<p>Hi
Im thinking about applying to grad school (MFA Theatre: Set design or Scenic design). Im junior now and my current GPA overall is 3.54 and major GPA (creative art which is B.A.) is 3.87 and thinking for applying Ivy schools such as Yale school of drama...</p>
<p>But I have one W grade and 2 WP grade... :S
do you think this going to hurt me? </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>It will hurt you, of course, as anything negative in your application would. But it won’t necessarily keep you out of grad school. I had two Ws and an F on my transcript when I applied - the F was in my major - but they all happened in the same semester and all of my other semesters were great, so it was pretty clear something happened that semester (although I chose not to discuss it in my statement of purpose).</p>
<p>I think 2 or 3 is at the limit at which you can still apply without raising any eyebrows, although if they are dispersed across multiple years that may raise some questions about whether you can complete what you finish. Plus if you are a junior, that means you acquired 3 in just two years (or four semesters).</p>
<p>Anyway, the only way to find out is to apply to programs and see what happens, so you should do that.</p>
No. But your GPA might.
Please Note: Depending on what you want, an MA can suffice. But most advanced jobs come with the MFA requirement.
RADA (London) - (Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts) of course
Trinity (Dublin) - LIR (National Academy of Dramatic Arts at Trinity)
Both hard to get into, the gold standard, and expensive if you don’t have EU passport. Cost is no worse than college here, but you are strictly on your own as far as $$ goes (US student loans are available).
RADA can run 2 or 3 years depending on the program, the Lir is 1 year. RADA and Lir do some work together, and have a few shared teaching professionals and performance opportunities. You live on the economy in London and in Dublin.
Trinity http://www.tcd.ie/study/non-eu/postgraduate/ (LIR http://www.thelir.ie/ ) is a 1 calendar year MFA course in theatre design. Don’t know about the Stage mgmt. They are directly associated with RADA. Trinity is hard to get into. A 3.6 overall 4 year gpa is the very minimum. (Undergrad admittance is is said to be a 1950 SAT) You have to be admitted to both Trinity AND Lir. (I understand that occasionally a student is recommended from a program, but is not admitted by the university.)
BUT you get 100 words to make your case - “Why are you such a special little snowflake?” (they may request your longer version if they are interested). If you make the “ash can” cut, there IS an interview on Skype. The timeline can be later than US schools, so double check dates. You will need cash in advance (2,000 euros deposit, airfare, initial housing costs, a new high power laptop, etc)
Re any school: Do your homework !!! - Employment record after graduation, look at the resumes of present/past graduates, look at the resumes of the professors (including any staff down to the janitor - if you can find it). If the past graduates have (pre MFA) resumes similar to yours, you are probably in the right place. If not, keep looking. If the prof’s resumes aren’t “where you want to be in 10 years”, your are not in the right place, keep looking. After that, it’s a crap shoot.
Trinity, has a seriously difficult schedule. (RADA can run 2-3 years) You are in class (1:1 or in groups) about 35 hours a week, plus production work in the evening, plus classwork, etc etc.
Both Trinity and RADA are professional degrees, not research degrees. I don’t know anything about the other schools listed here, but be sure you know what you want from your MFA and that it matches what a prospective institution offers. That bill for $35,000 - 50,000 WILL come due!