I’m looking for a performance-based school (where grades aren’t considered as heavily as the audition), more like an intensive conservatory. My ideal location would be NY or LA.
I’ve recently been accepted to AMDA NY, I’ve seen a lot of negative reviews (none of them are that recent), but I want to keep my options open.
Most of the top acting programs focus on the audition rather than academics: Carnegie Mellon, Juilliard, UNCSA, Rutgers, etc. Only a few focus on academics as well.
If you want a conservatory but don’t care if you get a college degree, then Stella Adler, Neighborhood Playhouse, Atlantic Studio, Circle in the Square, and the Esper Studio offer excellent training, and acceptance is based solely on the audition.
You say you were accepted to AMDA but “want to keep your options open.” Are you a high school senior who’s already gone through the audition season? Application deadlines have passed for Fall 2018 admission pretty much everywhere at this point. If you want to apply to top conservatories (both BFA programs and non-college conservatories), you’d be applying for the following year.
I am a senior at an early college, so I have another year of college left. AMDA allowed me to audition for fall 2019 and I figured it wouldn’t hurt.
Ah, so you’re not looking for BFA programs then, since you don’t need a college degree. In that case, definitely try for Stella Adler and the other conservatories I mentioned.