@OrangeFish Several of these schools are on S19’s list. My impression is that Otterbein is looking for more academic rigor than Fredonia, WVU, and OU. Is your daughter going to the Otterbein visit day on the 28th? My son will be there.
@RKMom -
I’m not familiar with the academic rigor at Otterbein, but Fredonia, where my son is a sophomore BFA tech student, is very rigorous in the tech department. The professors have high expectations and high standards. His gen ed classes have also been strong. As a NY’er, our COA, at full price (not counting his merit scholarships and avoiding Excelsior for which we don’t qualify), is about half of Otterbein’s cost. To me, the cost of a SUNY instate trumps almost anything else.
If Fredonia is on your radar, I encourage you to pay a visit and see one of their excellent Main Stage Productions.
@RKmom – thanks for your impressions about Otterbein. I noticed they changed their admissions process this year, adding a pre-screen component for design/tech students, so D19 may not be applying there. She’s working on portfolios (in all their many versions) for the colleges that require them on her list.
Otterbein’s campus is beautiful and the theatre facilities are top notch! We did like what we saw when we visited over the summer.
We are in Virginia, so all the public universities would be OOS rates for us. Pretty much balances all the referenced schools from a financial perspective. WVU, OU, and Otterbein are all far closer (driving distance) than Fredonia.
My D is a rising Junior Design/Tech at Otterbein. She came from a rigorous prep school with average grades (3.3) and had no trouble with admissions. They were very generous with both their talent and academic scholarships, though the latter goes up with GPA. My sense is that they were much more concerned about how a student would fit into the program, and their passion for the work, than about high school academic record. If your child is interested I would encourage them to apply. For my D, the school has lived up to its reputation for kindness and excellence in theater.
Hi I can answer this! I’m currently a freshman BA with a Design/Tech emphasis at Otterbein. Otterbein’s academic admissions isn’t much of an issue-I had about a 2.9 unweighted and I got in (I’m going to be totally honest, the “academic rigor” is modest at best here-not being mean! It’s not competitive at all, though). I also had pretty high test scores, which definitely helped me a lot with aid. It’s getting more and more selective for D/T every year - I had a prescreen for D/T last year but it seemed like more of a “get to know the student before interview” type of thing, so I’m not sure how many (if any) students they cut with that process. (I was rejected from the D/T program and enrolled in the BA program after talking to the faculty - I will likely re-interview for the program later this semester, which I have heard is fairly common especially in the D/T area, as it tends to be a little less competitive than performance majors.) It is very much a question of passion here, but it’s a great school for people like me who combine multiple areas of tech into a program of study. I would definitely encourage your daughter to go for it and apply!
I will note, however, that if your daughter is into the atmosphere of a bigger school, Otterbein may not be the place for her. The vast majority of students are Ohio-based (it’s a little weird being out-of-state, haha) and many are commuters or go home on the weekend. It can get a little dead sometimes, but it definitely has charm - and Westerville is an adorable little town! Feel free to PM if you have any questions!
My S19 wants to major in Design/Tech (lighting design emphasis). He is looking for a BFA program at a school without a grad program, located in a larger city in the midwest or east. And tuition plus room and board needs to be under $40,000 per year. Do you have any suggestions for us? I’m having trouble finding programs that meet all of these criteria.
@RKmom – does the school need to be in a large city or does the suburbs count?
@RKmom - Otterbein (just outside Columbus, Ohio) has grad school but not in theater. I think with merit it would come in under $40k (last I checked it was ~$45k total COA).
@OrangeFish He would prefer a large city, but would settle for the suburbs.
@Gatormama We are visiting Otterbein on Friday. 
We live in Ohio and S19 knows some people who have gone there. We hear great things. He just wishes the school was located in downtown Columbus. I think it’s close enough.
@RKmom – in addition to Otterbein I suggest Point Park. The Pittsburgh art scene is active and the new Point Park Playhouse opens in a couple of weeks. With merit, the out of pocket costs are roughly the same as UNCSA.
Thanks @OrangeFish He has applied to Point Park. He LOVES the urban campus. But there will have to be some significant scholarship money offered to bring it down to our price range. It is $10,000 over what we consider our top amount before scholarships. 
Wondering if anyone here has any personal experience with Kent State’s BFA program in Design, Technology and Production… They do not require a portfolio review so my D applied as a safety. She was admitted today, and likes what she has read. It’s nice to know you have options while going through the (grueling?) portfolio review process.
My S, also hoping to major in Design & Production, has two admissions under his belt. Really takes some of the stress out of this year, doesn’t it? I was preparing for this to be a long process, and had warned my son he likely wouldn’t hear anything back from his portfolio reviews until at least February. Huge weight off his shoulders to know he has options, and that he won’t have to use his plan B option of a gap year.
@Bubblewrap666 I sent you a PM about Kent State.
@techopeful I am curious to know if your opportunities to work on productions as a BA is equal to the opportunities you would have as a BFA? Do qualified BA juniors or seniors get the opportunity to serve as designers for productions?
Also, and feel free not to answer if this is too personal, was it a lack of production experience in high school that kept you from being accepted into the BFA program? Just trying to gauge how important that aspect is to Otterbein.
This is a long shot but I’ll try just the same – any props people here? If so, please PM me – thanks!
Just had my interview and portfolio review at University of Connecticut today! Crossing my fingers as it’s a lovely school.
Just checking in to see how everyone is doing. My kid just had her first interview/portfolio review this past weekend (at DePaul TTS, which is of course a pretty major reach), has one next weekend (at Illinois State), and has either scheduled, or been given the go-ahead to schedule, portfolio reviews at several conservatory-type programs this coming January and February. This is quite the process! As a bonus, she has already been accepted to three schools that do not require portfolio reviews and are all places that we feel confident she can get a very solid (and affordable!) design/production education. I appreciate CC for opening our eyes to the value of looking beyond the obvious contenders.
Great progress @Bubblewrap666 ! Nothing like starting off the interview process with a Big Bang at DePaul! What was your D’s takeaway from the interview/portfolio review?
My D has four acceptances now (one BFA and three BA) which is helping to reduce the stress level. (Totally agree with the affordable and solid outside-the-big-names options!)
The big reach interview/portfolio review is next week at UNCSA, followed by another interview at another school a few days later, then two more the first week of December. She’s standing with 13 applications (8 BA, 5 BFA) right now but I would not be surprised to see her drop one BFA school soon. We are trying to keep January/February free from interviews/portfolio reviews so she can fully participate in her high school productions.
BAL at Illinois State this weekend!
Congrats to your kids @Bubblewrap666 and @OrangeFish ! My son’s first two interviews resulted in BFA acceptances at schools we can afford, so our stress level has dropped too. Whew! Still have five more interviews to go, only three of which are scheduled. It’s a lot of moving parts to keep track of.