Your Opinions: BFA MT College Rankings

College Majors Musical Theater Major
1

<p>I will be a senior in HS this fall. Musical Theatre is my passion in life, and I’m seriously thinking about which school will offer the best program. Each of the ones I will name is obviously quite strong, but I want to know everyone’s opinion on which ones are strongest. This is a list of the colleges/universities that I have heard very impressive things about. They are ranked according to things I’ve heard, seen, or otherwise noted. Please give your opinions and rerank as you see fit. I will be delighted to hear your input. </p>

<p>Best:</p>

<li> Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (CCM)</li>
<li> Carnegie Melon University (CMU)</li>
<li> Boston Conservatory (BOCO)</li>
</ol>

<p>Quite Strong:</p>

<li> University of North Carolina </li>
<li> Oklahoma City University</li>
<li> Ithaca College</li>
<li> NYU - Tisch</li>
<li> University of Hartford - Hartt</li>
<li> SUNY - Potsdam</li>
<li> University of Michigan</li>
<li> Emerson College</li>
<li> Penn State University</li>
<li> New World School of the Arts</li>
<li> James Madison University</li>
<li> Florida State University</li>
</ol>

2

<p>Here are some links to old discussions about this. The common thread of all of them is that rankings are subjective, and because of the selective nature of the programs, having a favorite before you have an acceptance is not very helpful. </p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=144886&highlight=rankings%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=144886&highlight=rankings&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=115201&highlight=rankings%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=115201&highlight=rankings&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=156475&highlight=rankings%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=156475&highlight=rankings&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=122241&highlight=rankings%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=122241&highlight=rankings&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

3

<p>drew31 --</p>

<p>Unless SUNY Potsdam recently changed its curriculum, I don't believe it has an MT major per se, although its Crane School of Music has an excellent reputation. Other SUNY's do have offer some sort of MT degree, such as SUNY Fredonia and SUNY Buffalo.</p>

4

<p>University of North Carolina? Perhaps you mean NCSA, but they don't have an MT program. I would definitely add Elon (NC) to your list of schools to check out, though. They have an excellent program.</p>

5

<p>i think it's also what's the best school for YOU....so it's not really the best idea to be ranking these schools, as we've discussed many times on this board....of course it's also bad to get your hopes on one school when these programs are so selective</p>

<p>but someone may want a musical theater program with more of a concentration on acting......or another might want one with more of a concentration on dance....so those two people would probably not want the same musical theater program. it doesn't mean one is better or worse. it just means that it specifically has more what someone may or may not want.</p>

<p>so why rank? it's whatever works for you personally.....and that could completely differ from someone else</p>

6

<p>You will be well trained at any of these American MT schools, you will be seen and considered by the top New York agents at their well attended showcases and having them on your resume will get you more looks from casting professionals straight out of school than the large second tier below them.</p>

<p>University of Michigan
Carnegie Mellon
University of Cincinnati Conservatory
NYU/Tisch CAP21 studio
Boston Conservatory</p>

<p>This does NOT mean you HAVE to go to one to make it in the biz or that graduating from one guarantees you anything. However, everything I have seen, been told and read indicates they are the top tier. That. is. all.</p>

7

<p>You cant tell me that SUNY college is better than Syracuse and Ithaca.... come on..who made that damn list?</p>

8

<p>north Carolina, JMU, and FSu are not over Syracuse. Syracuse is in the Top 5 in the country. it's just random to go there for college.</p>

9

<p>The main school that is the best is the best for you and what you need. Yes, some may have a better reputation that others, but the best school is the best for the person. A person who is afraid of a big city and wants to go to an Ivy League school should NOT apply to Columbia or Penn, and do something like Dartmouth or Cornell instead. It's the same thing with MT. If you want an acting focused school, go to one. If you want a music focused school...go to one.</p>

10

<p>BroadwayWannabe makes an EXCELLENT point. These programs <em>are</em> so selective that it makes little sense, in a practical way, to rank which are the "best." (Of course, people <em>will</em> do it, because our impulse to categorize things :) makes us want a ranking of some kind, to guide us.) In reality, the competition for admission (especially among girls) is so stiff that the choice will probably be made for you. Plus (as the very wise BroadwayWannabe stated! :)) the "best" program for one student might not be the "best" for another. The "best" program is the one that accepts you and where you can learn, grow, stretch your limits, and, perhaps most of all, be a happy person. Sorry to sound like a mom, though that's what I am! I just worry that we all get carried away with the "name" schools when the thing that is really most important is fit and finding the schoool that best suits you or your child. Of course, it's the same with other college programs. I have read article after article from adcoms talking about how people are fixated on HYP to an unhealthy degree, when there are hundreds of great schools out there.</p>

11

<p>If I got a penny for every time I saw a 'new' ranking of the MT programs I could live in a penthouse suite in nyc and not have to do the waiting thing like all the other actors, lol. A good friend of mine told me she heard a ranking that went 1. CCM, 2. OCU, 3. PPU
Funny, because she goes to Point Park, and I'm going to OCU. All that means is that she heard a random persons opinion, and it's awefully wonderful to hear YOUR school ranked in the top 3, so to her, its reality. And that's ok, but that DOESN'T mean it is for other people.</p>

<p>There is complete merit in when people say "you can't rank these schools." OCU, Point Park and CCM for example are SUCH dynamicly different programs, how could one possibly compare them to turn out such a ranking?</p>

<p>The best advice I can give: visit the schools you're interested in. Form your own ranking.</p>

12

<p>so here is the thing. everyone is saying ocu is a great school for musical theatre... well i am from oklahoma city and have seen some of their productions and in all honesty they are not the best thing i have ever seen. I know people who are studying MT there that hate it and then there are the ones that love it. it really depends on what your looking for. but it could be the department they are in...</p>

