College expectations

[DefyingGravity4]

Okay so I'm a junior in high school and my life goal is to be on Broadway. I want to go to a performing arts school for college, but in all honesty, my grades and GPA aren't exactly valedictorian worthy. I'm doing everything in my power to bring my grades up before application time and graduation, but I was wondering if anyone knew of some good performing arts colleges that look more at talent and SAT scores as opposed to GPA?

[lydiamarie13]

Unless you're looking at Ivies, Carnegie Mellon, or Emerson, most colleges will focus more on your audition than your grades. Your grades and SAT scores will mostly affect your scholarships. Since you most likely want to major in theatre, or musical theatre, you will have to audition for many schools since there are only so many open spots, and everyone wants them. Since I just went through this process for technical theatre, I think Elon University, New York University, Rider University, Pace University, Marymount Manhattan College, and Rutgers University are all great schools for theatre. Good luck!

[burkemoses]

If your SATs and audition are good, you won’t have to worry about too much about your grades. Mine were mediocre at best (and my SATs were hardly spectacular), yet I got into NYU, Carnegie-Mellon, N. Carolina, and a handful of others. That was ages ago, of course, but as far as I know the playing field is still the same.

Always remember this: drama education is first and foremost a business. They want and need your money. More often than not it’s the student that picks the program, not vice-versa. There are hundreds of theater programs out there, as well as universities that have drama clubs. Competition between them is stiff. Only the top schools like Jullliard, where thousands audition for twenty spots, do they feel superior, and don’t have to worry about filling their ranks.

Like Uncle Sam in war time, these schools WANT YOU!

Hope that helped,

Burke Moses
burkemoses.com

[KatieRed]

Auditions and grades are both important to colleges, I know that several applicants to University of Michigan and Carnegie Mellon have had stunning auditions but were turned down from the programs because of their grades. If you feel your grades are holding you back from getting into your top choice schools, consider using your freshman year as a way to demonstrate a better academic standing and transfer for the remainder of your college experience. There are also great college audition prep programs offered by regional theater's across the country that can help you prepare to audition.

Try something like this: http://www.goodspeed.org/audition-master-class