Hello everyone. I was accepted to both Barnard College and Northwestern University as a theatre major. I am looking for a vibrant social life against a great city, but am not sure about how cutthroat NU’s social life is (that is my biggest concern with going there). I am also worried Barnard’s theatre major may not be pre professional enough (not that many theatre courses to choose from) but it is also smaller which will give me more attention. Also, I have heard Barnard girls don’t go out a lot which I know I will need to succeed and be able to enjoy my college experience.
Any input? I would plan on rushing at either school and would focus on stage management within my theatre major.
I also feel like Barnard is a draw because it is in New York with Broadway and other incredible theatres, but Northwestern has that too without being so caught up with city life.
Not sure that I understand, but if that is your impression of NU students then I encourage you to visit. If you have & that is your impression, then give Barnard strong consideration.
@peacelove123 - This should be an easy decision. If it were Northwestern vs Columbia (the College), I would say this is a hard decision. But, Northwestern is in a different league than Barnard. A top 10 national university vs. a top 30 LAC. Barnard is a highly regarded LAC but it is not in the same company as Northwestern, Duke, Dartmouth, etc. Just compare acceptance rates, SAT / ACT ranges, yield %s. If you change your mind at NU, you can easily switch into the College of Arts / Science or you can easily double major in Theatre and a traditional discipline such as Economics, History, Psychology, etc. The Theatre program at Northwestern is outstanding. Some of the famous alumni include: Stephen Colbert, Seth Myers, David Schwimmer (from Friends), Zach Braff, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and the list goes on and on. There are also many NU alumni on Broadway. Good luck.
I don’t know where you have “heard” that, but that is a rather odd statement. Unless things have changed a lot over the years since my daughter was there, it’s really quite the opposite — people tend not to hang around campus a lot because of all the other attractions in NYC plus the small physical size of the Barnard & Columbia campuses – as well as the other opportunities with the city tied to individual student interests & majors. I found both Barnard & Columbia to be surprisingly quiet on evenings & weekends, but things quite vibrant in the evenings walking along Broadway south of the campus.
I m a Northwestern grad living in the NYC area. Obviously Barnard’s proximity to Broadway is very attractive, but Northwestern’s theater depart is second to none with access to major professional opportunities.
As for the social life at NU, I have never heard it described as cutthroat until now. Northwestern has a diverse and open social environment. I could understand some concern that it has an active Greek community, but a vast majority of students do not join houses and there is low pressure to rush. Many of my friends were happy drama majors.
Thank you guys for the input! If you have anymore to say then that would be awesome!
@calmom@HiToWaMom I didn’t mean to say that every Barnard student was like that, but the ones I know say there tends to be a very very small Morningside bubble and it is difficult to get the initiative to venture into the city. This is from three girls I know who attend at the moment. Sorry for any misunderstandings.
You got in to NU theater? No question, go for it! What an opportunity! How could you do better? New York City is nice, but for theater education I don’t think NU can be beat. Go to NYC when you graduate! (Okay, I’m an NU alum, still living locally and thoroughly enjoying NU productions over the decades…)
Barnard – the people who say that Barnard is second to Northwestern like @StanfordGSB00 and @bobo44 – give me a break! They clearly don’t realize that Barnard has the theater department for Columbia overall. And it’s in NYC. Do you want to have access to professional theater work and internships on Broadway? As an undergrad? The industry surrounding theater? Barnard is the clear choice.
I find your dilemma and your take on B vs NU very interesting. My D applied to both colleges (to NU as dual degree in Voice and Anthropology and to Barnard as one of her “great LACs I’d like to attend if I bomb my auditions and am not accepted to a conservatory within a university”). Every college she applied to had to have a vibrant theatre scene accessible to non-majors. Barnard def had the draw of a more personal environment within a larger campus as well as the NYC location. (Those theatre ticket discounts - who could resist?!) She ended up attending NU as a dual degree student and started getting involved in theatre - soooo much theatre to do at NU! A year later and she is now a Theatre/History double major and loves it. Pros of NU vs Barnard: Theatre training is excellent and I’m going to suggest that the technical training (you noted that you’re interested in production) is likely superior to Barnard’s. Probably more opportunities to be involved in productions but you can check that out by calculating how many shows are produced at each college. Lay out the coursework as well and see how they compare. Pros of Barnard vs NU: Are you from NYC? Maybe you’ll find the smaller college town of Evanston too quiet. Maybe you already have numerous NY connections that you’d like to maintain at Barnard. If not, you’ll find that NU profs have excellent connections and work steadily in theatre, though more likely in Chicago theatre. There are plenty of ways to achieve what you want; you just need to prioritize your “must-haves” and the choice will become more clear. Great choices, good luck!
