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Drama school auditions 2026 entry- Acting/MT

1000 replies

Mcmumager · 17/08/2025 20:08

Annual thread for those with dc about to embark on the rollercoaster of audition season. This is my second time round as my ds did it a couple of years ago. These threads are always really supportive and full of great advice as it’s often hard to explain to others how tough and competitive this process is. Good luck everyone!!

OP posts:
Truetoself · 22/08/2025 11:24

That’s interesting @DalekFan. Good to know

Thanks for that information @Mcmumager. i will take a closer look. Oh I didn’t realise GSA was also first round self tapes for MT. Did you mean people were accepted for the audition round based on self tapes or they were given a place in the BA based on that?

Thespymum · 22/08/2025 11:30

Hattie is looking at several ‘less prestigious ones’ as she wants somewhere small with a family feel who would accept an actor/singer.

She is definitely applying to The Arden and Arts1 and has open days booked at LIPA, GSA, Milennium, MPAA. She’d also like to look at PPA and TBA but they don’t seem to have open days.

I can’t work out if TBA needs a UCAS place or whether you can just apply direct and like PPA, use UCAS extra to secure it if you get in and want to go there.

Thespymum · 22/08/2025 11:30

Hattie is looking at several ‘less prestigious ones’ as she wants somewhere small with a family feel who would accept an actor/singer.

She is definitely applying to The Arden and Arts1 and has open days booked at LIPA, GSA, Milennium, MPAA. She’d also like to look at PPA and TBA but they don’t seem to have open days.

I can’t work out if TBA needs a UCAS place or whether you can just apply direct and like PPA, use UCAS extra to secure it if you get in and want to go there.

Thespymum · 22/08/2025 11:32

Sorry - that double posted and I can’t work out how to delete.

Mcmumager · 22/08/2025 11:34

Truetoself · 22/08/2025 11:24

That’s interesting @DalekFan. Good to know

Thanks for that information @Mcmumager. i will take a closer look. Oh I didn’t realise GSA was also first round self tapes for MT. Did you mean people were accepted for the audition round based on self tapes or they were given a place in the BA based on that?

They got places straight onto the degree from the self tapes. That was the first year they’ve done it that way so may change. Up till this intake they’ve always seen people in person.

GSA first round self tape included singing and dance exercises from memory but it might have changed. Their website will have the up to date information.

OP posts:
DalekFan · 22/08/2025 11:39

Thespymum · 22/08/2025 11:30

Hattie is looking at several ‘less prestigious ones’ as she wants somewhere small with a family feel who would accept an actor/singer.

She is definitely applying to The Arden and Arts1 and has open days booked at LIPA, GSA, Milennium, MPAA. She’d also like to look at PPA and TBA but they don’t seem to have open days.

I can’t work out if TBA needs a UCAS place or whether you can just apply direct and like PPA, use UCAS extra to secure it if you get in and want to go there.

They have an audition date in November, so I would think you could add to UCAS later when you apply for others, or if used all your spots do it as extra if needed. EDA and MPAA can be done like that too.

girlwhowearsglasses · 22/08/2025 11:44

HI all, DS is applying for acting - currently doing Theatre sixth form at the BRIT school. He may stay the extra year they do ('the Bridge') if not successful this year.

Can someone enlighten me on which courses are eligible for student loans etc - I don't think they all are.

I'll be following this thread with interest.

lamada · 22/08/2025 13:06

DD's friend was accepted into Bird last year with only self tape, no in person audition, she only had 2 weeks to accept the offer.

Mcmumager · 22/08/2025 14:21

Was she an international student? All of Birds auditions are in person there is no self tape round. At the open day in July they said you will get a result fairly quickly and ask you to reply to say you accept but they said they understood people would be auditioning so you didn’t need to accept formally on ucas until you were ready to fully commit.

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lamada · 22/08/2025 15:33

Yes, Mcmumager, she is an international student, she is an amazing dancer !

Biscuitsneeded · 27/08/2025 17:29

Mcmumager · 22/08/2025 11:34

They got places straight onto the degree from the self tapes. That was the first year they’ve done it that way so may change. Up till this intake they’ve always seen people in person.

GSA first round self tape included singing and dance exercises from memory but it might have changed. Their website will have the up to date information.

I think wires have got crossed here. This year Urdang did make some offers based purely on self tapes. GSA however have a first round by self tape and then invite those they want to see to an in-person audition. Unless I'm very much mistaken, nobody gets one of the 22 GSA MT places (or indeed the 30 Acting places) without very thorough, in-person scrutiny!

Biscuitsneeded · 27/08/2025 17:33

girlwhowearsglasses · 22/08/2025 11:44

HI all, DS is applying for acting - currently doing Theatre sixth form at the BRIT school. He may stay the extra year they do ('the Bridge') if not successful this year.

