logicaldog

My middle son (he is in the middle of a "GT" sandwich), is looking for a smallish college, hopefully on the west coast. He is not academically oriented (neither was I and I am a psychotherapist now, hated education....hated school). He excels in theatre, english and used to be social studies (is NOW terribly boring taught lecture style, is killing social studies), has taken some AP classes...will probably end up as follows: 2.8-3.0 GPA, lots of roles in plays and workshops nationally, ACT 20 composite. He would really love UCLA (went to a workshop there last summer and they encouraged them to audition even tho grades not great, but I see zero possibility there). Any thoughts would be appreciated!!! Also how useful is the Auditioning Workshop presented by US Performing Arts? I thought it looked very helpful in preparing but is only offered for seniors, which is kinda too late...

megpmom

Have you looked at Chapman?

amtc

Don't know why you don't think UCLA would work for him. His GPA is fine for a theatre major, I remember being told that they can go as low as a 2.0 GPA for a kid with a good audition.

theater mom

My D was accepted to the UCLA theater department with a lower GPA than your S. The first thing they told us when we toured the department was that they did not expect their applicants to have earned the same high GPAs as the rest of the school. However, I did wonder how my D would do in the classroom with students who did have those stratospheric GPAs. She would have had to take plenty of classes outside her department, too.

UC Irvine is both smaller and safer. Chapman is also an option although the academics are not as good. In general, though, the West Coast is not a great place for theater schools.

showmom858

theater mom - We are from CA, but my D only applied to one school in CA last year when she auditioned. If your S is interested in NYC then he may want to look at Marymount Manhattan . My D is doing MT there, but they also have a BFA in Acting.

My D's stats were much higher than required for admission to MMC so she received excellent merit and talent aid. Since this is an audition school it would not be a safety for your son. How about one of the Cal State Schools that has a theatre program?

sassystage

There's CalArts! It's only 40 minutes from LA, it's in Valencia. It has a really interesting program. It focuses on classical training, while at the same time incorporating new theatre into the program. It's hard to explain, but it's excellent, one of my top choices. It's very very unique.

Here's the website:

CalArts | California Institute of the Arts

KatMT

One thing for you and your S to discuss is whether or not he wants to be taking a number of classes outside of his major, or mostly within his major. This is a separate issue than where he may or may not be admitted... rather about what kind of educational experience he is looking for. This will help him to focus on programs that will be the best educational fit.

country day

Is your son interested in a career in theater, or is he looking to make a jump into film acting?

logicaldog

sorry haven't checked this for a while-but now it is getting serious-

here are the pending choices to apply-
Cal Arts
UCLA
Cornish
Suny Purchase
Oberlin
Minnesota
VCU (really don't want to be in Virginia)
Arizona State

and the maybes:

Univ of Maine
Kansas State
Cal Poly Pomona
Baldwin Wallace
University of Wash
Univ of Delaware
De Paul
Northwestern
Chapman


here are our stats:

GPA (weighted) 3.0 unweighed 2.7
lots of APs and a Drama Academy HS
ACT composite 21

lots of clubs and theatre stuff

Thoughts on ones we should take off or add, I need some safetys for sure that we will be going to school (somewhere)

He is a good actor and should do well on auditions.

More Film and TV, less theatre (and no music if possible)

Thoughts, Jan

stagemum

I suspect that your son's numbers are a little low for Oberlin and Northwestern. I don't know which state you come from, and whether there are separate admissions standards for performing arts programs at Delaware and Washington, but you might be a little low for an out-of-state applicant there, as well. Columbia College Chicago is a popular "safety" for theater students, because it has an extremely high acceptance rate (approaching "open admissions"). If finances are an issue, you should also probably included some public colleges within your state.

logicaldog

no, not interested in state programs in my state (Virginia). The ones that rely on the audition are our best best.

KatMT

Stats are low for Northwestern and Oberlin, I do not believe either of those schools require an audition, so admission would be on academic stats. I do not believe that UWashington or Delware require an audition either, and I am not sure where his stats fall... as the above poster noted they may be a bit low.

Not sure about film opportunities at these schools, but take a look at UMBC, Towson, Indiana (non-auditioned), Point Park, and UArts, CMU, IUP (non-auditioned, I believe), Coastal Carolina, Eastern Carolina, DeSales (non-auditioned, I believe), Seton Hill, AMDA (they offer a BFA option in LA, I believe), Pace, Columbia College Chicago.

You mention he doesn't really want to stay in VA, but if you are looking for a few in state options to look at, as you have already noted, VCU is likely his best bet for an auditioned state school option where his academic stats are competitive... Possibly Longwood or ODU as well. I believe they both have BFA programs, and his stats would be in range.... I believe they would be for Christopher Newport and Radford, as well. Academic stats are a little low for JMU. He could also look at VA private conservatory option, Shenandoah.