<p>So it's almost time for me to start applying to schools. My parents have limited me to 10 schools. My biggest concern is that by only applying to schools for theater I won't get into any just because of my audition. I am decent actress with minimal experience so I am definitely an underdog compared to some of the other people applying. I need to cut down my list to schools that I should actually apply to. I understand that this should be my opinion, but I need to rule some out. I plan on either auditioning for a bfa in acting or a ba in theater arts. I also live in Rhode Island so some of those schools are for financial reasons.</p>
<p>My gpa is 3.4 for junior year after exams are included and a 3.5 without exams.
I got a 1930 on my SATs.
I also have a very solid list of e.c's</p>
<p>So here's the list in no specific order. </p>
<p>Emerson college (definitely applying top choice perhaps)
Adelphi university
Carnegie melon university
Chapman university
DePaul university
Fordham university
Ithaca college
Manhattanville college
University of Maryland
University of Massachusetts
University of Minnesota
New York university
Pace university
Pennsylvania state university
SUNY purchase
Rhode Island college
University of Rhode Island
Skidmore college
Syracuse university
The new school
University of Vermont
Wagner college
University of Washington St. Louis (my dad is an alumn to the law school)</p>
<p>It would also be helpful to identity my likelihood of getting in. Thanks so much!</p>
<p>Your list is really good. It’s really varied, as you probably know. I know finances and acceptance rates are really important. As you know, admissions to auditioned programs are very difficult and unpredictable - not based on grades or scores, and not quantifiable in terms of experience or type. </p>
<p>What is it about Emerson that makes it your first choice? It would help us to know what specifics you are looking for. </p>
<p>You are very fortunate that you have an in-state safety at low cost. URI has a very good, non-auditioned BFA. I imagine you might rather branch out to somewhere new, but it’s a great option. You would have excellent chances at many of the other non-auditioned programs, too. </p>
<p>I can speak for Adelphi University: you can pretty much count on an academic admission, and you would be eligible for some really great scholarships. They only have an auditioned BFA, and the admission for that is completely unpredictable. You also have an excellent chance at UMinn, where they do have a very good non-auditioned BA. But I can’t guess at the cost there for you there, and again the auditioned BFA is impossible to predict.</p>
<p>Take your list and separate the auditioned and non-auditioned programs. Then organize them based on academic acceptance rates (for the non-auditioned programs, and for the auditioned programs that do count academics), based on cost, and based on how much you like them. </p>
<p>If a couple of schools come up on the bottom every time you make the lists, remove them. I’m sure you can get the numbers down to 10 schools, total. If you have 2-3 good, likely non-auditioned schools that you like, then you can audition for 7-8 and see what happens. Also, some schools will waive application fees, so maybe your parents will let you apply for some of them as extras (you will still have to pay test score fees, however).</p>
<p>This is so helpful thank you! Well first off Emerson is one of the only schools I have visited, so that is probably the origin of some of my bias towards it. I also really like their ba program that is theater arts with a focus in acting. This is nice because it gives me some freedom to explore other aspects of theater such as directing, but I’m still getting a lot of education in acting. They also said if I decide later on that I want to switch into the teaching program that is totally an option. The school is also small enough that I think I will still have the ability to be casted in productions, and that they are not exclusive to the bfa students. They also have so many productions going on at one time it seems like there’s a guarantee that I will be a part of them. The campus is also perfect, I really like the idea of being in a city, and Boston is one of the safer options. There’s also a ton of cool people that go there, the dorms are super nice, and I can really see myself there. It’s just one of those times where you step onto campus and you know it’s the right place. Also their facilities are BEAUTIFUL (the theaters especially). I really love it.</p>
<p>Character, some of the schools on your list may be academic reach schools, particularly NYU, CMU and Wash U. Check out Naviance or Career Cruising to check your likelihood and do not over-populate your list with reaches.</p>
<p>CMU is in no way an academic reach since for the BFA program academics are not a factor. However, it is, of course, a very big reach school given how many apply and how few are accepted. If 10 is a fixed limit of schools you can apply to, you might want to consider trimming the schools that take so few – CMU an SUNY-purchase – being the most selective in your group. I don’t know that NYU is such a reach with those academic numbers for a Tisch applicant but you do need to think about what the financial equation would be at NYU for sure.</p>
<p>Most recently my parents and I discussed cutting out CMU. I think wash u nyu and Emerson will be my reach schools. My college counselor thinks SUNY purchase is a realistic expectation, but then again you may know more about theater programs than he does. Although, I know a girl who is a mediocre actress and was accepted into the program. I am planning on visiting it within the next few weeks, and I don’t know much about it–I may not end up liking it. Also one of my friends has almost the EXACT same academic profile as I do, and he was accepted at NYU tisch. I feel as though in these cases it all depends on the audition–which is what scares me. Wash u and Maryland accepts you as an undergrad and then you can declare your major. That would be the reason for Wash u being on my list- my parents want a few schools merely based on my academics (and I really like it!), and I would like one reach in that range. I also have the alumn advantage which gives me a very little extra advantage (I’m aware how little haha). I mean my mom went to brown, but I’m not going to bother. I think my biggest problem here is picking out the middle/realistic schools and the safeties. That’s what I REALLY need help with!</p>
<p>Character actress- it does indeed “depend on the audition.” Many of the schools on your list audition more than 500 or even more than 1000 students to end up with a class of about 20. And half of those will be boys. It is very competitive. The audition is a huge part of the selection.
I think students should try for these very selective programs, but they should also carefully research the non audition BA’s.
And the folks here on CC probably know more about applying to acting school than your counselor. Unless you go to a performing arts school most schools have zero or one students per year applying for acting and so counselors aren’t very experienced in the process. Our counselor told us we are applying to too many schools even though my D’s number (14) is right in the average of most potential acting students. She gave me the standard quote of 6-8 which is what they told me for my older son who is majoring in engineering. It’s just not the same process at all. Good luck!</p>
<p>With the right audition your stats won’t keep you out of Tisch. You might want to consider Temple as a non-audition safety with a good theater program. Your stats are fine and you may get some automatic scholarship aid (not sure) based on your GPA and scores. </p>
<p>Of course CMU is everyone’s reach school, so if you are not crazy about it, you might not want it to take up a spot on your list.</p>
<p>The New School has a brand new BFA program. Your stats are fine for Eugene Lang. Your stats are okay for Fordham, which has an auditioned BA program, as well as many of the other BFAs you list. I’d just make sure you have at least one non-auditioned safety that you can live with. You never know what will happen with auditioned schools-- you could get into a slew of them or zero.</p>
<p>University of Vermont, UMass, and URI have similar programs, so why pay out-of-state tuition at UVM and UMass? And you would have a BFA from URI to boot!</p>
<p>Character Actress – I don’t think your counselor understands the acting BFA world if he/she is telling you that SUNY Purchase is a realistic expectation. Purchase’s strong reputation and relatively cheap tuition makes for one of the largest audition groups --800+ easily and they take about 8-10 girls. Perhaps only CMU and Juilliard have a smaller acceptance percentage. It can’t be a realistic expectation for anyone. While you may consider a girl who got in a mediocre actress, I can assure you that Purchase largely has its pick of who they want so they most certainly did not.</p>
<p>I am sure you have heard this before but I am going to repeat it again…as long as it is an auditioned based program, do not count it as a safety. Ever.</p>