<p>I often have heard parents and students alike lament that many of the most sought after auditioned MT/Acting programs are housed at schools with less than prestigious academic records…that’s all a matter of opinion, i guess. But here is some interesting news from The Chronicle of Higher Education:</p>
<p>All of the following schools, which offer sought-after auditioned BFA programs in musical theatre or acting also produced some of the highest numbers of Fullbright Students this year: They are categorized by “research” "Master’s and “Bachelor’s” institutions.</p>
<p>University of Michigan: The most of any school this year!
University of Arizona
University of Florida
NYU
Fordham
UCLA
Juilliard</p>
<p>There are tons of schools listed, that offer non-auditioned programs in Theatre too. Housing Fullbright Scholars certainly isn’t the end all, but it’s interesting!</p>
<p>Maybe one really an “have it all”??</p>
<p>And although they offer a BA with an auditioned MT Certificate instead of a BFA, Northwestern University had the second largest number of Fulbright Scholars in the country this year – ahead of Yale and Harvard – 28 at NU versus 29 at UMich (which has 5 times as many students as NU) with the highest Fulbright yield per capita of any school in the US! And better still, some of this year’s Fulbrights from NU were earned by… THEATRE majors… HOORAH!! </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2011/10/fulbright-record-numbers.html[/url]”>http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2011/10/fulbright-record-numbers.html</a></p>
<p>I’d also add that it may not matter much if a school has top-notch academics if your schedule won’t allow you time to sample them, or that your school has folks who will win Fulbrights if MT majors will never win them or even share classes or profs with those who will. From what friends have told us, in some schools the MT kids are fairly isolated much of the time, so that’s worth investigating that if it matters to you.</p>
<p>Curious why any of this matters no matter what major one is chasing. With the exception of Julliard, these are all large schools known to have a fairly high academic threshold so there is a bigger pool to compete. As a percentage of enrollment, some may move ahead of others if that was the criteria. </p>
<p>But why does this matter anyway? Isn’t it as hard to be exceptional in the arts world as it is to be a Fulbright scholar in many other fields where success is a bit easier to quantify?</p>
<p>My daughter attends a high school that produces the largest number of national merit scholars in our state in absolute numbers and overwhelmingly so as a percentage of any year’s enrollment (over 25 percent of the class consistently). My take away from that is that she’s getting a great education while surrounded by high performing peers. I’m fairly sure than most of the kids in her school would not hold a candle artistically to many of the students whose interests are represented in this thread and I’m also convinced that being good at this “theatre stuff” is just as hard as being a math genius etc…</p>
<p>Believe me I struggle with the idea of whether or not to try to have it all as well. But most days I’m convinced that having it all is more about finding the school that servers her theatre interests because she’s made it clear that is the criteria that she cares about. Might mean a school where here other talents could be stretched or it could be a straight BFA program. For sure it means a list that includes schools her high school isn’t used to seeing. :-)</p>
<p>Hi Halflokum:</p>
<p>This is one of those topics that comes up with some parents and students alike, i think. Some kids that are really gifted in theatre are interested in other academic areas too…and maybe were high achievers academically in high school as well…or their parents are concerned that they might change their minds later, and would like them to be at a school where they feel like another major is not only accessible, but might have some acclaim behind it too. They might also just like the idea of being surrounded by high achievers, regardless of major. For reasons unknown , a lot of the BFA MT (especially) programs are not housed at academic powerhouses…though of course some are. Though i imagine all of the schools with BFA’s in MT have students attending them that could have attended more prestigious schools. I guess i was just making the point that if you must have both, there are schools that offer both. I certainly don’t think its a requirement </p>
<p>I agree with you in a bunch of ways, though! </p>
<p>My daughter is at a PERFECT school for her…truth is her dream school was the University of Michigan, a “have-it-all” school on the list…and it was for years. If she had gotten in in the end i am sure we would have moved hell and high water to get her there. If we could have. In the end, she didn’t get into the University of Michigan…she asked for two days to “get over it”…and truly she didn’t look back. The rest of the pack was made up of lovely schools that fit what she was looking for in myriad of different ways…none was exactly alike, a none were similar to UM in their highly acclaimed BFA MT program, coupled with the academic powerhouse reputation, BIG school culture, and all the things that go along with that.</p>
<p>Webster’s acting-heavy approach to the MT major is right up her alley. She loves the classic acting training she is a part of…she loves not having to take any more math! She is smitten with the conservatory approach in every way…so, so different from her “dream school”, yet turning out to be so right for her. She can take some GE classes (there are a few required), but there won’t be many. My guess is Webster’s academic threshold for admittance is well below UM’s or several of the other “have it all” schools…i think some would say that that might not allow her to mix with others that are wired for grand pursuits, whatever their field. There may be some truth to that, but in the end most of these kids, mine included will be 21 or 22 years old when they finish…and if mine decides that “grand academic pursuits” await her, she is free to continue her education at any school available to her. In the meantime, she is definitely meeting and interacting with all kinds of amazingly gifted people every day, despite the fact that her school had no Fullbright students (that i know of anyway!)!</p>
