When Bre-Yanna Cameron was in middle school, singing and acting meant one thing to her: escape. Performing was the only time she felt liberated — no bullies, no fights, no peer pressure, no doubts.

A dedicated drama teacher saw in Ms. Cameron’s clear, soulful voice a lifeline out of the inner city and encouraged her to apply to New World School of the Arts, a small, rigorous magnet high school in Miami that draws a diverse group of talented actors, musicians, dancers and visual artists. Auditions (or portfolios) are the only way into the school — grades and attendance are irrelevant.

With lots of coaching and confidence boosting from her teacher, Ms. Cameron beat out hundreds of students for one of 16 spots in the musical theater program. Now, after juggling daily 90-minute bus commutes, study sessions interrupted by stress-induced crying jags and whirlwind school rehearsals, most recently as Ursula in “Bye Bye Birdie,” Ms. Cameron is headed for Florida State University on a full scholarship with a 3.7 grade-point average. She plans to major in pharmacy, or maybe switch to a B.F.A. program in musical theater.

“I’m the first to go to university, and my mother tells everyone she sees,” she said, smiling one recent afternoon as she headed off to watch the senior dance group’s showcase. Without New World, she said, “it wouldn’t have happened. I wouldn’t have had the grades I have. I wouldn’t have been in theater but in band. And my friends in my old school were not a good influence in my life.”