How hard is it to get into UCLA theatre school?

IMHopeful
Sun, 15 Feb 2009 08:51:06 +0000

This reminds me somewhat of the recruiting process for student athletes at high end sports schools. My daughter was a student athlete at USC (now graduated). We found that athletic talent was weighted much heavier than academics at all of schools she considered. The coach found the athletes he/she wanted for the team, and assuming they met minimum academic requirements, they were admitted. (The applications even went into through a different channel). However, once there, you are still competing academically with a very smart student body. My daughter was fine because she had the academic credentials. But many of her friends struggled – having difficulty balancing their sports schedules and school work, becoming academically ineligible or ultimately transferring to a more manageable school. And in sports, they have a substantial infrastructure to help athletes with their academics. I don’t know that this would be the same with the theatre programs. On the other hand, many BFA programs have very limited requirements for GEs, so it may not be as much an issue, even at an academically rigorous school.