<p>Hi,</p>
<p>Our son is interested in technical theatre, specifically lighting design. He goes to a PA high school and does very well. At our regular town high school his grades have been up and down. Unfortunately we come from a town that does not average the PA’s schools grades so his GPA is les than desirable.</p>
<p>On a positive note he has worked extremely hard in his field and has had a lot of amazing opportunities where he has done well.</p>
<p>He started taking college classes during his junior year in high school and has gotten both high school and college credit for the classes. So far he has solid B’s in the college classes. He will be taking additional college classes this year along with attending the PA school. His guidance counselor has been very supportive and understanding.</p>
<p>Now that he’s starting to write his Statement of Purpose for college applications we’re not sure how to handle it. Some websites say mention it briefly, some say mention it at the end of the statement, and some say contact the colleges you’re interested in and ask them how they would like you to deal with it.</p>
<p>Any suggestions? I think his experience, work ethic, desire, and portfolio are all strong but his regular high school grades show noticeable ups and downs.</p>
<p>Help please…</p>
<p>Yikes! So much for spell check - blemishes - I meant blemishes… sorry about that.</p>
<p>Hi techiemom, </p>
<p>I am not clear what a “Statement of Purpose” is that to which you refer. Do you mean the application essay? If so, he should NOT use the essay to “explain” grades and such. The essay should show something about himself…his traits and attributes that he wants a school to know. He should tell a story that will show, not tell, something about himself. For instance, you say he has a strong work ethic and a strong desire in his field. He should relate a vignette that will show that or whatever else about himself he wishes the admissions committee to know. This essay is to sell himself, not to explain anything or to dwell on his weaker areas.</p>
<p>However, most applications have a question where they ask if the candidate has anything else they wish the committee to know. A student MAY use this to explain something that is not clear in his record. For instance, a student could have had a death in the family or an illness that affected his grades for a semester. This is where a brief statement to explain something of this sort could be written. Another example is my own kid chose to graduate HS in three years and she included an extra statement explaining her rationale and readiness but this was NOT instead her regular college essays, but rather in addition to those. She wrote “see enclosed statement regarding early graduation” where it asked if there was anything extra she wanted them to know. Also, her guidance counselor spoke to this issue in support of her decision and readiness. </p>
<p>However, I am not positive if an extra statement is necessary or appropriate in your son’s case. I mean I’d have to hear the REASON why his grades were not good or if there is a reason if they were uneven. You don’t want him to be making excuses. If there is an acceptable explanation, then he could make a brief statement there. However, you say that his grades have risen since he started PA school and he is doing pretty well in some college classes. Colleges LIKE to see an UPWARD trend so if your son has one, this bodes well. Of course great grades all four years are even better, but an upward trend will be noticed. He could make a statement why he feels his grades have improved recently and/or about how the college classes have been a great challenge or something positive like that. Again, this is on the question on the app that asks this, NOT the regular college essay/statement. What he should definitely do, however, is have his guidance counselor comment about his work ethic and upward trend in grades since switching schools and his challenging of himself through college courses. Coming from the counselor is a good idea. Also, the emphasis should be on the positive…what he is doing to CHANGE things from his earlier record, rather than explaining or giving excuses for the earlier record. Also, colleges will see the transcripts, not just the GPA, so they will look at how he has done junior year and if he has improved, all the better. By all means if there was something that impacted your son’s grades, he should mention that in this section. But if they were simply not so hot grades, he should not make excuses. He should emphasize what he has done to turn that around, which it sounds like he has done…good. </p>
<p>Make sure your son is applying to schools where his grades and test scores fall within the ballpark of accepted students, however. These will count some, so you need to pick realistic schools, as well.</p>
<p>I know that at some of the schools we visited last year, students interested in tech brought portfolios of their designs with them. Does this play a more important part in the application process for those students like the audition does for candidates for BFA in performance?