Just wanted to add a big congratulations to you. Though I’m on the record as an NU and Chicago theater scene fan, in all honesty you can’t go wrong either way. What outstanding options. You must be extremely talented–we are expecting great things! And enjoy yourself along the way!
No one has attended both NU and Barnard for undergrad theatre. And everyone is telling you what they think, not what they know. I prefer to know who is a working actor performer. That’s the ultimate test.
Both schools are great. And you should be asking about the fit for you.
NU is not cut throat and Barnard isn’t boring and cloistered.
But here are the stats. Top 10.
Here’s the list of the most colleges with performers on Broadway in 2018.
New York University: Arielle Jacobs (Aladdin), Ari’el Stachel (The Band’s Visit), Bill Army (The Band’s Visit), Kristen Sieh (The Band’s Visit), Kris Roberts (Beautiful), Jason Butler Harner (Bernhardt/Hamlet), Matthew Saldivar (Bernhardt/Hamlet), Aaron Costa Ganis (Bernhardt/Hamlet), Randy Aaron (The Book of Mormon), Keziah John -Paul (The Book of Mormon), Ryan Worsing (The Cher Show), Naomi C. Walley (Chicago), Happy McPartlin (Come From Away), Pearl Sun (Come From Away), Jelani Alladin (Frozen), Timothy Hughes (Frozen), Nina Lafarga (Frozen), Karla Puno Garcia (Hamilton), Jess Barbagallo (Harry Potter), Malika Samuel (Harry Potter), Mike Baerga (King Kong), Peter Chursin (King Kong), Jaquez André Sims (King Kong), Lauren Yalango-Grant (King Kong), Holly Davis (Kinky Boots), Blair Goldberg (Kinky Boots), Myles McHale (Mean Girls), Nikhil Saboo (Mean Girls), John Ellison Conlee (The Nap), Heather Lind (The Nap), Bhavesh Patel (The Nap), Jay Armstrong Johnson (The Phantom of the Opera), Katherine Heaton (The Phantom of the Opera), Amelia McClain (The Play That Goes Wrong), Jessica Crouch (Pretty Woman), David Josefsberg (The Prom), Badia Farha (School of Rock), Diane Phelan (School of Rock), Joel Waggoner (School of Rock), Christina Sajous (SpongeBob SquarePants), Brandon Espinoza (SpongeBob SquarePants), Alex Gibson (SpongeBob Squarepants), Kelvin Moon Loh (SpongeBob SquarePants), Dakin Matthews (To Kill A Mockingbird), Katerina Papacostas (Tootsie), Katie Lowes (Waitress), Molly Hager (Waitress), Molly Jobe (Waitress), Ioana Alfonso (Wicked), Larkin Bogan (Wicked) Josh Daniel Green (Wicked), Marissa Lupp (Wicked), Carla Stickler (Wicked)
University of Michigan: Travis Ward-Osborne (Aladdin), Etai Benson (The Band’s Visit), Pomme Koch (The Band’s Visit), Madison Micucci (The Band’s Visit), Alexander Gemignani (Carousel), Halli Toland (Carousel), Sam Lips (The Cher Show), Brian Spitulnik (Chicago), Alex Finke (Come From Away), De’Lon Grant (Come From Away), Jennifer Laura Thompson (Dear Evan Hansen), Ashley Blanchet (Frozen), Jeremy Davis (Frozen), Ryan Vasquez (Hamilton), Brian Flores (Head Over Heels), Christy Faber (Kinky Boots), Erika Henningsen (Mean Girls), Taylor Louderman (Mean Girls), Ashley Park (Mean Girls), Justin Lee Miller (My Fair Lady), Ximone Rose (Once On This Island), Isabelle McCalla (The Prom), Courtney Balan (The Prom), Lizzie Klemperer (School of Rock), L’ogan J’ones (SpongeBob SquarePants), Storm Lever (Summer: The Donna Summer Musical), Celia Keenan-Bolger (To Kill A Mockingbird), Britney Coleman (Tootsie), Shina Ann Morris (Tootsie)
