<p>I'm currently a sophomore in high school who has, to be blunt, awful grades. I transferred from a brick-and-mortar public school to an online charter school, and it certainly messed me up big time. I am NOT disciplined nor am I particularly motivated when it comes to grades (mainly in math- I don't want to be an engineer, I have no desire to learn about conic sections as they are thrust upon me), so I went from breezing through 9th grade with all A's (all honor's classes) to barely scraping by with a 3.0 GPA (still all honors) in my 10th grade year. </p>
<p>I'm returning to my previous public school next year so I can focus on my academics until I'm ready to graduate. I don't think there's any hope for me to get a perfect GPA by May of 2015, or even anything around a 3.5 (but darn it, I'm definitely going to try!), considering I'm smack in the middle of my High School career. That being said, how high of a priority to conservatory/BFA theatre programs place on high school transcripts? </p>
<p>I've been told that conservatory programs secretly don't care about grades as long as you're good in whatever discipline you're choosing. Is this true? Even if it is true, should I definitely strive to make the best grades as possible in case I don't get into a program such as Juilliard or CMU? </p>
<p>Theatre is my passion, and I would love to make a career out of it. But first I need to worry about my grades and how it'll affect whether or not I even can get a BFA.</p>
<p>It really will vary depending upon the school. Some BFA programs do not really look too much at grades (although they can come into play in relationship to making decisions between two similar applicants look and talent-wise… and they often are a factor in scholarship consideration). Other BFA program do take grades into consideration as part of the decision making process.</p>
<p>There are many ways to obtain performing arts training… individual classes and coaches, non-academic conservatory programs, conservatory based BFA programs, more academically balanced BFA programs, more professionally focused BA programs, more academic BA programs supplemented with outside training, MFA programs…</p>
<p>At this point focusing on academics, training, and opportunities is the way to go. The better your grades are the more options you may have to consider in terms of programs. This coming summer would also be a good time to start looking at different types of programs on line… look at curriculum, training options, admissions requirements, etc… </p>
<p>Also, you should consider addressing the issue of the charter school debacle in your applications somewhere. </p>
<p>You mention Juilliard and Carnegie Mellon – those are two of the most difficult programs to get into, maybe THE most difficult, so you definitely want to explore other options. Most of the students applying to auditioned BFA programs apply to a lot of schools.</p>
<p>Showing dedication and an improvement in GPA upon returning to public high school along with challenging yourself with a few honors and an AP course will be key. Hopefully you can score within the acceptable zone for the SATs or the ACTs Even having a 3.0 with decent scores can actually help with talent scholarships. Plenty of students do poorly Freshman and Sophomore year and then get the hang of things by Junior year and show steady progress in their GPA. Please do not lose that drive and ambition that we see in your post. There are a handful of schools that require that your GPA is on par with the standards of their other applicants. There are many schools that are looking at your talent audition and will look at a compelling essay and the life experience that you have gained from your ambitious attempt to try an alternative program. Please peruse the posts in this subforum that will introduce you to fabulous options and do not keep your heart set on Julliard and CMU as the End Game. Perhaps they are the schools for you but it is too early in the process for you to hang your hat on them. Also, even in most conservatory programs you will need to take some gen eds and if you wind up in a highly competetive school you will need to keep up your grades in gen eds even in Math in those very selective schools. Best of luck to you. Keep motivated to work on the academics and we look forward to hearing how you do.</p>
<p>Thank you for the informative answers! While CMU and Juilliard would be a dream to attend, I certainly have other programs and schools in mind to fall back on. </p>
<p>I’m definitely going to work through the summer to refresh myself on the classes that gave me trouble, and I will certainly give both my academics and my acting 100%. I’ll keep everything in mind and definitely am going to up my game this year. </p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for being so courteous. :)</p>
