Thumper1 -
I asked my son the very pertinent questions your husband outlined. His answer was “It’s cool, it’s fun, I get to do interesting things and meet great people.” When I pressed him further, he said that he enjoys working to see a show start from nothing but a dream and turn into a production that brings participants and viewers happiness. He has done both light board and sound board, stage managed and assistant stage managed. He has recruited more new members to the stage crew in his HS than anyone else in recent history. He has done builds and breakdowns. The construction work is his favorite. He doesn’t have any interest in costume design and very little in props work, but he has done the latter when needed and would do it again if necessary. If the pillow he made in home ec class is any example, the actors would probably be better off naked than wearing anything he sewed (a chip off the old block, sadly). I have been told by the directors and drama club teachers he has worked with that he has a good sense of how things are done and how to trouble shoot and solve problems. He has taken 3 years of auto mechanics and that teacher, who is also a lawyer, says the same thing about him. They think that he has a great deal of potential. He is generally of a calm nature, or as calm as a 17 year old boy can be, and is looked up to by his peers. He is a leader; other kids come to him with issues they need guidance in. In terms of working with power tools, he obviously can’t do that at school yet, but he has used many of them at home with my husband, who has a nicely equipped shop for a non-professional, and he is well-trained in their safe use.
Today, he and my adult daughter went to visit SUNY Purchase. He liked it and plans to begin his SUNY app when it opens on Monday. As he explained it to me, for the BFA, the school doesn’t really care about your academics, as long as you have a HS diploma; it is based on the portfolio, audition, etc. For the BA, there is no portfolio requirement, but your HS course is more important. He didn’t learn whether you can apply to both or if you can be rejected for the BFA but offered admission to the BA or vice versa. My daughter, who is a performer but who did not study performing arts in school other than voice, felt that the school would be an excellent fit for him.
In terms of my initial question, I did a little more research and found this on line.
Students We Are Seeking
The Office of Admissions at Purchase College seeks to enroll highly motivated, hard-working and academically strong students with a consistent record of achievement in a challenging high school curriculum.
All candidates are encouraged to pursue a rigorous college prep curriculum throughout their entire high school career, enhancing their college preparation through honors and Advanced Placement coursework.
The Office of Admissions maintains a holistic review process with a focus on the quality of your academic program, your cumulative academic average, your test scores and your supplemental application.
Typical Grades and Test Scores
Generally, successful freshman applicants have earned the following:
GPA: 3.0/85
SAT: 1100 combined Critical Reading and Math; Minimum Critical Reading score of 450
ACT: 24 Composite
(My son has a 3.3 and a 24 so if the alg 2 was not an issue, he would have the numbers they are looking for).
This is what I found that was interesting and potentially helpful, not just to my son but to the children of other posters who struggle with math or English or history -
Don’t quite fit the description?
Students that do not meet these exact requirements but demonstrate a compelling academic history or, in the case of our professional training programs in the visual and performing arts, exceptional artistic talent may still be considered for admission. For the additional admission requirements for students applying to programs in the visual and performing arts, choose your program below.
I wonder if my son’s LD and struggles with math would constitute “a compelling academic history.” If his LD does meet this category, then it doesn’t seem that I would be trying to circumvent an absolute requirement as much as traveling an alternative path.
Thanks to those who mentioned CUNY. Both my husband and I attended CUNY schools. I graduated from one and he transferred to a SUNY. He is going to look at the Brooklyn College theater program. I was surprised to learn that it has dorms! When I was in college, we referred to CUNY as Commuter University of NY. As for the standards, he is fine on the reading and writing but only has a 19 on the math ACT. His regents scores aren’t high enough and he didn’t do the alg 2. I’m hoping that he is inspired enough by the desire to avoid remedial math that he will pay attention to the ACT tutoring and get his score up a few points. I keep telling him that remedial math is a waste of time and money and he should try to avoid it if he can. If he can avoid it, it would reduce the number of math classes he has to take and that I have to pay for. That’s the best motivator I can think of.
As to the CC program, I checked the articulation/equivalency charts. It seems that about 2/3 of the classes transfer right over and the other have equivalents that would have to be examined on a case by case basis.
He has lots of things to think about and more options than it seemed he did when I made my initial post.