<p>Hello everyone on CC! I am currently a high-school sophomore at a private college preparatory in Phoenix, Arizona. I am really into Theatre and Acting, and hope to study this in college. I am extremely interested in NYU Tisch, U of M, Fordham, Yale Drama, Chapman, and DePaul (The Theatre School.) As of now, here are my stats:
-GPA: 3.6 (Unweighted)
-Honors, AP: Haven't taken any, a regular class here is like an Honors at a regular school.
-PSAT: 1960 (keep in mind, I haven't taken Algebra 2 so I'm expecting over 2000 next year on SAT after I take it.)
-Extracurriculars:
--Over 25+ shows (plays, musicals) and lead roles in 10.
--Over 500 volunteer hours.
--Clubs: Honor Thespian (Thespian Troupe Representative), Drama Club president, French Honors Society, National Honors Society, Student Council (very prestigious at my school), Big Brother (also very prestigious), Tech Theatre, fluent in French, works in office of a local theatre in my city.</p>
<p>What else should I get into to supplement my resume? Are there certain things I can do or improve on to help my chances with these schools? Are there any drama summer programs that you can recommend?</p>
<p>Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!</p>
<p>Dramactor - your academic statistics and resume are competitive for most theater programs other than Yale. Tisch and Fordham are “50/50” schools, meaning they weigh academic criteria alongside your audition. You are in their range for accepted students, so a strong audition wouldn’t be overruled by the academic committee. As I understand it, no grades or scores would be high enough to compensate for a weak audition, but you need to be academically “qualified.” Theater programs consider everyone from professional child actors, with extensive Equity & SAG experience, to kids who’ve never appeared in more than their school productions. You can try to research some strong audition pieces, and find a coach or mentor to work with you on them. All the programs you’ve listed are extremely competitive, and reject hundreds of bright, talented kids each year. Some factors are subjective, and completely out of your control (ie. how you “fit,” or what sort of “mix” the school is trying to cultivate with your cohort). Will you need financial assistance? If so, try to cast a pretty wide net. Many schools offer a limited number of talent scholarships along with need-based aid. Some state universities are stingy with out-of-state applicants, and fiscal crises have raised the costs to approach those of private colleges. Above all, figure out where you think you’d like to be, and what you want from school. If you are committed to an intensive conservatory B.F.A. program, above all else, identify a broad range of schools to audition for, and figure out the juggling act involved - especially if many or most of them are more than several hours away from you, or you don’t live in or near a major metropolitan area. You will probably be unable to schedule all your auditions during the “Unified” weekend. I recommend visiting most, if not all, of the schools you are considering. This is less onerous than it sounds, provided your family supports your plan. You can discuss arranging family vacations around sights and activities near your colleges (e.g. major league sports events, museums, festivals, etc.). Do you want a major city, or would you prefer a traditional campus environment? If you have your heart set on an auditioned conservatory B.F.A., try not to get your heart too set on a specific one. There are many excellent programs out there, and most have acceptance rates comparable to Harvard’s (if not lower). If you want to combine your theatrical interests with a strong liberal arts education, consider adding a few non-auditioned B.A. programs. Once you receive your notifications, you will be able to weigh the merits of various options. Good luck!</p>
<p>thanks for the answer. any more suggestions from college students?</p>
<p>A suggestion from an exhausted Mom: spend lots of time in the summer doing your research and school visits. You will be too busy in the fall.</p>
<p>I agree with everyone else.</p>
<p>1) Keep doing what you have been doing,</p>
<p>and</p>
<p>2) Make sure you give adequate attention to preparing for your auditions for college theatre programs.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>Hello Dramactor,
The best option is to spend a lot of time preparing for your audition. Read as many plays as you can and pick monologues which you feel extremely connected to. Don’t search for monologues over the internet, they are likely to be overdone, find the monologues yourself. Attend some audition techniques workshops and get familiar with the process. At the end of the day, your audition is the most important element if you want to get accepted to a notable acting program. The number of plays you have been in does not really matter for them as talent is more valuable than experience.</p>
<p>Oh, and don’t forget to be a kid!</p>