<p>It is important to do your best school work. It might mean picking only a few productions to be in, with more work toward your grades, and that would be smart.</p>
<p>Yes, care about your grades, but I have to say that a 3.5 with lots of honors and even a 3.0 can get you accepted academically to many great BA and BFA programs in theatre, and get you some really great merit scholarships, too.</p>
<p>I can’t help feeling that since your theatre dream schools are Carnegie Mellon and Juilliard, and you think a 3.5 is an “awful” GPA, you need to do some good research and talking to people about the incredible spectrum of opportunities out there for a great college education. It’s very important not to get caught in a “super-elite” trap in any college admissions process, because <10% admissions rates are a crapshoot for anyone, period. </p>
<p>It’s especially helpful in this field because some real theatre gems are in schools that someone might turn their nose up at academically - great colleges, but not on anyone’s “top 25” lists. The great thing about that is all of the scholarships kids get with high B averages and good test scores. But the auditioned programs are still quite competitive to get into.</p>
<p>A 3.0 is a GOOD grade point average. You can do just about anything with a 3.0, there are lots of college programs in lots of subjects that will be interested in you.</p>
<p>We meet a lot of people here on college confidential who seem to think they need to be perfect, and have a 4.0 GPA. I realize some parents raise their children this way (my parents certainly did!!). But it is a lie. You do not need a 4.0 GPA, you do not need to be perfect.</p>
<p>There are a lot of people who you would probably consider really stupid (at least I do) who still get into college!</p>
<p>Look, none of this stuff matters. High school doesn’t matter, it’s not as big a deal as people make it out to be. Stop listening to the people who are telling you you need a 4.0 GPA or whatever. Sit and think about where you want to be in ten years. An actor, what? Then find the people who are doing the things you want to do, and find out how they really got there. I’m sure they didn’t have 4.0 GPAs. (Again, don’t listen to these people who are telling you you NEED a 4.0 GPA, they are absolutely wrong!!) If you don’t like subjects like math, and don’t want to be an engineer, why are you even taking math? Find some goals that you actually want to achieve, and then hopefully you will find the discipline and the motivation to achieve those goals. Nobody can ask you to have discipline and motivation for goals that you don’t actually want.</p>
<p>Depending on what your goals are, it’s possible that you don’t actually need GPA’s, or college degrees, or any of these things to achieve them.</p>
<p>KEVP - I totally respect your opinion, but please remember you may be talking to a very young and impressionable high school student. Please be careful what you say, and how nonchalant you say it. Comments like “high school doesn’t matter” can be taken out of context, and prove disastrous for some young people.</p>
<p>Supportive – that may be true for BA programs but I really have to question how relevant they are for determining aptitude for a BFA program. The two most sought after programs – Juilliard and CMU – don’t even take them into account at all. NYU and BU are the only two BFA programs I know of that appear to give any meaningful weight to grades. And even for these schools, this appears to be driven more by separate bodies in admission than it is the acting faculty believing it is a stong indicia of success in the program. </p>
<p>Some kids (like mine) are just not wired to thrive in a class room and that same counter wiring is part of what makes many of them thrive in a studio.</p>
<p>Since you have some much time I would also spend your time studying this summer for the SAT’s. Nice scores do lead to greater merit aid even at arts based colleges. I think Stagemum has talked about that in regard to her son.</p>
<p>My son had truly dreadful grades (well below a 3.0 GPA), but managed to hit one Critical Reading test out of the park, while scoring in the 600-700 range on other tests. I think his “super-score” was 2070). I think DePaul’s Theatre School states that they have a certain academic minimum (2.5 GPA, perhaps; I’ve forgotten the SAT/ACT scores they gave, but they are not terribly high). Some other BFA programs also have a declared threshold. Our guide at Mason Gross (Rutgers) plainly said “we don’t care about your grades.” I know Emerson and NYU do consider academic records seriously. Some other schools, including Pace, require academic admission before they schedule an audition for the BFA program. SopraNOPE - you sound qualified for all but the most academically-selective programs right now, and a