<p>I was thinking about knocking off Montclair State University because of it’s housing problem.</p>
<p>Claydavisdbc: </p>
<p>Hello. My daughter is going for acting, so her list is a little different, but some the same. Still, it seems you don’t have enough safety schools and I have been told on this website the need for such things. Also, the audition load will be brutal. To ease that, my daughter is doing one early action (non binding) and going for auditions in Boston in November, and may go to NYC for auditions at two schools in January to take more pressure off and lesson the otherwise frightening unifieds in February. You may wish to consider doing such things.</p>
<p>Here is her list… some are the same.</p>
<p>NYU Tisch
Carnegie Mellon
North Carolina School of the Arts (did you leave this off for a reason?)
Emerson
Ithaca
Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (is this on your list?)
USC
UCLA
Juilliard
SF State
UC Irvine</p>
<p>SF State is guaranteed. Like you, she has lots of AP and a high GPA, so she is probably likely to get into UC Irvine. (The grad drama program really excels, but we would hope the undergrad has received some of that glory.)</p>
<p>Emerson we have good feelings for. She has friends who got in there. The rest are kinda big “we’ll sees.” </p>
<p>About Carnegie Mellon, we went to a presentation CMU did, and they point blank said 80% of their admissions decision is the audition. This is from the mouth of the admissions counselor. They even had a pretty pie chart graph showing that and everything. At NYU they said it was 50%. So the big thing is the audition. Get ready to sing and dance like your life depends on it, I guess.</p>
<p>wish you luck…</p>
<p>Hi Chrissyblu,
I left off North Carolina school for the arts because I want to go for musical theater. And I don’t want to go to CCM or Emerson because of their cuts. But I thought that I included several less competitive schools like University of Miami, FSU, University of Hartford, ETC. But Muhlenberg is my safety.</p>
<p>By the way, I live in Irvine, so if you have any questions about UCI I know quite a bit about it!</p>
<p>Claydavisdbc - Your stats are a strong match for Muhlenberg however you should be aware that over the last few years there seems to be an increase in the number of applicants there who have similar stats and Muhlenberg has become very selective. Because it is a small school, Muhlenberg gives a lot of weight to getting to know a student as a person and reaching conclusions about how the student and Muhlenberg really mesh. Accordingly, doing an on site interview at Muhlenberg can be an important part of the admissions process and was strongly recommended to my daughter by the head of the acting program when she did the optional audition.</p>
<p>In looking at your list of schools, have you factored in the size of the programs? At first blush, it seems that you may be over weighted towards schools with very small class sizes (12 and under per year). There’s a thread titled Audition/Class Size Numbers that might be helpful in looking at this question.</p>
<p>claydavisdbc… Miami, FSU, Harrt, may be slightly less competitive for admissions than CMU and Michigan, but only slightly. The odds may be better at a school with a 5% - 10% admit rate than a school with a 2% admit rate, but that is still a lot of people who auditioned for the program and did not get in.</p>
<p>I would agree that looking at the Audition/ Class Size list… although for the most part anecdotal… could be helpful.</p>
<p>I think that you may want an additional school in the “Safety”… or “probable Safety” list… There are BFA programs that do not require an audition…if you would prefer a BFA. There are also schools that are BA with an audition that while they may not be complete safeties (because a school with an audition is never a safety), they may be drawing from a smaller pool of applicants. Finally, you may find that there are schools you might like that are academic safeties for you where you audition for the BFA/ BA program once you are already at the school. </p>
<p>You do have a lot of schools on your list right now, but almost all of them are in the super highly competitive to highly competitive category… Muhlenberg being the exception (although they are competitive academically).</p>
<p>You may want to research a few less competitive programs, and really look at the schools already on your list. What are the pros and cons to each school, why did you place them on your list to begin with. Each program is very different, and you may find that some of the schools you have on your list right now can be dropped off and you could add some schools that may be more of a match/ safety.</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice! I did look at the numbers, and my idea was that since each only accepted a small number of students, the more schools I applied to the better chance I had of getting in.
