<p>NYU does give artistic awards; it does not have a MT program per se. CAP 22 was the MT studio but I don’t think they are in the picture any more. Even most of the awards, in fact, every single one that I know about are wrapped in need, not totally merit based, and test scores were high for those kids, in addition to them being talented and going through the audition process, they were definite NYU material academically. So it was with many if not most audition programs. The academic profile is very important in most such schools. If the one in a million talent comes along with abysmal test scores and horrible grades, there might be an exception, but as a rule Tisch and any number of the schools with these programs will tell you straight up that academics is a big part of the process. </p>
<p>Julliard and some true conservatories may not care. Juilliard didn’t even ask for test scores or transcripts. You just have to show an high school degree or GED before registering for classes. Has nothing to do with the admisisions process. Not so PA schools within most universities. They care.</p>