<p>Flummoxed, as your grades and career aspirations (teaching and/or performing) seem to make you a perfect fit for Northwestern, please let me just point out that while you audition into the MT Certificate Program after your freshman or sophomore year, your major is Theatre from the get-go, and the training is substantially similar whether you make the certificate program or not. Freshman year also gives you time to take care of many of your academic distribution requirements, freeing you up for more theatre electives down the road.</p>
<p>For someone with your strengths and perceived weaknesses, a strong academic non-audition program might be just the ticket.</p>
<p>That said, please remember to include at least one totally safe non-audition school among those to which you apply. You seem like a lock for NU, but in the real world, of course, there are no sure things!</p>