There’s a few threads on this already but it would be so helpful if I could get some insight into the level of importance certain college theatre programs place on grades, test scores, etc. I am looking into a straight acting major, though I previously was only interested in musical theatre but I’ve changed my mind for the most part. I currently am a junior in high school with a 3.65 GPA and a 27 on the first ACT I took.
My top 10 list for schools (in no particular order):
Julliard
NYU Tisch
Carnegie Mellom
SUNY Purchase
Syracuse
Rutgers
Marymount Manhattan
DePaul
UofArts
CalArts
So if you guys know about any of these colleges specifically that would be great, and also any other programs that you think I should add to my list!
CalArts and Juilliard don’t care and don’t even require SAT/ACT. NYU definitely cares and you need good scores and grades to get in. Carnegie wants to see scores and grades, but if the BFA program wants you, you get in. The other schools I can’t really remember, but I think UArts has a lower academic threshold as does Marymount. Keep your grades up this year and next, retake the ACT and try to bump it up – grades and scores will help with merit scholarships. You might also want to look at some schools that have a strong theatre BA (Skidmore comes to mind) that would be a good safety. BFA programs are so competitive that none of them are really “safe.” Good Luck!!!
Just a quick FYI: my D had a 3.64 and 1280/1940 SATs (academically strong suburban high school) and got into Tisch. (She was also accepted to Marymount Manhattan - they gave her a lot of academic money, as did Pace, Muhlenberg and Point Park.)
Caveat: she did Tisch’s summer high school last year and had very positive reviews from them, so that may have helped.
Not acting, but my D got into Rutgers Mason Gross theatre department and waitlisted at DePaul Theatre School for their BFA costume design programs with a 3.05 GPA.
I would also add that the majority of the schools on your list are VERY artistically selective. If you are set on BFA, you might want to think about some less selective programs, with the CLEAR understanding that there is no such thing as an audition based safety. Therefore, you should be sure your final list includes some non auditions schools (that are academic and financial safeties) as well.
There are two ways in which your grades and test scores are important:
Some schools such as NYU and Emerson are academically competitive to varying degrees, AND have a strong liberal arts component. They will expect you to be academically as well as artistically strong.
Many schools give good scholarship money for strong academics. Places like Marymount Manhattan, for example, may award as much as $15,000 per year in scholarships for strong academic credentials. They also have talent scholarships. (Not all schools give merit scholarships, but many do)
As for schools to add to your list, you don’t seem to have a geographic preference so the list would be long and varied. Emerson, Northwestern, Boston University, Fordham…just to give a diverse sample of strong Drama programs with strong academics. But do yourself a favor and include at least a couple of non-audition safety schools. As you will see from the “final decisions” thread, there is no predicting where you will get accepted artistically.
My daughter is a BFA Acting major at UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County). She was very strong academically in high school and is on a full-tuition scholarship for academics in college. There are also up to full-tuition arts scholarships. UMBC is an Honors University and very strong in the STEM field. It also has an honors program you can apply for if you like an extra academic boost as well. She’s graduating this semester and has had wonderful opportunities including participating in the Irene Ryan monologue competition at the regional Kennedy Center College Theater conference, and performing in two original plays that were wonderful! There is also a student-run musical theater club that can allow you to enjoy performing in musicals if you want. UMBC is a little-known program but offers a wonderful education.
I think your stats are fairly good and will not be a deterrent to getting into most places if your talent wows them. However, you could probably get better merit aid if you can raise them.
Yes, it might be possible to get slightly better merit aid with higher GPA. The SAT scores are really quite good. The thing is, by the time you are a second-semester junior, your GPA isn’t going to move much. You already have 5 semesters in the books, and will only have at most 2 more by the time aid decisions are made.
So I would say, keep doing what you are doing academically and prepare for your auditions. The artistic part is much more selective (and much more of a crapshoot) than the academic part.
Most schools offer significant academic merit starting at ACT 29/30 minimum. To get full academic scholarships, you need a 32/33 which at this point is statistically unlikely.
@Walker1194 - I would say that 30 is a strong merit number at “many” ( rather than “most”) schools. For example - there are schools on the OPs list, like NYU (which doesn’t really do merit w/o need) or CMU where a 30 isn’t going to get a ton of $$.
I should have specified state schools. It is getting harder and harder to get full tuition academic merit
scholarships at any school. At NYU and CMU getting a significant merit scholarship is almost impossible.
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