Walnut Hill?

College Majors Musical Theater Major
1

<p>Hi, I was wondering if anyone here knows someone who is going to Walnut Hill School for theatre or has graduated. I'm asking because I want to go to college for Musical Theatre, and I feel like I need to really get serious about theatrical training in order to be accepted, because I'd like to go to any of the big schools (NYU, CMU, UMich, etc.) Academically, I am in the top of my class and very well off. I have had straight A's all of my life. I am currently in honors courses in all major subjects, and plan on taking a few AP courses as an upperclassman. However, my parents are weary of letting me apply to Walnut Hill because they think that the academics are poor there. I once had a friend describe Walnut Hill as almost like a vocational/technical school, because academics are not as important as learning your craft. So what I'm asking is, do you think Walnut Hill would be beneficial to getting into college? My parents feel like I'd be throwing away all my schoolwork if I go there. They think that when I apply to colleges, even if my audition is mediocre, the schools will be impressed by my academics and still accept me. They seem to think MT schools will look kindly upon students from public schools as well. However, I realize that conservatories care more about your talent than your academics, and I definately need rigorous training to get ready for college.</p>

<p>Any advice would be vastly appreciated. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>There was a poster here (BE_Kaz) who went to Walnut Hill....maybe try to PM or Email him.</p>

3

<p>I know various kids from my state who have gone to Walnut Hill and have gone onto BFA programs. Walnut Hill is well regarded. </p>

<p>However, you do NOT need to go to a performing arts high school in order to get into a very good BFA in MT degree program. Do not choose to go to one for that reason alone because it is not necessary. Choose to go there if you feel you cannot get either the educational experience you want at your current school, or can't get musical theater training opportunities where you are locally, and so forth. You do not need a place like Walnut Hill as a "ticket" to a BFA. That said, you can get wonderful training at Walnut Hill and it is easier than piecing together training on your own, depending where you live. Currently, my D has friends who attended Walnut Hill who now attend BOCO, Syracuse and Ithaca's BFA programs and she has done theater with them in our state. My D did not go to any performing arts high school (there are none in our state and we would not or could not send her away for high school) but also got into BOCO, Syracuse's and Ithaca's BFA programs. So, the chances coming from Podunk HS (ours is a rural unknown public HS) or coming from Walnut Hill is not what will matter in terms of admission. What you need to do is decide which high school educational experience you prefer that will meet your learning needs, as well as expense. </p>

<p>No matter where you go onto college (or in life), your academics are important. But the name of your school is not as important as what you achieve. I don't believe you would be "throwing away your schoolwork" if you were to attend Walnut Hill. I'm sure the academics are decent enough or they would not draw the students whom they draw. My kids went to an unknown high school that your parents would likely deem as not good enough, but they achieved highly and got an excellent education and went onto the colleges of their dreams which happen to be highly selective ones. I feel they are well educated. A high achiever will succeed and learn no matter where they go to school. My kids were challenged. I am sure going to Walnut Hill will differ from your local school in certain ways. But I imagine you can get a very fine education as well as arts training there. It is a matter of which experience you prefer, not which is better. We don't have performing high schools where we live but it would be a lot easier to have had all that in one place than having to piece together lessons and training outside of school like we have done. You don't need Walnut Hill but it could be a great experience if you want a PA high school and/or training in one place. I believe many of their graduates go onto BFA programs but remember they have a concentrated group of already talented students who enter their student body. You can get into a fine BFA program from ANYWHERE however.</p>

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They think that when I apply to colleges, even if my audition is mediocre, the schools will be impressed by my academics and still accept me.

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<p>NOT TRUE.</p>

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They seem to think MT schools will look kindly upon students from public schools as well.

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<p>VERY TRUE.</p>

<p>It doesn't matter WHERE you go to HS in terms of admissions chances (it may matter in terms of which experience you enjoy or thrive in). What matters is that you do well academically AND that you train in voice, acting, and dancing and hone your skills in those areas (which need not be at a PA HS), as well as have experiences in theater productions (in order to learn....the credits themselves are not the key). The audition will be a HUGE factor in your admissions outcome, but academic achievement also matters (but that can be achieved at any HS).</p>

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<p>this summer i did the nyu intensive, where i was surrounded by kids from private schools, performing arts schools (both public and private), and plain ol' public schools. and just looking at talent, you wouldn't be able to tell who went where. i don't think you need to go to a performing arts school as long as you make it a priority to get good training where you are.
i know a bunch of WH kids, and i did a summer intensive there, so feel free to PM me.</p>

5

<p>I know a kid who applied for junior year and was rejected because of his academics.</p>

<p>Also, one of my friends went there for freshman year, but her parents made her transfer out because of all the drug and alcohol use...</p>

<p>I don't know if that helped you at all, haha. Sorry.</p>

6

<p>IHS, </p>

<pre><code>My D is friends w/a grad and a current student. If you want info, PM me. The grad is currently in a top notch BFA program and the current student just started, but loves it.
</code></pre>

