<p>I'll do my best to give you the lowdown! I'm unbiased, and an international student.</p>
<p>Hey, I’m an accepted transfer student to Tisch film and I have a few questions.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How competitive are people in Tisch film? Do lots of people have cutthroat attitudes or do people get along working together?</p></li>
<li><p>How big are film classes and how accessible are professors outside of classes?</p></li>
<li><p>Lacking a traditional campus, would it be difficult to enter into NYU not knowing anybody there?</p></li>
<li><p>What’s the racial, ethnic, gender, and economic diversity like both at Tisch and NYU in general?</p></li>
<li><p>Finally, do you feel that Tisch film is worth its high price tag? If I attended there, I’d probably be in debt about 20-30k.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>You don’t have to answer all of these, if you don’t feel like it. Thanks for volunteering to answer questions.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The environment here is great, actually. I was worried that it would be cut-throat, but I’ve really noticed that your friends really want you to do well and will help you with your stuff. That said, I’m just generally competitive by nature, but there is SO MUCH collaboration here that it’s impossible to be cutthroat to a point where it’s bad; just enough to push yourself. In my classes, there’s always a group of kids who establish themselves as having more skilled projects (and they’re the group who really knows how to take advantage of collaboration), but within that group, it’s not like ‘oh, this project is better than this one,’ because it’s true that people come up with a wide variety of stuff. The profs love it when you collaborate, too. They’ll drill that into you right from the start. </p></li>
<li><p>The Core Production classes are smaller; freshman Sound Image/Animation/DFS have about 12-15 kids. The Writing recitations are that small also, the Writing lectures are usually 2-3 times that size. Colloquiums are large; anywhere from 40-100? people. Colloquiums are networking places though, so the large size is a benefit. Sophomore Core Production classes have around 28 people, so that’s a little bigger. Junior and Senior classes are usually less than that, I believe.
The professors are the best. They’re super accessible both inside and outside class, very willing to mentor you; I know a couple of professors who have never even taught me, just because they’re just so accessible. 'Nuff said. </p></li>
<li><p>Lacking a traditional campus, would it be difficult to enter into NYU not knowing anybody there?
Haha. The big one. Honestly, NYU has a campus - Washington Square. Most of the buildings are NYU, and we just make it our own somehow. And I entered NYU not knowing anyone. Nada. Not a soul. And I have a bunch of amazing, wonderful friends that I’m sure will last. Most of my friends are from my Tisch classes (or other department Tisch kids), but I have friends from my dorm and my Gen. Ed classes, too. Inevitably, you WILL be collaborating on projects, and that is a great way to make friends, I think.
That said, think long and hard about how easily you make friends. Like anywhere else, if you don’t make an effort to network, collaborate on projects, talk to people, it’s hard, because there’s 240 kids in your major and year. I’ve a friend in Film who doesn’t really know many people yet, and it’s hard for her sometimes.
Just put in effort in your projects. When people see you do well, they will gravitate towards you, because everyone here wants to learn from their peers (really). </p></li>
<li><p>What’s the racial, ethnic, gender, and economic diversity like both at Tisch and NYU in general?
Okay. From my observations.
Gender - There are statistically more girls, but I’ve not really noticed a difference, although I tend to have more male friends, and am a female. It’s not a big difference. There’s just so many people you don’t notice. In Tisch film there’s more males, in drama more females, but again, the difference is small. In a lot of my classes I’ve been one of 4-5 girls among 8 boys or so, but that’s just chance; I know classes where it’s the opposite.
Race - NYU has a lot of white and Jewish students (like, a LOT a LOT) and a lot of Asian/South Asian students. Not very many African American students (that I’ve ever seen; not sure of the statistics exactly).
Economic - Yeah. There are a lot of rich kids. Some of them are perfectly likable and down to earth. Some of them are obnoxious. But there’s not-so-rich, who’ve taken out loans and such, too. I am being sponsored half of the money, so I definitely ‘feel’ the presence of the economic diversity. Just find the people you’re comfortable with, and you’ll fit right in. </p></li>
<li><p>Finally, do you feel that Tisch film is worth its high price tag? If I attended there, I’d probably be in debt about 20-30k.
