academics for accepted MT students

MichaelNKat
Fri, 15 Jun 2007 01:10:23 +0000

The original poster queried whether his son had the stats to support applying to schools like NYU and CMU. His selection of those schools, while perhaps unintentional, really crystalizes the issue posed of the significance of academic record in the admissions process. Two BFA schools, both with top flight reputations and viewed as very selective. With NYU, you need to have the GPA and test scores they expect for their students or you aren’t getting in no matter how you wow the drama department at an audition. CMU, the audition is what counts and academic record plays very little, if any, role in the process. So the point that’s relevent to Jacksdad’s inquiry is how important it is to research the schools and pick a variety of schools that mesh well with what your kid brings to the table.

This is, of course, a different issue than what does it take to do well and thrive in a BFA program once you get in. While I agree that most of the classwork, including “finals”, is performance driven, keep in mind that there will be mandatory papers to write in theatre/MT history and script analysis. Honing these skills in h.s., through honors and AP classes, can only serve a student well.