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<p>My friends' s went to WH for freshman year and half of soph. year. He changed his direction, transferred to another prep school (day, not boarding). They would only give him ONE semester of academic credit from WH based on their feeling that the academics there were not on a par with what is expected at a college prep school level. So, he will end up taking 5 years to complete high school. He got very good grades at WH, but when he went to the new school, he had to work his butt off. So look at it closely. I agree with others that you don't need a PA high school to do well. Obviously this was just his experience. Good luck.</p>

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<p>Many prep schools on the East Coast require kids who transfer in to repeat an entire grade. We have friends with kids at the The Groton School, Lawerance Academy, The Middlesex School and Phillips Academy. All had gone to public elementary and or middle schools and ALL had to repeat their freshman years. It may not be a reflection on Walnut Hill at all.</p>

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<p>My S graduated last year from Walnut Hill in theater and attended from sophomore through senior years, transferring in from a top private prep school in Cambridge. WHS was exactly the right choice for him. He is now in Carnegie Mellon's MT/Acting BFA as a freshman. Walnut Hill was not the only factor in a successful preparation for college admission but it was a positive factor, both artistically and academically. Academics are pretty well aligned with the rigorous arts focus and there are plenty of kids at WHS who do not opt to pursue BFA majors in college after exploring their arts passion in high school. If they have been serious about their academics while at Walnut Hill, they are well prepared for selective colleges and universities. Those selective colleges are interested in them because of their obvious capacity to work hard on something they care about. Walnut Hill does not offer AP classes. That worried us as parents initially but we determined their philosophy and the academic curriculum they offer make sense -- not only to us as parents but also to the colleges and universities. That said, the choice of a rigorous arts high school is not for everyone, and as others have already said, it really isn't viable to "use" one for a year at the point of applying to college. Colleges are looking for what you have accomplished over a period of time, and where you do it is less important than what you have made of the opportunities you have to work with.</p>

10

<p>
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Colleges are looking for what you have accomplished over a period of time, and where you do it is less important than what you have made of the opportunities you have to work with.

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<p>I couldn't agree more and posted something earlier on this thread too about that. Which high school you attend is not going to be what gets you into college or in this case, into a BFA program. Picking a high school (IF you have a choice....my kids didn't but apparently you do), should only be about which environment suits your learning needs and where you feel you will thrive. But a student who makes the most of the opportunities at their own high school and within their own community can achieve the same level of success in the admissions process. </p>

<p>I'm sure my child would have loved Walnut Hill but it wasn't an option for her as we would not send her to boarding school and wanted her to grow up at home and also would never be able to afford it anyway. However, as I wrote earlier, some kids from our region have gone there and loved it. Kids from Walnut Hill get the training right at school and the ones we know from our region who are in my D's age bracket who attended WH are now in the BFA programs at CMU, BOCO, Syracuse and Ithaca. However, the kids we know from our region who stayed at their local public schools, including rural ones like ours that has about two AP classes, have also fared well in BFA admissions. We know kids from our region attending NYU/Tisch/CAP21, Emerson, and Wagner but these kids also got into other programs like Ithaca, Syracuse, BOCO, Penn State. And they are faring well once in their BFA programs....even though their high school offered no drama classes and there is no youth theater in the region. </p>

<p>Colleges are accepting people. Make the most of the school and community resources in your own area. Do well in academics and take the hardest classes available (colleges look at what you took in the context of what was available at your own high school and do not penalize you if your HS doesn't offer all the AP classes), and try to get voice, acting and dance training, along with some production experience. There are many ways to do this. Not everyone is going to have the same resources. Surely where we live doesn't offer nearly what I have come to learn is available elsewhere (I get to know many students around the country in this field in my work and what they can do where they live is nothing like here), but there are ways to make the most of what you've got...whether is is artistic training or academics.</p>

<p>My own kids and many I know from our rural area and no name high schools, have achieved similarly when it comes to either regular colleges or BFA programs, as those who had better high school or more artistic resources. So, if you have a choice of schools, the main thing should be about which school you like better for the experience itself. Either school will get you there. But it is YOU that will get yourself into college, not which HS you had attended. My kid surely would have enjoyed a PA HS (there are none in our state) but she made the most of what we had here and has no regrets. I'm observing that those from our tiny communities and no name schools are not only getting into these college programs but some are faring well once there, amongst others who came out of PA high schools. So, make the most of what you've got and anyone can succeed.</p>

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<p>Going back to the OP....and your parents' concern that the academics at the PA high school are not what are offered at your high school and how that will relate to college admissions.... besides the example I gave of kids coming out of our rural HS that doesn't have what your HS has and is not a known HS to colleges.....we also have as private specialty HS in our town that is an academy for a sport. It is a tiny school and they also have no AP or Honors classes. About 15 graduate per year. In the last year or two, some have gone to Harvard, Stanford, Brown, Dartmouth, and Middlebury, among other good schools. Colleges take students from any HS. If you are talented in something and do well academically, that's what it takes. What the HS offers is not going to be the critical factor. It is how you have achieved in the context of what was available to you.</p>

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<p>hey all!
i am actually a graduate of walnut hill. i went there for four years, i was a theatre major, and in my senior year i was the theatre department representative. i'm now a student at penn state pursuing a musical theatre bfa (i really love the program!). if anyone has any questions about walnut hill you can just leave a message on here or at some point i'll set up my private message box. i'd be happy to help out anyone with questions about it!</p>