Mason Gross School of the Arts?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rutgers University
1

Hi all. I was wondering if anyone could give me their thoughts/advice on my chances of getting into Mason Gross School of the Arts (Rutgers) and any other fine arts schools. I graduated high school in 2016 and took a year off (which turned into two) from school to focus acting at a studio near me, but now I’m ready to get back into education. I realized as I was filling out my application that my grades in high school weren’t the best due to personal problems (which I addressed in my personal statement as well as why I have a gap in my education history) and my SAT score, which I took late 2015, is mediocre at best. I scored 1710 in total. My weighted GPA, last I remember, was somewhere between 2.9-3.1. Rutgers doesn’t require a recommendation letter, but I found that a lot of the other universities I want to apply to (NYU Tisch, Ithaca, Boston, Purchase, The New School, California Institute of the Arts, Emerson, University of Texas at Austin) all do and I’m not sure how I can go about asking teachers who probably don’t even remember me to write a letter for me. So my questions are:

  1. What are my chances getting into Mason Gross? Grades weren’t the best, but I was involved in a lot of extracurricular activities, clubs, and volunteer work, had a leadership position junior year, and received many awards. I also have acting credits outside of school plays/musicals on my resume.

  2. What are my chances getting into any of the other schools I mentioned above?

  3. How should I ask old teachers for a recommendation letter when they’re so busy with students that are currently enrolled in their classes and probably don’t remember me?

Sorry for the long post. Thanks!

2

What area of the arts? If it is theatre it is highly competitive. Most BFA programs are audition only and Rutgers has a call back audition weekend. Of around 800 kids that audition they call back 50 and from that group they choose roughly 25. Let me know if your are theatre, my daughter is at CalArts and auditioned for many of the schools you mention.

3

Sorry reread your message and you are looking at BFA acting. All the programs you mention are audition based. Schools like Calarts, New School, Rutgers, Ithaca mainly use the audition and don’t really focus on grades or recs. NYU and Boston look at both. All these programs are highly competitive – you may want to speak with a college audition coach, like MTCA. Many kids need help getting thru the process, which can be daunting! All these schools come to the Unified Audiitons which are held in January/February which makes it easier to audition. You will need some letter of rec for most of these schools --do you have an acting teacher you could ask?

4

Yes, I’m looking at BFA acting! I do have an acting coach, but a lot of the schools I mentioned require letters from high school teachers and/or a counselor. Many give the option to include another letter from an outside source, but it isn’t required. So lets say for example, I give a really stellar, perfect audition - do I have a chance of getting in even though my grades aren’t too hot?