<p>Hey all! As a few of you may remember, I was pretty active on the boards a few years ago applying to BFA programs. I ended up doing pretty poorly in the acceptance circles and ended up deciding to go to my safety (non-audition BA in theatre) instead of the BFA program I wasn't excited about...</p>
<p>Well now I'm a sophomore trying to transfer for next year. I realized at some point that I definitely want a BA degree, but in musical theatre. There is no musical theatre at my school and, while I do a lot of it outside of school, I want the skills and training. Here's my list so far:</p>
<p>University of Southern California (which just has a MT minor)</p>
<p>Oh look, that's it. Here are the other schools I'm looking at but am not DEFINITELY applying to yet:</p>
<p>University of Northern Colorado
Muhlenberg
Manhattanville
Marymount Manhattan
James Madison</p>
<p>I would like to go to a school that's a good school AND has a great program (which is why USC is at the top of the list). My college GPA will only be about a 3.4 (mono last year; killed me), so I know USC is a mega-reach though my HS stats are great. Any opinions? Other schools I should look at? Random words of wisdom? Anything would be greatly appreciated. :)</p>
<p>Welcome back! I’ll throw in my totally biased opinion and suggest Coastal Carolina. If you are looking for strong academics you might want to look at the honors program there if you decide to apply. It is a fairly small school (about 8,500 students.) Very nice performing arts facilities and a top notch faculty. They offer merit and talent scholarships to transfer students.</p>
<p>The BA students audition and are cast in the shows just like the BFA students. From their website:
“This program is designed for students whose goals require the study of more than one area of theatre, or who want a program with more flexibility than the B.F.A.
This includes students who wish to pursue careers in stage management, arts administration, playwriting, or directing. B.A. students are encouraged to take an active role in designing their own degree plan and to take extensive coursework in other areas.<br>
The B.A. is a good choice for students who enjoy studying a broad range of topics as well as performing, designing, stage managing or any other production possibility.<br>
No audition is necessary to enter the B.A. program. However, if the student wishes to be considered for a talent based scholarship and audition or portfolio review and interview is necessary.”</p>
<p>My D is a freshman BFA in MT and LOVES the program. Can’t say enought great things about the faculty and the other students. You can PM me for more info and of course jump on the Coastal Carolina thread and ask questions there. Best of luck!!</p>
<p>Hi Ninnynoddle. Welcome back. Feel free to PM me with any questions about JMU. Other prospective transfer students have sent me their transcript, and I was able to give them an early read on what major courses may transfer. </p>
<p>Second looking at American. What about Temple?</p>
<p>USC takes much lower GPA’s for transfers if you’re willing to pay the money. My niece applied as a sophomore transfer (this is strictly getting admitted, no reference to the MT program) She had a 3.0 in high school, mediocre SAT, had completed 1 semester of 2 year college with a 3.4 in low level classes. She got in last year. They offered her NO money.</p>
<p>Temples has an excellent BA MT program. Admissions to the theater major is non-audition. Students must audition for the MT concentration and if an acting major, must obtain approval to take upper level acting courses. The theater department has a strong reputation and has even staged productions that have gone to NYC. All theater department students must also fulfill liberal arts core and distribution requirements. Philadelphia is also a great theater city. My daughter, who is now a senior in a BFA program, did a show with a Temple MT student and thought that the student reflected strong technique and training.</p>
<p>Ninnynoddle - Welcome back. I know that you will get great advice from all the wonderful people on this forum.</p>
<p>If you have questions about Marymount Manhattan let me know as my D is a freshman doing the BA Theatre with the MT minor. She has daily dance class which she loves and a wonderful acting professor this year. D has a great voice teacher and loves living in the city. She has not been cast in a show yet but has made it through a few callbacks and so far is really happy with her choice.</p>
<p>Also she received a lot of credit for her AP and college classes she had in high school so she is already considered a sophomore and is picking up another minor as well as starting piano again at Hunter College.</p>
<p>Welcome back Ninnynoodle! If you have any questions about the USC theatre supplemental and the essay that you need to send feel free to pm me! Even tho both my kids are BFA’s it’s the same application and with 11 of my students applying there this year I am pretty familiar with it! Best of luck!</p>
<p>Are you in CA… I know you are interested in taking academic as well as performance courses, but have you looked at the MT programs at UC-Irvine and CalState Fullerton?</p>
<p>yeah USC! I don’t know much about our transfer admissions, but I’m pretty sure it’s way less ridiculous to get in here as a transfer than as a freshman. I’m a current freshman BA with the MT minor and I love it. :D</p>