(Reposting from admission forum)
Can someone tell which Drama programs will give a student general admission if not accepted into BFA program?
My D is interested in Carnignie Mellon either way. Cannot find anything on their website about this.
I know NYU does offer Tisch rejects slots.
Where else?
We asked admissions at CMU about this and they said it was possible tho we would have had to amend our application. I would call them and ask. It’s not super straightforward or common, but at least four years ago it could be done.
NYU does not have a BA. And to my knowledge (my kid is a senior there), if you are rejected from Tisch, you are rejected from NYU, not offered a spot in a different program
I guess my question was broader than just BA in acting: I gathered at the NYU tour that if Tisch rejects you and you put Gallatin as a second choice you could get in to the interdisciplinary college at NYU.
@123Mimi - as I understand it, that could not happen unless you put in an entirely separate application FOR Gallatin et al. To my knowledgle If you apply for Tisch BFA and are not accepted to Tisch, you are not accepted to NYU. There are schools that will come after you looking to get you there after rejected from BFA (Ithaca and BW were HUGE offenders in that category for my D - they were pretty much relentless) but NYU is not one of them. They have more kids who want to go there than they know what to do with, their acceptance rate (university wide) had declined from 35% in 2013 to 27% last year - they do NOT need kids in a “2nd choice” situation. Perhaps you have more recent info to corroborate what you are saying (tours? meetings with admissions) but it has not been that way in the past
Minn/Guthrie, Webster, SMU, Pace, etc all admit you to the university in general and then you also have to get an artistic admit for the BFA program (and also the one BA acting major at Pace as that is also audition based). Not all of these schools have non audition BA in theater options. Minnesota does. But I suppose you could go to any of them for a different major. Many schools have “two” admits for performing art majors meaning one to the university and one for the BFA program.
CMU does.not unless you amend the application. Otherwise it is a one admit or one reject deal. Which makes sense as the BFA majors do not always have the academic stats CMU would normally accept.
Purchase accepts you into the school in general and then you have to audition. My son was accepted into the BA Theater Arts program but opted not to proceed with his Theater Tech portfolio review and interview. He is at a different school now as a theater tech BFA student.
BTW, we decided not to amend the CMU app, because the S felt he could not be so close and yet so far. (He also rejected Pitt in the end for exactly the same reason.)
I don’t know if this is new but when my daughter (finally!) did the comm app applications for bfa programs this weekend NYU, BU, CMU, USC each asked her to select her second choice would be if BFA didn’t work out. So I gather the students are considered for their second choice if need be.
@123Mimi - that is fascinating. My D goes to NYU, and in 2014 applied to BU (accepted) and CMU (rejected) in 2014- and there was no option for a 2nd choice (other than MT/Acting, but both being BFAs) then. Did they give you choices?
Yes. There were choices for any other department/program at the university.
Times are always changing 
That seems challenging at CMU if a student was applying to a 2nd program outside the school of drama - they would have to meet regular university standards (rather than the more lax version of the conservatory). BU and NYU require all applicants to meet university academic standards - so that seems an easier shift
Interesting. When D got her evaluations from the summer program, she got a letter also recommending she apply to dramaturgy, but dramaturgy is part of the Drama school so, I assume, would not be subject to the overall test score/grade requirements of the university for non-drama majors.
At SUNY Fredonia, if you are rejected for the BFA, which is offered in theater tech, dance, acting or MT, you can re-audition once, even if you matriculate at a different college. In some instances, they will offer you admission to regular acting instead of MT or to dance BFA.
If you don’t pass the prescreen, DePaul gives you the option to choose another major and keep your application active. Since my son originally wanted to apply to Film & Television there (before he met with the acting coach and was encouraged to apply to more audition-based programs), he was happy to switch to that.