found the original post of this list of Acting Schools in categories and it was posted by Thesbohemian back in August.</p>
<p>By the way, Thesbo's list was not a ranking but a list of schools that offered certain degrees in certain college settings/categories. I do not think her list was meant to be read as a ranking in each category.</p>
<p>This is craziness! Utter craziness!</p>
<p>MICHIGAN is so the best.</p>
<p>MWAHAHAHAHA.</p>
<p>Ooooh...I really hope I get in...<em>crossing fingers</em>...</p>
<p>Sorry, Susan, I had thought that you had passed on (NOT generated) that list earlier and hadn't passed it on as a real list, but as a starting point for someone. It's a good list in that it is a STARTING POINT, but as in the Arizona error, should not be taken as the final word at all. </p>
<p>I do think a lot of people confuse the Arizona schools. I've noticed that the dance department of ASU shows up a lot as a top rated program, but in fact, it's a huge, very serviceable department, but not an exceptionally strong training ground for professional dancers. It's UA's dance department that is actually stronger. Based on the sheer numbers of courses offered, someone might mistake ASU's dance department as being a top program.</p>
<p>Whoaaa.. I'm not sure if this thread was entirely meaningless, that people wouldn't be posting so much information.</p>
<p>I was just confused on all of the different colleges stating where they stood, number-wise on the MT scale and where those numbers came from and if a list actually existed.</p>
<p>broadwaycorey, I think it's human nature to want to simplify a very complex decision. And I can appreciate your confusion, especially when you hear claims of "we're number 1," etc. I just feared it might distract from the more important and productive assessment of personal fit with training needs and aspirations. Peace.</p>
<p>In the years I've been reading CC, in all the schools we visited with my D, and from all my research for other kids who were interested in drama and MT programs, I can categorically state that I have NEVER heard anyone from any of the schools claim to be #1, #3, or #88! I've also never seen it on any of the schools' websites. The only time I've ever seen rankings by # discussed, and claims made, it's been HERE! People, both kids and parents, have frequently raised this discussion on CC, saying that schools have made these claims or that they've heard that a school has such and such a ranking, but they never have a source, or a link. Coincidence? I don't think so. It seems to be a bad case of 'word of mouth' that gets posted and spread around repeatedly, causing confusion and consternation, and never resulting in anything positive for kids who are in the application and search process. As others have said, it's really best to do the research and find the right school for YOU and not rely on purported rankings or the opinions of others, etc. :)</p>