<p>Momof3sons…
I echo the advice to check with each school. However, there are some generalizations for the sake of this discussion that could be made. Most BFA in Acting programs DO require an audition to be admitted and you are admitted directly into the program and must commit to it. </p>
<p>The majority of BA Theater programs do not require a commitment, nor an audition to be admitted and it is like applying to any other major in a liberal arts context…you apply undeclared and can specify an interest area but are not bound to major in it and are not admitted directly into the major but declare it after one or two years. For instance, this is true at Brown, Vassar, and Northwestern, three GREAT schools for theater, that you mentioned (I have a D who attended Brown). There are many other fine options where this same holds true…Examples he may wish to consider: USC (though they also have a BFA program too), Brandeis, Boston College, Connecticut College, Skidmore, Yale, Muhlenberg, UNC-Chapel Hill, Indiana, Kenyon, Swarthmore (where your older son attended I think), Middlebury, Emory, Cornell, and many others. </p>
<p>However, there are some BAs that do require an audition (but this is not as competitive typically as BFA programs) to be admitted and thus a commitment is involved in appying directly to a program. But the BA has more flexibility than a BFA and may allow for a minor or even a double major. Examples he may wish to look into are: American, Fordham, UCLA, and others. </p>
<p>There are some schools where you start out as a BA but have the option after a year or two to audition into a BFA track if desired, such as at UColorado-Boulder, Tulane, Hofstra, UC Santa Barbara, or Chapman. But at Chapman, you actually have to audition as a freshman just to enter the BA track as well. </p>
<p>I hope this helps.</p>