My son loves theater. He did many plays in middle school and took theater as elective. He is a 9th grader now and taking theater studies though his counselor warned him that a 4.0 would be a disadvantage as rest of the top 1% students are taking a 5.0 elective instead. He really enjoys theater and would like to continue it for all four years. He gets straight A+ in all subjects and his PSAT score is already NMSF level. What would be a good way to turn theater in a great extracurricular for his resume? He doesn’t want to pursue a degree in theater, just like it as a subject and a hobby. What other theater centric activities do you suggest to make theater a strength for his resume? Community theater? Summer camp? Please give some ideas, I’m very ignorant about admission process.
Seems like a variant of the common question “should I take a non-weighted elective that I really like, or a weighted elective to help my weighted-GPA-based class rank?”
No. There is no way he’ll swap his theater class for an AP. My question is about making theater work for him by coordinating it with some outside extra curriculars? What sort of out of school activities would compliment his theater courses? Of course, with his heavy AP/IB course load and commitment to school plays, he has limited time to pursue outside options.
I picked up the phone and called every summer camp that Happykid could get to by public transportation that claimed to offer theater activities, and found her a theater tech/design internship for the summer after junior year. Look around your area, and see what community theater stuff is going on too. If he’s interested in continuing in theater as a hobby, that would be a great introduction to some of the opportunities that he could pursue in the future.
Taking a performing arts elective will not put him at a disadvantage. Colleges are aware of the time commitment and dedication the arts take and are aware that it may keep you from being #1 in your class, but will not hold that against you. They encourage students to participate in elective they love, regardless of the weighting.
You may want to point the counselor in the direction of this video, since that is terrible advice coming from a GC. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZVxA0J5g28 Its a TED talk called “Why taking choir kept me from being a Valedictorian”. You’ll notice a particularly interesting comment from an AO at MIT.
I’d say if he can find a community theater group, that would be awesome, but being in school productions is a great extracurricular.
If he loves theater and it is part of what makes him happy and makes him tick, I would not have him give it up. If he ends up on the bottom of the top 1% of the school because he takes theater instead of a course that is weighted more heavily then so be it. My D took orchestra all the way through and ended up as assistant concertmaster which I think turned out to be a plus for her college application overall (and more importantly it was the one stress free class she had throughout high school) and she continues to play in the college orchestra. Colleges look for passion and in- depth involvement in extracurricular and theater is a fine thing to do. I don’t think one should give up passions and try to script a life for the sole purpose of getting into the most prestigious college possible – people who pursue their passions and allow time for some enjoyment in their lives often end up happier and more successful in the end.
That said, you can check and see if your S can be in HS plays in school without taking a performing arts class, if there are community performing groups, and if there are summer programs.
"What other theater centric activities do you suggest to make theater a strength for his resume? Community theater? Summer camp? Please give some ideas, I'm very ignorant about admission process."
Having the EC and participating it in (especially if he loves it) shows passion enough. It really doesn’t matter if everyone else is on that 5.0 level. Colleges will strip that weighted rank off of you and see what your unweighted GPA is. That’s what matters to them.
Making theater a strength depends on what he wants to do with it. Does he want to continue to perform? If so, check your local community center or a similar place and see if he can be in a play there. Summer programs and community groups also serve this purpose perfectly. If there are any live theaters nearby you, you can check and see if he can either perform there or possibly work there backstage. If your son wants to interact with other theater kids or teach younger kids the ropes, he can possibly teach kids at a summer camp or workshop-esque type of deal. Or he can even start a workshop of his own with some theater buddies!
The opportunities to make an EC like that work you are endless. I wish your son the best of luck and I hope he has FUN with it!
He should also check with the people in the theater department at his school and find out if they know anything that might be fun for the summer. For example, the community college closest to Happykid’s old HS has a summer dinner theater program that is open to anyone in the community - not just college-age participants. Every year several kids from her HS participate. They all have a great time.