<p>I will be a senior in high school next year, and right now I am planning on auditioning for the BFA acting programs at UW Steven’s Point, Viterbo University, and the U of MN-Twin Cities.
Is three too few? Money is definitely a concern, so the school would have to be in Wisconsin or Minnesota so I get reciprocity. I feel confident in my abilities and don’t think I need to audition for 10 schools… but still, is three too few?</p>
<p>In a word, yes. You could be a stellar actor and still be rejected from 3 schools (though if your grades are good the UMinn BA might make a great backup.) It’s great that you’re being realistic about money though. Research some other BFA’s-- there’s another UMinn campus with a BFA (I think?) If Viterbo has an early notification date, consider using that as a way to get a bird in hand.</p>
<p>When you say you get reciprocity in MN and WI-it makes me think you are part of the Midwest reciprocity. If so check out Ball State and Webster. Webster gives out some really great merit and financial aid.</p>
<p>Hi nomester! You are right in our neighborhood. Welcome!</p>
<p>3 are too few auditioned programs, if that is really your goal, especially if you don’t have good non-auditioned programs that you like on your list. I would definitely recommend the UMinn BA program - you can get excellent training and performance opportunities. If you are a good student, it’s an excellent safety. Other schools in the WI system that I would recommend are UW-Milwaukee, which has a BA-BFA option (you audition for the BFA after your freshman year, or stay in the BA - really a terrific program in a great theatre town), and UW-La Crosse (non-auditioned BA). Many students we know have had very positive experiences at UW-L and have gone on to some excellent careers. UW-L is much harder to get into academically, however, about on the same level recently as UW-Madison.</p>
<p>I would look carefully at UW-Stevens Point for Acting. Their MT program has been greatly expanded and has become very competitive. I’m not sure they are as focused on non-MT theatre, if that is what you are most interested in, although historically their performing arts departments have been excellent overall.</p>
<p>Some students I know have gotten good FA from Viterbo, and some haven’t. Their BFA has pretty low acceptance rates, just like all auditioned programs. I hear more people talking about Viterbo for MT than Acting, but you should decide for yourself if it is a good fit.</p>
<p>I know it’s daunting, but keep your mind open to other locations, both public and private. Depending on your academic stats, you might get FA that makes schools outside of WI and MN just as affordable as the instate school. If you’d like to stay fairly close to home, I’d look at Northern IL (auditioned BFA) and IL State (auditioned BA).</p>
<p>My D was able to get merit/talent scholarships at a auditioned BFA in a private university near NY that brought her cost of attending below that of UMinn, for example.</p>
<p>It’s great that you feel confident in your abilities, but auditioned theatre schools have the same acceptance rates as Ivys - we’re talking less than 20%, often less than 10%. You just can’t assume anything. Even if you are the greatest actor ever, there are other considerations like gender, type, personal fit, that you can’t predict before you enter that audition room. Put together a list that feels right to you, but do not see your audition results as a reflection on your talent. It’s a tough, mysterious process.</p>
<p>Good luck! Keep us posted on how things are going.</p>
<p>Yes, there is a Midwest consortium of schools where costs are lower for regional students. The percentage of instate costs you would pay can vary, and it doesn’t usually include the flagship universities. It definitely is worth looking at what kind of deal you can get at any of the Midwest public Us.</p>
<p>In MN and WI, however, all of the state schools (including flagships) are at the instate rate for anyone who lives in either state. It is a great deal for kids who live here.</p>
<p>I should mention that I plan on auditioning for BA and BFA at Steven’s Point, and if I don’t get accepted anywhere I do plan on attending U of MN with a BA and minoring in journalism or secondary education. Just so you all know that I do have back up plans.
Thanks for the replies so far! They really help!
