<p>I've been wondering this for a while...</p>
<p>If you are perusing a college education in theatre, how much do grades matter? What GPA or SAT/ACT scores are considered "good"? Is there a difference in the standards between theatre kids and non theatre kids? Between theatre tech kids and acting kids?</p>
<p>Can you get by by simply being a good actor, or having an excellent theatre portfolio?</p>
<p>Grades matter a lot because they show how dependable and responsible you are. At some programs, you have to be admitted into the school before you can be admitted into the program. Sure, there are some programs where “grades don’t matter”. It’s always best to make the best grades possible! At NYU- half is based on academics and half is based on talent. It’s a very challenging school academically and artistically.</p>
<p>You should try for the highest grades you can get, so that more doors will be open to you. And money. Amazing grades will get you more money.</p>
<p>If you do not have good grades, you can still audition at most programs, but NYU, UMICH and BU would probably more out of reach. And of course many BA programs.</p>
<p>Every college and university, and every specific program is going to be different.</p>
<p>Some will put more weight on grades, others will put more weight on your audition.</p>
<p>Some programs are at colleges where the college will have certain grade requirements, while the program has its own (such as an audition). Basically for those you are trying to be admitted TWICE–once in the college, and once in the program. I hear here about folks getting one but not the other.</p>
<p>There are even a few programs that are entirely based on grades, and also a few that are entirely based on audition and portfolio.</p>
<p>Basically, each applicant needs to look at their strengths, and figure out which specific programs they are best qualified for. It’s usually better to address these specific questions to admissions counselors.</p>
<p>Of course the best thing of all is to have BOTH–the high grades AND the kickbutt audition!</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>for some of these schools, there is also course rigor to consider. Some schools want to see not only good grades, but students who excel in higher-level classes (Honors/AP).</p>
<p>And even at schools where the academic requirements may not be very high, higher grades and scores means $$ which can make a difference in whether you can attend any program at all.</p>
<p>@sshhee
For the BFA program I’m going for @UM, all students are required to maintain a B average in their theatre coursework. GE classes you just have to pass.
For scholarship eligibility you have to maintain at least a 2.5 across the board. (Don’t ask why, Idk)</p>
<p>“Is there a difference in the standards between theatre kids and non theatre kids?”
Not sure what you mean by that. You mean is there a difference between BA and BFA? The answer is yes. </p>
<p>BA is liberal arts based. It allows you to enroll in classes from many different departments within theatre. A more “well-rounded” theatre education if you will.</p>
<p>BFA is concentration/studio based. It’s like you’re majoring and minoring in your area of specialization. If acting, you take primarily acting/voice/movement classes…same applies for MT and Tech.</p>
<p>When you get into the BFA program specifically (well in my case), we have a portfolio review every year and as well as pass a jury audition (required to enroll in sophomore, junior and senior performance classes). </p>
<p>“Is there a difference between theatre tech and acting?” Grade wise no. For us Theatre Tech falls under BFA and thus the grade requirement (B average) still applies. </p>
<p>You can take classes for it in the BA degree. The BA degree doesn’t have the grade requirement that I’m aware of. Again if you were to specialize however you’d be under BFA.</p>
<p>I don’t know which university you’re attending so I can only speak from my own experience. I hope this clarifies matters for you.</p>
<p>I think better grades open up the door for more merit aid to the private schools. My D is still making her final choice between 2 schools, one is a public, in-state and one is private. Both are auditioned theatre programs. I’m not sure whether her good grades contributed to her being accepted artistically to these schools but, with the significant academic scholarship she received from the private school, we are able to consider both programs from a financial basis. Many of the theatre programs are at very expensive private schools, so every little bit helps!</p>
<p>sshhee, The way I view it, no matter what program, a university will push students to work their hardest. At BSU, the theatre classes and teachers definitely don’t hold back- we have a workload that keeps us busy and challenges us daily! So don’t give up on grades- work really hard, because as everyone else said, it will pay off no matter what!</p>
<p>Sshhee, trust me I know what you are going through. I had a horrible GPA coming out of high school, but I was able to get into a pretty good program with that GPA, and I raised it. I will say that at conservatories, they look at talent more than grades, but grades have a HUGE impact on your admission decisions. While most conservatories are in accordance with private schools, those private schools require good grades and test scores. In most cases you will be accepted first artistically, and then that will go to the admissions office and they will review your application for admission to the university. But if you’re going to a traning program instead of a university, then it is pretty much purely based off talent.</p>