strong showing this year might move you into competition for them, also. The advantage of keeping your academic status up is that it will provide options for you. All auditioned BFA programs are highly selective, and notoriously unpredictable. There are many superb, non-audition, BA programs out there, but they will all base admission entirely on your academic record. Some will be “holistic,” and will consider recommendations, essays, extracurricular activities heavily, also. Don’t presume that your grades won’t be adequate. They might not be strong enough for, say, Northwestern, but you ought to be able to find a nice assortment of auditioned and non-auditioned programs - BAs and BFAs - to apply to. My son received a nice “Artist Grant,” despite his poor academic record, and he’s extremely happy.</p>
<p>Well, my son is being homeschooled and has no grades at all, so I guess I’ll keep you all posted as far as how <em>that</em> turns out! He did do very well on his SATs though (2200). AN unusual mix, I suppose. He will be taking a gap year in part because he doesn’t yet know what direction he wants to take in the next five years or so;and as I’ve mentioned in other forums, will be taking RCS’s summer classes. I honestly have no idea how being homeschooled with no grades will impact his admissions, if he does apply for a program next year. Again, I guess I’ll keep you all posted!</p>
<p>It’s the conservatory programs that are the hardest to get into. So OP do the best you can in high school. </p>
<p>You have the time to turn things around. And you will feel such a sense of pride when you do and that will carry over to your acting. This is really a no-brainer guys. Only good can come from working to your best potential in high school, it will help with access to certain college conservatory programs and more merit aid. </p>
<p>Also, on the note of the likes of Juilliard and not caring about grades. The reports that it most often takes on more mature, even older then high school graduate students with life experience, speaks to the fact that the school may be looking for students with a different form of intelligence perhaps emotional, interpersonal, introspective, ect… So enlarging that part of yourself in high school is also important.</p>
Not really-- I have been following “gifted homeschooling” message boards since the late 90s. Gifted kids are often homeschooled, and colleges are more used to these applications than ever. For academic-focused programs, the schools like to see hard evidence, such as standardized test scores and college courses. I doubt that being homeschooled will affect your son’s chances of admission.</p>
<p>Sadly my entire family consists of professional overachievers, so I always get the “your grades are okay, but they could be so much better!” tirade, which makes me very paranoid and dissatisfied with my academics. About the homeschooling- has anyone tried both traditional homeschooling and strictly online classes? Are there any benefits that traditional homeschooling has over the online schools? I attend my state’s Connections Academy, which is decent, but I really can’t learn without one-on-one, face-to-face interaction. </p>
<p>Since I definitely need to work on my schooling and personal growth before considering college, would anyone recommend “traditional” homeschooling over going back to a brick-and-mortar public school?</p>
<p>Actingdad, I notice you mentioned that CMU does not care about grades for their BFA admissions, which surprised me. When my son attended LA Unifieds 2 years ago, CMU told him grades do matter. As I’ve posted before, they admitted him on the spot and noted his grades (as self reported) meant they could do that right then. They implied (or at least he thought they implied–he was so wildly excited at that point) that as long as his official gpa/SAT matched he was in! I’m bringing this up here simply to suggest that grades, even for CMU’s BFA, have a threshold which makes sense given CMU’s students must achieve well on university GEs among a peer group of high achieving academic student body. </p>
<p>In fact, this is true with BFAs within well-regarded academic universities (Northwestern, CMU, NYU, UCLA (BA), USC and so on) where a the bar on gpa can certainly be lower for talented applicants, but not ignored completely. For this reason, I think every ambitious actor/tech who wants more options to attend these sorts of universities should try to achieve on all levels of work, rather than hope their talent/resume/audition alone will carry them through.</p>
<p>Madbean – my daughter was told that directly from CMU full time faculty this summer that grades aren’t part of the decision making. I suppose there could be some test case like a D average that could change that but in the normal case grades/test scores do not play a role.</p>