Is the BA program at U of MN auditioned or open enrollment? (I am ranked 7th in my class and have a GPA of 3.994, so academic acceptance is not a concern of mine.)</p>
<p>Ask Minn to be sure, but the BA in Theatre has always been open to any student there. We have a good friend who had an incredible experience and was thrilled with the dept. She also took advantage of lots of opportunities to broaden her education, study abroad, etc.</p>
<p>That was my D’s safety as well, and she would have been thrilled to go there. It is a school where even though there is a BFA conservatory, the BA is strong, separate and very high quality. That’s not always true - I would check how things are at Steven’s Point, among the different majors. From a quick look at their website, I wonder if their BA curriculum is as performance-focused as you might like (as compared with the Minn BA). I get a “BA students are in the background doing the non-performance-oriented stuff” vibe. Ask them about casting and what a projected 4-year experience might look like - really, that’s a good thing to do with any school you are considering, especially when there are both BAs and BFAs (and MFAs) in the department.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your help. The more I look into the BA at UMN, the more I like it. I guess I shouldn’t be so closed minded towards BAs! </p>
<p>I’ve been researching Minnesota State University-Mankato, which offers a BFA. We’re planning a visit to check it out. Does 5 auditions sound like a better number? That’s the number my parents liked. I’ll have to check out Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, etc… but there again, money is an issue since Wisconsin is not included in the Midwest reciprocity and only has reciprocity with Minnesota.</p>
<p>Wisconsin is part of the Midwestern Higher Education Compact so you might want to google MHEC Wisconsin and get the list of schools that participate. Ball state and Webster do and they have BFA programs that could be worth looking into.</p>
<p>In terms of numbers of auditions, 5 seems good. It really doesn’t matter, but I do think that it’s good to have enough that you can feel like you can hit your stride and do your best. My general opinion about college apps is that if you can afford a few extra, it doesn’t hurt to add them. It’s rough when March or April hits and you wish you had applied to a few more. </p>
<p>I know this isn’t your issue, but I will say that my opinion is that there is no reason to apply to more than 12 or so. Often students looking for BFAs will have 5-10 schools that they audition for (none of which are safeties) and then a couple of safeties and other options so that they know they will have a choice in the spring. </p>
<p>This sounds kind of trite, but I must say it’s not the numbers but whether the schools are what you want that is important. If you have one safety that is fine, and just a few schools you want to try auditioning for, that sounds very reasonable.</p>
<p>Nomester7 – do you have any information about what your family’s status would be from a financial aid standpoint? Sounds like you also may qualify for merit money. You might want to consider adding one or two “reach” schools from a financial standpoint that have a good reputation for financial aid and/or merit scholarships. </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/1487424-good-bfa-acting-programs-cheap-good-financial-aid.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/1487424-good-bfa-acting-programs-cheap-good-financial-aid.html</a></p>
<p>See ResearchMom’s post in particular that Otterbein, Evansville and Webster provided merit scholarships putting the cost on part with in-state options.</p>
<p>Broadway95, thank you for informing me of this! I’ll definitely research this!</p>
<p>EmmyBet, thank you! You’ve been an immense help!</p>
<p>ActingDad, I have 3 older brothers who are all way out of the house. They all got a lot of financial aid because all 3 were in college at the same time. But I am in a sense an only child now. So, from what I’ve heard I won’t be recieving a lot of FA. I am smart… so I do plan on applying to A LOT of scholarships in hopes that I will get a few of them. I’ve been hearing alot about Webster. I’ll have to take a look.</p>
<p>The three schools ActingDad refers to are strong for merit aid (not need-based) so your brothers’ non-student status will be irrelevant. These schools provide excellent scholarships for academic merit (as well as talent awards, which at least for Otterbein, are separate and can be “stacked”). My son is also the last of my kids to be in college and doesn’t have that younger-sibling-in-the-pipeline advantage; while his need-based awards were all over the map, ranging from full needs met to loans-only, his merit awards were what made the difference, and Otterbein was especially helpful. I don’t have any experience with Webster, but I expect that with your academic profile, you would be eligible for serious merit aid at Evansville, if that school appeals–it’s certainly worth a look!</p>
<p>nomester7: Depending on your ACT, you may find even greater values in schools outside of Wisconsin and Minnesota. Three that offer generous merit-aid to high-stats kids come to mind immediately: Southeast Missouri State (BFA) offers full-ride (I’m talking tuition, room, board, books); Temple University offers full-tuition plus $4K grant money each year and Miami of Ohio (BA) very close to a full-ride.</p>
<p>Thank you very much everyone! Glad I joined this site, you’re all kind people. Myself and now my mom are intrigued with Webster. And by the sounds of you guys, they offer lots of aid and merit. I also contacted Ball State on the status of Wisconsin in the Midwestern Higher Education Compact and am still waiting to hear back.</p>
<p>Ball State does 150% tuition for Wisconsin residents. So I’d pay a little more than instate and a little less than out of state.
