@populuku - As Ducky says, you will have a difficult time of it, but it’s not impossible. You are correct that CCM and BW are very difficult to get into, but Ohio has some other terrific programs that are not discussed on this board quite as much. As an Ohio resident there is a unified audition held every January by the Ohio Educational Theatre Association that you are eligible for. Here’s the link: http://ohedta.org/opportunities/auditions/ Some “not-as-popular” Ohio programs hold a unified audition. Schools like CCM and BW may be present, but they may be holding auditions for drama or portfolio reviews for tech and design majors, rather than MT. The website will be updated shortly, and you can check to see which schools will be auditioning for MT. Go to the websites for each of those schools and see what they may require for auditions. The cool thing - or not-so-cool thing, depending on how you look at it - about this set-up, is that you are considered for all the attending programs during a single audition. So even if you have not yet applied to the school, you can still be considered. That said, if scholarship money is important to you, you may want to apply ahead of time to meet scholarship deadlines that arise before January.
If you are serious about this and want to apply to BFA programs that require auditions, you will need to be doing some serious work starting NOW. Some schools require prescreen videos that must be submitted before you can be invited for an audition and for most schools all your application materials must be in by October/November. This puts you on an accelerated application timeline that will make your non-MT peers look like they are leisurely strolling through a park. This hardcore avenue is NOT the only way to a career in theater, but if you are interested in BFA schools of BW’s or CCM’s calibre, that’s what you’re looking at. And schools the next tier down can be almost as competitive and on a similar timeline
There are MANY successful folks in MT/Theatre/Film who did NOT go this route. Check out non-audition BA programs. If you don’t know the difference, you might want to do a little homework. BFAs tend to be a little like a vocational career track with most of your college time spent in Performance skill-related classes. A BA tends to be a bit more of a traditional Liberal Arts education with more academic classes and are called something like “Theater Studies” perhaps with a “performance” or “Musical Theatre” emphasis. The lines between these two types of programs are blurred, and both avenues can lead to excellent training and performance opportunities. Given your MT/Theater training background and family support situation, the BA route might be a better choice for you, but is not necessarily a “lesser” choice. There are MANY successful actors who have come from this route. And if “college” is not necessarily your thing, going the “professional skills school” route mentioned by @Ducky312 - such as AMDA - may be an option. If you decide to do the “experiential” path in NYC or Chicago, be sure you have a way to pay your rent and living expenses while you are exploring.
Do a little homework. Google “Ohio Musical Theater programs” and see what comes up - or whatever states/cities you are interested in. See how much they cost, what prerequisites are needed and especially look for application/prescreen/audition/scholarship requirements and deadlines. Then be sure to come back to this forum and ask more questions. There are lots of folks here willing to share their experiences/insights, but it would be helpful if you have a little better sense of what you’re looking for. Many people on CC can give detailed help/guidance after you’ve done some preliminary “legwork”. For instance if Wright State (Dayton, OH) comes up on your list, my S is a junior BFA MT there and I would be happy to share our insights/experiences. A few other Ohio schools to consider might be Otterbein, Ohio Northern, Kent State, Ohio Wesleyan, maybe Wooster, and I’m sure there are others. You might also want to consider Northern Kentucky University, just across the river from Cincinnati. Good Luck.