Alternatives

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
1

Hi,

My son is in the midst of the nail-biting phase of applying to acting programs for next year. So far, his academic record has been a major obstacle. He’s gotten rejected because of it by 3 schools, has been wait-listed by a third, and admitted into the acting program of another but hasn’t heard yet if he has gotten in academically. He hasn’t heard anything either way from the rest. I’m starting to wonder if we shouldn’t be thinking about alternatives so I was wondering if anyone out there had any recommendations. As far as I see it, he could:

  • Take gen. ed. classes at a junior or community college for at least a year. If he does well there, I guess that would help academically and would take care of those requirements. However, if he can't find acting opportunities while doing that, I think his soul would wither away. Even if he's successful there, I realize that he'd still have to go the full four years to complete most BFA programs if he got to transfer the next year.
  • Take a gap year and maybe do a commercial drama or screen writing certificate program, then apply again next year. But that won't necessarily help him get into a college program, will it? It won't show academic improvement, which is what I assume he would need to get into a BFA program the next year. Does anyone know how college admissions would view that sort of experience?
  • Do the waiter-by-day/actor-by-night kind of thing in NYC or LA, i.e., looking for acting work while supporting himself financially doing something menial. Any idea how that would affect his chances of getting into a program the next year? I would have concerns that he might find it hard to go back to school again but maybe it would help him mature and become more focused on doing what it takes academically.
  • Find some other program to apply for this year, although it's getting so late is that even a possibility? The ones I've looked at so far have been closed. We were trying to stick to the NE but maybe we should broaden the search area.

I hope we won’t need to follow through on any of these, but figure doing research early can’t hurt. In hindsight, we should have done more checking on schools that place less emphasis on grades and concentrated on applying to those. In looking even further back, maybe some of the time spent on theatrical activities should have been shifted to academic studies. Oh well, water under the bridge… Maybe our experiences will help a future aspiring drama school applicant.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

2

There was a recent discussion on the MT forum about a gap year. Here’s the link:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1867481-gap-year-from-high-school-to-college-to-audition-for-mt-schools-my-experience.html#latest

3

u arts has rolling admissions and a late audition

4

Also if you try again next year, CCPA roosevelt has pretty relaxed academic requirements (but talent is competitive).

5

There are many different options, depending on what he wants.

Does he want to go the college route, or would he consider a 2-year conservatory program, possibly one with the option to earn a BA through a university with an articulation agreement?

Is he interested in taking a gap year, training, working, and reapplying to a slightly different list of schools with less stringent academic requirements?

Does he want to go to a school that has more stringent academic admissions requirements, and take some GenEds at CC, and then reapply (the challenge here, as you mention, is that he may lose freshman status at many schools, so it could change the admissions requirements and timeline)?

There may be still be some schools accepting applications, and with auditions. Does he want to add a few schools to his list?

Broadening his search, either this year (or next, if he takes a gap year) could yield some schools he might love that he does not yet know about.

All that being said, it sounds like he still has schools left to hear from. As Yogi Berra said “it ain’t over 'till it’s over.” This is the hardest time of year… some decisions in, some pending, auditions over or winding down, lots of time for contemplating and second guessing.

6

Just wanted to say thanks for the advice and provide an update. My son got into a couple of colleges, including one of his top choices!! And we are still waiting to hear from a couple more. Now we just have to figure out if we can pay for it…