Who can apply?

• All rising 5th-11th grade students who live within Muscogee County School District. Please note that bus transportation is provided for students attending magnet schools.

• Only high school applicants will complete auditions within their major area. A list of audition criteria can be located here at this linkor through our dashboard. Auditions are not a part of the middle school admissions process.

• We do not require an entry exam or academic testing, however, we do look through each student’s previous academic records including their transcripts from the last few years (taking the challenges of COVID into consideration) and any relevant state testing data that is available. High school applicants (rising 9th grade and above) are required to audition in their arts area.

• RMSOTA offers the following arts areas in our exploratory middle school programs as well as our track-based high school programs: Band (instrumental & percussion), Choral – Vocal Music, Creative Writing, Dance, Classical Guitar, Orchestral – String Instruments, Classical Piano, Theatre, & Visual Art.

• RMSOTA does not allow double-majoring in middle or high school. Each student must select a major track, however, our students do enjoy selecting courses from our long list of arts and academic electives during the course registration process. Schedule permitting, there are many opportunities for our students to study other arts beyond their major track.

• Yes. Middle school students wishing to change their major arts discipline may do so when they register for their courses using the Course Registration form. Because the middle school program is intended to be exploratory, middle school students are able to change their major each year, if they wish to do so. High school students wishing to change their major arts discipline may only do so once prior to the end of their sophomore year. Changes only take place at the beginning of a semester. To transfer majors the student must be in good standing in their current program. Change of Major applications are available in the RMSOTA office. Program Directors of both arts disciplines must approve, in writing, the student’s transfer request. Please note, students on probation may not request a change or transfer of majors.

• Because of ongoing COVID mitigation strategies, our building is currently not open for tours, however, we would welcome you to view our magnet open house video (click here)to get a feel for the various arts areas, the performance/rehearsal/classroom spaces, and the culture of the student body.

• Our students enjoy a broad range of activities after the school day has concluded. Many arts tracks will require additional rehearsal or study time with their instructor to prepare for upcoming performances, however, other clubs and organizations also receive dedicated time in the after-school meeting schedule. This year our clubs & organizations include the 4-H club, Knits & Giggles, Dance Company, Creative Writing Club, K Pop Club, National (and Junior) Honor Society, Thespian Society, Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl Team, Spanish Honor Society, Recycling Team, Academic Decathlon, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Student Government Association, Academic Bowl, RISE Helpers, Rainey Singers, and Literary Magazine.

• No, you do not need to complete an application at this time. Feel free to wait until your move is finalized and you have a firm move-in date and address. All of MCSD’s magnet schools are permitted to work with families moving into the Columbus/Ft. Benning area outside of the typical magnet window. All aspects of the application process are the same (including the audition requirement), however, the application will be completed on paper rather than through the MCSD digital portal. Please contact us by email for additional information.

• Per MCSD’s new policy for the 2023-2024 school year, families who reside outside of Muscogee County may not apply for admission to MCSD’s magnet schools. The only exceptions being students who live on Ft. Benning OR students who are children of MCSD employees and live outside of the district.

• We often receive applications from students who are currently attending private or home schools. Please be sure to upload a complete transcript from the past year including courses completed/in-progress and current grades. If possible, please include 2-3 years of grade records so that we can have a comprehensive look at your academic accomplishments.

• Because the middle school application process does not include an audition, we encourage applicants to be as thorough as possible in their completion of the entire application. Special care should be taken to answer each survey question with appropriate, well-rounded responses so that we can learn as much as possible about you! Also, when you select the teachers whom you would like to write your recommendations, consider reaching out to those teachers separately to inform them of their inclusion in your application as well as a “thank you” for their assistance.

• High school applicants should also be detail-oriented in their completion of the application. Be sure to tell us about any previous artistic experience and why you think RMSOTA would be a good fit for you. What do you hope to learn during your time at RMSOTA? What are your future goals? How does RMSOTA fit into your educational journey? Additionally, high school applicants must take audition preparation seriously. If you have not started preparing, begin today. Each arts instructor is eager to see where you are in your learning and how you might fit into their program area. Be sure to read through the audition criteria (linked here again) for your major track and reach out to the program area instructor(s) by email if you have specific questions.

• Nope! You are good to go. High school applicants, you can expect to hear from us by email in the weeks leading up to your scheduled audition day. An invitation to select a specific time slot will be shared with you and will receive multiple reminders of your upcoming audition appointment. All auditions take place at RMSOTA (1700 Midtown Dr. Columbus, GA 31906). Remember, MCSD will send out email notifications of each applicant’s acceptance, wait-list, or denial status on the evening of February 18, 2022. Applicants who receive offers from multiple schools will have until February 25th at 11:59 PM to make their selection. Applicants who find themselves on a school’s wait-list will receive notification of their current rank on the list. As other applicants higher on the list accept offers at other schools, the wait-list will automatically move up. All unaccepted offers will be rescinded after February 25th at 11:59 PM and any impacted wait-list applicants will be contacted within 24 hours. After that time, the wait-list will be closed— all available seats for the 22-23 school year will have been filled.