<p>So academic background: I'm a senior. I did very poorly my sophomore year. But I did very well my freshmen, and junior year. My High School total GPA is a 2.8; from freshmen to junior year. I will be taking my SAT's and ACT's this year, and hoping to aim for a 1700-1800 for SAT's and a 24-25 for ACT's; by studying really hard.
my schedule this year:
AP Statistics
Choir
AP Literature
AP Government
Drama</p>
<p>Extra Curricular Background/Training: I've been volunteering at the Women's shelter for about three years now. I've done my high school shows for three years straight ( two musicals and one play). I've done a 2 shows of community theatre (mainly musicals). I did a benefit concert to help raise money for the youth program at the same theatre. I was involved in a couple clubs through out the year, and held an officer position in one club i was involved with for two years. Right now I'm involved, trying to put together, and showcasing an improv group. I've been taking singing lessons at my pease conservatory for almost a year. </p>
<p>College List:
NYU TISCH (my long shot school, it would be a miracle if i got in)
PACE UNIVERSITY
MARYMOUNT MANHATTAN COLLEGE
CSU NORTHRIDGE (musical theatre minor)
CSU FULLERTON</p>
<p>I wish to major in musical theatre. I may not have the best grades, and i may not be competitive academically. But I have a real sincere passion for musical theare. I want to go to college to learn, work hard, and hopefully achieve the potential that people tell me I have. I'm not the most talented/perfect performer and that's why I wanna go to college to learn, work hard, and get better. </p>
<p>So is there hope? Am I hopeless? My main goal is new york but are there any other schools you think I should add? Any help is very much appreciated!</p>
<p>Schools like to see kids turn themselves around after a blip, so you are working to improve, which is good. You should, however, address what happened sophomore year - if you just ignore it, schools will make their own conclusions. Better to take responsibility for that bad year, and point out that you’ve learned from it in some way, and are now back on track. You could do this via an interview. Or you may include it in your essay, but try to make it a springboard for how you are now - positive, active, involved, etc. - that’s what you want the schools to focus on.</p>
<p>At most audition schools (including NYU) a good audition is much more important than grades. UCLA comes right out and says they can go as low as a 2.0 if they want the kid. Obviously this is not the case if you need to be admitted academically before you are given an audition slot (ex - U. Michigan). </p>
<p>I disagree about NYU in post #4. At NYU, the artistic review counts 50% of admissions and the academic/application review counts 50%, unlike some schools where the audition counts more. A 2.8 GPA will be highly unlikely for NYU acceptance. </p>
<p>I do agree that it also might be a problem at schools that have a separate academic acceptance such as Elon or UMichigan (and were the schools are selective academically). </p>
<p>Pace and Marymount Manhattan do seem like possible options. Roosevelt, Montclair, UArts, Boston Conservatory, and some others are worth looking into. Do not confine the search to NYC.</p>
<p>Thanks for the honest feedback. I actually know someone who got into NYU with a 2. something GPA; and that wasn’t even Tisch. It was another thing he had to audition for. So keeping my fingers crossed!</p>
<p>Sorry, soozievt, you may want to disagree but my neighbor is currently in NYU/Tisch with under a 2.8GPA. She’s doing just fine both academically and theatrically. (Oh and she had absolutely no connections to get in.)</p>
<p>What I disagreed about on NYU is the statement in a post that the audition counts more than academics when each of those counts 50% at NYU/Tisch, unlike many other BFA in MT programs. </p>
<p>I also said that a GPA of 2.8 is highly unlikely for acceptance to NYU, but that doesn’t mean it is impossible. The odds go down, however, when one’s academic profile is on the lower end for a college’s acceptance range for admitted students. At any college, there are a small number of kids admitted at the lowest range of admitted stats to that college. This should be examined when one is evaluating their chances of academic admission. For example, at NYU, where the avg. GPA of admitted students is 3.6, those with a 3.6 or higher GPA have greater chances of being admitted than those with a 2.8 GPA. The 25th to 75th percentile range for admitted students to NYU 3.4-3.8. Those with a GPA under 3.4 are admitted, but at a lower rate of acceptance and the further away (lower) from a 3.4 that one has, is even lower still, even if there is a slight chance. Approximately 3% of admitted students to NYU had a GPA between 2.50 and 2.99. Those are very low odds and so a student would have to be very strong in some other admission criteria to balance out those odds. Again, not impossible, but also not too likely.</p>
