<p>I don’t think anyone here is saying that NO high school kids get in. I think the point that some are making, is that the class will be made up of a lot of older adults - most with professional experience - and that has a very different flavor than entering a class of all recent HS graduates. Some HS kids may not realize that they will be competing - for admission as well as parts - with older actors.</p>
<p>I think it’s easier for parents to say that Juilliard doesn’t accept high school students to justify that their kid did not get into the school. That’s what I believe and I’m stickin’ to it! I think it’s a wonderful school and who knows, maybe one of mine will go there for grad school. If they do- great- if not- that’s great too! Like someone else posted, there are many paths to the entertainment industry. The graduates I know of from Juilliard are amazing performers! :)</p>
<p>Iwishyouwell, not to bicker, but as an MFA in writing myself, I have to say that MFA writing programs do indeed have a preference for older writers. Writing and other art forms cannot be ranked from ‘the best’ on down; all things being equal, many MFA programs prefer their candidates have life experience and maturity. They will certainly not reject a candidate simply because they are young, but the standard advice is to wait at least a few years after graduating before applying. Your chances will be much higher.</p>
<p>It’s important to stress that this is about chances, not about individual cases. Juilliard is obviously a top program - no one is disputing that - but it clearly has a statistical preference for more mature aspiring actors with life experience. In that it is more like an MFA program. But I agree with you–if your passion is Juilliard and you’re a high school grad, why not give it a shot? It’s not impossible, and who knows? What I’m saying though is that the high school candidate is best served by being aware that their overall chances are significantly lower for Juilliard than they are for most top BFA programs, and that if they are admitted they are learning with people several years older than they are. THis isn’t necessarily a deterrent at all, but it is good info to have. </p>
<p>I also disagree with your statement about ActingDad’s daughter. With all due respect, it’s impossible to say why anyone is admitted or rejected from any program. Programs including Juilliard can and do reject based on factors other than talent, such as type, fit, maturity, looks, etc.</p>
<p>With all due respect, to me, it looks like iwishyouwell was quoting what ActingDad said about his daughter and her Juilliard audition and all iwishyouwell was saying that it wasn’t true. Seems like it was ActingDad that was making the assumptions about Juilliard and iwishyouwell was trying to clarify. That’s how I objectively read that. Now carry on! :)</p>
<p>I don’t think age per se has much to do with it. What counts is previous training and experience that your average high school senior isn’t going to have. It’s why the majority of those who do get in straight from high school tend to come from the better arts high schools like Interlochen, LaGuardia, SC Governor’s School, Baltimore School for the Arts, etc. Being able to inspire some confidence that one will be able to handle the training they offer is important, too. They know what they’re asking in the interviews. Also notice that they hardly ever lose students through cuts and dropouts anymore …</p>
<p>Excellent points fish! I know of two boys from my kids’ high school who went to Juilliard straight from high school- about 15 years ago (a PA high school btw). Both have Tony nominations.</p>
<p>Supportive – is there some reason you feel compelled to make snarky comments about my posts? First, you make snippy comments because it bothers you that I posted about my daughter’s disappointment about not getting into CMU.</p>
<p>Now I get this beauty of a quote – “I think it’s easier for parents to say that Juilliard doesn’t accept high school students to justify that their kid did not get into the school. That’s what I believe and I’m stickin’ to it!” </p>
<p>First, you need to work on your reading comprehension because I never said Juilliard never accepted high school students. I said typically it is no more than maybe 4 out of the 18. I expressed my opinion that my daugher projects as very young and my belief that this played a role. When you are dealing with a class of mostly older kids it only makes sense to want kids with a certain maturity. Juilliard is the hardest school there is to get into. Why would you think I needed to justifiy her not getting in? We took a flier and she did not get in. I mentioned it was the one school that did not bother her at all that she did not get in. Indeed, I’m thrilled she is going to UNCSA which I think is a much better school for her than Juillliard would have been.</p>
<p>All add that I think Connections gets an “A” for reading comprehension as she fully understood the points I was making.</p>
<p>Thanks for your input ActingDad. I stand by what I wrote and I was speaking objectively- not directing my comments to anyone in particular (and I was only quoting what iwishyouwell wrote- not your original post). I would say the same thing to everyone. That’s how I roll! Perhaps you shouldn’t read so much into things. Have a nice weekend!</p>
<p>Morning all!</p>
<p>Connections: I do not inherently disagree with what your points. Not even the point about the MFA writing program at NYU. The programs we’re discussing however are not slanted against youth. They are slanted in the favor of talent and skill. IF a young person is competitive in a pool with older, more experienced artists, they have a shot. Admission prove this. That is my singular point. I merely felt there was too much of a slant toward the notion that Julliard is anti-HS seniors specifically, when it just is not. The impression was strong enough that Mommadrama concedes “ActingDad is this some unspoken, unwritten rule. If I would have know this I would not have spent $110 on an application.” How many parents would read the first page in this thread and walk away with the same impression? It is NOT rare for HS seniors to gain admission to Julliard. It is merely not nearly as likely compared to other competitive BFA programs. But it needed to be clarified that it is not at all a waste of time for a graduating HS senior to take a run at Juillard. The rest of this debate is a bit of a straw man. </p>
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<p>Precisely.</p>
