<p>Many times Universities indicate that they prefer that you not be overly coached on your audition material as this may make your audition too unnatural especially in cases when they ask you to make an “adjustment”. But to be honest, how likely is it that a student be accepted into a program with little experience or training? For BFA programs in schools like:
Pace University
Point Park University
Carnegie Mellon University
University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music
The University of the Arts</p>
<p>There are always going to be a few people get accepted with little experience or training, but not very many. </p>
<p>Some schools state that they are opposed to audition coaching, but for an individual without much training or experience, the right kind of coaching could be very helpful.</p>
<p>Most students accepted into auditioned BFA programs have one or more of the following elements in their experience:</p>
<ul>
<li>Attended a performing arts high school.</li>
<li>Attended summer training programs and/or received other training outside school.</li>
<li>Have been involved with a number of theatrical productions.</li>
<li>Have seen a great deal of theatre.</li>
<li>Received coaching from somebody who is very familiar with the college audition process.</li>
</ul>
<p>This question of coaching has come up here before. The conclusion I think we reached was that “bad coaching” was worse than no coaching. But we found that students with “good coaching” could get in even to those schools that said they disapproved of coaching. I think that the schools who say they don’t like coaching have seen too much “bad coaching”, the sort of coaching that destroys a student’s natural talents. (And yes, one way they can tell if you have had “bad coaching” is by seeing if you can make an adjustment)</p>
<p>But this is a different question from the question of general training and experience. Anyone who is interested in acting should get as much training and experience as possible. Take lots of acting classes, and, most importantly, do lots of shows!! This is NOT the same thing as being coached on a specific monologue.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>My son is a freshman at UArts. He was not accepted into any other auditioned BFA programs, and so I do not know whether actual lack of coaching harmed him. He worked with his Theater Arts teacher/director, who has coached other students who have gotten into more selective programs (e.g. Tisch, Emerson, et al), but we did not hire an outside coach. He selected his own material. He did not attend a performing arts school, but his school offered an IB certificate for Theatre, and he was able to take Theater Arts all year, for four years. He had to fulfill a sports requirement for at least one term, through junior year (two terms as a freshman), and therefore could not perform in every production at school. Since he attended a boarding school, he could not participate in any community theater groups, either. He did attend the Shakespeare Theatre of NJ’s summer program every year through middle and high school. His classmates at UArts represent a pretty broad spectrum of backgrounds, but I’d say that NJTheatreMom’s guidelines probably apply to most of them.</p>
<p>“Coaching” doesn’t have to be done by an “outsider”, it doesn’t have to be someone you pay. There is no certified licensing or whatever for audition coaches. It just takes someone who can tell the difference between a good audition and a bad audition, and can tell the auditioner how to improve.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>This is an important, if possibly unanswerable, question. We hear stories from all ends of the spectrum, so at least for now, anything IS possible, but the chances of admission to an auditioned program are ALWAYS low.</p>
<p>It does seem that of the list NJTheatreMom posted, you do have to have one or two of those attributes. Note that some of them, particularly “Have been involved with a number of theatrical productions” and “Have seen a great deal of theatre” are not particularly privileged, expensive, or hard to do. If you have been in as many of your HS and community’s productions as possible (in any way, including tech), and if you read plays and go to see anything around you, you can probably become “experienced” in theatre enough to prepare yourself to get into at least the “slightly less selective” auditioned programs (meaning a 15-20% acceptance rate, as opposed to the 8-10% at places like CMU), and no one is going to discourage you from giving the reachier schools a shot.</p>
<p>I will be honest and say that my D had “little training” when she auditioned for BFAs. She had done some theatre at camps, but never a camp that specialized in theatre (she spent most of HS focusing on music). She had coaching with her monologues from someone we respect, but who has no real experience helping people get into auditioned college programs. She never had a Theatre class in her life, and her HS’s theatre department is mediocre - she had only been in two productions there. She did have some terrific experiences in several community theatres, including doing makeup, costumes, set design, assistant directing and choreographing. Just as important, from age 5, she has read plays, written plays, studied theatre history, gone to everything she possibly could see - from children’s shows, community groups, and some of the best professionals in the country. She wasn’t going to get into an auditioned program based on her reading and seeing experience, yet having such a deep knowledge of and passion for theatre really strengthened her auditions, and certainly her essays and interviews, and may have made up for some lack of sophistication in her performance.</p>
<p>Like stagemum, I am only guessing at the reasons for her results. She was rejected by the super-selective programs (CMU, BU, UMinn-Guthrie, and Montclair State) and accepted to Adelphi and SUNY New Paltz (an auditioned BA). I do recommend that EVERYONE have a balanced list of auditioned programs, because this forum will tell you that ANY kid can get rejected from ANY school, regardless of talent, coaching, or experience. I have no idea if my D’s never having theatre classes, gone to an intensive summer program, nor having an admissions-focused coach kept her out of the 4 that rejected her. The fact is, she was rejected by several schools and most likely carefully selecting a wide range of auditioned programs and ONES WHERE SHE FIT AND THAT FIT HER is the reason why she did get in somewhere with her level of training.</p>