<p>That all to say that you are right, it doesn’t matter at all, unless it matters to you or your kid.</p>
<p>Hope things are going well for your girl!!</p>
<p>well said mybroadwaybaby! We went through this for high school with my D. We are in an area that has school of choice for public schools and while academically she could have went stronger at a private school-the public school gave my D the theatre and musical outlet she was craving. Students will shine where they are happiest. In the end you have to find the right fit for your child-and my D personally can not wait (even though she excels in school) to not take anymore math. </p>
<p>She is a junior and on her list is certaining leaning toward all the programs that are conservatory based and do not have a lot of general ed classes. We have also noticed that you will be spending the majority of your time in the theatre department while pursuing a BFA MT - so that is what you need to love and if she likes the rest of it - that’s a bonus. We went to Penn State and while she was not crazy about the athletic bias of the school or the fact that some of the students showing us around the campus were seniors and were just attending their first production - she liked the campus enough to live at it and if the theatre department is what she loves it will make her list-they are right now on the maybe list.</p>
<p>Thanks mybroadwaybaby we’re on the same page. I’m practicing my not caring. How am I doing so far? :-)</p>
<p>I attended a college info session recently where it was pointed out that if you attend this particular college and are in a major like theatre, you’ll never have to take math again. The audience erupted into applause. I on the other hand wanted to cry. But I suppose the end to certain things always comes whether it happens after high school or in college or beyond. I can’t remember the last time I used any calculus and even more honestly, I can’t even remember what calculus is. </p>
<p>My daughter is looking to “have it all” too but I think is trying to define that as having as broad a college experience (academic and otherwise) as possible while majoring in what she loves and the idea of doing that a more academically prestigious school while important is secondary to the strength of the theatre program to her. We are finding that most schools also offer some sort of an honors track which if compatible with a BFA is a good option too.</p>
<p>I wonder what a list of “have it all” schools under the broad college experience definition would look like. I’d certainly put U Michigan and NYU on the list. Northwestern and probably every BA program as well. I’m sure there are many others including some that were mentioned in the original thread although I don’t specifically know about their programs. I have the impression that just because a BFA program is housed within a broader university doesn’t always mean that the student easily has access or naturally feels a connection to the broader college scene. It seems to depend.</p>
<p>and while I’m at it. I hate this statement I made earlier which nobody will care about other than me but it’s bugging me: </p>
<p>“I’m fairly sure than most of the kids in her school would not hold a candle artistically to many of the students whose interests are represented in this thread…”</p>
<p>I didn’t mean to say “artistically”. That is too general. There are plenty of amazing artists (dance, visual, music etc) at the school but few that concentrate in theatre.</p>
<p>It doesn’t change what I was trying to say but wanted to correct the wording.</p>
<p>I’m a sophomore BFA MT at Ball State. Our program has many extremely academically gifted students who were accepted into competitive universities academically, but chose to pursue performance. I assume this is probably the case for a lot of schools! Look into the Honors College at schools you’re considering! Oftentimes, the honors college is full of other students who are at a university for a particular program and want the added academic challenge.</p>
<p>I can’t speak for other schools, but at BSU your academic core classes can be replaced with honors courses.</p>
<p>Just something to look into! :)</p>
<p>Based on D’s experience so far I really do think Northwestern is a place where MT kids can have the best of both worlds – being surrounded by top-notch artistic talent and being taught by high-powered theatre professionals, all while being a very integral part of an academically selective and prestigious university in a traditional Ivy-league-type environment. </p>
<p>And although it’s a BA, NU offers no BFA and has no graduate students, so the auditioned MT Certificate program is very selective yet can be just as focused on performance as a BFA OR be part of a double (or even triple) major if a student chooses more academic variety. And NU is small enough (8000) that MT kids can and do interact with kids from all areas of the school.</p>
<p>I am SO glad that D chose to add a few schools with stronger academics (NU, Yale and Brown) to her list of BFA programs, since by this time last year she decided NU was her very top choice, and so far it seems like she made exactly the right decision for herself. </p>
<p>It’s worth noting that about 25% of D’s talented peers at YoungArts and MPulse opted for schools with very strong academics (mostly NU) OVER the many BFA programs they were all accepted into, so just as you will find some academically gifted folks in many BFA programs, you will certainly find artistically talented folks in the top academic schools that offer strong MT programs.</p>
<p>Of course it’s not for everyone, but at NU D knows talented MT kids with double majors in virtually every academic area you can think of… and even some top-notch football players also getting a real college education. How cool is that?</p>
<p>Best of luck to everyone who is busy writing essays and completing applications this year!</p>