<p>ActingDad: I’m sorry to hear about your daughter’s disappointment. I recall reading one of your posts, and I believe you said CMU was her dream school, or her top choice. Correct me if I’m wrong. But I hope she finds a wonderful education at UNCSA, and it all works out for her good in the end.</p>
<p>Thanks Iwishyouwell. Yes, CMU was her dream school after spending 6 weeks there last summer. She’s well over it at this point and I think UNCSA is at least as good a fit or better one for her. After visiting and sitting in on classes and watching the Senior class year performance of Tis A Pity She’s A Whore she is very excited about UNCSA.</p>
<p>Iwishyouwell, I definitely agree that a high school student should not be deterred from applying to Juilliard if he/she wants to give it a go. You are absolutely right that students and parents should not get the message “Why bother.” I wish you well!</p>
<p>Juilliard is very hard to get into–NO MATTER HOW OLD YOU ARE!!!</p>
<p>Many of the schools we discuss here are very hard to get into, because they have a HUGE number of applicants competing for a small number of places. We talk about this not to discourage people from applying, but to make it clear to people that they really need to work hard and get on their “A” game to succeed at their auditions.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>Sorry, I know this is negative, and people will probably jump all over me, but is anyone else underwhelmed by the IMDB bios for the just-out-of-high-school Julliard grads? (And these people are in their late 20s and early 30s now, according to birthdates, so it’s not just that they’re still getting going.) When I lived in NYC, it seemed like every struggling actor I knew had been on one of the Law & Order spin-offs at least once, and none of them went to Julliard.</p>
<p>Standing by with the ambulance, Jkellynh17 . . .</p>
<p>Thanks. I’m going to the movies now anyway…so I won’t be around if/when the carnage starts.</p>
<p>Jkellyn- Well- Jennifer Lawrence who has never been to a drama class according to her and did not go to college beat out Juilliard trained Jessica Chastain for the Oscar this year.</p>
<p>They truly took it back, didn’t they ActingDad! That’s an OLD one ha!</p>
<p>Thanks Connections!</p>
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<p>I’m not going to string you up, but I do think this kind of attitude reflects how tough actors have it. All of those profiles linked are for actors who’ve racked up an impressive amount of credits in a relatively short amount of time since leaving Juilliard. What you find “underwhelming” is actually quite an achievement for your typical working actor. Ben Rappaport was just on Broadway this year in Picnic. Monica Raymund has been a regular on two primetime series in two years. Brandon Gill is a regular on a primetime series. Justine Lupe was a prime time regular last year. Nicole Beharie has been on Broadway, and has been doing a lot of work on TV, and film. Liza J. Bennett just finished a Brad Pitt film. Teyonah Parris is a series regular on Mad Men, and just wrapped work on a major motion picture. Every single one of these people listed have done more than just a guest slot on one of the L&O series. IMDB also doesn’t tell you what theatre these people have been working on, which is considerable in a lot of their cases.</p>
<p>I hate to be discouraging to parents who might not understand, but this is it. This is the “dream”. The vast majority of actors out here toiling for years, even decades, don’t even have the credits these Juilliard graduates have managed to log over the last 6 years or so, most in much less than that. These are working actors, a rare breed. If we can go “meh” at a list of actors, most in their 20’s, whose work spans major films, Broadway, and a lot of primetime series regular roles, something is off. Ask over 90% actors, including those who graduated from other top BFA and MFA programs, if they’d be disappointed if their careers took the trajectory these people have taken since exiting Juilliard. I think you’d be very, very surprised by the answers.</p>
<p>Jkellyn I no longer have IMDB pro but do these out of high school Juilliard grads at least have agents or managers. That’s a major deal. I’m betting that many out of college post grads don’t even have agents or managers years out of their BFA programs. It’s just a hard biz to break into with our without that BFA college degree.</p>
<p>Some of you people freakin’ crack me up. You can’t even get in the room to read for the roles those actors - all of whom graduated in the LAST 5 YEARS - have without a very good agent … </p>
<p>Ben - Gersh Agency for legit/theatrical, Invictus Management, and Abrams Artists for commercial and voiceover
Monica - Gersh and The Group Entertainment
Justine - Gersh and Authentic Literary and Talent Management
Brandon - Abrams Artists
Nicole - ICM Partners and ATA Management
Brian - Innovative Artists and Sanders Armstrong Caserta Management
Amari - Innovative Artists and Kass Management
Teyonah - Agency for the Performing Arts and Vangard Management
Liza - United Talent Agency and The Group Entertainment
Nick - Stone Manners Salners and AC Management</p>
<p>Most schools would be shouting it from the rooftops if they had a single graduate with the kinds of credits those actors have amassed in the amount of time they’ve earned them and Juilliard probably has more that I don’t know about. Oh, my … LOL</p>
<p>And here’s a scorecard of Tony Nominees during a period I compiled a few years back …
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/2423585-post24.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/2423585-post24.html</a></p>
<p>And if you’re satisfied with nothing but A List Celebrities as being successful actors, read over this and see if you recognize anybody … <a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Juilliard_School_people[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Juilliard_School_people</a></p>
<p>Geesh …</p>
<p>Fish not sure if you posted the agent list due to my post.</p>
<p>But my point was that if those Juilliard grads who had come from high school had agents that alone is a huge accomplishment. I’ll stand by my thinking that many college grads have a hard time getting an agent, so it is impressive to me that agents and managers run to sign Juilliard grads. To me that speaks a lot about how the school is viewed in both Hollywood and the theater world and in some ways answers the OP’s question.</p>