I ruled out Northwestern because I really didn’t like it when I visited, and I also took out USC because I didnt’ like the surrounding area when I visited it.
Do you think that I should apply to another liberal arts college like Muhlenberg that offers a BA in theater? I’m generally looking for a BFA</p>
<p>I think you need another safety or match. And to be safe, you (and anyone else auditioning … this is not directed at you, personally) shouldn’t consider ANY audition school as “safety.” That means finding another college or university with a strong non audition program (either BA or BFA). </p>
<p>As MichaelNKat said, Muhlenberg has become quite selective, and admits something like (and I am pulling this from memory, so check it) 65% of their students early decision, which leaves stiff competition for the other 35% going regular decision. (Muhlenberg’s ED deadline is slightly later than most schools’, but not realistically late enough for a kid auditioning elsewhere who doesn’t get into those audition schools to suddenly switch to ED at Muhlenberg.) </p>
<p>Muhlenberg’s admissions people and faculty care A LOT that a student is genuinely interested in being there. My D, who was admitted with both talent and academic scholarships, visited the school once junior year and then again to audition senior year. She also did an interview with the admissions staff. Because of this, they believed that she was strongly considering MC, which she definitely was. I also know a few students (top notch academic students) who did not get into MC or got on the waitlist who never stepped foot on campus. I have to believe that the visits and the genuine interest my kid had made the difference.</p>
<p>I am not sure that just adding more audition schools to the mix enhances your chances of admission. I know a few talented kids who did a lot of auditions and didn’t get in anywhere except their non audition LACs.</p>
<p>I would agree… I am not sure that simply auditioning for a greater number of highly selective schools actually enhances your chances of being admitted to one of them. Statistically speaking, probably yes… but statics take in a wide range of personal outcomes.</p>
<p>You may find that by auditioning for so many schools you stress yourself out, and therefore do not perform you best. Also – many schools will have slightly different audition and essay requirements, so you may find yourself having to prepare a lot more audition packages.</p>
<p>It is important that your non-auditioned safety schools are schools that you would truly be happy to attend. </p>
<p>If you can find another non-audition school that you like (possibly one that is not as academically competitive as Mulhlenberg, and possibly a school that is auditioned but admits more than 5% - 10% of applicants, you may find that your list is more well balanced.</p>
<p>I would agree with others to add a couple more non audition BA programs. Schools like Skidmore, Vassar, Wesleyan and Sarah Lawrence come to mind but I know there are a lot more others, as well.</p>
<p>HSN, did you mean to say Illinois Wesleyan? I am guessing so, as Wesleyan in Ct. is a highly, highly selective school (considered by some to be “another” Ivy) and thus, very difficult to get into for even the top candidate.</p>
<p>I think IWU’s program is auditioned. </p>
<p>Sarah Lawrence reportedly has a good theater program that is non auditioned. Plus, SLC no longer considers SAT scores, if that is an issue for you.</p>
<p>The question of how many schools to apply to has been kicked around quite a bit on this Board. My take is that the general consensus is that 8 - 10 schools (including a couple of non-audition schools that are a strong academic match) is sensible range that can provide a good balanced mix. Some have done it with fewer schools and some feel the need to have more. But as is being suggested above, “more” does not necessarily mean a better chance of success. The key is to have a balanced mix between schools that draw from a large national pool, those that draw from a smaller more regional pool, schools that have small freshmen classes and those that are larger. I wouldn’t even get hung up on labels of “more selective” and “less selective” because of perhaps misleading connotations of “quality” which can misinform your process of comprising your list. When you get down to it, any audition based program that accepts 2-9% of its applicants is selective by any standard. It’s more informative to look at the number of applicants, number accepted and class size at each school to make sure that your list is not skewed towards schools that draw from a large national pool for class sizes of 12 and under. </p>
