MichaelNKat

My daughter applied and was accepted to Muhlenberg but after much soul searching concluded she wanted to be in a BFA program. If that had not been the case, there is no doubt she would have attended Muhlenberg. We were extremely impressed with the school in terms of its academics, quality of its theater program, atmosphere of congeniality and educational values. Now to your specific questions.

Deciding to major in theater at Muhlenberg is no different than deciding on any other liberal arts major. If you are admitted to the school, you can select your major. The audition is absolutely optional. That being said, there are 2 benefits to auditioning: 1) if you want a talent scholarship (which is different and can be in addition to a merit scholarship), you must audition and 2) even though the audition is optional, if you wow the audition faculty, I would not be surprised if they put in a "good word" with admissions indicating this is someone they would like to have in their program. However, there is no question that you can be a "stealth" theater major and get in based on the same criteria as any other applicant and then declare your major.

I would strongly recommend that you interview with admissions however. Muhlenberg is a small school and they are looking for a good match not only in terms of academics but also in terms of who you are as a person. Interestingly, when my daughter auditioned, the head of the acting program strongly urged her to interview with admissions and the message was clear that a good interview enhances an applicant and is weighed.

(Just saw that I am cross posting with soozievt. You type a lot faster than I do )

soozievt

We did cross post but I totally agree with your wise advice. You added another point in your third paragraph with which I also agree....interviews and visits at small liberal arts colleges do matter. They are looking for that "fit" and they are looking for expressed interest.

As a ten year veteran of conducting interviews for another college, I can tell you that a good one can enhance an applicant and correlate with other positive recs and messages about the candidate and validate them. It is considered and I think it is worth doing. I know my kids never turned down the opportunity to interview at colleges when offered the chance to do one. They had nothing to lose and all to gain. I guess if someone is just very poor at presenting themselves, maybe it could be rethought but the personal connection is typically a good thing and brings the applicant alive beyond the paperwork. I imagine if a theater faculty person likes what they see, they can pass on the good word to admissions. It can only help. But you can be admitted without the interview too.

teriwtt

Artesia - I think the audition and interview are beneficial to parties on both sides. If your daughter is seriously considering Muhlenberg, then she needs to have as many interactions with their staff as possible - it may or may not confirm her interest in the school.

That being said, we used the audition/interview trip as an opportunity for D to sit in some classes, and to observe a rehearsal for Urinetown. It was those experiences that really gave my D a sense of the program and the talent of its students. Frankly, she felt the theatre class she observed there was more engaging and advanced than ones she attended at other BFA schools; however, that could also be due to timing and luck of the classes she attended. But it stuck with her.

I'd like to add a couple of more things about Muhlenberg that I think any parent whose student is applying might appreciate knowing, that speaks to the environment of the school. Rushing a sorority or fraternity is not allowed until sophomore year. Many parents appreciate this approach as it allows a new student, in a new environment time to connect to the school on many different levels before making such a huge commitment to Greek life. I like that my daughter has a chance to find her niche without it being so defined for her.

Secondly, Muhlenberg institutes what's called the Red Zone for the first two weeks of school. This means that freshman are not allowed at frat parties, off campus parties or upperclassmen residences during this time. I can't tell you how many parents I've spoken to whose kids were going to parties during orientation, before school even started. I didn't know about the Red Zone until it was almost over, but when I heard about it, I felt reassured from a parent's perspective. My D did not complain about it; after all, she didn't know otherwise. Since it's been over, I know she has attended frat parties and visited upperclassmen residences (she's in an a capella group that rehearses three times a week where she's the only freshman girl, so interacting with upperclassmen will be part of her routine), but for the most stressful first two weeks of the transition, one temptation was temporarily removed. I appreciate the compromises the school makes to help its freshman adjust, while not completely sheltering them.

