Will one rubbish grade affect my chances that much?

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
1

<p>I'm almost through with my junior year in high school. My grades for this year and last year were primarily As, with the exception of one B in the first semester of my sophomore year.</p>

<p>However, my first-semester grades from my freshman year are not so great. I attended a different school to the one I attend now. I became very ill, and missed a ton of school. The administration was not particularly willing to work with me, so I decided to transfer. At the end of the semester, I turned in a huge pile of absent work and "checked out" of the school system. Unfortunately, they neglected to tell me that since I "checked out," they would not accept any of the work I had given them. Thus, I received a D and two Bs for that semester.</p>

<p>The colleges to which I am applying include NYU (my first choice), Rutgers, BU, CMU, Juilliard, SUNY Purchase, Marymount Manhattan, and Cornish. I have been told that for B.F.A. acting applicants, academics are not as emphasized during the application process, but I'm worried that one abysmal grade will hurt me. Will it matter that much?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Theatregeek, if you have good grades for most of high school, and decent SAT scores, one semester of bad grades way back in freshman year won’t make any difference when applying to acting programs.</p>

<p>Just concern yourself with devoting all your energies to selecting the very best monologues you can and preparing them the best you can, and don’t fret about those bad grades of yesteryear.</p>

3

<p>Lots of schools do not actually figure the grades earned in one’s freshman year in high school into their GPA. Others will forbear from using the ninth grade marks IF there is an upward trend that is strong and consistent. Every school is different.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the words of wisdom, NJTheatreMOM and skipsmom. I am relieved.</p>