<p>MommaJ, I don’t know a wide enough sample of people who applied to American for MT. I have had several advissees who applied who got in for MT. I haven’t had anyone accepted academically but denied for theater / musical theater at American. I had someone admitted for January (he is going to BOCO though).</p>
<p>Generally speaking (not just about American), I think the odds at BA by audition programs are better than for BFA programs overall (big exception would be UCLA). Of course it varies from program to program. And there is of course, the academic odds at each school too. Perhaps the BA in MT program at American (academics aside) has better odds than Wagner or Marymount, for example. But the academics to get into American are harder than Wagner or Marymount, which both offer a BA with MT. </p>
<p>But I never would consider American a safety school because it has an audition. It is “safer” than most BFA schools, however. Academically speaking, it is a safety for some students and a reach or match for some other students. </p>
<p>For someone who is primarily seeking a BFA in MT, I suggest having one or two BA by audition schools on the list and one or two BA non audition schools (one of which is an academic safety as well), because the BA by Audition schools are sort of a bridge between the highly competitive BFA in MT programs and the non audition schools. Schools like American are in between those two sets of “odds” so to speak. </p>
<p>But it is good to hear a first hand account such as yours that those in the MT program at American don’t know of many who didn’t get into it who were academically accepted.</p>
<p>By the way, I recall in my D’s cycle (HS class of 2005), there was a member on CC’s MT Forum, whom we ran into at a few auditions, who did not get into any of the BFA schools she applied/auditioned at but got into American for MT. I also had a student two cycles ago who did not get into any BFA in MT programs (which was what she was mainly seeking) but got into American for MT and then got into the BFA for Acting at Marymount and chose Marymount. So, this gives some inkling that if one is not competitive for BFA in MT programs, they still might get into American for MT (if they have the academics).</p>