Chances at NYU, Vassar?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Now that admissions have finally been sent out (and I am but a junior, watching all my friends become either filled with elation or. . . well, filled with depression) I thought I'd put my feelers out as to what my chances may be at applying at my top schools next year. My first choice is NYU, followed closely by Vassar, then Bard. I am also applying to Hofstra, as well as Columbia and Cornell (with no high hopes, since Ivy admissions have been particularly difficult in the past years, but aren't they always?) as well as Northwestern, Columbia Chicago, and Loyola. However, I am most interested in my chances at NYU and Vassar.</p>

<p>I intend on being a Drama major at NYU Tisch (which, given the audition process and notoriously difficult admissions, is a whole different ballgame unto itself) and either a Drama/English double major or an Independent program major (likely a Theatre Performance Studies & Criticism major if that's the case) at Vassar. I hope to pursue a career as an actor or theatre critic. </p>

<p>I am a Caucasian female from Illinois, and I will be a first generation college student (no one in my family has attended college up to this point), if that makes any difference. </p>

<p>My high school coursework/activities are detailed below:
-Attended a public high school
-Unweighted GPA of approx. 3.8, weighted GPA of approx. 4.2
- I have yet to take the ACT or the SAT subject tests, but I will be retaking the ACT until I reach a score of 33 or higher. I will be taking the SAT subject tests for Lit and US History.
-Top 25% of my high school class (cannot be certain, our school does not allow us to be actively aware of our rank)</p>

<p>As I have not yet begun senior year, I anticipate my coursework to be as follows by the end of my high school career:</p>

<ul>
<li>4 years of Honors/AP English
-3 years of Math, 2 of those years at an Honors level
-3 years of sciences, 2 of those years at an AP level
-4 years of foreign language
-4 years of music, 3 of those years at an audition level
-Plus 4+ years worth of electives, in the form of additional English classes (with a focus in theatre) and music. </li>
</ul>

<p>AP World History Score: 5
AP Government Score: 4
I will be taking the US History and English Language tests at the end of this year, as well as the European History test next year, anticipating scores of 4 or higher.</p>

<p>Activities:
4th Year Senior, Varsity Speech Team
4 Years in Fall Play
3 Years in Winter One Acts (2 years as an actor, 1 year as a writer/director)
3 Years in Contest Play/GI
1 Year in Spring Musical
1 Year in Concert Orchestra, 4th Chair Viola
1 Year in Concert Choir, 3 Years in Bel Canto Choir</p>

<p>Ranked 9th in the State for Radio Speaking, IHSA Speech (Competed at IHSA Speech State Finals 2011)
Recieved an Academic Excellence Award from my district's school board
24+ Hours of community service</p>

<p>Attended ISU's Summer Speech Camp, 1 week, for Radio Speaking
I anticipate spending one month at Northwestern University's NHSI camp for Acting on Film this summer.</p>

<p>As far as other information goes, I am an experienced writer and am confident in my abilities to write meaningful and unique essays. I have traveled abroad to 8 countries and within the U.S, which will help with choosing topics for essays as well.</p>

<p>Overall I feel that I am a good candidate for either school (although, as I stated above, NYU's audition process makes it difficult to tell, so I'm rooting more for Vassar at this point), but I have my doubts, especially with my GPA. </p>

<p>Can anyone tell me what they believe my chances may be for getting into NYU, Vassar, or my other mentioned schools? Furthermore, are there any tips or hints you might like to add to help me in this process? With 2 months of my junior year left, I have time and room for improvement, so anything would help!</p>

2

<p>Things look pretty good to me. I wouldn’t worry about your GPA at all, as it is very nice. I can’t tell from what you’ve written, but it looks like you got an award for 24 hourse of community service. I am assuming you have done much more than this (100 hours?) but if not you might want to do a little more, especially in your areas of interest. Another idea would be to try to get a leadership position (are you in a drama club or help out with the school newspaper?).
Also, I could give you a better estimate if I had your SAT/ACT scores.
However, even without these things I think you are still a good applicant. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>I have 24 hours of community service, and intend on getting more if possible. I will hold a leadership position on our Speech Team next year, as a Senior Committee Member, but of course that doesn’t apply to me currently. I’ll probably update this thread as soon as I get my ACT scores. Thanks!</p>

4

<p>Admission to Tisch highly dependent on your audition, and as you’ve noted, it’s an extremely competitve program–so while your statistics look reasonable for admission to NYU on an academic basis, it’s really impossible for anyone to chance you. (You might want to pop onto the Musical Theater Major forum for advice on audition preparation–now is the time to start.) Please also keep in mind that if you will need financial aid, NYU is notoriously bad at providing it, while also being one of the most expensive schools in the country.</p>

5

<p>Does the Musical Theatre major forum provide advice for non-MT, Acting only students? I intend on auditioning only for the Acting program/studios.</p>

<p>And yes, the audition process is quite difficult, and while I feel confident, I also feel (of course) that it cannot be predicted, so I suppose I’m looking more at the academic half of my admissions on this thread. </p>

<p>Thanks! I appreciate any and all responses.</p>

6

<p>Sorry, for some reason I was thinking musical theater–there is actually a separate forum for Theater/Drama majors.</p>