Hi. I’m a junior in high school interested in theatre tech.
My first two years of high school I had poor grades (2.78 unweighted/2.98 weighted).
I then better managed my ADHD (especially executive function and time management) and am currently on track for a better GPA (2.96 unweighted; 3.29 weighted) by the end of junior year. (Junior year GPA so far is 3.47 unweighted; 3.98 weighted.)
I scored a 30 on the ACT in September and plan to retake it in June.
I love theatre tech but also like digital media/photography/video, and would like to figure out a way to pursue both of these areas in college.
Do I have a chance at any BA schools with such a low GPA? Or am I better off only looking at BFA schools? Which schools should I consider?
$ is an issue so schools like NYU are out. Hoping to find schools in the $30K/yr range. I live in Virginia.
Your GPA may be a little low, but with your upward trend and ACT JMU might be an option. It is possible to double major in Media Arts and Design and Theatre with a concetration in Design Technology. A portfolio review (or audition) is required for admission to Theatre, and recommendations are made to academic admissions for students who admitted to the program (pending academic admission).
Other VA state schools to look at include VCU (already mentioned), Longwood, GMU, CNU, Radford, and Mary Washington.
Since someone else mentioned a SUNY school, I will chime in with SUNY Fredonia. My S17 is in the BFA theater tech program. He had an UW GAP of just under 3.5 and a 27 ACT. Although Bing may be a “better” school overall, Fredonia is a top school for theater.
@techmom99 I had never considered Fredonia. Thanks for sharing. Would you say that SUNY Purchase acting program is better or equivalent as Fredonia ? I don’t see many posters mentioning it for theatre/acting but have noticed it mentioned for tech
I have good news for you. If you’re interested in theater arts, Texas State University is ranked in the top 10 nationally. It’s also cheaper than most out of state colleges and you might actually qualify for a partial scholarship based on your ACT scores. I know this because I used to work there. Did I mention that it’s on the San Marcos river?
I am not sure how to compare the acting programs at Purchase and Fredonia. I don’t think that Purchase has MT, while Fredonia has both MT and acting BFA’s. I saw one production and thought it was really excellent. I think that anyone can audition. They also have opera and S17 said his friend, who’s a music ed major, has a singing role in the upcoming opera. You can try searching for the productions Purchase is going to do next year. Fredonia is doing Noises Off, Bloody, Bloody, Andrew Jackson, Antigone and Anything Goes on the mainstage.
The campus is really lovely. My son says it is much nicer than Purchase.
First of all, grade-wise you should do OK with the upward trajectory over your high school career. There are plenty of places where academics should not be a problem.
There are already some good suggestions here, but I would add Marymount Manhattan as a possibility. Their top line is higher than you want, but they do offer pretty good financial aid in my experience. Fredonia is a nice area (in the summer – I grew up south of Buffalo and let’s just say that Fredonia is part of the snow belt). Geneseo is another SUNY school with a good theatre program.
Melding digital media with theatre tech has a lot of possibilities. Scenic projections are used often in theatre, so looking at places with a good reputation for scenic design and lighting would be a good bet.
Fredonia closes from mid December until almost the end of January for that reason.
I am not familiar with Geneseo’s theater program as my son was looking only for BFA’s, but my D applied there for education and was not accepted with better stats. Caveat - she applied the first year of the recession when even very rich people were looking at SUNY’s, so YMMV.
Marymount Manhattan is in the city and it depends on whether or not you want to be in the city. My son, having grown up in a suburb of NYC, did not want to be in the city. Ditto for why he didn’t apply to Pace; I didn’t waste money on Tisch with his stats.
Thanks to the recent posters with more suggestions!
@Delegator – thanks for the observation about scenic projections. CMU has a Video and Media Design major in their School of Drama, but (1) I can’t afford CMU and (2) I can’t get accepted to CMU. Maybe I could find a cheaper and less competitive version.
Take a look at Ithaca College. You could even get merit aid for good test scores. Theater is a huge strength at an otherwise undistinguished school in NY state.
@actingdreams my son is a sophomore BFA Acting major at Fredonia. He’s been in two mainstage plays and is also in his second student-run play. Everyone involved with the school and the theater department is incredibly nice. The university president hosts trick or treating and has allowed her home (on the edge of campus) to be used for student programs. She even taught an honors seminar on comedy that my son took last year. The theater professors are so involved and caring. They have a full complement of acting classes from voice/movement to specific styles to acting for media. One draw for my son is that they offer unarmed and armed stage combat classes that can lead to certification. They have juries every semester and a barrier review at the end of sophomore year.
Hi @lovetoact thank you for the information! I have heard that the campus is quite beautiful and I love that he’s already deeply involved with the theatre department and not waiting until their upper grades. I also like the teaching and getting a well-rounded experience at Fredonia Since asking, I’ve seen some other actors post their experience outside of CC and they all seem to love it.
Now that my son is back for his second semester at Fredonia, I can say that he is happy and has found his niche. Drafting was awful and he is now taking rendering, which may be just as bad. OTOH, he is working on one of the shows and just this second called to tell me he has been given assignments in 3 of the 4 main stage productions for next year and in his chosen concentration.
@techmom99 Fredonia sounds amazing. The students are certainly keeping busy. I can imagine the exhaustion that your son is experiencing but he has to be creating some of the best memories of his life. The campus is beautiful by the way. I’ve been researching more
Since asking, I’ve seen some other actors post their experience outside of CC and they all seem to love it.