<p>Does anyone know what schools are in the top 10 (or top 5 or 20 etc. if that is all you can find) for musical theatre majors?</p>
<p>I tried looking online but didn't have much luck. </p>
<p>Please send the link along with the information. </p>
<p>Thanks so much!</p>
<p>There is no official ranking for MT programs. It is too subjective. Link into the fact thread above and get the big list info. There are several threads in this MT area that deal with this question, just type what you want in the search box above and read away.</p>
<p>I would still love to hear some people's opinions about what they feel are the top programs... I'm just curious, thanks!</p>
<p>There is no possible way to make a top 5 list of schools because of all the different type of things a student has to look into. Money is always an issue, and if you don't have it, then some of the big schools will sound less appeaing. Some kids want universities, some don't. Some want a big class, some don't.</p>
<p>I agree there are so many variables. I notice that around a month ago, there was a group of families running around to auditions, so if that indicates any agreement, you can read their posts on Musical Theater re: "spring auditions" or similar searchwords. I noticed the same schools mentioned often, but again, that's in a geographic area that likely represents them.
WHenever I attend a play or musical, I enjoy reading the biographies of the actors and noticing their backgrounds and educations.
Another approach might be to go to IMDB and look up where your favorite perfromers studied.</p>
<p>LOL........the top 5, 10 or 20 = the ones that accept YOU.</p>
<p>I completely agree with what's said above (depends on student). However, there are particular schools that are known to have successful programs due to the number of alumni that are currently working in the industry...here's SOME that come up a lot within discussions (in no particular order):</p>
<p>University of Michigan
CCM
Carnegie Mellon
NYU (both Tisch and Steinhardt)
Boston Conservatory
Otterbein
Penn State
Universtiy of Miami
Syracuse
Ithaca
...and MANY more.</p>
<p>just look at the top of the main forum page, there pretty much all there. hope this helps!</p>
<p>Coaster & Liz,</p>
<p>As several have said - there are too many parameters and so there is no legitamate scientific data to answer your question in any credible way. I would suggest you research that topic on these boards if you want the long, exhaustive reasons why such a list is next to impossible.</p>
<p>For a more practical approach - you could ask each school - they will all tell you they are in the top tier (just kidding!). At one point I thought the list at the top of this heading was a good list, but recently I have found some disturbingly poor programs both omitted and included. </p>
<p>There is, as some above mention , the big list to use as a starting point. Seriously, Michigan has published a pretty good list of parameters to look for when choosing a school for Mt - it is available on these boards somewhere, and I think the school would share it with you if you ask. To their list I would add some basic questions:
- what kind of training were you looking for, conservatory or university
- does geographic location matter much to you (weather, proximity ti NYC, proximity to home, tuition at a state school)
- does size the school and/or program mean much to you
- how about money (tuition) matters
- how many specific MT faculty are tenured/full time (important -indicates the institutions commitment to the program)
- how many faculty actually teach and/or work on student production (as opposed to being away most of the time as is the case at many "research institutions")
- as an undergraduate are you taught by faculty or grad students
- as an undergrad are you competing with grad students for roles in shows
- get the hard information on what access you have to individual voice lessons, what acting and/or dance classes are MT majors "allowed" to take.</p>
<p>The one thing on Michigan's list I would not place too much emphasis on is the size of their music library - this is a bit out dated in the days of internet, ebay, amazon.com, etc. Also, while some very established schools do still do showcases in NYC for seniors - this is overstated as important. Very few people end up with job from the senior showcase, and I know several ajents who would rather make school visits to schools with good programs - this allows time to see students develope over time and I have seen good results in getting grads jobs and representation using this method. Several schools do both.</p>
<p>I am guessing you are just starting down this road - it is a long journey. </p>
<p>Do your research, visit schools, see productions at the schools.</p>
<p>Best of luck</p>
<p>I posted about this recently in the Schools for MT Part 40 thread, when I was able to have some more MT sub forums added to the MT Forum, but I will explain it again here since some discussion is going on about "top programs" and also about the list at the top of this forum. </p>
<p>The criteria for creating sub forums for individual schools on CC has NOTHING to do with their quality and it is CERTAINLY NOT an endorsement. These are not recommended schools, nor best schools. We create sub forums (not just on the MT Forum but on the general CC discussion forum....if you visit, you will see many individual college forums) if discussion about those schools warrants it. The schools at the top, for the most part, are ones that already had individual threads discussing them in existance. Rather than have readers search for those threads, or in many instances, keep starting new threads on the same schools, asking the same questions, we just organized the threads to be together under the school heading.</p>
