"basically, a MT school is looking for someone who will work after they graduate, therefore making a name for their school, blah, blah, blah."
Okay first of all ... Schools are not looking for people who will give their school a name. And the only way image counts to a school, is if you can SELL IT. That is what the whole profession is: selling it. You audition in front of a panel of educators and what you want to show them is you have potential and drive and enthusiasm to be an actor/singer/dancer. There are all different types of characters in musical theatre these days, them not accepting someone who is "selling it" is crap. If you can sell it, you got it. That's what education is for ... to get better and/or more confident about your abilities and talents and to learn techneque.
Since I have been trouble focussing on my school work and have personal family and life crisis' going on over and over, my advisor said that to be a working actor, you do not need to have a degree. If you want it, get it; it'll be there, but so many actors work on Broadway and everywhere without a degree.
Anyways ... come to Kent State!

Great musical theatre program. When I pick a school to just major in a BA in Theatre, I look at what shows the school does. Kent State, not sure about others, do Two musicals a year, and two plays, usually but not always classical. One of our shows in the second semester always has a visitng director. I just did Winter's Tale with Shakespearean director Vincint Dowling. He also discovered Tom Hanks... Next year we are doing Hair, and the director we had originally lined up was Austin Pendleton from the original Broadway Cast of 'Fiddler on the Roof' amongst other credits. That's why I like Kent State, I get to work with people I would normally not work with until I was out of college.