University of Cincinnati – College Conservatory of Music: Christy Altomare (Anastasia), Vicki Lewis (Anastasia), Kathryn Boswell (Anastasia), Kyle Brown (Anastasia), Sara Shepherd (Beautiful), Daniel Torres (Beautiful), Melvin Tunstall (Beautiful), Nicholas Belton (Carousel), Garett Hawe (Carousel), Kelly McCormick (Carousel), Blaine Alden Krauss (The Cher Show & Kinky Boots), Angel Reda (The Cher Show), Jason Patrick Sands (Chicago), Sharon Wheatley (Come From Away), Josh Breckenridge (Come From Away), John Riddle (Frozen), Noah J. Ricketts (Frozen), Alysha Deslorieux (Hamilton), Andrew Chappelle (Hamilton), Samantha Pollino (Head Over Heels), Stephen Berger (Kinky Boots), Mia Gentile (Kinky Boots), Kyle Selig (Mean Girls), Christine Cornish Smith (My Fair Lady), Preston Truman Boyd (The Play That Goes Wrong), Adam Monley (Tootsie), Bill Nolte (Waitress)
American Musical and Dramatic Academy: Maria Briggs (Frozen & Anastasia), Paris Nix (Beautiful), Husso Semon (Beautiful), Sky Lakota -Lynch (Dear Evan Hansen), Caissie Levy (Frozen), Jacob Smith (Frozen), J. Elaine Marcos (Gettin’ the Band Back Together), Peppermint (Head Over Heels), Jon Hoche (King Kong), Jena VanElslander (King Kong), J. Harrison Ghee (Kinky Boots), Damien Brett (Kinky Boots), Ashley De La Rosa (Mean Girls), Minami Yusui (My Fair Lady), Kenita R. Miller (Once On This Island), Hailey Kilgore (Once On This Island), Christopher Sieber (The Prom), Vasthy Mompoint (The Prom & SpongeBob SquarePants), Teddy Toye (The Prom), Lulu Loyd (School of Rock), Kyle Matthew Hamilton (SpongeBob SquarePants), Sarah Stiles (Tootsie), Stephanie Torns (Waitress), Kristen Martin (Wicked)
Carnegie Mellon University: Telly Leung (Aladdin), Kara Lindsay (Beautiful), Michael Campayno (The Cher Show), Emily Skinner (The Cher Show), Mitchell Jarvis (Gettin’ the Band Back Together), Manu Narayan (Gettin’ the Band Back Together), Susan Heyward (Harry Potter), Nathan Salstone (Harry Potter), Arica Jackson (Head Over Heels), James T. Lane (King Kong), Cherry Jones (The Lifespan of a Fact), Michael Hollick (The Lion King), Grey Henson (Mean Girls), Kate Marilley (My Fair Lady & The Prom), Ethan Hova (The Nap), Thomas Jay Ryan (The Nap), Matthew Stocke (Pretty Woman), Leo Ash Evens (School of Rock), Kaleigh Cronin (Summer: The Donna Summer Musical), Drew Gehling (Waitress), Amanda Jane Cooper (Wicked)
Boston Conservatory
(tie) Yale University: Oklahoma City U
Point Park University, northwestern u
(tie) University of North Carolina Schoo, Pace
(tie) Elon , Fordham)
Honorable Mentions:
(Baldwin-Wallace University
1a. University of Hartford (Hartt School of Music):
Not in the know but from browsing theater-related threads, Northwestern often come up as one of the top choices, especially for theater and academics (it’s still a BA degree, not BFA) combined.
In case that means anything, Meryl Streep and Julia Louis-Dreyfus sent their kids to Northwestern.