<p>Here is a hint that people may not know: ocu has a few musical theatre departments. there is the department in which the good ones get into, and then they also have a theatre/music (or "triple threat") department that "they never get the chance to be on stage. its basically a way to get money." quoted from a voice teacher that teaches there.</p>

<p>just thought i would share that. i did not even mess with them. bad.</p>

13

<p>Theatreboy, are you referring to the fact taht OCU has a MT major and also something I think it called "theater performance?" I have heard (though I am not sure this is the case) that theater performance is the less preferred major.</p>

14

<p>I do think that OCU used to have a "triple threat" program that was different from the BM in MT. Now I believe they call the acting program "theatre performance". The well known vocal teachers there teach in the BM degree to both MT and VP majors. The people in theatre performance take voice from different teachers. I think they are working hard to develop a good theatre performance program, but it is true that the BM in MT degree is more well known at this point.</p>

15

<p>we dont need to rank. this thread should be closed..if someone makes a damn thread like this again..i promise im going to report it offensive.</p>

16

<p>icekiss, when a new poster comes to the forum with a question, whether it's been asked before or not, whether it's a question we feel is worthwhile or not, we should still try to answer the question to the best of our ability and welcome the new member. It's not for us to decide whether or not a thread should be closed simply because we don't like the question. I might also suggest that before you threaten to report a thread as offensive, you might want to eliminate the swearing in your own posts. Just a thought.</p>

17

<p>icekiss, drew31 appears to be new to the forum and may not have read all the previous discussion about how there is no way to rank schools for many reasons, some of which are listed above. Perhaps we should give him a break and try to help him.</p>

<p>For the benefit of new readers who get to this thread, I'll repeat my pessimism that I've shared before. You can speculate all day about what is best, but in reality, your top 5 list is the group of 5 schools that accept you!!! That's if you are one of the fortunate ones to get that many acceptances. </p>

<p>My son did happen to have this many from auditions (plus 2 safeties) to choose among. He felt very fortunate, lucky, and humbled about this, as he would have been happy at all of them. He is going to Elon in the fall, so I agree with Lexasmomkbj! Just because Elon was right for him totally doesn't mean that others would have picked it out of his group of acceptances. Other people would likely have different "best" schools out of his choices.</p>

<p>You should do your homework or visit for yourself to decide which schools seem to be a fit for you - then go audition for those. Don't let your heart get set on one, two, or three of what you consider top programs. People who get into numerous big name programs are RARE!!! You must believe me on this one. It's been discussed often before on these threads.</p>

<p>I just want to remind all of you bright, talented, and excited students and parents (and I'm rooting for you next year!) that we personally knew or met MANY students (both boys and girls) who auditioned at numerous schools last year who ended up with not many or hardly any choices or a safety school or breathed a sigh of relief when finally getting into a wait listed program. Everyone out there auditioning is talented, and every school may be looking for something different. This is very difficult reality, because it is human nature to believe that it is someone else and not you or your child that will have this happen.</p>

<p>I think people should try for a variety of programs, perhaps some better known and some less well known. Most importantly, my opinion, expressed before, is that you should have a safety (the only safety is a non-audition school). I think you can find one if you really search, but I think it needs to be somewhere that you can be happy. Looking at your nearby colleges and state universities may not be a bad idea.</p>

<p>You are welcome to write me if you want more thoughts on this. Please send an e-mail from the drop-down menu, if you write, rather than doing a PM (as they stay full).</p>

18

<p>alwaysamom - as "always" you did a great job of saying concisely what I said in the long post above after seeing the icekiss post and before seeing yours!</p>

19

<p>I, for one, almost wish the powers that be would make “rank” a censored word since it always seems to raise such hackles around here. I guess it brings up military implications for me … Like a Florida State MT grad should salute when passing a Michigan grad or snap to attention when a CMU grad walks into rehearsal ... Yeah, right … LOL </p>

<p>I do think it can be useful in a way. I mean, if you want to be a Wall Street money grubber, it’s best to go Ivy League or top LAC, right? Of course it’s possible to get there from a second or third tier school, but the prestigious degree does give you something of a head start. To a lesser degree, I think it’s also somewhat true if your dream is to be a big Broadway diva or some such. It’s not like hitting it big is all about talent. Yes, you need to be talented and very lucky, but you also need connections, connections, con … NECTIONS. That’s something the “Ivies” will give you immediately after graduation to a greater degree than other schools where the actual training and education might be just as good or even better. Remember that for every amazing actor you see on Broadway, there are thousands of other amazing actors who could play that role just as well or better and the difference in the one onstage and the ones out on the street in the open call lines often comes down to who they know.</p>

<p>I suppose it’s a matter of priorities for individual students and knowing which ones are “top” could be very important for someone whose life’s mission is to “make it” at all costs regardless of how miserable getting there might be – or how empty they might find their lives if/when they do get there. Judge and give all the motherly advice you want, but for them, “fit” will be a much less important consideration than prestige. Actually, for them, "fit" IS prestige. </p>

<p>Also, just as an added note, you can do all the research on “fit” that you want and there are intelligent ways to go about it, but there’s still absolutely no way to know for sure if you’ll like a school until you’re actually there. I’m a living example of this. Last year, I chose a school that I thought was perfect for me over some more prestigious acceptances and look at my skinny white butt transferring …</p>

20

<p>I agree with Fishbowl (other than the money grubber jab), at least ban the word “best”. </p>

<p>Elsewhere on CC I suggested someone look at The University of Washington as a not well known program that might be a good “fit” for them. UW’s web site says that The US News and World report ranks their program 4th in the country and the Princeton Review says it is one of the top five drama programs in the country!</p>

<p>Really? Did you know that?
Both the folly of rankings and the power of connections all in one sentence!</p>