Do they look?

[Mantber]

Posted: 4/25/06 at 8:10pm

When you are applying for an arts college, in general, can the amount of plays/musicals you have been in have a factor if you make it in or not after you finish all the stages of applying? Or do they not look at how many plays/musicals you have been in at all? For example, if Bob wanted to apply to a college and he has amazing grades and his audition was great, will they still accept him if he only has done a few plays or would they accept the next person that has done 10+. In general terms I was wondering if you knew if colleges do that? The reason I was asking was because I didn't "start" theatre until this year and so far I have 2 plays and 1 musical under the belt. And I wanted to know if on the college application they actually have a section "List all plays/musicals you have performed in" or something around that area. Any help will of coarse be very much appreciated! :)

[Sporti2005]

Posted: 4/25/06 at 8:26pm

most places with require you to submit a theatrical resume. this will include your experience/training/awards/etc.

though experience is always a plus, a college theatre program doesn't REQUIRE that you've been in a whole bunch of shows. they would MUCH rather take a hugely talented person who's done 4 shows than a mediocre person who's done 10.

when it comes down to it, your audition (and application, depending on the school) is really the most important factor on whether/not you get accepted.

that said, get all the experience you can!! you didn't say what year you were, but it sounds like you have a little time left. audition for everything, and accept small roles (which a lot of people pass up!!) -- every little bit counts.

good luck!

[Mantber]

Posted: 4/25/06 at 8:40pm

Thanks! I'm a sophmore heading to be a Junior -- thats good to know! Thanks again for the quick response I was affriad that didnt make sense. :)


Also, your grades are on the same level of importance as your audition too, right? Updated On: 4/25/06 at 08:40 PM

[lilprima2b]

Posted: 4/25/06 at 8:55pm

^ For grades, it depends on the school. I'm pretty sure conservatories are a lot less worried about your grades than your audition. But if you're going somewhere like NYU, Yale (I think their drama program might only be grad school anyway?), etc., your academic standing is very important. I know someone who didn't get into NYU despite his talent (an attractive BOY, who could sing AND dance!) because of his grades.

[GirlforTartaglia]

Posted: 4/25/06 at 9:12pm

I'm applying for Tisch, and I went to the seminar for those visiting the school a little while ago and they said your SAT scores and such are VERY important, but your audition is what is the MOST important. But, they're very into their liberal arts cirriculum and if you can't handle it because of your scores even if you're talented you may not get accepted.
My GPA is a 97.7 and my foundation SAT score is a 2080 and I hope that's good enough coupled with my audition for this coming October.

[Sporti2005]

Posted: 4/25/06 at 9:20pm

NYU - grades are 50%, audition is 50%. neither one is more important than the other is what they advertise.

conservatories - grades are not NEARLY as important as audition. i would say in the realm of 90% audition, 10% grades.

some places you have to pass an acadamic review before you're even allowed to audition. U of Michigan is one of them.

basically, keep your grades up and take challenging classes; good grades might not get you in but they will often times get you some good scholarship money.

[astonishing1985]

Posted: 4/25/06 at 9:46pm

My GPA was 3.9 and that got me great academic scholarships so it's definitely worth it to study, it also just keeps you disciplined. And colleges do of course look at grades.
At NYU you have 2 days a week where you have academics and 3 days where you have studio work. So they definitely check grades.