We scheduled a visit for Minnesota State University-Mankato. I know their BFA Acting isn’t prestigious… but does anyone have any information on the program?
Also scheduled a visit to Webster in August.</p>
<p>I know you’re not focused on prestige - sometimes I like to use the word “quality,” because it depends more on the actual experience and what an individual thinks is best for them.</p>
<p>Prestige is a hard thing to define. There is no doubt that a well-known degree impresses people, and often there are very successful alumni who can help you along. It’s like going to an Ivy for college - sometimes it does help open doors. But it’s impractical to base your own choices on prestige, because only a small number of people can get prestigious degrees (like going to Ivys), and clearly the rest of the world also has very rewarding and successful lives, too.</p>
<p>If you think the program at Mankato would give the training you want, and you like the school and location in general, go ahead and apply. What will be important in the end is how you absorb your training and what kind of actor/person you become. That is what will help you have a good career and be happy. </p>
<p>I will tell you that while my D had absolutely no issues with what kind of experience she’d have in the Minn BA, she ultimately decided against it program-wise because she had an opportunity to be in a small, defined group of people and in a structured, defined curriculum. She knew she could get all of the classes and experience she needed in the Minn BA, but she would have to be more of a self-starter and advocate (note: these are good skills) to get what a BFA sets up for you automatically. Since they were the same cost, and the BFA gave her the opportunity to be near NYC, she went with that. The cost, location and program were just right; Adelphi isn’t a “prestige” school, but she will come out a well-trained, well-educated, skilled and experienced person. And all schools give you some connections, since all schools have theatre professionals as faculty, alumni, and associates.</p>
<p>If a BFA appeals to you for these reasons, it’s good to have schools that can offer you that opportunity, that are a bit easier to get into than the Guthrie program, or even Ball State or Webster. You can’t really have reach-match-safety in auditioned programs, but if Mankato gives you a little better chance of having an auditioned BFA among your options in the spring, I’d go ahead and apply.</p>
<p>I took a stroll to the Mankato theatre department website. Their list of classes looks great. Even the BA/BS students’ program looks quite nicely balanced, with a lot of training and experiential learning (one red flag in BA programs is when most of the courses offered are “academic” study of theatre, like literature, history, and theory - all of which is good, but most performers want a solid amount of training as well as bookwork). It looks like the BFA students basically take more classes - they both have the same foundations, but the BFAs are required to take more credits in the department. </p>
<p>Questions to ask at this school would be - How do the BA/BS and BFA students interact? How else is the BFA experience differentiated? How is casting determined? What is the production experience like? Also, at a school with a BFA in MT in the department, how do Acting and MT mix, both in coursework and in productions? Sometimes at a smaller school, resources get a little more focused in one direction or another - this isn’t bad, but it’s good to know before you get there.</p>
<p>Thank you! I like the analogy to an Ivy League school. Most everyone still comes out with training that will land them a steady career. We all, of course, want to get to the big stages someday, and anyone who says they don’t is lying. But we all want a steady career with acting jobs that take us around the country, even with small productions. You’re very right with the training.
I’ll write down those questions to remember to ask when we visit. I did see that acting students are asked to sing at auditions, so I’d assume that there would be atleast a little bit of mixing between MT and acting. But I will definitely ask when we visit!</p>