Can someone enlighten me on which courses are eligible for student loans etc - I don't think they all are.

I'll be following this thread with interest.

For Acting degrees, those eligible for Student Finance would be Central, RADA, Guildhall, GSA, LAMDA, Rose Bruford, E15, Leeds Conservatoire, Royal Welsh, Leeds Conservatoire, Birmingham Conservatoire, LIPA and some others that are possibly a bit less well-known but still good schools.
Italia Conti is up in the air - rumours of extra fees.
Mountview, Arts Ed and Oxford School of Drama are all private and not eligible for full Student Finance as I understand it.

Mcmumager · 27/08/2025 17:37

Biscuitsneeded · 27/08/2025 17:29

I think wires have got crossed here. This year Urdang did make some offers based purely on self tapes. GSA however have a first round by self tape and then invite those they want to see to an in-person audition. Unless I'm very much mistaken, nobody gets one of the 22 GSA MT places (or indeed the 30 Acting places) without very thorough, in-person scrutiny!

The first paragraph is about urdang and the second about GSA😊

OP posts:
Biscuitsneeded · 27/08/2025 17:51

Mcmumager · 27/08/2025 17:37

The first paragraph is about urdang and the second about GSA😊

Yes, and I know you know 😉😆, but your first paragraph looked like it was answering this question from @Truetoself about GSA. "Oh I didn’t realise GSA was also first round self tapes for MT. Did you mean people were accepted for the audition round based on self tapes or they were given a place in the BA based on that?"
I think you were very logically answering two separate questions in 2 separate paragraphs, but the way the site posts made it look as if para 1 was about GSA, and I didn't want anyone to misunderstand. Sorry for being pedantic!

girlwhowearsglasses · 27/08/2025 18:16

Biscuitsneeded · 27/08/2025 17:33

For Acting degrees, those eligible for Student Finance would be Central, RADA, Guildhall, GSA, LAMDA, Rose Bruford, E15, Leeds Conservatoire, Royal Welsh, Leeds Conservatoire, Birmingham Conservatoire, LIPA and some others that are possibly a bit less well-known but still good schools.
Italia Conti is up in the air - rumours of extra fees.
Mountview, Arts Ed and Oxford School of Drama are all private and not eligible for full Student Finance as I understand it.

Oh that’s really helpful - thank you!

Mumster40 · 03/09/2025 11:32

Hello! I hope you don’t mind me lurking. I have a DD who will be auditioning next year so I thought I’d follow along for tips and advice. Nice to see a few familiar names from the NYMT/ BYMT chat! At the moment DD has just started A levels but very much wants to audition for drama schools (MT) as well as applying for some academic university options. My issue is that she wants apply for non- drama related academic courses at university alongside MT courses at drama schools….. Has anyone else been in that situation? How do you juggle the UCAS/ personal statement? Also keen to hear if you can audition for the likes of GSA/ CENTRAL/ EDA before doing the UCAS application? In other words - if you don’t get in then you can free up more Uni options? I know Arts Ed and Mountview are different entities and UCAS isn’t needed…..

doesanybodyhaveamap · 03/09/2025 20:47

👋 @Mumster40! GSA and Central applications are both via UCAS. EDA is direct application so won’t use up a UCAS spot. There is also a third route of C-UCAS (C for conservatoire) which some places use so you can open up a few more options there too. Royal Welsh is one example. It gets quite complicated keeping track of the different application routes and the differing requirements- I’d suggest a spreadsheet!

In terms of splitting the application across two unrelated subjects, I can see that would be tricky in terms of the personal statement. It’s hard to do both justice. Also the format of the personal statement is changing a lot this year- instead of one big ‘essay’ they have to formulate answers to 3 questions.

Depending on the other subject, it might be worth holding out and seeing what’s in clearing. Granted that the more popular and highly competitive establishments probably won’t have many clearing options. But I expect those places would want a very focussed personal statement showing commitment to the relevant subject anyway.

doesanybodyhaveamap · 03/09/2025 20:50

Just a follow up -on results day I looked at what courses my DC could have applied for in clearing with their grades and subject choices if they changed their mind for any reason. They would be interested in something biology related if they weren’t going to drama school. There were lots of great options in clearing, even in Russell Group uni’s.

doesanybodyhaveamap · 03/09/2025 20:55

Last point! You can stagger applications so could indeed apply direct to some places early doors. But that doesn’t guarantee you’ll know the outcome quickly.

the downside of an early application is that your DC doesn’t have as much time to prepare. Also, if you apply very early on, the bar for that year won’t have been set and that may mean they keep you waiting until they’ve seen more people. My DC definitely fared better at later auditions - even though their later auditions were arguably the more prestigious ones and more competitive to get into!

