<p>He’s Interested in International Relations, Musical Theater, and Astrophysics (while I can’t even spell that correctly!)</p>
<p>My son scored high on SAT’s and has a decent GPA but would like to study many things in college – possibly can then do a graduate degree in one of them (once he determines which one that will be!) He’d like to mainly do Musical Theater (or IR!) maybe do a dual major.
So schools such as U. of Michigan, or Northwestern seem good for that.
Possibly Cornell, if he can get in, but not sure of their Musical Theater program.</p>
<p>Can we hear from the CC population on this please?</p>
<p>I don’t know how strong Tufts is in MT, but it always had good theater, and its science and international relations programs are very strong. Some smaller liberal arts colleges have excellent academic departments, and offer opportunities for non-majors to appear in campus productions. Have you searched for matches on College Board or Naviance? I’d say look for the Astrophysics first, then see what the schools with strong departments offer in the way of Poli.Sci. & Int. Rel. courses. Then, check out performing arts departments and campus performances. Most larger universities can probably offer everything your son is interested in, but a double (much less triple) major might be extremely difficult. I would advise against an auditioned BFA program, because the musical theater conservatories are very intensive, and only recommended for those truly committed students. It’s fine for him to be “undecided,” and should look for schools that have the broad range of courses and activities he wants. American U. in Washington, DC, is another possibility, along with Carnegie-Mellon (they take musical theatre very seriously). Be sure to ask whether a school allows non-majors to appear in major productions.</p>
<p>I would re-post this on the musical theater forum. Take a look at the “Big List of MT Colleges” there, post #2. This is a comprehensive list of MT programs by state, and includes a lot of info such as BA vs. BFA, audition vs. non-audition, and sometimes how many they accept into the program. U. of Mich is an auditioned program that is highly competitive, but might allow for a dual major or a minor. NW is by audition for a MT certificate at the end of the freshman year, and again is highly competitive. Whatever programs you look at, be sure to confirm that the MT dept. will allow a dual major or even a minor, as many don’t. In any case, there are a lot of people on the MT forum who can point you in the right direction. Good luck!</p>
<p>Musical theater and international relations is a very popular double major at American. My D happens to be double major in MT and history at AU. If you want to be in the center of the IR action, you can’t do better than Washington DC. American is very strong in internships, with most students having at least 2 before graduation. Plus, if your S is a strong student, he will likely make the honors college, which I hear is great. My D has been very happy with the MT opportunities as well.</p>
<p>This is possible at James Madison University in VA. A double major can be difficult, but is not impossible, particularly with AP, IB, Dual Enrollment credits.</p>
<p>Look at University of New Hampshire, they have a MT concentration in BA theater and an IR major. Not too hard to get in to, but opportunities for excellence are there for those who seek them. </p>
<p>Thanks, and yes, my son has had American on his list since last year - but we haven’t seen the campus and may try that next month… How does your daughter like residential life overall? i imagine with Georgetown nearby it is a nice area… the dorms? thank you.</p>
<p>I’ll be applying to UNH this fall for theater (not sure about my concentration yet). I went and visited, I live in massachusetts, and talked to their program director. She said it was a great program with conservatory level training along with a strong liberal arts education. Their facilities are a bit dated but well maintained and still enticing. She also said many of their students double major or minor. Plus, you can easily complete two concentrations in 4 years. They include: acting/directing, design/tech, musical theater, theater ed youth, theater ed secondary, and general. </p>
<p>I echo megpmom re: American University. It has a highly rated IR program through its School of International Service and its theatre program is well-regarded. My S applied to AU but he ended up going to a BFA program instead. However, both he and I were very impressed that the drama auditors took the time to provide a written critique of each applicants monologues. Regarding your inquiry about AUs campus, it is relatively compact and is located in a mostly residential area on upper Massachusetts Avenue. Your S also may want to look at George Washington and Georgetown, both of which have theatre programs and highly regarded IR programs, although I am not sure what the MT opportunities are at those schools. Catholic and U of MD also have good theatre programs and most likely offer IR as a concentration since they are in or close to DC. Not only is DC IR internship heaven, it also has a very thriving theater community. Each of the above-noted theatre programs most likely has some connection to a DC theatre (e.g., Georgetown has a connection to Arena Stage). As for astrophysics, these colleges most likely offer courses in this subject. It sounds like your S has varied interests and is still exploring which path to head down and double majoring, if he can make it work, leaves him with options while he decides.</p>