<p>Muzick, You can’t just go by % of admits-- you need to see those kids’ grades and test scores. You also have to realize that the kids who get accepted at schools like Columbia who not in top 10% of their graduating class may be the kids of some very famous and important people (not just in the US, Columbia and NYU attract students internationally). So you may be talking about the children of famous actors, presidents of countries, world’s richest people, royalty, important political dissidents – sometimes, even self-interest is at stake. (I know a case where an ivy was trying to hire a world-famous professor and the professor’s kid was applying to colleges the same year.) </p>
<p>One other thing… Do not be too terribly disappointed thinking about all the school which are out of reach. The truth is that you would have a difficult time with the coursework at those schools. That doesn’t mean the kids who get in are smarter or going to be more successful-- just that they are stronger students, better at test-taking, being disciplined, doing math, understanding what’s in the book and writing the papers-- and the classes would be geared to <em>them.</em> You want a school where you can learn, grow and excel-- not a school where you spend so many hours trying to figure out the math or science in a required general ed class that you have no time to memorize your parts. </p>
<p>So take some time to find out about theater opportunities at schools that are less competitive. In life, success depends on <em>you</em> not on the name of the school that granted you your degree. There are aluni from top schools who do not do anything exceptional with their lives and alumni from below-average schools who go on to greatness.</p>