SAT/ACT scores for theater majors

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
1

<p>I know there are probably other threads addressing this issue, but the word "ACT" is messing up my searches of the threads about acting. And I'd love the most up-to-date opinions and info.</p>

<p>Generally speaking, and also specifically speaking, how concerned do acting/theater majors need to be with standardized test scores? I am interested both for admission and for scholarship purposes (for example, some schools, such as Temple U., give automatic scholarships based on test scores.)</p>

<p>My 11th grade daughter took the ACTs with a migraine and got a score of 29. Her practice tests were all in the low-30s. She could redo the test, hope for no migraine and bump it up (or maybe not, who knows?) and I'm wondering if it is worthwhile for her to retake them, or if 29 is high enough for a theater major. </p>

<p>She is planning to apply to (among other places) BU, CMU, NYU, Fordham, Emerson, Temple, UArts, and maybe some liberal arts colleges with good theater programs, such as Sarah Lawrence and Bard (who don't happen to require testing). Of all the colleges she is considering, I think only Northwestern has a higher median score (30), but how high above the median is prudent for someone going into an auditioned major? My inclination might be to let her concentrate on other areas rather than restudy for the test. Opinions?</p>

2

<p>If you are interested or think at all that she will qualify for merit money from some schools (because of her GPA, which you don’t mention), I recommend she retake, if she’s willing and not in a “29 is good enough” mental place. She should aim for a 32 or higher. Could mean big bucks for you in the end. Having done this two years in a row, I know a 32 ACT or 1400/1600 SAT and higher are often magic numbers for schools awarding larger merit scholarship amounts.</p>

<p>My son auditioned and was offered money at a few audition and non-audition schools, for both talent and merit. And it was mainly due to his SATs, definitely not his GPA.</p>

3

<p>I would suggest that she retake the tests if she is willing, and also that she take both the SAT and ACT as some do better on one than the other. She has nothing to lose and some kids do SIGNIFICANTLY better the second time around.</p>

<p>Admissions at some schools are getting extremely competitive. From this years’ Northwestern admissions;</p>

<p>Over 3,300 applicants with a 1500 SAT (CR+M) or higher (the equivalent of a 34 ACT) were not offered admission.</p>

<p>So at some schools a higher score will be needed for admissions and, just as UVaHoo87 says, at many others even a slightly higher SAT/ACT score can make a very large difference in merit offers.</p>

4

<p>Interesting-- what you quote about Northwestern is also true of the Ivies. She isn’t going to score a 34, or at least, isn’t able to put into preparation what it would take to score a 34, but I think she could score 31 or possibly 32. Or she could get another migraine. From what you say, it might be a waste of the application fee to apply to Northwestern. </p>

<p>I am actually more interested in knowing about schools such as BU, NYU, CMU, and how much the scores count vs. audition for auditioned programs. Part of it is a question about where to spend time and energy. Her GPA-- I’m not sure what it is, probably around 3.6 unweighted. She has a pretty strong acting resume and has a lot of audition experience, so I expect her audition will be the strongest part of her package.</p>

5

<p>No, I certainly DON’T think it’s a waste of time to apply to NU with a score below 34! I’m betting some kids were admitted to NU this year with ACT scores below 30. If her other attributes are strong (GPA, HS course load, extra curriculars, essays, etc.) she has a good chance of getting in even with a lower ACT score. My point wasn’t that she shouldn’t try, only that she should give herself every opportunity to do her best. If her practice tests were in the low 30s, odds are she may do better than a 29 (which is a fine score) and so improve her chances and merit awards everywhere. </p>

<p>She’s off to a great start with a 29 in 11th grade! If she’s not against taking the tests again I’d go for it. If she’s really against it, and it’s likely to give her another migraine, I’d still apply to every school she’s interested in!</p>

<p>In our experience, though, even the schools that admit almost solely based on auditions tend to award a LOT of merit money based on test scores.</p>

6

<p>I would have her take it again. That score will do her fine, but if it wasn’t a true showing for her, she should try again. The more competitive an application as a whole, the better the chance she has of being picked over someone else with similar stats and resume. </p>

<p>CMU is primarily weighted towards the audition, which is bizarre for a school of that academic caliber, but that’s the case!</p>

<p>When I look at our Naviance for BU, a 29 would be no problem if it were purely an academic admit. </p>

<p>For NYU, she can get in on that score, for sure, but she will be competing against many students with much higher scores: students often turn down schools more selective than NYU for Tisch. It’s a 50/50 review, so when they put all the applicants who have passed both artistic and academic reviews in a pile to make the final decisions, i would want to be as strong as possible in all areas!</p>

<p>I don’t know how that final review really works at Tisch, but I would imagine that it’s not simply a “pass / fail” for academic / artistic but a rating within those reviews, so that when they get together with the group that made it through both reviews, they then consider how strong each applicant was in each area; a phenomenal artistic and academic applicant would be a shoo-in, while those who are not as clear cases in either area are where the decisions to admit, waitlist or reject are debated. (this is entirely conjecture on my part.)</p>

<p>For NU, that score is low, and unless her class rank and resume are really that strong, it would be a real reach to apply, but not an impossibility. Remember, too, that for NU (as for Tisch) not only will the students be competing against academic superstars but also applicants with Broadway credentials. (but to others reading this: don’t worry – you can just be a regular high school theater kid and get into these programs!)</p>

