eek - how is a 3.986 only a “decent” GPA?? How can that get much higher? I feel like I don’t understand how GPAs work these days or something - when I was in high school (admittedly a very long time ago) - a GPA that was almost a 4.0 would be considered amazing. When looking at Michigan for my son, it looks like they only have a minimum of 3.0 for the gpa requirement?
@cgn626 Pretty sure that the GPS stayed is weighted, which means you get an extra “point” towards your GPA if you take honors, IB, or AP classes. So if you get a B in one of those types of classes, you still get an “A” grade for your GPA. Some colleges ask for your regular GPA, unwieighted, and some ask for weighted. I think for MT majors the expectations are lower, so if you get a high GPA, it’s better for getting scholarships.
Has anyone heard from coastal?
@cgn626 - never fear. The whole GPA thing is nutty - at some schools people can score above 5.0! It’s not going to disqualify your kid for anything, colleges view a student’s GPA within the reference frame of the high school attended.
@BWmama TBH, a child with a 3.0 and and 1080 SAT isn’t likely to be disqualified from many MT programs. My D had the opposite “problem” - she wanted to go to a school with high academic standards which we could only ascertain by looking up average scores for accepted students and BOY, did that cut the list down! 
I think if you google “SAT Scores College X” you’ll see that most of the MT schools accept students in the range including your D’s score. Ultimately, the academic acceptance cut-off for BFA programs is usually pretty reasonable and her stats will only “hurt” in getting financial aid.
@elledaspitzer, you might find this thread to be helpful. It’s for Actors but I think it covers the schools that qualify for MT as well.
and what the heck, here’s another:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/21643053#
You’ll notice the same schools get mentioned over and over - there aren’t too many schools where good grades and scores help with a BFA application but they are good ones. And, of course, they’ll definitely help a BA application anywhere.
@CaMom13 , I had to laugh when you stated “will only hurt in getting financial aid.” Indeed, that is true and very painful after filling out FAFSA.
I feel your pain @BWmama, believe me! My D had great stats and ended up at a school where that made no difference, sigh. There’s still need-based aid and artistic merit money to hope for!
The College Board provides key statistics for most college undergraduate student bodies regarding grade point averages, class ranking and test score ranges for the 25th-75th percentile. This is a good place to start. As others have said, many MT programs accept students below these ranges. The schools with little or no data on the site are ones that either don’t use them as criteria or their student body size is to small to make them meaningful (i.e. full blown conservatories).
@cgn626 - it’s only decent because she took AP and honors courses. If you take those out and look at it without the additional weight, she is only at 3.118. I realize now after reading it that I might have come across as one of “those” moms with that comment. It was my intention to do the opposite. Most of her friends are well above a 4.0 and have very high test scores. We are not in that boat! LOL. However, I always justify it by saying - hey, she isn’t looking to be a rocket scientist. She isn’t going to be a doctor, but she might play one on TV! HA!
@BWmama yes, I laughed out loud at what FAFSA said we could pay out of pocket!
Regarding invitations to audition, my D got no’s from Penn State and Elon. We haven’t heard from any others yet. Two no’s right off the bat makes us a little nervous; but, we trying to move on and hope for the best with other schools.
@carriemc95 - many schools use unweighted GPA for determining admission and/or merit aid
There have been SO many no’s to the prescreens this year. Seems to be more than we have heard of in years past. Wondering if colleges are being much more selective or if there are that many more applicants.
I keep reading here that Penn State has rigorous academic requirements but I know people from other years that didn’t even crack 1000 on the SATs and got offers. Also kids who had low GPAs. It may make a difference for $ but certainly not acceptance. On the other side, my D had above average stats and goes to a conservatory. Her merit aid was much higher than others and the stats were the reason. So even though all the kids in a BFA program are talented (and believe me, they are), academics can make it more affordable.
@anotherBwaymom I will second that emotion about Coastal Carolina. My son is a MT BFA major there and has loved every moment. I as a parent fell in love with CCU the day he went on campus to audition. I would highly recommend an on campus audition if you can swing it (I know it’s not possible for everyone) but that experience was fantastic. You get to meet students, participate in master classes and parents are allowed to watch faculty give their kids direction during some songs/monologues and watch them actually improve. Kind of a view of things to come. You do have to pre-screen and it is competitive, but I promise you will love them. And yes, they are running behind because they were out for 3 weeks. Actually one of the cons of CCU - my son has been evacuated for the last 3 years due to hurricanes! But the kids may find that a pro to college at the beach. Feel free to pm if you have any questions about Coastal.
@cmatte - my D and I are so excited that she passed her pre-screen for Coastal! She fell in love with the campus when we did the open house visit last fall and we are looking forward to the full day at Coastal in January!
@MTVTmom Congrats on the CCU pre screen pass! It is one of our favorites too and we live in SC! Could you tell me when you submitted your pre screen? We still have not heard and submitted ours on Sept 5. I know they were out for 3 weeks due to hurricane/flooding so I thought it may be later than the “2 weeks” turn around listed on the website. Just trying to gage if we should call or if no news may be good news! We did hear from Elon and Shenandoah this week though - she passed both! I think I am going to have a stomach ache for the next 6 months…
@MTlizard Sept 4th - but we emailed them to check in and that is how my D found out she passed her pre-screen. Elon we won’t hear from until January since she selected a March audition. Shenandoah was a no for my D along with Penn State. Still have a few more we are waiting on and then onto Jan/Feb/March for the live auditions we do have scheduled! We are trying to enjoy the ride and keep the attitude that things happen for a reason.
@MTVTmom Congrats on passing the pre-screen! Break a leg through auditions. I know the process is a roller coaster ride but enjoy the time you get to spend with your D, before you know it - they’re a junior. Also, they really do end up where they’re supposed to be, but when people said that to me as we were going through the process I wanted to choke them. Hang in there. There is a perfect school for everyone.
@MTVTmom Yes! Things happen for a reason. And yes - we need to try to find a way to enjoy this crazy roller coaster ride. We will probably be considered professional cheerleaders when it’s all over! Thank you for the info on your submission date. I may reach out to them Monday. We are headed to my D’s first college audition Saturday morning in Tampa! So excited for her to get do a LIVE audition!
@hfstt201 and @Mtmama19 - hang in there. A no on a prescreen is discouraging but truly - it’s better not to audition for a program that already has too many of your kid’s type or isn’t a good fit for your kid… and the prescreen reviewers are looking for “fit” as well as talent and training. Don’t take it as a judgement on your performer’s chances for getting into a good program. I know it’s hard not to take it personally! My D passed prescreens for CMU and Pace and didn’t pass Rider and Elon. Looking back I can see she really wasn’t a fit for those two programs but at the time it felt like a slap in the face. Don’t over-think it. Support the disappointed kid and help them move on.