<p>It's going to have to be over summer (in June) that we make the next installation of the pre-senior year Great College Tour Road Trip. Know that's not the most optimal, as campuses are not as lively, but kiddo really appreciates stepping foot onto campus and talking to folks there to help her in her decision-making process. Anyway...she knows she wants to see Florida State and Elon. We're from Ohio and we're driving. Can devote about a week at most to the trip (including drive time). She's looking for schools with strong dance and/or a dance minor option, preferably BFA (but is more flexible between BA/BFA, as long as it's an MT major). What about Catawba, East Carolina, Coastal Carolina? Other schools along the route to recommend? Trying to get a mix of competitive-to-safety schools for her to see. Size of school doesn't really matter, as long as it's got the right fit in the MT department. Academic $$$s are always a nice hello, as well as honors programs that "play nice" with MT majors (we're finding some that seem to do a better job than others). </p>
<p>So, travel agent types ;-) (or those who've travelled these routes), what do you recommend?</p>
<p>Elon, Rollins (BA (Theatre with musical theatre training options), Alabama, Central Florida, James Madison, Shenandoah, American, Catholic University, University of Miami… First come to mind from FL to DC.</p>
<p>Just some thought on planning your road trip. Elon is one of those schools that require students to come to the campus to audition. For that reason we planned our audition and our visit for the same weekend. Because you have so many great schools to look at you may want to factor this is in before you hit the road.</p>
<p>I’d definitely recommend Coastal Carolina if you’re making the trip. It’s a BFA now if you didn’t know. The only thing I don’t know about is that this year there were only on campus auditions, in which case it might be best to just visit the campus when you audition. However (and kgjc can clear this up), I think they are going to Unifieds for th first time this year (2011), so if you are going to audition for them there, they’d be great to include on the trip. Catawba is great too but I don’t know much about East Carolina.</p>
<p>What about Western Carolina? I remember seeing their program mentioned here on CC before - that’s the one headed by Terrance Mann, right? Looks like they have a BM in MT or a BFA with an MT concentration.</p>
<p>I would second Coastal. D loved it but in the end did not want a BFA and decidied to do the dance route anyway. I would also second Shenandoah, which we did not visit before auditioning and wish we had.</p>
<p>This may be a little out of your way, but if your daughter is open to a BM in MT with a strong dance component, look at Oklahoma City University. The Ann Lacy School of American Dance is rigorous and has a world-class company - amazing training!</p>
<p>As for the honors program, the program here CERTAINLY “plays nice” - you can contract non-honors courses for honors credit. Some MT majors here have contracted their voice lessons, et cetera, in order to complete their honors requirements.</p>
<p>If you have any personal questions about the MT program or OCU, feel free to PM me!</p>
<p>Gwen & Mommafrog- Tell us all about your trips when they’re done. I haven’t figured out a way to steal my girl away from rehearsals to do any visiting. Sigh. (Is this a problem or will it be enough to visit whilst at auditions?)</p>
<p>In reference to post 5, I don’t know much about the program but I was recently watching the next Broadway star competition (on BroadwaySpace) and one of the top 15 finalists was a girl from Western Carolina who was FIERCE and seems to have been working really steady with lots of equity, regional houses.</p>
<p>I know this is an old thread, but we are looking in the same area for my D who is a junior. We are in LA, which only allows kids to miss 5 days of school (!!) so I am hoping to get a look at schools during breaks (Thanksgiving, Mardi Gras, Easter, summer) this year because for auditions next year, we’ll have to fly in and fly out with not much time for visits.</p>
<p>My D’s grades and scores are good (SAT R&M 1350; ACT 30; GPA UW 4.0; W 4.26). She’s taking 3 APs, gifted English, honors sci this year; plans to take 3 more APs next year. So hoping for merit money, too! </p>
<p>Here’s my D’s consideration list thus far…not going to visit all obviously, but it runs the gamut from stretch to safety! </p>
<p>U of Alabama
U of Arizona
FSU* (she would love FSU, but could be out of reach financially unless they give good package)
UCF
U of Miami
Ole Miss - non audition safety
Elon U
Catawba
Western Carolina U
East Carolina U
Oklahoma City U
U of Oklahoma
Coastal Carolina
U of Memphis
Sam Houston St.
Texas St @ San Marcos
Texas Christian U
James Madison U
Shenandoah Conservatory</p>
<p>Any thoughts on the list??? Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>My D only looked at Elon, James Madison and Miami. She really disliked Miami and loved the other 2. Shenandoah is very close to JMU so worth it if you can do both.</p>
<p>mom2them, glad you’re considering OCU! If you have any questions or are in need of a little extra information/elaboration, feel free to send me an email or a private message. I’d be glad to answer any burning questions!</p>
<p>Hi, you said that FSU may be out-of-reach financially without generous financial aid…in which case, I just wanted to mention that the University of Miami would also fall into that catagory. S had stats similar to your daughter’s (slightly lower gpa). But the merit aid they offered him was pitiful compared to the ridiculously high COA. However, we do not qualify for need-based aid, so that wasn’t part of his FA package.</p>
<p>Mom2them - look at the University of Northern Colorado. If you are going as far as U of Arizona - you should look at this program. They have very good out of state tuition scholarships that makes this program very financially reasonable. Additionally - if you do your research - you will find that it is an excellent program. It offers a BA in MT but the program is very much structured like a BFA. My daughter just started there 3 weeks ago - so far so good!!</p>
<p>I am realizing that finding a good MT program in an academic liberal arts college, that provides merit/talent aid is a rare combination…and hard to find anywhere, much less in the south!!</p>
<p>I’ve made several deletions and additions to the list already and I’m sure it will be changing quite a lot over time…</p>
<p>Good luck, mom2them… Keep working w/your kiddo on that list. Make a grid of the most important factors – location? type of degree? academics? etc. Don’t get too caught up on the “retail” price – if you kid has good academic stats, merit dollars can decrease the costs by a huge factor…and you don’t know until the end of the journey cost, acceptances, etc. So for right now…figure out the MOST important factors, make the list of schools that your kiddo would be happy to attend if the stars align…and know that the list does change over time, and that all of us here have our biases as to good/great/not so much schools…only your family can make the decision on which schools make the final cut.</p>