Biscuitsneeded · 03/09/2025 22:08

Mumster40 · 03/09/2025 11:32

Hello! I hope you don’t mind me lurking. I have a DD who will be auditioning next year so I thought I’d follow along for tips and advice. Nice to see a few familiar names from the NYMT/ BYMT chat! At the moment DD has just started A levels but very much wants to audition for drama schools (MT) as well as applying for some academic university options. My issue is that she wants apply for non- drama related academic courses at university alongside MT courses at drama schools….. Has anyone else been in that situation? How do you juggle the UCAS/ personal statement? Also keen to hear if you can audition for the likes of GSA/ CENTRAL/ EDA before doing the UCAS application? In other words - if you don’t get in then you can free up more Uni options? I know Arts Ed and Mountview are different entities and UCAS isn’t needed…..

Everything @doesanybodyhaveamap has said is good advice. There is a thing called UCAS Extra which you can use if you are rejected by all the universities you apply to, to add another few choices later in the year. I suppose, theoretically, at that point you could change direction and apply for academic degrees and rewrite your 3 answers accordingly. But you would need to do pretty early applications to all your performing arts UCAS choices and hope they all made decisions quite quickly. GSA tend to give you a yes, a no or a waiting list place reasonably quickly, but who knows how long you might sit on a waiting list? Central, by contrast, waited months to give my DS any news at all after Finals, and when the no finally came in May (after Finals in Jan) it was explained that he was a reserve - but it would have been too late at that point to make any new applications via UCAS. As suggested above, for an academic degree, at that point you'd be better off looking in Clearing. There were loads of great degrees on offer this year. Places like Arts Ed and EDA do offer throughout the year but they also keep lots on waiting lists, and Mountview do big finals in about late April or May so that won't really help you.
I would also say though that if your DD's strong preference is performing, then in all honesty, applying for academic degrees as a back-up probably isn't going to fill her with enthusiasm. These kids tend to know what they want! Is she genuinely torn over which direction to go in, or is she paying lip service to academic degrees because she doesn't want to seem arrogant or presumptuous about getting a MT place? Maybe you could agree to let the first year of applying just be all about performing arts. Having seen your DD on stage I honestly think she'll get a place and you won't have this quandary. However, in the unlikely event of her not getting an MT degree offer, she could also apply for a couple of Foundations to keep her skills going and brush up on any if needed, have a Gap Year doing a Foundation and then if that doesn't work to get her onto an MT degree, start looking at a change of direction after that. There's no absolute rush to go at 18, and if she took an academic degree just to have something, when her heart wasn't really in it, she might forever wonder if maybe one more try might not have secured her the performing arts degree she really wanted. It's a lot of work on top of A levels, finding and learning songs and monologues, making self-tapes, travelling to auditions etc. I think I would be inclined to let MT be the focus for the first year of applying at least, and then if that doesn't work out, you can look at alternative options either in Clearing or during a gap year. Just my opinion, but I think academic applications might just muddy the waters unnecessarily unless she would genuinely be happy with an academic degree as an outcome next year.

Mumster40 · 04/09/2025 07:18

@doesanybodyhaveamap and @Biscuitsneeded thank you so much for your excellent advice! I really appreciate you both taking the time to write. I shall follow along this year with my notepad and start that spreadsheet!!!

wonderfullife123 · 04/09/2025 07:57

That's good advice @Biscuitsneeded and where my DD has landed. Only planning MT applications this round to stay focused and she can always apply for academic degrees with grades in hand at another point if it doesn't work out.

Truetoself · 05/09/2025 07:17

Does anyone know approximately what proportion of those on a waiting list actually make it to a place?

Mcmumager · 05/09/2025 13:33

@Truetoself i think it would be hard to predict - as some are on reserve for schools who take 170 or more and others are on reserve for courses of 22. I think you would get less movement eg on a course like GSA as it’s prestigious and covered by student loans. I’ve seen quite a lot of movement at places like arts Ed with people being offered from reserve. It’s possible that those who were initially offered realised they were not able to fund the gap between what the student loans give and the price of the course. This then can cause a domino effect as likely those reserve people were holding offers elsewhere so it filters down and so on.

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Mcmumager · 05/09/2025 13:39

@Mumster40 good advice already and good luck to your daughter. If she’s done NYMT she will also have a great source of pals at all the schools who will be able to give her great advice and if they know her well the type of schools which would be best for her.

i did have a friends dd do the mt/academic side by side . She only did one mt application through UCAS which was urdang. She called them and at the time they said to gear the personal statement towards the academic side as they were less interested ( this was 3 years ago so things may have changed). Bird also said this year they don’t care what’s on ucas it’s their internal application they care about and Italia Conti are also direct and outside of ucas now.

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