Hello everyone!
I just got off of my big summer college visiting tour, and have finally compiled a list of schools that I believe I’m happy with. I’m intending to major in theatre (with a concentration in directing and/or playwriting) and possibly double major or just minor in psychology if I end up going to a non-BFA program. The reason I’m posting is because I’m completely unsure of my chances with some schools (aka, I have no idea what to classify as a “reach,” “match,” or “safety”) and was hoping for some help with the board. These are the schools I am intending to apply to:
Bard College
BC
BU (requires portfolio review)
Conn College
Fordham (requires audition)
Eastern CT State University (father and brother attended)
NYU (requires portfolio review)
Oberlin
UConn (sister attended)
Wesleyan
Just two quick notes before I post my stats:
- My school has a serious case of grade deflation, and as such our average accepted GPAs for most schools is about 0.1-0.2 points lower than normal (ex. our average Yale GPA is 3.6, while overall Yale's is 3.8).
- We don't let students take APs until junior year, and even then you're discouraged from taking more than two a semester (three is the absolute limit). This is because my school hates the pure memorization that a lot of these classes entail, and prefers to create their own curriculums. We also don't have AP English or Psychology.
Both of these things are explained by our college counselors to schools, so it’s not a problem.
BASIC INFO
– Gender: Female
– State: Connecticut
– Religion: Catholic (I think this might matter a bit with Fordham and BC? But idk.)
– Financial Aid: Yes
– School Type: College Prep
– School’s Ivy/Stanford/MIT Matriculation: ~25%
TEST SCORES/SCHOOLWORK
Test Scores:
– SAT: 1400 (750 CR, 650 M – will be retaking. I hope to improve by 70-100 points.)
– APs: English Lit (5), English Lang (5)
– SAT II: None of the schools I’m applying to require them, so my counselor said not to bother.
Schoolwork:
– GPA: ~3.2-3.4 (haven’t gotten my updated GPA since beginning of junior year.)
– Class Rank: School doesn’t rank.
– Sophomore Year courses (report only APs/advanced classes): Advanced Film Production
– Junior Year Courses (report only APs/advanced classes): AP Music Theory [Part I]
– Senior Year Courses (report only APs/advanced classes): AP Music Theory [Part II], AP Biology.
– Trends: I went from low B’s with the occasional A- freshman year, to practically all A’s by the end of junior year.
EXTRACURRICULARS
Main ECs:
– Drama Club (Head): We do six to seven productions a year at my school, and I’m involved in all of them. This club has basically been my life for the last three years. I’ve done quite literally everything (performing, stage-managing, lighting design, soundboard operating, directing, choreographing…), but have found my strong-suits lie in directing and lighting design. I was also nominated for a statewide award last year for my dedication to theatre.
– Student Produced Drama Club (Artistic Director): A sub-club of the above, it’s the club I use to direct my own shows and produce shows that I’ve written. I have directed two short one-acts through it thus far, and will be directing a full-length production later this summer.
– Stage/Screenwriting Club (Head/Co-Founder): I created this club last year in an attempt to get more student-made work done on campus. I also get in contact with the Student Productions and Film clubs to get students’ scripts produced in some capacity.
– Film Club: I’m less actively involved with this than the other three, but I still submit scripts/help with filming when I get the chance.
– Senior Adviser: Basically, I’m assigned 6-10 freshmen, and I help them navigate the school, adjust to six hours of homework a day, and so forth. About 80-90 students apply and 20 are chosen based on merit.
– American Sign Language Club (Head): I self-taught myself ASL a few years ago (though I’m still learning) and decided to make a club of it. I wrote the curriculum myself and organize events based around learning ASL.
– Student Ambassador: I do tours of our campus, answer questions from prospective students/their families, and try and convince alumni to donate to the school. All administrative stuff, really.
OTHER
Summer Activities:
– I’ve been a volunteer librarian since the seventh grade, and have 500+ hours there.
– I spent two summers taking classes (geometry and a required history course) so that I could get into more advanced classes during the school year.
– I’ve done some sort of theatre production every year during the summer, and come August I will be directing one.
– I have a part-time job at a local business.
– I’ll be performing at a famous theatre festival later this summer.
Recs:
– I have very close relationships with both the teachers writing my recommendations (one is a biology teacher and the other is my playwriting teacher) and I expect them both to be rather good.
Essay:
– Currently four sentences thrown onto a GoogleDoc. I’m working on it. Since writing is my strong suit I think it’ll be good, but then again, everyone says that.
I think that’s about everything. If there’s any more information needed, please feel free to ask.
Also, if anyone has school recs that I haven’t listed, I’m game to hear them. My only requirements are that they’re within 2 1/2 hours of NYC or in Boston (Oberlin is my one exception) and that they have a theatrical directing program. (Just because I know it’ll get mentioned – I saw Emerson and honestly was not a fan.)
Thanks so much! 