And could a strong portfolio and great recommendations mitigate poor grades?</p>
<p>I would definately add, in addition to the required essay, a personal statement explaining his “ups and downs”. Sometimes there are good reasons for poor grades…health, adjustment periods, tragedy, etc… Admission committees only know what you tell them. The more they know the more of an informed decision they can make</p>
<p>Good Luck.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. I think the Statement of Purpose is essentially the same as the college essay. It’s pretty vague.</p>
<p>Just to clarify - he has gone to both our town high school and the PA high school since he was a freshman. All academic classes are at the town high school, all electives at the PA high school. That has put him between both worlds - he does what he has to at the high school but it isn’t an environment he thrives in. He doesn’t have any great excuses for his grades going up and down. He doesn’t blame anyone else it’s just the way it is.</p>
<p>It’s true that portfolios are very important and he’s been working on his for a couple of years now. He’s visited several colleges and was given some really good portfolio advice and he’s made several changes/improvements. That’s true with his resume too. He’s also done quite a bit outside of his schools with local theatres. He seems to know his stuff and he’s very committed to it. Aside from college classes and the PA high school hes also doing a 20 hour a week internship this school year. </p>
<p>He’s looking at BFA conservatory programs. Since he’s so directed they make a lot of sense for him. He’s been pretty set on technical theatre since 6th grade so I don’t think he’ll change his mind now. All the schools hes applying to require in person portfolio reviews. Im not sure if they offer early admission if they dont how long does it usually take to find out whether or not youve been accepted?</p>
<p>We’ll go through the applications and see if there is a place to explain and his guidance counselor will write a recommendation explaining more. Hopefully that will take care of it. </p>
<p>Thanks again for the help.</p>
<p>Techiemom, like acting or musical theater candidates to BFA programs, your son has an artistic review and interview with his portfolio which will be a very significant aspect off his admissions decision. While I am not as familiar with the theater tech BFA programs as the performance oriented BFA ones, I think some of what I am about to say would apply just the same. </p>
<p>Each program is very different in terms of whether it is a conservatory, a conservatory within a college/university, and how much of the curriculum will include any liberal arts courses, and so forth. So, for one thing, your son may opt to seek out programs that are primarily conservatory courses with very little liberal arts. Examine the curriculum at all of his schools and see which are a good fit in this way. </p>
<p>Another consideration is the degree of selectivity and academic stats of admitted students to the university at large (not to the theater program itself). Your son should be shooting for schools where his academic stats fall realistically within range of accepted students and also consider the admit rate for students in general to that college and create a balanced list of schools in terms of his academic odds of admissions…reach, match, safety. </p>
<p>Another consideration is to explore at each school on his list how much of the admissions decision will be on artistic review and how much is on academic review. He may wish to opt to apply to more schools that weigh the artitsic review as a large percentage of the admissions decision. At SOME BFA schools, for example, if someone is desired for admissions by the theater department, they only have to meet a fairly low bar academically to be admitted. At other schoolls, the academic part of the admissions will matter in addition to the artistic part and the academic bar may not be set at an academic minimum. Look into all of this at all schools on his list. He should aim for schools that fit him in all these respects, not just find schools he likes without looking into these specifics. One kid’s list is not going to be like the next or it shouldn’t be. Assessing one’s chances is important when creating the list and also investigating how admissions decisions are rendered and also what the curriculum will be and how well it fits…all need to be weighed. Your son seems very strong at his craft and has put less emphasis on his academic efforts and he should seek out schools where this profile will be OK for admissions. </p>
<p>Since his less than stellar grades have no “excuse” such as illness, hardships, deaths, adjustment issues, or learning disabilities, he’d be best to not explain too much because it will look like an “excuse”. Definitely do NOT use the college essay for this. If he wants to fill in “anything extra you want the admissions committee to know”, he can emphasize his strengths and reflect on his school record and what he feels it reveals about himself and where he has prioritized his efforts, and/or any improvements he has made recently. Again, the guidance counselor should discuss your son’s record and put as positive spin as possible on his strengths. </p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>PS…you asked about how long it takes to be informed of the admissions decision…that varies from school to school so you need to get that time line from each school on his list. If he is not doing Early Decision or Early Action anywhere, then the other ways can be Rolling Admissions (where decisions come out on a rolling basis, as applications arrive and are reviewed, as well as auditions/portfolios, often within two months at many schools) or some schools wait until all applications are in by a certain date (some schools have Jan. 1 as due dates but this also varies from school to school) and after all auditions and portfolio reviews are done and then send out all admissions decisions at once either in March or some do this on April 1. It truly varies from school to school. Ask at each school. I don’t know your son’s list so can’t give you any idea that is specific.</p>