Regarding admission, I do know that many of Muhlenberg's applicants are ED, and students have a higher chance of admission with ED than RD. However, if academics is your students' strong point, then RD should be fine. I will add that the ED students who get there deposits in on time are given priority for housing. So even though we sent my daughter's deposit in within a week of getting her acceptance letter, she got third choice in her housing. I will say though, at this point (about six weeks into her freshman year), she absolutely loves her dorm, her roommate, and has made great friends with her neighbors next door, so it all worked out fine. If you are interested in what kinds of scholarships she was given, please PM or e-mail me, and I tell you what her stats were, audition scholarship amount, honors college scholarship amounts, etc.

KatMT

"Red Zone" --- that is a really interesting idea.... How does the school enforce this? Most particularly in terms of off campus residencies?

khsstitches

We had Muhlenberg on the list, then removed it b/c it looked "iffy". My D is a JR this year so we have time but your comments have been incredibly helpful and it sounds like it is certainly worth a look. Thanks, parents, for taking the time to contribute your thoughts! MichaelnKat - where did your d. end up?

MichaelNKat

khsstitches - If you do a search for my name on the MT site, you will find pretty quickly where my daughter decided to go. Because this is a Muhlenberg thread, I'ld rather not post it here. If you do the search and then have any questions about where she is going and why she selected that school, I'll be happy to respond to a PM or on the threads for that school.

As to Muhlenberg, my daughter was able to visit 3 times since we live an hour away: once to tour and go to info sesstions, once to audition and sit in on acting and theater classes and once to interview. If a student is interested in a BA theater performance program, Muhlenberg has a tremendous amount to offer. It's well worth a close look.

soozievt

Agree with MichaelNKat that if a student is either interested in a BA or needs some BA schools to balance a list full of BFA audition schools, Muhlenberg is worth a good look because there are not a lot of BA Theater schools with MT training and production opportunities.....the one at the 'berg lets you minor in dance or music and sort of create a MT major, though a BA one and offically called Theater. There may be more for a MT inclined student there than at some other BA Theater schools in terms of classes and other opportunities. It won't be like a BFA but that should not be the comparison. It is a good school that fits the BA non audition or optional audition niche on a list, and one that is fairly selective for those who also care about the academic piece or are in this range academically speaking. For some, it could be as safety BA and for others, it may still be a reach or a match even though an audition is not reqiured to get in. I know a MT girl who had Muhlenberg as her first choice ED school (did not want a BFA) who now attends and know several kids who have applied to Muhlenberg who either wanted a BA OR who have added Muhlenberg as one of their BA options for a mostly BFA college list.

anothermom-w-q

For those of you who might be interested in Muhlenberg, the Main Stage production of Ruddigore (Gilbert and Sullivan) will be opening near the end of the month. It's always a good idea to see a show when you are making a campus visit if possible. If you see a particularly enchanting member of the female ensemble, that is my D. (Of course that is only my humble opinion!) ((I know, they are ALL enchanting!))

For exact dates, follow the theatre department links. There are performances both the weekend of Oct 26, and thorugh the first weekend of November.

soozievt

Congratulations to your D, anothermom! Sending break-a-leg wishes!

Good idea to pass on about productions if prospective students want to catch shows on visits.

anothermom-w-q

Thanks Soozie- I would love to see your D perform sometime!

soozievt

I wish I could see all the CC kids perform after following their "stories" all these years. In fact, if we got them all together, they'd make a great cast of talent, I'm sure. Perhaps their paths will be crossing in the future.

My D is also in shows this year but this isn't the thread.

teriwtt

KatMT - I have no idea how they enforce it, especially with off-campus residences. I suspect it works for the most part for the following two reasons: one, the campus is small enough that word would easily get around if an upper class student 'violated' the red zone and allowed a freshman at their place for a party. There are probably consequences for non-freshman who are caught 'contributing' to a freshman during this two week period. Secondly, when non-freshman are returning to campus, they're probably so excited about reconnecting with their friends after a long summer, that they're really not missing anything by not inviting freshman over for parties. Now, what happens after those two weeks, after they've caught up with their friends, and start to meet some freshman, is beyond me

KatMT

teriwtt -- that does make sense that it would be easier at a smaller school... just about very school I have attended or taught at has at least 16,000 students... I was thinking of it within that context.

Kat