<p>Hello! So, I am a senior in high school this year and am applying to colleges for acting/theater. I leave high school half day so I can take theater classes. So, I take my core classes in the morning and then take acting, dance, voice etc. I've done this my junior and senior year. Last year my schedule was Honors English 11, AP Bio, Trig, Honors US History. This year it is AP Lit (online), a local community college class (online), AP Euro, and Honors International Relations. I take so few classes because they are all I can fit in in my morning. I took Spanish from 8th to 10th grade. I've been putting so much weight on my auditions that now I am stressing about my class loads! Will I be penalized for not taking 4 years of math/science/language or will my precollege program/audition be more important? At certain schools, I know grades and audition are weighted 50/50. I'm still in NHS and volunteer at my schools program. I have a 3.8 GPA and am in the top 25% of my class but my lack of some classes makes me worry. I'm applying to NYU, Pace, Fordham, Marymount, Hunters, Point Park, Conn College, UNCSA, UCLA, Chapman, Sarah Lawrence, Columbia College, Boston U, and Hartt.
I'm aware that that is a lot but some are non audition programs and others are definite reaches (NYU, etc.) and I want to make sure I cover all my bases. Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Your grades and record are respectable enough to clear the academic hurdle at most of the schools you’ve mentioned (I don’t know about UCLA’s program, and whether they have stringent requirements for out-of-staters). You didn’t mention your board scores, which some schools care about; most of them (including the 50/50 schools) will consider your academic record adequate if you dazzle them at your audition. You should check their admissions sites, though, just to be sure. My son isn’t taking French or Math this year, and I know that he meets the basic curricular requirements for every school he’s applying to (including some 50/50). Don’t let anyone tell you that theater programs have the same prerequisites as engineering ones. Your audition will influence the school’s decision much more than Calculus or Physics. If your board scores were low, NYU and BU might be a problem (possibly Fordham; I don’t know about some of the others); you didn’t list Emerson, but they apparently care about SAT/ACT scores as well (one friend’s daughter was informed quite explicitly that she wasn’t accepted into their Acting BFA program on account of her boards, when she was offered a spot on the waiting list).</p>
<p>I remember reading in threads re: UCLA that their BA theater program (which is run like a BFA) is almost all about audition. References in those threads to some very borderline academic records getting in. Does not sound like an issue for UCLA.</p>
<p>Although UCLA is heavily weighted on the audition, students still have to have met the school’s requirements for California’s A-G requirements. I’d check out their web site to make sure that your complete schedule all four years meets those requirements.</p>