Like I said, I’m being sponsored half (externally), so I got lucky. It’s still a strain for my parents, though. I think Tisch is an incredible, wonderful, school, and the NYC mindset that you get here is invaluable, but of course, it may not be worth it if you don’t want the debt. That’s just a really hard decision. I rejected Chapman who gave me a full ride, and I think it’s worth it.
Hell, if you’re really, really passionate about what you do, and you just work crazy hard and do your best and make all that money back when you graduate, yeah. There’s very little you can’t do when you’re not driven.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Oh, and a random tip -
The Meal Plans are the biggest ripoff in the history of the universe, for so many reasons that you will eventually find out. Freshmen have to get one, so get the minimum, and come sophomore year, never look back.</p>
<p>Hehe, bangleonia,</p>
<p>I have been trying to convince S not to go with any meal plan since he got home. I am starting to collect a few pieces of nice cookware for him that are very functional and getting him prepped for shopping in a healthy manner at Trade Joe’s (he will have the bulk of the shopping duty while others cook). However, he and his friends are still thinking of the minimum meal plan (or a little more) for suite living as sophomores at Coral Towers.</p>
<p>I guess it is the convenience of knowing there is food that you can go eat “without paying” and cleaning up, shopping, etc. Any words of advice I can pass onto S and his friends regarding this? Thanks. :)</p>
<p>By the way, good thread. It is good to have info from the Tisch perspective.</p>
<p>@evolving
Yes, I have three suitemates next year, two of whom are food studies majors (yay!) so I’ll do the bulk of the shopping/dishes, while they cook!
Honestly, there’s cheaper places that you could eat out at any time of day or night in case you had the need. May not be the healthiest, but it’s also unlikely that you’ll end up eating very healthy at a dining hall. If you’re conscientious about healthful eating, I’m pretty sure you could find some nice cheap non-NYU restaurants around Union Square. Also, if you have CampusCash (also ‘without paying’) you can always spend that at a dining hall if you need a meal. If you use it at Kimmel or Upstein, you’re paying a lot less than you would if you used a meal. Otherwise I think they charge you around 10$ for the other halls. </p>
<p>One thing to keep in mind is Coral Towers. What’s the nearest dining hall? Does S like that one (since convenience is a factor, I assume he’d usually go to the nearest one)? </p>
<p>It’s mostly a question of a little more effort versus a lot more guilt (when you realize just how much money you’re wasting). I don’t know, nothing beats having your own little kitchen, in my opinion! Then again, I’m at Gramercy, so it’s a pretty awesome kitchen.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your detailed answers. They are really helpful.</p>
<p>Hi! I’m not sure if you can answer this, but I hope so! I really want to go to NYU for music business but I’m having a hard time finding out what their average student is like. I’ve gotten the vibe that for Tisch you have to be godly talented and amazing and for Stern you have to be a godly genius and amazing. Do you know where Steindhardt kids fall in this spectrum of godliness? Haha, I hope that made sense.</p>
<p>Also, I’ve heard stuff from my friends and teachers that NYU seems to be more focused on how they appear to the general public than focusing on its students and that a lot of people who go there tend to be snobs? I mean, when I visited everything seemed just fine!</p>
<p>I love playing lacrosse and I know that NYU has a varsity and a club team. Do you know how competitive the club teams usually are? </p>
<p>Lastly, do you know how many Tisch/Steindhardt type people study abroad? I really want to spend a lot of time in east asia during college but I don’t want it to keep me from graduating in four years. I was thinking I’d be abroad for an entire academic year, go there two different years for 1 semester each time, or maybe just a semester then continue to stick around for some of the summer…if that’s legal. </p>
<p>I’m sorry if any of that didn’t make any sense. ^^</p>
<p>Expiredx,</p>
<p>You have some good questions and “observations” or “hearsay.” I will respond to some of them while you await OP for additional info.</p>
<p>1) Steinhardt in the “spectrum of godliness”:</p>
<p>Order of difficulty (from most difficult to less difficult) in getting into some of the schools of NYU:</p>
<p>Stern (high statistics for accepted students) -Tisch (very small group selected) - both very difficult to get into; not sure which one is more difficult, may be Tisch because of its small class size.</p>
<p>Gallatin - seek a specific group of students who are motivated and want individualized studies/ majors.</p>
<p>CAS - all around strong student with statistics lower than Stern. (average GPA of 3.7, middle 50% of admitted students with SAT Is 1860-2170, ACTs - 28-31, according to College Board)</p>
<p>Steinhardt - easier to get into than the above 4 schools of NYU.</p>
<p>2) Two parts to your question:</p>
<p>a) I think NYU has a long way to go to make its large bureaucracy more customer-oriented. It is true what other students have stated here. NYU has expanded very fast and wants to market itself as a global university, but, alas, this has been at the expense of more quality services to students who are now paying a lot of money for the education (even with the financial aid some have received) for the poor services some have experienced. Shame on NYU in this respect.</p>
