<p>Alright so I'm currently a second year student at Santa Monica community college and I want to transfer to either USC or UCLA's acting program.</p>
<p>The problem is though that they expect really high GPAs from those that transfer in.</p>
<p>I still need to take Bio, but unfortunately I can't take it on pass/fail anymore because I used up my pass/fail for Astronomy and USC only wants students to take a class on 1 pass/fail.</p>
<p>My counselor suggested that I take Bio during my last semester at SMC and I take it by itself so that I can get as good a grade as possible.</p>
<p>But that'll delay my transfer and graduation and I've heard that the older you are, the more difficult it is to break into Hollywood.</p>
<p>So I want to ask you this.... Is it more important to get a good GPA, or to transfer as soon as possible in my situation.... Please help.</p>
<p>(My GPA is 4.0 currently if that counts for anything)</p>
<p>Other people know more about those schools, but I’ll at least say this:</p>
<p>1) You need to find out when those schools, specifically the theatre majors, typically take transfers - some only take them in the fall, so it doesn’t matter if you go another semester in CC. If they’ll take you in the spring, I don’t see how any class is going to improve a 4.0 GPA.</p>
<p>2) If you’re worried about “breaking into Hollywood,” I’d hate to think that 6 months is going to make all that much difference. Call me naive, but I’m guessing it’s how you look than your calendar age, anyway. Or, if you’re really in that much of a hurry, people who are trying to get into acting as quickly as possible seem to go the non-college training route, such as AMDA. They won’t care about your GPA or credits or anything.</p>
<p>Honestly then I think you should go as quickly and cheaply as you can, with a major that works for you. Would they pay for you to be a theatre major?</p>
<p>If you are in LA, I imagine you can do as others have, which is audition while you’re in school. I’m wondering if CC actually gives you the best flexibility for something like that. A lot of theatre programs won’t allow you.</p>
<p>People here are only going to be able to give you advice about schools - we’re not experts on career prospects.</p>
<p>If your trying to “break into Hollywood” there is no reason you can’t legitimately do that while still attending school. My son is in HS and has had a NYC agent and a few jobs here or there that didn’t impact his school or vs versa…</p>
<p>If you truly are someone with talent then find a legitimate agent that will represent you. There is no cost to you with a legitimate agent. You could also take classes in acting that would help you.</p>
<p>I agree with your parents that as an actor you need to have marketable skills that college will give you if you aren’t successful. And remember there are very very very…few people that are successful in Hollywood. That doesn’t mean I don’t think you should try.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that if you transfer into one of those programs, you will most likely not be allowed to audition for things outside the school. As a tranfer student myself, i know how hard it is to transfer in to UCLA and USC, so keep in mind that they only accept transfers as replacements for kids who drop/ are kicked out. Compared to the 20+ freshmen they accept, they accept maybe 3-4 transfer students each year… If you truly want to be an actor i suggest you transfer as quickly as possible and make up the bio unit once you get into one of the schools (if that is possible). Additionally, it is not guaranteed that the colleges will even accept all of your units, so I’d check on what you’ll be able to transfer.</p>