<p>We can't list every college that offers MT but have a "Big List" (consult the FAQ link to find it) that does so as a resource. The sub forums are merely an organizational tool to put all the threads on a school in one place, nothing more. That list should NOT be the only list prospective MT students go to in searching for MT programs. The Big List in the FAQ link serves that purpose as well as many college directories. Similarly, for regular college applicants, hopefully, they search college directories, not merely the sub forums set up on CC to file all the existing thread discussions. If we have a lot of threads on a school that doesn't have a sub forum, that school would possibly also get its own subforum in the MT Forum, as space allows.</p>
<p>It is just an organizational tool. We recognize that some programs may not be as well regarded. The forums are a way for people to share the pros and the cons, information, and personal experiences about these schools. </p>
<p>I hope that helps explain how we go about creating sub forums merely as a filing method for many existing threads on individual schools. The list of schools at the top, which is merely a listing of our sub forums on individual schools, is NOT a "top MT schools" or "best schools" list and should not be taken as such. Again, a comprehensive list of schools that offer MT (either BFA or BA) is listed within the FAQ link and is called the Big List. Within the list of subforums, however, many of the well known programs are included amongst the total list of individual forums. </p>
<p>There is no known ranking of MT programs. Some schools are more well known than others. Some tend to be more artistically selective than others. It is most important to pick a program that closely resembles your own criteria in selecting a good fit for a college and program. If you read enough on CC, there are certain groups of schools that tend to be talked about a lot or are more renowned or competitive to get in. However, a common mistake that I see with some theater applicants is to only shoot for the best known schools in this field, without regard to their qualifications and the very low odds of admission. Explore widely. There are 41 individual sub forums here, plus the Big List. Shooting simply for the "top" schools can be very chancy and in some cases, not the appropriate list. A well balanced list geared to an individual's academic qualifications, artistic talent, and college preferences is extremely important. A list should be built that will result in one or more acceptances.</p>
<p>what, in everyone's opinion would be the top 10 most competetive schools to get into? I am not asking what is the "best" program out there, just which programs are the hardest to get into... this is just concerning my curiousity I am not trying to rank one school over the other... thanks!</p>
<p>Liz - many of the schools are very competitive to get into. I think it takes one going through the process to really comprehend how bad it is! </p>
<p>Go to the Big List through the FAQ thread. The Big List has a designation (I think a + sign) for the very competitive programs.</p>
<p>Also, if you can find a copy of DRAMATICS magazine's December 2006 issue, you will see the level of difficulty (among other stats) for each school's program.</p>
<p>Here's a link to the DRAMATIC's site:</p>
<p>You'll find these on everyone's list, I would think:</p>
<p>BoCo, CCM, CMU, UMich, NYU</p>
<p>beyond that, honestly, it's mostly opinion. Personally, for me, none of those schools would be in my top choice because of how expensive it is and how little I want loans after graduating. </p>
<p>If you look up your favorite actors on Wikipedia, it will tell you where they went to school, and you'll realize it doesnt really matter in the long wrong. There's no "one school." At all. Not at all.</p>
<p>As a Georgia Tech grad, I can tell you we are not in the top ten. ;)</p>
<p>Liz24, </p>
<pre><code>It is sooo subjective. Alfie thinks that those would be on anyone's list, but some would switch out one or two of them. Some schools are riding on reputations that were established years ago but are not necessarily considered all that true today. MTDog is right on with his questions because even though Alfie considered BoCo and CCM to be on everyone's list, not everyone wants a conservatory. NYU does not really have a "campus" per say and U Mich, well it's HUGE! You see, even though these are all well known programs that are also considered very competitive, you have to know yourself/your child to know what the right list is for YOU.
Good luck! All schools have pros and cons. All schools.
</code></pre>
<p>Not being MT people this is outside of our area of expertise but two schools I have heard alot of people talk about that are not on your list so far are FSU and Oklahoma. Is it OCU?</p>
<p>And mayby not in the top ten but I would think Elon would be in the top 20, yes? Along with maybe UCI?</p>
<p>Wally,
I confess my ignorance. What school is UCI? I sometimes have trouble with the alphabet soup abbreviations we all use here at CC.</p>
<p>University of California, Irvine. At least, that is the program I think Wally is referring to. Also, there are two great MT schools in the great state of Oklahoma: Oklahoma City University and University of Oklahoma.</p>
<p>What many people don't understand is that the reputations of MT programs are different in the business then they are to the students who are auditioning. From what I've heard, programs reputations are 5 years behind their graduates. I've heard things about other programs from casting directors and agents that have never been posted on here before. What I'm trying to say is that don't rely on a whether or not a program is regarded as a top 5 in other peoples eyes, the only thing that matters is if it's a top 5 for you.</p>