<p>b) I have found many delightful and well-mannered students I have met through my S at CAS. (His friends are from CAS, Tisch, Steinhardt.) By the way, you are interested in the school with the most “heart” (Steinhardt), so it is likely you will find more compassionate and “humanitarian-oriented” students there. This is not to say there are not more “arrogant” and “self-centered” students at NYU. You will find them everywhere. Maybe it is goes hand in hand with NYU’s reputation as a school for the affluent or “trust fund babies.”</p>
<p>3) No idea.</p>
<p>4) It is definitely do-able - two semesters abroad if you plan early and plan well. One of S’s Tisch friends is doing two semesters abroad. Just make sure the locations you are going to have enough courses to fulfill some of your core or major requirements besides electives. Also, there should not be any problems extending your study abroad to a summer that you structure (or not) yourself. Your summer is your own. Also, you make plans for travel, so you can delay the flight home.</p>
<p>GL.</p>
<p>I applied to NYU Tisch Film & TV BFA under the Early Decision I deadline for enrollment in Fall 2012, and I figured I would post my stats on here and see if you can help me figure out my chances of getting in. I’m really worried my SAT scores are going to immediately eliminate me from consideration because they’re pretty low, but I’m still hoping for the best, and I hope you can give me some opinions/insight!</p>
<p>SAT Reasoning Test w/ Writing: 670 Critical Reading, 520 Math, 640 Writing and 8 on the essay (I took them 3 times and this was the best I could do)</p>
<p>ACT w/ Writing: 26 composite score, but I took it again on October 22nd and am expecting at least two to three points of an increase.</p>
<p>GPA (weighted/7 point scale): 3.9697</p>
<p>Class Rank (Exact): 41 out of 275</p>
<p>All AP Classes (Current and past): AP World History, AP US History, AP Government and Politics, AP English Literature and Composition, AP English Language and Composition, AP Biology, and AP Statistics (the only exams I’ve taken so far are APWH, APUSH, and APEL&C. I got a 4 on English but a 2 on both of the history exams)</p>
<p>In addition to my high school, I’ve been attending a secondary specialty school for a four-year Mass Communications course. This school is selective and I had to apply in eighth grade in order to be considered for enrollment. I will graduate with honors in June in addition to graduating with honors from my regular high school. </p>
<p>I have a strong resume that reflects:
-Summer internship with an advertising firm
-Work Experience (paid) including videography gigs such as filming and producing local wedding videos
-Extensive volunteer/community involvement
-Club involvement with leadership positions (Vice President of National History Club, BETA club officer, Captain of Forensics Debate team, President of local branch of National SkillsUSA organization, etc)
-Athletics: Track and Cheerleading (Four years varsity)
-Honors; nominated for Civic Seal and Governor’s Early College Scholars. I was ranked 10th in the country including Puerto Rico at a national competition for Extemporaneous Speaking. I was awarded third place at the state level competition for Pre-Produced w/ Special Effects Public Service Announcement video. I have received multiple silver medals for exemplary scoring on the Television Production Technical exams at state level competitions. </p>
<p>I have letters of recommendation from my guidance counselor, math teacher, and media production teacher. I know you can only have three, but I also mailed a letter of rec from the CEO of the advertising firm I interned at along with my transcripts and Early Decision agreement just in case. </p>
<p>As for the essays and portfolio, I’m fairly confident. My essays were strong and personal according to the teachers and peers who reviewed them, and I spent a lot of time on them. For the creative submission I wrote/directed/produced/etc a short film, and I can honestly say it is the best work I’ve ever done. My media production teacher told me that he had a student a few years ago who got accepted to Tisch Film & TV, and that he thinks my film is much better than that student’s. </p>
<p>Any feedback? I would appreciate any response, I just want to know if I have a chance 
It’s worth a shot right!? I find out on December 15th…
Also I understand if you dont want to respond to all this/if you dont know the answer but any thoughts you can give me would be great!</p>
<p>@Expired milk - </p>
<p>I hope this isn’t too late for you but about study abroad - this is what I plan to do in Tisch, and so I’ll tell you my story. </p>
<p>I did not know I wanted to do this in my freshman year. Luckily, most of the classes you take then are required and you can’t really go wrong. I’m in the middle of sophomore year and plan to go abroad to either London/Prague next fall, and then Cuba in the Spring. Going abroad can’t be done before junior year because of S&S requirements. What few people realize is that once you’re done sophomore year, there are very few Tisch requirements left, leaving room for a lot of stuff. What I plan to do is NOT do the usual Int. Narrative in NY, instead substituting it with an intermediate class in whatever SA program I’m in, and then come back senior year and do my Advanced Narrative. I also recently decided I’m minoring in CAS, but with careful planning, it’s do-able. So far I’ve taken 2 classes that I could have easily done without and taken more useful classes, but alas, I figured all this out only just, and luckily I can still do what I plan to do. I talked to the advisors on this sort of thing and I was def. encouraged. Do it!</p>
<p>Sorry, I ramble.
