If my son is not going into a STEAM related field, is it necessary for him to take AP classes? While academically he can handle the AP course work, his love and passion is in Theatre and wants to pursue a degree in the field of Theatre Performance. Should he just focus his efforts on theatre related enrichment programs outside of his regular theatre classes/performances? I am torn because he can do well in AP classes, but would rather spend his time auditioning and learning lines. His dream school would be NYU Tisch. Advice?
NYU, like MOST highly competitive colleges, expects that capable students will take increasingly rigorous classes as they progresses through HS. That means taking AP classes IF they are offered. Colleges look to see if the guidance counselor has checked the " most rigorous" box on his LOR.
You would be doing your DS a grave disservice by letting him take easy classes, instead of challenging himself to do his best. It will make him FAR less competitive at NYU and other colleges when he is compared to students who DID take AP classes.
If he is lucky enough to get into NYU then he can turn his full attention to the theater arts.
Yes, even if he isn’t doing STEM, he should be looking into AP classes such as Art History or other humanities AP courses. Competitive schools prefer their applicants to have rigorous schedules.
Agree with the above. Admissions officers at top schools like to see student’s succeed in the most rigorous core classes that he/she can manage.
Thank you for your replies. He has taken pre AP classes in Geometry, English, Bio,World Geo, AP World History, and Honors Spanish. But unfortunately due to his commitment to theatre and being in every production, he only received B’s in those classes. And life was very stressful as he is also on the Varsity Swim team as a Sophomore. His day is a long one starting at 6:00 am for swim practice and ending at 6:00 pm with theatre practice. He attends an extremely competitive high school where receiving B’s will get you a low class ranking. Only top 30% with a 3.6 GPA. This year we let him take regular on level Algebra II and Chemistry because he didn’t have time nor did he want to dedicate the extra time to keep up with the pre AP course work. It was a struggle as he started out in the pre AP classes and then dropped down to regular on level. As a result he has very high A’s in the on level classes (99 & 96 average), but obviously he could have handled the pre AP versions of those courses if he had wanted to. He thinks his class ranking will go up by taking the on level classes and he doesn’t have to study for those classes. Next year (junior yr) he wants to take AP English, College Dual Credit for American History, on level Pre Cal, and on level Physics in addition to 2 Theatre classes and Varsity Swim. He seems to think his audition will be the most important criteria to gaining admission to a Theatre Arts program at a prestigious college. It’s very frustrating as a parent to see him taking courses that are below what he could handle yet do we deny his love for theatre and force the issue thus making life miserable for all?
It sounds like the biggest issue isn’t his courseload but his involvement in both Swim and Theatre. From another students perspective, I would encourage your son to really consider how much he loves swim, since it seems to come at such a high cost. It might make more sense to quit swim than to give up AP classes in his case.
As I see it, he literally does not have time to do better in class because of his outside commitments, which are exhausting and give him little time to eat, sleep and do homework.
My STRONG suggestion is that he DROP swim his Jr year, ADD Spanish and take ONLY one theatre class.
ON another note- have you run the NPC’ for NYU? Can you afford to send him there? They are notorious for offering loans as part of their “financial aid” packages. Or can you afford any other private college? If you CAN’T afford NYU or any other dream" college that he has "his heart set on[ something that should be nipped in the bud asap], then NOW is the time to have the $$ talk with as to what you CAN afford.
my other suggestion is that you head over to the musical theatre forum.
there are some very experienced parents there that can offer you sound advice.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/
I’m not expert in this area but this quote is from the Tisch admission website “Admission to the Tisch School of the Arts is a highly selective process. We hold applicants to a high standard of academic and artistic excellence.” To me this makes it seem that academics are an important part of the admission process. If he was looking towards a BFA at a conservatory then it may be different answer. FWIW my nephew who got into Tisch for cinema studies (he didn’t end up there) had a strong academic profile with APs as well as a strong portfolio.
Agree that might be worth posing the question in the musical theater forum.
I agree that he needs to step up the academics especially in the humanities and history. The more knowledge he has, the more depth he can bring to any part.