So our daughter just got accepted to Carnegie Mellon for Drama/MT precollege, which is fabulous and we are thrilled. It looks like a great program–it’s stretched out over 6 weeks. The emphasis seems to be on getting ready for auditions and we are generally excited about the opportunity.
We also applied to Tisch and are waiting to hear back. That program (at NYU) is a few weeks shorter in length and much more expensive. We won’t hear back on that until late February.
We have been given 10 days with which to accept the CM offer and put down a deposit. Because I am new to all this, I am not clear on the relative merits of each program or how comparable they are in terms of education and prestige. We know CM is the premier musical theater school but they make it very clear in the literature that precollege is a sampler and not an indicator of future success at CM. NYU is closer to us, and that makes it attractive–but as our daughter is only a sophomore, we are not clear on her chances of getting in and we won’t hear back in time. Our goal are for her to sharpen her skills, particular dancing, but also to get a feel for the college experience and the reality of studying theater more than anything else at this moment.
If anyone has any specific feedback, I would love to hear it.
CMU is a longer program, AND less expensive - to me, that makes it a no-brainer! CMU all the way! Especially since they already accepted your D and need a deposit before you’ll find out about NYU - a bird in the hand and all that.
Not to go devil’s advocate - but the CMU program (as I understand it) focuses a LOT of college audition material etc - which is GREAT, but if the kid is a sophomore, will they really get full value. My kid did the NYU program in HS, and went to NYU. She said her freshman year, that she was really surprised by what an accurate reflection her summer classes were to what she was doing in ACTUAL college. It was the actual professors (I don’t think that is the case full time with CMU). Also - they went to 8 shows in NYC over the 4 weeks (5 bway and 3 off bway) and had a talkback with performers after every show.
I totally get the bird in the hand thing… is the deposit refundable?
My daughter went to CMU between sophomore year and junior year and LOVED it. To me, the selling point was that she worked with the actual CMU instructors, like Gary Kline and Don Wadsworth. She also worked with a few of the dance teachers she now has at Point Park.
CMU uses a combination of full-time faculty and adjuncts/summer help. You have abundant time to sharpen skills and get the feel of a “real” BFA program. Both of my Ds did the program and are now in BFA programs (elsewhere). They say it is an accurate reflection of all but the rehearsal/stagecraft time required of them as BFA students. You can get a huge jump on your audition materials- both Ds came back with numerous monologue choices and my MT D had a number of song choices. You will also do a mock audition after which you will receive detailed, written feedback. If they hold to what they have done since they instituted the prescreen, your mock audition satisfies the prescreen requirement.
6 weeks is a very long time and it is wise to plan time before or after to think about the audition season; it comes up very quickly once the program ends!
My daughter did the NYU summer program between junior and senior year because it was shorter. She loved it. She was not accepted between sophomore and junior year. If you’ve been accepted at cmu I would put down a deposit. She could also apply to NYU next year too and she could get two great summer programs. Ultimately my daughter did get accepted at NYU but chose another school.
My daughter did the NYU program as a rising junior. She loved it. Loved living in Greenwich Village for a month. She saw 10+ plays in 4 weeks. Very good sample of life as an MT student. She has applied to and auditioned for NYU and we’re waiting for their decision. She was very comfortable auditioning at Tisch having spent a month there. The 6 credits will come in handy if she is accepted and attends NYU. Don’t know if those credits will transfer to other colleges.
The CMU summer program also looks very good. My daughter auditioned for CMU MT & Acting last week.
Both programs are good and your D is likely to have a great experience at either one. They are different experiences, though, as being in NYC for a month isn’t likely to be replicated anywhere else in a summer program. The question is whether or not your D would enjoy that. The difference in cost should also take into consideration the savings in college credit you will receive from the Tisch program, if she ends up at Tisch. The bottom line is that you can’t go wrong with either one! Good luck with your decision.
Unless the credits allow for your child to graduate a semester early, i do not believe they save you anything down the road in reduced tuition . They will allow for schedule flexibility however as it would be one less class to take to meet graduation requirements. That is if the class would be accepted at schools other than NYU.
My kid went to NYU for actual college as well, and found the 6 credits (plus all her AP credits) very handy, She could have graduated in 3 years if she had wanted to. (Tisch requires 3 years of studio for graduation) But chose to stay for all 4 b/c she wanted to have experiences at different studios - she did 3 years of full time stage training and a year of full time film training - plus a minor in stage combat.
You mention dance is a priority this summer - I’m not sure the level of intensity that dance will be at CM given that they are not known for being a super strong dance school. Maybe some of the parents that have kids who have attended the CM summer program can give more detail on that? My kid did the NYU program last year before their senior year of hs and found the dance at NYU to be incredibly intense. They level you into 3 groups and she was in the most advanced group. After a month her dance skills were still significantly improved.
She also learned how to understand Shakespeare at NYU! There wasn’t a huge focus on it, but they taught it in a way she had never been exposed to and it is incredible the difference it has made to her! Shakespeare will never be her favorite thing- voice is by far, but she is so relieved to not dread Shakespeare any longer! She is even teaching their methodology to her hs acting teacher to implement in their curriculum! NYU also focuses on what it means to be an artist and having lifelong work as an artist. The program changed my daughter’s life! Although, I think she got much more out of it being before her senior year - it is pretty intense and may be a little much for a rising junior.
It is sometimes amazing how much students improve and mature over their junior year - it may be a little early to be selecting college material if your child will be a hs junior next year. Everything the other parents said about Tisch summer program is true too - a lot to think about! I would still probably go ahead and accept the CM position as it is obviously going to be an incredible experience and such a great opportunity- and perhaps consider NYU next year. It does seem like a good number of kids that do the NYU program ultimately get accepted at NYU - of course no guarantees and we do know some who did not. My daughter has applied to both programs for college and is in the process of auditioning!
@yellowheart the MT kids dance every or every other day and it is leveled. Nonetheless, I would not consider the dance intense if your student is a strong dancer. It challenged my D but she is a strong mover.
@Twins2018 my . D went to CMU last year ( summer before her Junior year) she could not have been happier. to this day she calls it the greatest 6 weeks of her life…now the downside is her dream school has a 2% acceptance rate…the program was taught by real MT faculty at CMU, she truly loved it., we are relatively close to NYC so the NYC/broadway show thing wasnt really a factor for us, but i can see for out of towners how that would be a plus…if you wanted to speak to my D directly or your D does you can PM me
@Twins2018 What program did you end up choosing? I got accepted into the CMU Pre College program as well for MT. I’m a junior, and i attended the Tisch Summer High School Program last summer for MT also. IT WAS AMAZING❤️
@kagny5 Yes I will be attending the CMU program this summer!!! As a rising senior!!! I am soo excited and grateful to be apart of something soo special❤️!