What you need to do is this - </p>
<ol>
<li>Figure out your Gen Ed classes - whether you want to minor/major etc. </li>
<li>Each Tisch class counts falls into a category like a Core class, a Craft class, a Writing class, a History/Crit class etc. There are set requirements for each of these categories (you need 20 Core credits etc). </li>
<li>Look at the SA programs and their classes, figure out which class falls under which category. </li>
<li>Plan out as much as you want, making sure you eventually fulfill min. requirements, then prioritize - my first priority was accommodating the 2 SA semesters, then honing a specific craft, etc.</li>
</ol>
<p>Expiredmilk
I’m abroad right now - not in a Tisch program. What bangleonia said is right - in film, you have eight required classes your freshman year, and three your sophomore year. After that, as long as you fulfill distribution requirements, you can take whatever you want. What I did was take one required class in the summer. That freed up this semester for me to go abroad.*</p>
<p>A full year abroad is definitely possible, though it has to be planned carefully. GLS requires a semester abroad, in fact. Lots of people here with me spent last semester abroad too, and I’m applying to study in London in the fall. I think at orientation J-Sex said that someone had done five semesters of study abroad (I guess that includes summers). Visa issues differ by country, so it’s hard to give specific advice without more information.*</p>
<p>One more note: each of the Tisch (and I assume Steinhardt) programs has some general education requirements. You can use NYU’s university-wide study abroad programs to fulfill them. I don’t know what study abroad programs Steinhardt has, but Tisch also has its own study abroad programs, which fulfill Tisch requirements. So there are several ways to study abroad.*</p>
<p>Hi! So I’m not sure if you could answer this question, but how many people are accepted into film or photography at tisch ?? What are my chances of getting in if I have a GPA of 4.0 and tons of extra curricular activitys and fairly good At photography? And is it a good college to apply to for this field?</p>
<p>Hey i have a few questions for you. Firstly, are tisch kids friendly? Do you know if tisch film is good for video/film editing. Are african americans welcome? And how was the whole experience overall? Was it as good as you hoped? Thanks a lot :)</p>
<p>Do you know how hard it is to get into NYU’s Nursing Program as a transfer student?</p>
<p>Tisch Drama transfer student here! </p>
<p>as far as housing, is it cheaper to live on or off campus? are there on campus housing options other than the dorms? and where are cheaper (but safe) neighborhoods near NYU? thanks!!</p>
<p>I’ll try and answer some questions since bangleonia doesn’t seem to be checking in. If I don’t answer your question, it’s because I honestly don’t know!</p>
<p>Yes, Tisch is a strong school for film editing and for any aspect of filmmaking. Generally speaking, the experience is pretty much what I expected - NYU can be a tough school to settle into, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. The creative experience is incredible - professors and peers who will challenge you in every way. </p>
<p>It’s usually cheaper to live off-campus, but you do sacrifice some things - you’re often further from campus, have to deal with pest infestations, handle rent, utilities, Internet, etc. On the other hand, you don’t have to worry packing up every summer. The East Village, Stuy Town, Lower East Side, Chinatown, and the West Village are all popular with NYU students, if you want to be in Manhattan.</p>