<p>JMU is not exactly 50/ 50 in terms of admissions. Potential theatre, musical theatre, and dance students apply academically to JMU and audition for the program. After program auditions are complete the School of Theatre & Dance sends a list to admissions of the students who we would like to have in the program. This recommendation can help boost an applicants academic admissions to the university, but only if they are already well within the JMU academic admit range for their high school.</p>
<p>A student who is academically admitted to JMU (but not to the program) may attend the university in any non-restricted major. </p>
<p>So… at JMU it is more of a bifurcated process, with the audition piece being able to help give a small boost to the academic admissions part of the puzzle. </p>
<p>I believe that NYU Tisch is an example of a 50/50 process… students must be admitted both academically to NYU and artistically to Tisch in order to be admitted to the university.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Times – glad you enjoyed Dead Man’s Cell phone. We are gearing up to open Sweeney Todd a week from Tuesday. Servant of Two Masters (directed by a guest director from France) opens in April. A number of student directed and devised pieces will be performed in the Studio Theatre in March. It is also looking like the production of Servant of Two Masters will go to the Avignon Festival in France this summer! An incredibly exciting opportunity for the students involved.</p>
<p>logicaldog – it sounds like Virginia state schools would not be a good fit for your son, since your family is not particularly enamored of them, and his grades may be problematic for most of the more selective schools in VA with strong theatre programs. As you have already noted, he likely would not find a good fit for his educational and artistic needs at the state schools. Possibly Shenandoah, which has a strong program, and is a private conservatory program where the audition is a significant part of the admissions decision would be worth a visit for him if he was looking for an in-state option that would meet his other criteria. The list you have of schools in your OP is strong. A true safety might be worth adding to the list… a non-auditioned program where he would be guaranteed to be admitted academically. Has he considered any of the two year conservatory programs in NYC like Circle in the Square, American Academy of Dramatic Art, etc…?</p>