Intended Major(s)
Musical Theater major with minor or double major in Psychology
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 3.8
Weighted HS GPA: 4.38
Class Rank: unknown
ACT/SAT Scores: 1280 SAT
Coursework
6 AP Classes over HS - APUSH, AP Euro, AP Lang, AP Lit, AP Psych, AP Gov/Econ
Honors Integrated 1/2/3
Honors Freshman History/Freshman and Sophomore English
Awards
TBD, possible AP awards
Best female soloist in AA SC division at a competition
Extracurriculars
Library summer reading program volunteer
Babysitter/Childcare assistant Christian summer camp
Musicals
Created and acted in kids theater show
Youth ambassador/sews dresses for sewing nonprofit that helps fight against human trafficking around the world
Bible journal club VP
Show choir secretary 2 years
Show choir since 5th grade
NHS member since sophomore year
Please match me with any schools you think I may be interested in! Tysm
Schools
Currently interested in Biola, APU, Pepperdine, MSM, Marymount Manhattan, Syracuse, Juilliard, NYU, Belmont
(Christian unis in california/unis w strong mt programs. Will only go out of state for amazing MT program, preferably east coast for those)
These are all reach MT programs. Your academics are fine for them but you need some less competitive programs including some non audition programs. I don’t know anything about the first two. Are those BFA programs?
Biola is a BA program and APU has has a BFA program but would be a safety MT school for me. I am only putting east coast reach schools for BFA because I would prob move there only for really highly respected MT programs as I would prefer to stay in CA.
If you would be happy to attend either of those then sounds good! If you want to add more reaches look into Emerson, NYU, and if you are applying to Juilliard look into UNCSA. It has a similar acting program with everyone taking dance and voice classes.
Looks like Biola is a bit over $60K direct COA, and APU around $60K (add 4-5% for 2025-26 COA)…are those affordable for you? Have you run the net price calculators for the schools on your list?
It’s difficult to make recommendations without knowing your budget and whether you will qualify for need based and if so, how much.
@matchamabel You may want to post this in the Musical Theatre Major forum or ask a moderator to move it there. Musical Theatre has a unique college admissions process and you may find a larger number of posters with direct experience will see your post there.
You mention a double major or minor in Psychology. This may be difficult to impossible at many BFA programs. So, if this is a must for you I encourage you to look to see if it is possible on paper, and if so follow up with the schools to see if it is truly possible (and supported by faculty and policies) in practice.
In terms of some of the schools you have listed:
Julliard does not offer a Musical Theatre major, and is a stand alone conservatory. So, if Musical Theatre and Psychology are must haves for you, this may not be a good fit.
MSM is also a stand alone conservatory, according to their website a double major is not be an option. So, if Psychology is a must have for you, it may not be a good fit.
Marymount Manhattan has announced that it will be taken over by Northeastern Unviersity in Boston. So, the next few years may be time of transition. This is certainly not a reason not to apply or attend if admitted, just something to have on your radar.
How about Baylor? It’s an acting BFA but you can do a concentration in MT. I think it fits the Christian part but not the California part. For majority of MT schools, your grades/SAT scores won’t really matter, it’s all about the pre-screens and auditions. The acceptance rates to the MT programs are way, way lower than the general acceptance rates so you need to cast a pretty wide net. Agree that the MT page might be a good place to post.
Thank you so much! I had no idea about Marymount Manhattan. I will definitely look into those although I am willing to possibly drop psychology for a great BFA program.
You also mentioned Christian school environments. These may vary in terms of the religious focus of the university/college, but could be worth a look (I do not think were yet mentioned by other posters):
Here are a few others to look at that might allow a double major or minor that I do not think were mentioned previously. This is far from exhaustive (and some of the schools already mentioned may offer double major/minor opportunities), but are strong programs where a double major or minor may be possible (if the program looks interesting reach out to the department directly to ask about double majoring/ minoring). All are competitive for artistic admissions:
There are so many amazing programs. I offer that you may want to consider finding a range of schools that will provide you with the educational opportunities, environment, and locations in which you will thrive. When it comes time to finalize your list you can cut out any that don’t seem to resonate with you.
Saint Mary’s College of California: Doesn’t list a musical theater major, but offers majors in theater, voice, and dance and even had a student-created musical, so I think opportunities exist here for your interests.
If you want a smaller school, and your horizons expand to the Midwest, a couple of suggestions are St. Olaf College and Lawrence University.
St. Olaf has a Musical Theatre minor (they call it a “concentration”). It is close to the Twin Cities and all that metro area has to offer. It is generally known to have strong music-related programs.
Lawrence actually has a conservatory and “Opera Theatre” is listed as one of the majors within it. There are multiple music-related majors available at the school overall. Lawrence is about 90 minutes from Milwaukee, not quite two hours from Madison, and about three hours from Chicago – nice, fun little road trips. The Fox River Valley comprises suburb-sized small cities like Fond du Lac (south end), Oshkosh, Appleton, and Green Bay (north end). I don’t know much about the FRV theatre scene, but it might be worth consideration.
Both are fine schools which may comprise two additional options for you.
When it comes time to finalize your list you can cut out any that don’t seem to resonate with you.