<p>I will add that NYU, like most selective schools, does not use a GPA cut off. Talking about GPA here out of context is not that useful in my view. We don’t know the rigor of the student’s chosen curriculum, the class rank, the standardized test scores, the essays, the recommendations, achievements, hooks, and so on, all of which go into the academic part of admissions. It would be unwise to estimate one’s chances of admission by comparing one’s GPA to another person’s GPA without all the other factors factored in.</p>
<p>By the way, I would not advise someone to NOT apply to a school if they wish to apply. But I think realistic odds should be known. I don’t know the OP and would have to have much more information about the student to make an assessment of the academic odds of admission to NYU, but on the GPA alone (out of context), it appears that NYU is a FAR Reach, which means it is not impossible but it is highly unlikely. Knowing that, the student should apply if he/she still wishes to. But the student needs to build a balanced school list of “odds” both academically and artistically. </p>
<p>One thing I observe with some applicants for MT is that they make a list of MT colleges without any regard to examining their academic odds at eachschool (or even artistic odds) and simply find schools that offer MT. I don’t advise that.</p>
<p>Apparently I have been misled. I thought NYU was one of the few schools where academics actually mattered and most people I know who got in were near 4.0. So do higher grades help or do you have to pass the audition before anyone even looks at GPA, EC’s, & essay? This is very frustrating.</p>
<p>actor12, NYU does examine academics. Academics count 50% of the admissions process for Tisch. And NYU IS a pretty selective university academically speaking. </p>
<p>The academic review and the artistic review are done separately, and at the same time. No, they do not look at the audition and then the application. Both reviews are going on at one time but by different sets of people.</p>
<p>PS, you do not need a 4.0 to get into NYU, however. My kid went to NYU and did not have a 4.0. She still was awarded one of the biggest scholarships NYU gives out and she also was selected for something called Tisch Scholars (which is not a scholarship and which no longer exists at NYU). I gave the GPA data in a post further up for NYU for admitted students.</p>
<p>@kevkayy, this in essence is a “chance me” thread and they never get very far in the MT forum. Nobody can be of much help to you on that when it comes admissions that include an audition. However, you did get good feedback about some of the schools on your lists that are better academic fits (or care less about academics than they do the audition) plus a few other suggestions. You also got a fair dose of “heads up” about NYU Tisch which you had already acknowledged is a long shot based on your grades. We are probably telling you what you already know which is often the case with “chance me”.</p>
<p>You absolutely should apply to NYU if you want to because there is nothing in their current application process that would block you from applying and having an audition. That would not be the case with a school that does an academic prescreen whose minimum standards you do not meet with your grades/test scores. You can read yourself on the NYU website that on average NYU students have a significantly higher academic profile than yours. You would be prudent to assume many of them are also dedicated and hard working. With 50% of the decision resting on the application side including grades, chances are (there is that chance word again) you will have an uphill battle and it is unlikely that a fantastic audition can overcome weaknesses in the application. Doesn’t mean it is impossible and it also doesn’t mean that you won’t write the best essay they read this year and have the best recommendations and other hooks that will make you appealing. But since you are asking about chances, at least academically your chances are better at the other schools on your list. Good luck!</p>
<p>@actor12, NYU is one of the schools where academics matter according to what they say on their website and in person so you should assume being strong academically is to your advantage at Tisch. What happens in actual practice for a specific candidate you have no way of knowing. As a random data point, two extremely talented students (one female, one male) that I know of who did not get in to NYU this year had weak academics and two (both female) that I know who did get into Tisch were excellent students. Is academics what made the difference? I don’t know I wasn’t in the admission or audition rooms. However the results are certainly consistent with what they say on the Tisch website.</p>
<p>It is also advisable to include a few non-audition based programs to your list. With regard to an audition based program, all things being equal talent-wise, a school will look more favorably on a student with a better academic record. And there is the additional factor of casting for “type” for an incoming class. Checking for a school with a non-audition based program will make you look at their admission rate based on their academic standards, and will give you a better idea of where you fit right from the start. When it comes to admissions to Theatre programs, there is no set formula.</p>