<p>As far as GPA goes – the important thing is where this stands in relation to her school and her course rigor. If her rank puts her in top 10% that’s great! At our school, it sure would. But, at many schools around the country, that might just be top 25 or even 50%! I think it’s very difficult to see an average GPA listed on a college admissions website and know what that really means, because alot of colleges recalculate. It’s much more instructive to see where the student stands in relation to percentage of class vis a vis high school rank.</p>

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<p>My younger daughter also gets migraines and stresses too much over these things so we were very surprised when she decided to take the SAT over given that we thought her scores were fine. Our school only offers the SATs once a year and it’s sort of a rite of passage so she wants to take them at our school with her friends. This time it will be different though because neither she nor we “care” what she gets as her current scores are perfectly fine. Would we be thrilled if her scores rose 50-100 points? Absolutely! Will it make a difference as to where she will apply? Not at all. I’m betting with less self-imposed pressure she will score higher.</p>

<p>There are so many elements that get a student admitted to a college and with auditions it complicates things that much more. You know your child, is it worth it to her?</p>

8

<p>Talked to D4 this morning. She wants to retake the test because she feels the scores don’t represent her abilities. So she signed up for the June test. For her, because she goes to a cyber school and has not done standardized testing before, the test is always going to be on unfamiliar turf, surrounded by total strangers. No wonder she got a migraine last time!</p>

9

<p>Just something that happened to me when I took the tests –</p>

<p>I went in the first time (early, at another school about 20 minutes away from me) just like everyone else, and ended up with a 32. Which was exactly what I wanted, because basically any school’s theatre program would be happy with a 32 (I didn’t look into Yale or Northwestern though, those are just two that come to mind if I try to think of schools that want really high scores). So I was set. But the thing my school does is that they pay for every junior to take the ACT once through our school (I’m not sure if other schools do it, or just schools in IL where I am, etc). So I took it the second time as well at my school. The thing was, I felt like I had no pressure, I enjoyed myself as much as you can during a test, and didn’t worry too much about it. I ended up getting a 33, and for the schools that superscored my two tests, it ended up being a 34!</p>

<p>So, I think it is definitely the right idea to take the test again. Even if she feels that the first score didn’t completely represent her abilities, there is MUCH less pressure on her now. Maybe that is all she needs to avoid another migraine and get a score in the 30’s! =)</p>

10

<p>My D took them again last October in a totally different city than ours in a setting that was very unfamiliar and ended up having her best CR and Writ scores. So it really doesn’t matter where you take them. Just re-take them! Good luck!</p>

11

<p>I just wanted to reiterate glassharmonica’s question because I was wondering the same thing. I know Tisch weighs academics/scores and audition at 50-50 when considering a student for admission. does anyone know the breakdown for other top BFAs, including (but not limited to) U Mich., BU, U Minn-Guthrie, and U Evansville? Thanks!</p>

12

<p>I know CMU goes about 80% talent, 20% academic…but really when I was there (for the precollege program), even the admissions counselor told me that basically if the theatre department wants you and you passed high school, you’ll be fine.</p>

<p>I don’t know number-wise, but I would say U Minn and U Evansville will more likely not accept you based on talent than on academics (to clarify…I’m saying those schools are much more selective based on their auditions than on you application stats)</p>

<p>And in general, from when I was applying to schools this last fall, most of the schools I talked to now generally work in the same way. You have to get accepted via academics and audition separately. If the theatre department REALLY wants you, they can maybe sway a close call academically in their favor. So I’d say maybe for audition-academics its like a 55%-45%? If anyone has anything different, I may be wrong though!</p>

13

<p>Thanks for the help theatreguy. What you mentioned about having to get accepted separately academics and audition wise is true for BU, I’ve discovered. Don’t know if I would break it down into percentages… it’s more like, you have to pass an academic bar before they considering you for the theatre school? I think? if someone could chime in with a more confident answer, that’d be great.</p>

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<p>D was at the BU summer theater program last year and they put tons of stress on grades and scores. They want people who can and will commit to a very rigorous program-- grades are the proof of that. Also there was an article the in NY Times a few years ago (link is here somewhere) about a young man who applied to CMU and ended on the waitlist-- CMU talked about grades being important too, despite what’s said here. I think your grades will help you, butterflies, and they certainly won’t hurt.</p>

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<p>Are there absolutely no consequences to retaking the test? If one gets a 32 the first time, takes again and gets a 29 – can you just submit the first test without colleges every knowing you took a second time and did worse? I know when I took the LSAT (law school) many many years ago there were negative consequences to retaking – I think they got averaged. I thought that was true way back when for the SAT. But as I read these threads I have never seen anyone talk about any downside to retaking the tests.</p>

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<p>Most colleges now “superscore” applicants, and take the highest scores as the official ones: they want the best aggregate numbers for their own admissions statistics, after all. The most competitive academic colleges might be leery of students who show huge disparities on separate tests, but every school we’ve visited has stated that they super-score.</p>

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<p>canceling my post</p>

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<p>As I recall, of the schools D was interested in only Yale implied they didn’t like people retaking tests often. I don’t think any school objects to kids taking them twice, but many of the more academically selective schools D applied to don’t superscore, so all submitted scores must be from a single sitting.</p>

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<p>MomCares, which schools didn’t superscore? I feel like the ivies I looked at all superscored, but I only looked at a handful.</p>

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<p>I might be misremembering, but I think I remember that Yale, UPenn, Cornell and Columbia didn’t superscore.</p>