I’ll ask him to join CC if he wants to post it for posters input. It’s not my place to post his resume. I understand that with limited data you cant offer specific advice.
Just to mention again, there are lots of threads in this forum about recommended BA schools for theater. So, simply reading those would help.
Theater, however, is a major that most colleges (particularly liberal arts ones) offer. Since this student is unsure he wants to major in this field, he could go almost anywhere.
Any thoughts on undergrad theater program at Carnegie Mellon? What are the requirements?
Carnegie Mellon is a BFA program by audition. This is not an appropriate path for your friend, who needs a BA school. Not to mention, CMU is one of the most competitive BFA programs in the country…think Harvard for BFA in Acting.
You need to focus on BA schools and read threads on this forum that discuss good BA schools for theater. That said, you would have to know this student’s selection criteria in order to narrow the search and then a full academic and extracurricular profile, not to mention if need or merit based FA would be needed.
I know that he is ranked in single digits among a huge school body with very high GPA. I also know that he is in 99th percentile on PSAT, SAT and ACT so academically theater programs can’t get a better candidate. As a matter of fact I know his IQ as his parents are very proud of it, he is among top 1% of human population.
OK, so he has top academic stats. He wants a BA school with a strong theater major or minor in case he majors in that, or else a strong EC theater scene. Do not look into the BFA schools (like NYU and Carnegie Mellon).
You would need to know his selection criteria…all the typical things like geographic location/region, distance from home, setting, Greek scene preference, size, cost, need for any need or merit based aid, academic offerings, extracurricular offerings desired, preferences within the theater curriculum, things the school must have or offer, and so on.
Have you searched this Theater Majors forum for threads of recommended BA schools for theater?
Keep in mind that to get into a tippy top academically selective elite college, it is not enough to have high academic stats. Ideally this student stands out in some way, such as with his extracurricular endeavors. Is this student an under represented minority? First generation college student?
@“Yalie 2011” Two larger schools to consider if he wants very strong academics and strong theater are Brown and Northwestern. Kenyon is an excellent LAC with a strong theater history. Current BWay darling Lin Manuel Miranda went to Wesleyan, and has often spoken in interviews about how important it was to his development.
No auditions are required for any of those schools. Perhaps you can suggest them to the student as jumping off points for research.
If I can read people at all, he’ll end up in theater. I think it’s just parental influence, stories of starving artists and fear of not utilizing his academic potential that’s making him hesitant. He’s been in love with theater since childhood, wasn’t allowed or encouraged to do it outside school otherwise would be doing more.
Apparently other than raw talent, one also needs lessons, coaches,summer programs and outside acting experience to be able to get into BFA so guess he has to go BA route.
Loving theater isn’t enough to turn one into an actor. Given that this student seems to have limited theater experience, he might want to consider attending a summer acting program for high school students. There are a number of excellent programs, e.g., Northwestern University (The Cherubs), Boston University (Summer Theater Institute), or Brown (TheaterBridge), are just a few.
Check out the Theater Major forum for more information for acting summer programs for high school students and BA theater programs. It sounds like this student’s parents assume that theater majors aren’t challenged intellectually, which is a mistaken assumption.
Both of his parents are engineers and wish for him to have a major that leads to a similarly predictable career and financial stability. I can’t really blame them as he can easily get into medical/engineering/law/business/finance professions with his IQ. Getting eastablished as an actor is not an easy road even if talent is oozing from every pore. He can always keep theater as a hobby but clearly that is not what he is aiming for.
However, more importantly parents won’t pay for summer programs in theater as they “don’t want to get him more tangled in theater world without exploring other possibilities”.
I feel like this is the story of most first generation immigrant children, parents can’t relate to their lives or accept fine arts, humanities or athletics as valid career options.
@Yalie2011, are you advising this student? What is your relationship to him? If you are advising him, you do indeed need to educate yourself as far as the choices out there. I would recommend reading this thread extensively and researching what a BFA is, what a BA means, etc, what it means to major in theatre, and above all, how all this aligns with the student’s goals and abilities.
