Walnut Hill School?

[ElFantasma14]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 12:14am

Does anyone here know anything about the Walnut Hill School of the Arts in Natick, MA? I know that they have a pretty well known summer program and they're one of the only full time performing arts high schools in the county, and I was thinking about applying there for next year. I would like to know how difficult the auditions are, how competitive it is, etc. Also, I heard somewhere that the academic portion of the school wasn't as good as other schools, is there any truth to this? Thanks.

[ElFantasma14]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 10:27pm

Ok, I guess no one's familiar with it. What about Interlochen? Same questions, please.

[keithmichael]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 11:14pm

i would say that the two are very similar with a strong musical theatre base. as far as i've heard, the training is very good. one of interlochen's girls got into juilliard this year. the drawback to these programs are their, dare i say, ridiculous costs. what state do you live in? there are some other high schools that might be more accessible for the same training. esp. NCSA and the SC governor's school.

[jaesdare]

Posted: 7/3/07 at 11:54pm

I can´t speak about Walnut Hill, but I just graduated as a two year senior theatre major from Interlochen (2 years at camp for musical theatre as well).
First let me address the cost issue, I would never have been able to attend without the amazing financial aid they give, they even have work-study opportunities. 70% of Interlochen students receive some kind of financial aid and scholarship.
You can either audition in person or by video, if you dedicate yourself and make it great, there´s a pretty decent chance you can get in. Roughly 300 people apply for theatre every year and somewhere from 18-26 spots open up. There is no musical theatre major, it is an acting major (Stanislavski based) with ALOT of classes in musical theatre/dance. Some opt to be voice majors.
I went to a really selective, college prep high school before attending Interlochen (all AP´s and honors). Interlochen´s academics are much more suited to creative minds, and far superior, in my opinion. You also have to have pretty good grades to get in, helps in the admission and financial aid process.
If you have any more questions feel free to PM me.

[withoutlovewithoutU]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 10:25am

I don't know a huge amount about walnut hill, but I know, like, three people who went there and they all said great things about it. The only bad thing I heard about it is that it is pretty pricey.

[ElFantasma14]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 11:49am

Thanks for the responses. I live in a suburb of Boston, so I'd be able to go as a day student to Walnut, but i'd have to board at Interlochen. Interlochen sounds great, but I'm going to wait until next school year (08/09) to apply because I'd need financial aid and the website says it's first come, first serve. I'm thinking of apply to Walnut Hill for this coming year, but I'm afraid I won't get financial aid because I'm applying late. Also, I'd like to board there, but I'm fine with going during the day. Does anyone know if they're more likely to accept you if you choose to come as a day student rather than board? Also, I'm one of the top students in my class. Are academics a big part of whether you get accepted into these schools?
Updated On: 7/4/07 at 11:49 AM

[musicman_17082]

Posted: 7/9/07 at 12:04am

I live in a tiny little rural town way out West. One of my best friends went to Walnut Hill her sophomore year and just graduated last year. She left as a pretty good singer and awesome performer. She came back an AMAAAAZING, INCREDIBLE, OUTSTANDING vocalist and brilliant performer! She is UNREAL.

She has nothing but good things to say about her experience. She loved it to death and the skills she learned there have literally transformed her. She is now at McGill as a vocal major and through some Walnut Hill connection got to study in Venice opera in Venice last year.

I will ask her more questions tomorrow about the acedemic aspects and pricing, etc. If I remember correctly she didn't receive as good of an SAT score as she wanted... but that could be largely contributed to the fact that she lived and breathed music and practiced hours and hours every night.

I'll keep you posted if she tells me anything else!

(In fact she went to Interlochen too and loved it... I'll ask her about that too!)

[ElFantasma14]

Posted: 7/9/07 at 5:41pm

Thank you so much, musicman!