<p>Another factor is that for whatever reason she had a very difficult time auditioning at Unifieds to her maximum potential. My D had done dozens of auditions - many in theatre and countless ones in music, since she was a little girl, but she was extremely nervous and couldn’t find her “mojo.” Perhaps coaching or the kind of mock auditions they do at theatre camps might have improved her performance there, but we’ll never know. I do not think it is an accident that she got into the schools where she had individual appointments, but it is only a coincidence that the auditions at Unifieds also were the most selective of her schools, so again there is a mystery. </p>
<p>My recommendation is to do EVERYTHING you can to understand and be experienced in theatre, not just to improve your admissions chances, but to know that it is what you want to do. Actual “training” might be hard to get - it is where we live - but experience is always available, including reading and seeing plays. If it helps you get into an auditioned program that’s great, but more importantly it will make you a better student when you are in any school.</p>
<p>Which leads me to my next point: Look and read and think about theatre schools very broadly and very carefully. First, there are dozens of auditioned BFAs in the US and abroad - why do we only see the same 10-15 discussed here, year after year? Many auditioned programs have not only slightly higher acceptance rates, but they also might fit a particular student better than others. Second, if the experience of a BFA appeals to you most (i.e. the lifestyle, curriculum, credential), there are many non-auditioned BFAs that often are fairly easy academic admits. Third, BA programs in theatre can offer excellent training and experience - you just have to read the curriculum carefully and apply to a school that offers what you like and has the balance between academics and theatre that appeals to you. Often BA schools even have the kind of small, family-like department that a BFA can provide, and if you fit the “type” of student that tends to go there, you can get a terrific experience without an audition.</p>
<p>Last, there is always the option of a gap year or a shorter conservatory program to gain experience and training while planning auditions to the more selective BFAs. This appeals to many people, and I can’t tell you whether it is right for you. My D wanted very much to go to college and would not have considered this option. In the end, at her level of experience and training, she had one auditioned BFA, one auditioned BA, one non-auditioned BFA, and several excellent BAs to choose from, all of which were great options for her to grow and learn in. Now in her second year of college, she is thrilled and proud that she got into a BFA, and - probably MORE importantly - extremely satisfied with the mix of training, academics and experience she is getting.</p>
<p>My daughter has little to no training. She had limited experience when she was younger through Summer Camp programs but her High School had no Theater Program at all. She has always been interested in Acting and Theater and wants to go to a College/University with a good theater program. Of course when she searched the internet Carnegie Mellon was listed as one of the best but the odds of getting in with no experience seem very slim. Do you know of any schools that have better acceptance rates or possibly no audition but still have reputable programs?</p>
<p>bellad, spend some time looking through this Forum and doing some searches. You’ll find lots of discussions about lots of schools, lots of ideas and lots of information. Start a thread yourself when you have some specific questions, and we’re all happy to help you.</p>
<p>There is a thread for non-auditioned BFAs, and also several on non-auditioned BA programs. Good luck, and welcome!</p>
<p>if i apply to UCLA to be a drama major but my grades aren’t that great will they base me getting in more on my audition or my grades.</p>
<p>Each school is different with that</p>
<p>This was 4 years ago but when we were at UCLA they said they can go as low as a 2.0 if the audition is really good.</p>
<p>There are big long threads from 1-2 years ago on UCLA if you do a search. My memory of the thread is consistent with amtc’s post that UCLA emphasized the audition much more than the academics for admission standpoint. While its a BA program, it seems like it is probably the most like a BFA program of any of the BA programs.</p>
<p>On UCLA - One big difference from the typical BFA is writing. Along with voice, dance, acting, and academics their students are expected to produce a lot of written material. Lots of papers. We were also told a GPA of 2.0 could be admitted if they really wanted that student, but it’s certainly the exception. Most were in the mid to high 3’s.</p>
<p>bellad007 My daughter is in the same situation as yours, and I have been wondering/worrying about the same thing. I would love to know what you find out, and I will share anything I find as well!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Please read what EmmyBet wrote. I hate that there are so few schools discussed on some of these threads. I understand that there are the “big” names that everyone seems to talk about, but that doesn’t mean that there are not other great programs out there that are worth exploring. Find the program that fits you! </p>
<p>And yes, there are programs out there that take kids with less training and experience. I remember having a long discussion with Ken Martin from Coastal Carolina University about this topic. We were sitting on the steps of the gazebo on the stage for “The Music Man” at CCU. It’s was my D’s freshman year and I was there to see her in her first college production. Ken had been at auditions recently and was telling me about a young man who had auditioned for his program. He hadn’t had very much training or experience. But he had something that caught Ken’s eye. And this young man really wanted to pursue training in a college environment. And Ken made an offer to him. I’m sure that’s not the first or last time that has happened, and equally sure that CCU isn’t the only school where that happens.</p>
<p>As EmmyBet also suggested, keep reading and researching! You will find there are some wonderful programs out there that have higher acceptance rates and yet still offer exceptional training opportunities. Best of luck!</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/1177128-non-audition-bfas.html?highlight=bfa+s[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/1177128-non-audition-bfas.html?highlight=bfa+s</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/1129891-auditioned-schools-slightly-higher-acceptance-rates.html?highlight=slightly+higher[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/1129891-auditioned-schools-slightly-higher-acceptance-rates.html?highlight=slightly+higher</a></p>