You write, “NYU is every actor’s dream school but getting good merit money isn’t possible” --Both statements are untrue, but in addition, I second others who have said it is very unclear how to advise this student as we have no idea about what his goals/abilities are other than you making clear he is a top academic student with a high IQ.
There are some schools that have top theatre programs as well as top academics – my D went to Northwestern, which is one such school. There are many others - eg Brown, USC - and there are also many others that are top schools that offer a BA theatre major and the opportunity to explore other options too. From what you describe, a BFA would not be a good choice for him (a BFA is what Tisch offers).
I would focus a lot less on the rather random ‘rankings’ you have for schools, and a lot more on what his goals are and which colleges can help him achieve those goals best.
I appreciate advice from all posters. I’m not advising him. His parents are his advisors. We just talked about it a few times in social settings. I’ve advised him to reach out to other theater teachers in his district as his teacher is new and not experienced about admission process.
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I have one kid who majored in the performing arts. He is not in the BSO or NY Phil, but he is making his living doing something he loves…music. He “could have” been in engineering, a medical field, business or finance. It never dawned on us to push him in that direction…he loved music…and he is good enough to be ablw to make a living. He isn’t rich, but he can pay his bills.
The second kid majored in engineering. She claimed she wanted to be an engineer. She got her degree in engineering. She then went into the Peace Corps…because she knew she never wanted to work as an engineer. She is in school pursuing another career now,
My point is…this family can push their kid into taking engineering as a major, butmthat does NOT guarantee he will,ever work as an engineer…if he really doesn’t like the field.
There is a lot to be said for “do what you love, love what you do” when it comes to work and college majors.
But I’m digressing.
This kid can get a BA in theater at a lot of places. He can still be involved in theater at a lot of places. He can perform at a lot of places (remember, every show needs towns people, and secondary roles in addition to the leads). He can learn all of the backstage things.
My DH was a professional theater technician…lights and sound…who freelanced in NYC. He did very well doing this…and enjoyed it. Eventually he did get his engineering degree… ut that was HIS choice…not his parent choice.
He continues to enjoy technical theater now as a hobby.
I totally get going with one’s passion as my own uncle has an MD but ended up as an organic farmer because he just wasn’t happy around stress, pain and fast pace of hospitals. My Nana still regrets pushing him towards medicine.
However, his parents want a compromise, if he picks an unpredictable major then they want boost of a top college, in case he changes his mind.
As noted above…he can do theater at any elite school…there are opportunities at them all.
What is the compromise Yalie? It sounds as if the parents are using the power of the purse to push their son in the direction they prefer.
Also, as already mentioned, when one applies for a BA, they do not declare an intended major.
You got it right, parents have good intentions but they want to finance a rather controlled experiment then let him carve his own destiny.
If he applies to BA then theater would only count as a strong EC and he may not get in few tippy top schools. For next level of schools they’ll only pay if he is picking a safer major.
I’m wondering if he applies in BFA and gives a decent enough audition then there is a chance that his high stats would make him more attractive than applicants who aren’t academically strong? What flawes do you see in this plan?
@“Yalie 2011” - there are schools where stats matter: NYU, Michigan, Penn State and Syracuse are examples - you have to pass academic muster there. BUT -stats matter most as a “threshold”… they only take students who qualify, and then the audition counts for just as much. I do not think that those programs, or others, would accept higher stats and lower talent - that’s not the way BFAs work. It’s more like the stats become a hurdle in ADDITION to the talent, rather than the other way around
I don’t see any flaws in that plan. There are audition coaches that will help him pick material and work on his monologues. If he has natural talent he should have enough time to prepare. He should also get involved with local theater opportunities. He has time to act in a couple of shows and do some tech work. Some schools don’t put too much weight on the resume but most including BA programs that have acting, will require an audition. USC has a good BA program that I believe is interview only, Fordham has an BA that requires an audition. NYU’s BFA is auditioned. UCLA has a BA but it requires an audition. Yale has a theater studies major that you can double major with and I believe you audition at the end of freshman year, but everyone gets in? Harvard has a theater concentration as well. Hofstra has a non audition BA that can be a BFA by auditioning late freshman year and Muhlenberg has a non audition BFA.