<p>How important is it for a musical theater/voice major to take 4 years of the same foreign language in high school? The schools being considered are nyu, fordham, penn state.</p>
<p>All schools you have listed are strong academic choices (as well as great theatre/mt programs) so 4 years of foreign language will look great!</p>
<p>It really depends on the school. In putting together a list of schools to which to apply, it is critically important to scour the admissions page for the school in general and for the department. The academic admissions standards can vary significantly. Some schools require students applying to MT programs to meet the same academic criteria as all other students, some relax the criteria for audition or portfolio based programs. At some schools, the minimum academic requirements in general are lower than at others as well as the converse. At some schools, academics are evaluated by the admissions department and the audition evaluated by the theatre department and you can pass the audition with flying colors but be rejected academically and therefore be rejected from the school. At others, academics and audition scores are considered together but the process still requires you to meet academic standards or you will be rejected, while at others the two are factored in together and even though you may be a bit “sub par” on the academics, a strong audition score will carry the day. At some schools, the theatre department can exercise important influence in the admissions process and at others it has no control beyond acceptance to the program itself. It’s important that you engage in this type of analysis at each school you are considering so that you really understand the process and can tailor your list appropriately.</p>
<p>NYU and Penn State post very clearly what their academic requirements are and at both schools you must be academically competitive to be admitted to the school regardless of your intention to apply for an audition based program.</p>
<p>I do not know anything about the schools at which you are auditioning, but at OkCU, my D’s 3 years of the same language (Spanish) fulfilled the university’s foreign language requirement for her college diploma. Our little high school doesn’t even offer 4 years of Spanish, I don’t believe. You should definitely check each of your schools requirements to see if to see if you can get college credit for the foreign language.</p>
<p>I don’t think it is necessary. While the schools you have listed are academically competetive, if she meets the basic requirements with a good GPA, her audition will be most important. If they like her and she meets the admission requirements, they will make an offer.</p>
<p>Siding with musicmom - if you attend a school that has a language requirement, typically 2 years of high school would equal 1 year of college language. Depending on the school, they may grant it to you, or require you to test out of the class. If your school has AP or IB, it would be even more likely to count.</p>
<p>I personally think it’s a good thing, but it may not be strictly “necessary.”</p>
<p>You may not need 4 years to get in to a good school, but all that study will help you test out of a foreign language requirement once you get there, if the school has one, and most seem to.</p>
<p>I honestly don’t think it matters if you take four years. My D was a senior in high school last year. She had only two years of French and was accepted academically and artistically at Fordham and NYU-Steinhardt and accepted academically at Penn St. and waitlisted in the BFA-MT program. She got into every Honors Program at all the schools (over a dozen) to which she applied, too. takeitallin is right that a good GPA and SAT/ACT scores are important, but your audition is what is most important in musical theatre. GOOD LUCK!</p>
<p>Can you take a language outside of high school if you schedule is to full for one in high school and still get in a 4 year college?</p>
<p>My D took her foreign language at a community college in the summer before her junior year. this met the high school graduation and college entrance requirement to every school to which she applied: UC’s and privates.<br>
Be sure to double check with the universities for which you want to apply to make certain that it meets their entrance requirements–don’t depend on the cc to tell you.<br>
This is very common in CA.</p>
<p>Just another take on it. If you take enough of a foreign language (each person needing different amounts) you can possibly test out of the foreign language requirement needed in the general education part of the BA or BFA degree. This leaves openings for more MT classes or other gen ed requirments when putting together a 4 year plan in college.</p>
<p>Any AP, honors, IB courses will help to do the same thing Some students are able to go into their course of study with almost all of their general ed completed which can take a great deal of stress off if math or science, etc. is not a students strong suit.</p>
<p>Careful planning of a high school curriculum, especially Jr and Sr year can really help not only with admittancce, but also to help the 4 or 5 years of college go smoothly :)</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s all that important - especially if you dislike languages. My older daughter had three years (and that was like pulling teeth!) and did very well in terms of college acceptances - Ivy League and theatre schools. As a matter of fact she’s not even taking language in college because she hates it so much! (It’s optional, necessary only depending on whether you want a BS or a BA; which also doesn’t matter much.)</p>
<p>BA vs. BS may not have mattered much to your D, and the # of years of a foreign language may not have mattered at her particular list of schools, but each person needs to research this on their own at the schools on their list - it will matter at some.</p>
<p>Yes indeed…some schools require a foreign language course to complete the degree or pass an equivalency test. Yet another reason to closely consider a conservatory vs a liberal arts education as some would be much happier with fewer academics and more theatre arts courses.</p>
<p>My D’s only foreign language was 6 years of Latin…she was accepted academically everywhere she applied, including non-conservatories.</p>
<p>When my s was going through this process last year, there was 1 common denomenator with the academic review. A good solid history of challenging courses, good AP and/or SAT scores and a good GPA.</p>
<p>When parents asked the questions about the importance of these factors, it was explained that the schools were looking for a well rounded student that had the motivation and discipline to carry a stringent academic load and still be able to train for their theatre arts as in the real world of performance that is what it is going to take. With having 20% more students applying/auditioning this year, the need to have a strong academic transcript is becoming more and more important.</p>
<p>Swidgy -
</p>
<p>I would say there is nothing “ONLY” about 6 years of Latin! That would certainly fulfill and exceed language requirements, and definitely show academic rigor!</p>
<p>My point is that a student should take what works for them, not what “gets them into college.” Both my daughters dislike languages so much that they would look elsewhere if more than one term were required in college. Actually, all things being equal, they would choose the school with no language requirement at all.</p>
<p>Yale, Dartmouth, USC, Northwestern, U. Michigan and others had no problem with my daughter “only” having 3 years of language (8-10 grade). The schools from which she was rejected were based on audition, not academics.</p>
<p>^^Agreed. My S gave up Math in favor of AP Art History and his GC told him it was “transcript suicide” and that he’d never get into any of the colleges he was considering. He weighed his options and decided that any college that would reject him for choosing to take a course of interest instead of a course he had zero interest in was not the college for him. For the record, he got into all 7 schools he applied to, most of them very highly selective, and yes, some even “required” 4 years of Math according to their website.</p>
<p>My point exactly!!! Thanks sandkmom!</p>