<p>Let’s assume that everyone who is applying to an audition based program is equally talented and have comparable training and experience. To be successful in the process, your list of schools should include a couple of reach schools where statistically the odds are very tough (but someone’s going to be accepted so why shouldn’t be you), schools where the applicant pool is smaller and the class size a bit larger, a couple where academics count and you are a strong match and some where academics count very little. Larger programs, smaller programs. Factor in whether the school stresses acting, singing or dance compared to what you bring to the process. And then throw in a couple of non-audition programs where you are a strong academic match. 8 - 10 schools are all you really need to have a very diverse mix and it is the diversity that increases your chance of success more than the mere number of schools.</p>
<p>I have heard a lot about Vassar academically, but nothing about it’s theater program. Is it good? Does it have musical theater?</p>
<p>NMR, I actually did mean Wesleyan in CT. The OP has a 4.4 GPA and has taken 8 APs so I didn’t think it was completely out of the ball park, especially since he/she had looked at Northwestern. And I know that Vassar is also very academically selective, I was just thinking of a range.</p>
<p>claydavidsdbc, yes, I have heard that Vassar has an excellent theater program, although I couldn’t tell you about musicals. I’d advise to check out the website.</p>
<p>HSN, I stand corrected. </p>
<p>Whenever someone mentions Wesleyan, I think back to my reading of that book “The Gatekeepers” and just how hard it is to get into that school. If anyone is interested, it’s a book by a New York Times reporter named Jacques Steinberg, who was given what appeared to be unfettered access to the admissions process at Wesleyan. Some kids who were academic superstars with better-than-fabulous GPAs and APS and extra curriculars and who had Wesleyan as their first choice did not get in. Of course, it’s that way with every highly selective school.</p>
<p>However, come to think of it, Wesleyan probably has a higher % of acceptance than do some of the musical theater programs on the original poster’s list. </p>
<p>People are often surprised when they hear that it’s tougher to get into many MT BFAs than it is to get into medical school, or the average Ivy League school.</p>
<p>One way to audition for additional schools is to put together a DVD. Most Performing Arts High School Seniors produce one for the NFAA competition. While taping for NFAA, add a monologue and a song and you should be good to go with two monologues and two songs. You can edit per the school’s requirements. Not all schools will consider a DVD but many will. Also, find out if there is a Performing Arts Festival in your area and you may be able to audition for multiple schools at the same time with one audition. In Illinois we have the Illinois High School Theatre Festival found here [Illinois</a> High School Theatre Fest](<a href=“http://www.illinoistheatrefest.org/main.htm]Illinois”>http://www.illinoistheatrefest.org/main.htm)</p>
<p>I’m sure if you share what area you live in others on the board may suggest a similar venue.</p>
<p>For all MT students applying to primarily audition schools, please make sure that you have safety schools where you would be happy attending. My daughter had the good fortune of being accepted to her first choice MT school and is loving it there. She also got into some “safety” schools - audition programs but with a larger acceptance rate and was not looking forward to going. Try not to fall in love with one school - keep your mind open - there are many strong schools out there with very good training.</p>
<p>Also, remember that acceptance to places like U Mich, CMU, and CCM are VERY, VERY selective. even a place like Penn State is looking for 12 - 20 majors a year. You can be very talented both artistically and academically and
still not be accepted.</p>
<p>Visit - find the places that “fit” you best, prepare for your audition, hit a home run with that audition and then hope you have a choice when your letters come in.</p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>No one should treat any audition based program as a safety school. Even at schools that are “less selective”, you are still facing perhaps a 10% acceptance rate which is very low by any standard. The only “safety school” is a non-audition program where admission is based on the “normal” academic criteria, acceptance rates are what you find at typical liberal arts schools and you are a strong academic match. These are usually BA programs but there are some non-audition BFA’s.</p>
<p>Absolutely.</p>
<p>Make sure your list could be titled “MT Schools I Have a Shot at Getting Into” and not just “Top MT Schools.” I realize in retrospect that my D’s list last year was the latter and not the former…thank God she got into a great school but when I look at the incredibly selective schools on her list I get chills thinking how badly it could have worked out.</p>