<p>" but grades have a HUGE impact on your admission decisions. While most conservatories are in accordance with private schools, those private schools require good grades and test scores."</p>
<p>I have to respectfully disagree. Many conservatory based programs take MUCH LOWER GPAs than programs integrated in a liberal arts setting, and therefore, the impact on the admissions decision is minimal at best. This is the appeal for students who didn’t do so well in high school for whatever reason. Those academic achievers applying to these same schools, however, can negotiate merit monies that wouldn’t necessarily be available to the lower GPA students, so it is always best to excel in high school and get the highest SAT/ACT scores possible. Good grades and test scores are also good indicators of future college performance.</p>
<p>Some conservatory programs state a minimum required GPA or composite SAT/ACT score (DePaul lists both: the GPA is 2.5, and I can’t remember the test score, but it was not terribly high). UArts says that they expect applicants to have GPAs above 2.0, with no minimal test requirements. When my son and I visited Mason Gross at Rutgers last year, the representative stated “we don’t care about your grades.” Every program is a little different. I would say that BU, NYU/Tisch, Fordham, and Emerson all require decent academic records.</p>
<p>You are spot-on stagemum! Programs such as NYU, BU, Emerson, Carnegie Mellon, and Northwestern have an academic program integrated with the artistic program. For me, hearing a school will take a 2.0 (the lowest C) is a little scary.</p>
<p>A kid from my daughter’s school got into CMU and he has horrible grades. They mostly go on talent not grades and standardized tests. Much to my dismay!</p>
<p>Mrs. DrZ. - I think UArts wanted to state that a student had to have passed his or her high school classes, and to set minimum standards. The students all have to undergo talent reviews (portfolio or audition), and I’m sure that the schools take all factors into account. A student with strong grades and board scores will have a lot more flexibility in applying and in qualifying for scholarships than an inferior student. All BFA programs are intensely competitive, and having the option of attending a first-rate liberal arts college or university with a good Theater BA program can relieve some of the pressure.</p>
<p>stagemum, Yes, I agree, I think they post the bare minimum and when students do their college research they need to keep this in mind.</p>
<p>D’s school uses a pretty slick program to confidentially track college acceptance stats of its students. I just looked up stats for this year’s applicants from D’s school (majors unknown, but certain schools are known for performance) </p>
<p>Average acceptance weighted GPA/SAT score pairing:</p>
<p>Yale = 4.54/2230
Northwestern = 4.47/2170
CMU = 4.43/2200
USC = 4.22/2050
BU = 4.00/1960
NYU = 3.99/1950
U of Michigan = 3.68/1900
Emerson = 3.53/1860
BoCo = 3.22/1660</p>
<p>I suppose the moral of the story is that grades really do still matter in most cases unless you happen to be a phenom performer a college simply has to have…</p>
<p>The University of Southern California has not released specific numbers for each individual school. So I do not have data for the newly named USC School of Dramatic Arts. Even though SC is located in Los Angeles the metropolitan area most represented after California is New York.</p>
<p>USC received around 36,000 applications for the freshmen class. The admit rate was 18.2%. ACT range of accepted students was 30-34 and SAT mid 50% was 2060-2250.
Pell Grant enrollment for 2011 entering freshmen was 23%.</p>
<p>Were the numbers accepted at the various universities about the same?</p>
<p>I’ve been following this thread because although my D’s stats are quite high (which no doubt helped her acceptance at Northwestern), my younger S’s stats are bad. Well, not bad–just mostly nonexistent as he’s homeschooled. His SAT currently is at 2100, but he’ll retake. He’ll take SAT II and AP tests, but I have no idea how he’ll do. He’s 17.</p>
<p>In other words, he’s an unconventional student. He has a lot of theatre credits, some professional, almost equity (not quite!). Anyone ever in this boat? I think he wants to major in theatre but he mostly grunts when I try to have a conversation… Lately he’s talking about possibly applying for a cruise job when he turns 18. Advice?</p>
<p>Hoveringmom, if your younger son doesn’t have a burning desire to study theatre in college, maybe it would be best just to let him follow his own path (or non-path!) for the time being.</p>
<p>NJTheatreMom, yes, true, of course I would never press him to major in theatre in college if he had little interest–But I guess I was asking, first, if anyone knew anything about cruise jobs. This might be a great way for him to gain experience, maturity and independence as a gap year or two. We know one young woman who worked for Disney as Cinderella, and loved it. But we don’t know anything more, like how hard it is to get in particularly for boys, impressions from others, what anyone knows about them, etc. Maybe I should start a separate thread? I couldn’t find anything here.</p>
<p>Also, if he does end up deciding on theatre in a BFA program, what would be his options? As I say, he’s 17, a Junior, but unacademic, with no grades. For instance, Tisch & CMU would probably be out of the question. I realize certain conservatories like Julliard & Rutgers don’t care about grades, but are there less intense conservatories that also don’t care? Since he’s 17 and it’s spring, I thought I’d start investigating if anyone knew what options there would be for him should he decide to pursue either course and if there were suggestions for others. Thanks.</p>