Checking in before apps

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
1

<p>Hey all, just wanted to put my name and plans out there, because I'm at the stage where any advice (especially on finances and auditions themselves) is very, VERY welcome. </p>

<p>Stats:
GPA: 3.4 UW, 3.6 W (may improve slightly, as I'm appealing the B+ I got in AP Environmental Science last semester.)
ACT: 31 (35 English, 34 Reading, 30 Science, 26 Math, 8 Essay)
SAT: 2150 (780 CR, 610 M, 760 W)
Extracurriculars: Drama (7 shows in 3 years with the high school), choir, football (1 year), academic team, volunteering, Boy Scouts (Life; sadly, Eagle appears to be mathematically impossible to achieve at this point)</p>

<p>Schools:</p>

<p>Auditioned match/low reach:
Chapman, Fordham LC, NYU, Emerson, BU, Texas Christian, Bennington, UNCSA, DePaul</p>

<p>Auditioned "safety" (academically speaking):
CSU Long Beach</p>

<p>Non-auditioned safeties:
UNC Greensboro, Columbia College Chicago, Ohio University</p>

<p>Other than the two California schools, I'll be auditioning for all of these in February in Chicago. Should I start preparing now? And how? Hiring a coach is financially out of the question. And speaking of finances, anybody know how these schools are with aid? My dad is unemployed, and my mom makes only decent money as a nurse. Basically, what I'm saying is: Help!</p>

2

<p>*EDIT: CSULB should be under “non-audition safety”.</p>

3

<p>My child is in technical theater so I can’t speak to auditions but here are a few tips on finances. </p>

<p>Academics may not be important when it comes to admission to theater school (depends on the school) but they can play a big part in financial aid. Check your GPA and test scores against the GPA and test scores of each school’s students. (You can get this info at the college board site.) In general, if your record exceeds that of a school’s current students, you are more likely to get a good financial aid offer. They will want you because you will make them look better. </p>

<p>However, a free ride is rare. At the more expensive schools, they may offer hefty loan packages. Taking on a lot of debt to pursue an acting career is an ify idea. I am glad to see you have some financial safeties (e.g. UNCSA, state schools) on your list but you may want to add more. </p>

<p>One last thought: talk to your parents and find out exactly what they can afford.</p>

4

<p>I’m not sure if I would put Fordham and NYU a low reaches, especially because of the popularity of their theater programs. but I can’t remember if those schools put more weight on the audition or the application. do you know?</p>

5

<p>NYU is a 50/50 program. It is equal weight to the audition and to your application.</p>

6

<p>that’s what I remember reading! thanks.</p>

7

<p>I would put NYU, BU and UNCSA as reaches, as they are very popular programs that draw auditions from the top talent around the country. Doesn’t mean you won’t get in; it will depend on how well you do at the audition as well as your stats.</p>

<p>About BU – just a reminder, the program admits nearly twice the number of kids and makes cuts at the end of the first year. </p>

<p>Regarding coaching, see if your high school theater teacher - or someone like that, like your middle school drama teacher, if you had one – can meet with you during your lunch to work with you on monologues. </p>

<p>As for financial aid, theater mom has some pretty rock solid advice. you’re likely not to get a lot of merit money from the very competitive schools on your list, but they may offer financial aid. I’d also think Chapman, TCU and Long Beach and UNC-G would be very interested in you SAT scores, so they might offer you merit money as well as financial aid. Obviously, CSU-LB is an academic and financial safety.</p>

8

<p>UVaHoo87, I’m afraid you are confused about Boston University. They do not make cuts.</p>

9

<p>I agree - no cuts at BU. What they did say was that they accept twice as many kids as they expect to fill their class. That’s not a question of cuts, but of yield, and that doesn’t hurt students at all.</p>

<p>Let’s just remind everyone that ANY auditioned school is a REACH. Even the ones that are a little less nail-biting than others only accept about 25% of applicants. That is still in the definition of reach, by any standards, especially since you can’t ever say you’re in the “top” 25% of applicants like you can with academic admissions.</p>

<p>StrangeBro - I’m not sure why you might not have considered Adelphi, but I will say in its favor that along with really loving their BFA program and many other aspects of the school my D got essentially a full-tuition scholarship based on merit/talent, just from her application (we do not qualify for need-based aid). Your stats are very similar, so if money is a big concern, I’d look at Adelphi again.</p>

<p>Will you be going to the Performing Arts schools fair? I didn’t see Adelphi on the list that someone posted, but I know they’ve traveled with that as recently as last year. You could talk to them there. They also accept video auditions - and they do accept people that way.</p>

10

<p>Thanks for the input so far, everyone. EmmyBet: I was considering Adelphi early on in the process, but I just can’t afford to travel enough to make it to their auditions (visiting several of the Northeastern colleges this summer, as well as Unifieds/regionals in Chicago). Because Adelphi won’t be in Chicago, I’m not going to have a chance to audition, as it would be too expensive and time-consuming to fly out to New York separately-- same goes for Tallahassee and FSU, incidentally. </p>

<p>And yes, I’ll be at the Los Angeles PVA college fair. I’ll be sure to check the list of attendees at, say, the end of August for more complete info.</p>

11

<p>I looked at the PVA website, and it doesn’t look like they’ve put which schools will be coming along this fall yet (I searched on several schools, and only got spring dates for any of them). Keep your eye out for Adelphi, since they’ve been on the last several tours. Or e-mail them.</p>

<p>They accept kids very happily from video, and it could add to your list in a very helpful way. Maybe you can take a swing through at least to see the campus this summer? </p>

<p>I am not harping on Adelphi per se - my D hasn’t even started there - but I do think it might be a good option if you want to go east and need really great merit aid. Maybe you can do something of the same thing with the FL schools - people are probably more accommodating than you think. You’re working very hard at this and some of us parents I think are worried that in a worst-case scenario you might end up with only one or two acceptances, or worse some admissions you can’t go to because of finances.</p>

12

<p>StrangeBro - Keep in mind that there will be other schools in Chicago auditioning who not part of the Unifieds consortium so are not listed on the Unifieds website. I know Coastal Carolina will be there in 2012 as will Texas State. Not sure who else but there may be some additional options for you while you are in Chicago. FYI, both CCU and TSU are state schools that offer scholarships that really bring the price down for OOS students. CCU offers both academic money based on grades/test scores and talent scholarships.</p>

13

<p>My apologies. Was probably confusing it with Emerson. Also read in the Washington Post the other day about a local actor, four-time Helen Hayes winner Holly Twyford, whom the article described as having attended BU for two years and was cut from BFA and had to go BA, Theatre. I also thought I read years ago somewhere on CC that BU was a cut program. So again, sorry for passing bad scoop!</p>

14

<p>She must have transferred then, since BU doesn’t have a BA in Theatre, just a minor, which also is auditioned. Everyone should understand that in schools without actual “cuts” - which means they deliberately allow more students to start than they plan to let continue, regardless of their ability or success in the program - you can still be asked to leave or make changes. I’m not trying to be scary, since any college student in any major might find out that either they are not the right fit for their program after all, or that the program is not the right fit for them.</p>

<p>I’m guessing there’s more to this actress’s story, but the real lesson is that she has been plenty successful anyway!</p>