Student Blog: You Think Harvard, Yale, and Columbia Have Low Acceptance Rates? Try 0.4% for a BFA in Musical Theatre

"The Ivy League schools have the most competitive admission rates for undergraduate college programs in the country."

You wanna talk competition?  I was accepted into a college program with a 3.75% acceptance rate. It was not Harvard Business School, Yale Law, or Columbia Medical. Try Rider Musical Theatre. And no, that's no joke.

Exactly 1,966 students were admitted to Harvard’s Class of 2027 this past spring. And in each instance, one can only imagine the streamers, school recognition, and celebratory cakes given to glorify their triumphs. I mean, as they should, these 1,966 students were admitted with a 4% acceptance rate. Columbia University follows closely behind with a 4.1% acceptance rate and Yale with 5.3%.

And yet, whether these students intended to study bioengineering, folklore, or psychology, society applauded them for the competitiveness of their acceptance into these Ivy league institutions.

Conversely, when the one student in that same high school applies to schools to obtain a degree in musical theatre (“MT”), the general public tilts its’ collective head, squints it’s eyes, and with a smug grim, inquires:

 

“You can get a degree for that"?

“What will you do with it"?

And, my personal favorite, “Good luck making money”!

 

Let me be the one to finally address the ignorance behind these remarks. After missing out on many family gatherings, after-school functions, and celebrations in order to train, rehearse, and practice to get into these schools, we, the students of these programs would like to educate the uneducated!

Let’s start with the application process. In addition to the Common Application that consists of essays, test scores, transcripts, and letters of recommendation, musical theatre applicants are required to complete an entirely separate application process for the program of their choice. DOUBLE the work.

In this application process (which can often vary school to school), applicants are required to write one or two MORE essays, answer a handful MORE questions, and then submit, on average, two singings videos, one or two monologue videos, one or two dance videos, and a special skills video to showcase their talent in what is known as a ‘Prescreen’. Let’s do some quick math. The typical MT candidate applies to 16 different schools. That equates to a minimum of:

• 16 college applications
• 1 Common Application essay
• 16 standard additional essays
• 16 MT application essays (that may equate to a total of 33 unique essays because each school requires a different prompt)
• 2 singing videos
• 2 monologue videos
• 2 dance videos
• 1 special skills videos

If you think the application process is over...Oh honey, think again! It has only just begun.

If students are deemed qualified applicants for these musical theatre programs and they pass their prescreens, they are invited to audition for the schools in person with a similar package (songs, monologues, dance audition…you get the gist).

So, on top of managing senior year academics, extra-curriculars (musical theatre students balance their training between three disciplines (singing, dance, & acting), so they are busy to say the least), from the months of December to March, students are required to fly all over the country to audition for these schools individually. Can you say, “break the bank”?

Now you may ask yourself, why apply to so many schools?

This is because the MAJORITY of musical theatre programs have acceptance rates of lower than five percent. In 2018, it was reported that Carnegie Mellon had approximately 3,000 applicants for a total of twelve spots. Do the math. 0.4%. Read it again. The decimal is in the correct place.  To make acceptance an even more amazing feat, traditionally half of those spots go to male-identifying artists and the other half to female. Competition is fierce. And if that was not difficult enough, MT programs want people of all walks of life, race, religion, ethnicity in order to create the most inclusive and well-rounded program. Admission into an MT program makes a Mission Impossible movie look like a walk in the park.

Ok, then we get into college. PHEW!

“You just sing and dance? Really? That’s an easy school day.”

Yes, we do sing and dance all day. Emphasis on ALL. Most of these Bachelor of Fine Art’s programs have an average of seven to ten required courses per semester. So, on top of the three to four classes an MT student takes a day, if you are cast in the school’s season of shows, then you have rehearsal all evening after classes as well.

"What do weekends look like?"

Of course, we get to have fun, but you would be surprised to learn how many weekends a year are spent traveling to some nearby city to be seen for an upcoming professional production or auditioning for a school show.

"Can you participate in Greek life or clubs outside of your major?"

You can, but be prepared to miss out on a handful of events and many board responsibilities.

"Do you have time to go out?"

I want you to picture a dance studio consisting of thirty musical theatre majors at 10:00pm on a Friday night. They have rehearsal for an upcoming showcase. When they are on a break at rehearsal, they are sitting on the floor, leaning against the studio mirrors, attempting to do their makeup and straightening their hair for the party they will rush to make that night.

Play hard. Worker harder. Quite the rush, right? Welcome to our degree.

Unlike many students across the country, musical theatre majors cannot carelessly go out on a Thursday night and show up to statistics the next morning hungover.

That is because our “statistics” is ballet class. And like every class in our major, participation and attendance are graded and mandatory. Our bodies must remain in tip top shape in order to stay on top of our class requirements.  If you don't have ballet, you probably have some performance-based class where daily presentations are required. A hangover, accompanied by a raspy throat or a weary body, just does not cut it. And it does not prepare you for that belted high G you have to hit in the song's chorus. 

What most people fail to recognize during their half-ass analysis of our MT curriculum, is that our degree is directly applicable to our professional career. We work on audition technique, music theory, vocal, dance, and acting technique, etc. We are even taught the business elements of our industry such as the intricacies of contracts, etc.

In addition, we learn how to be articulate, collaborative, and how to advocate and market ourselves as our own enterprise. Everything we learn is a tool fitting nicely into the tool belt we brought on the first day of class. Can you say the same for every major?

Yes, business majors take management, marketing, accounting, and finance classes. However, the majority of these classes lecture on the theoretical, and they rarely provide real world application.

Working professionals are not analyzing marketing problems from the framework learned in school. They are not plugging random numbers into a formula and solving all of the finance problems in their company.

This essay is not made to complain or lament the facts of a MT student’s life. We chose this life. We own that and we wouldn’t trade it for the world. Nothing beats standing on a stage and telling a beautiful story to a receptive audience. We love the fast paced, ever changing, unpredictable environment that is our major and our industry. However, we just want a little respect for the hustle.

So, the next time someone tells you they are studying musical theatre, applaud them for the work and praise them for the guts. We actors are doing what most are afraid to do. We step outside our comfort zones on stage and in life. We neglect the path of those before us and study what we love because we believe so strongly that we can make a difference in this world.

And we will, just wait.

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