<p>Of course, this is my stereotype about how Asian children are raised. But then I was pretty much raised the same way, even though I am not Asian.</p>
<p>Somebody told you that a 4.0 was the only good GPA, anything less was unacceptable. I thought that too when I was a child. It took me a LONG time to understand that a B, a C, and, yes, even a D were all passing grades. (Of course if you get too many D’s, it can bring your GPA too low to graduate, but one or two Ds on an otherwise excellent transcript won’t bring it down too low.)</p>
<p>There’s the old joke: “Q: What do you call the guy who graduates at the bottom of the medical school class?” “A: Doctor!”</p>
<p>Most students have nowhere near a 3.51 GPA, and do not take ANY AP classes. I am also certain that you are going to do INCREDIBLY on your standardized tests (ACT and/or SAT). Your academics are INCREDIBLE, and I really do believe you could get into ANY college or university in the U.S. And many (not all, but many) would offer you a scholarship. Whoever told you that you need a 4.00, and that you need to take every AP course, is completely wrong. I know that this is what parents who are immigrants from Asian countries tell their American children to do. Because in these Asian countries, things like this are more important. In America, these things are not so important.</p>
<p>Nobody is going to think for one minute that you have ever “slacked off”. In fact, my worry is just the opposite, that you haven’t slacked off enough!!!</p>
<p>Now I say that you have the academics to get admitted to any college or university, that doesn’t mean that you can necessarily get into any specific PROGRAM. Especially BFA programs, which are going to look at interview, resume, and audition.</p>
<p>What is your plan for senior year to make up for the lack of theatre on your resume? How exactly are you planning to prepare for auditions? I haven’t seen you talk much about these things, instead you are still talking about academics (like AP Biology). This is why I am worried, and I think you may not be aware of how difficult auditions can be.</p>
<p>I think you can do this, but it will take a lot of work. Certainly don’t “slack off”, just shift your energy into theatre, so that you are working as hard on theatre as you have been on your academics. Colleges and unis are also going to wonder, and so this should be adressed in your personal statement/essay, why it is that you so suddenly decided to devote your life to theatre when your life up to this point has been so devoted to academics.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>