<p>Can anyone out there chime in on the pros and cons of these programs? S accepted to them and now totally confused. He also fell in love with UT Austin and their new actor training progam. Haven't seen Northwesten or Michigan yet but has toured NYU and loved it. (We're from NY iso he's very familiar with NYC). He has omitted a couple of other schools and has been slapped around silly by the usual suspects. So he is down to four great options. chime in if you can. Much obliged!</p>
<p>My D goes to NU and my son went to NYU Tisch. You should definitely visit NU–honestly, that will help your decision a lot. Sit in on classes, and see shows, get a feel for the campus. You can pm me if you want.</p>
<p>Thanks. He is going to see it in two weeks. I know he will love it. There hasn’t been one place he has seen that he hasn’t fallen in love with, from small Muhlenberg to enormous Texas. That’s part of the problem haha.</p>
<p>When you have several wonderful options - and they are wonderful - I really don’t think you should worry so much about whether they are going to the “best” for his career. I think that’s a slam dunk here. The questions are, what can he (and you) live with for the next 4 years? Even if he loves all of the schools, he should picture himself there, day to day. You should picture the cost, the ease of coming home, even inconsequential things like weather (!).</p>
<p>If there is one thing that he’s always thought should be part of his life in a theatre program - something about productions, a certain kind of elective, a double major or minor, study abroad, whatever - he might as well pick the school that has that one little thing.</p>
<p>In the end, sometimes all you can do is ask, Where do you want to be in the FALL? Sometimes it’s hard to project too far ahead. Another method is to pretend you’ve picked one, and notice which school you feel surprisingly sad about giving up. Good luck!</p>
<p>You have an abundance of riches. </p>
<p>I agree with connections that you should absolutely visit NU, sit in on classes if you can etc. It’s a gorgeous campus and a very impressive school. (I loved Michigan too BTW for the same reasons). Regretfully NYU Tisch won’t let you do that which is really unfortunate. However, you can easily find a student(s) that would be more than happy to spend some time with you to give you as close a look through the window into their program as possible. My daughter is hosting an admitted HS student during her school’s spring break next week for that purpose and is trying to line up school performances to see, organizing an after acting class group dinner etc. so the student can get at least some feel for the types of activities one would expect at NYU and the people she’d be with. I know there are many other students doing the same. </p>
<p>Here is some food for thought from the perspective of a faraway parent though about the benefits of nearby vs. need to hop a plane. I am enormously envious of the NYU parents who live nearby and can literally pull up to the curb to load/unload the student’s junk every year and store it at home in between. Sounds like a simple thing but I’m in the process of squaring away summer storage right now and I SO wish I could just hop in the car and go get her stuff and help her move out. That’s small silly and solvable (though expensive) but related to it is that I would KILL to be able to easily go to all of the student performances, a capella etc. We are on opposite coasts so attending any future performances takes a lot of planning and it is expensive. But I’d love to be able to go see them if all it took was a car/train ride whether my daughter is in them or not. (Note the previous paragraph is entirely parent-centric I get that. But the flip side of that from a student’s perspective is 1. they get help schlepping their stuff which they’d appreciate and 2. they want you to come to their performances and are happy that you can. Just thought I’d throw that in since I realized what I was writing had nothing to do with the student themselves.)</p>
<p>And finally just to mention one other thing about NYU that I do think is a unique benefit shared by the NYC area schools. Tisch faculty are incredibly well connected to the theatre community. I expect that you’ll also find that to be the case at NU and all of the excellent theatre programs throughout the country. But when a Tisch faculty member calls up one of his famous buddies to ask if they’ll sit in on a midterm review in his/her class, they show up because for some of them all that means is hopping on the subway. This has happened repeatedly in many of my daughter’s classes her first year at Tisch. Not necessarily the thing to base a decision on, but I thought I’d mention it.</p>
<p>You have such a nice problem to have!!! Congratulations.</p>
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<p>When my D was at Tisch, she often got permission to bring a guest to studio. She hosted several from contact here on CC. Officially, Tisch won’t arrange it but if you know a Tischie, chances are that you might be able to arrange something. I know of kids as recently as last fall who were able to do this.</p>
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<p>So true. This happened on nearly a weekly basis when my D was in Atlantic. It really is invaluable, both for the contacts and for the knowledge and experience shared.</p>
<p>Both schools are very expensive and offer great programs so compare the FA package. NU has a traditional college campus with football team, sports, etc. NYU has proximity to Broadway and connections to the theatre community. Going to school in New York also gives you so much access to everything that NY has to offer- great museums, restaurants, concert tours, shopping, AND you do not need a car because the public transportation is phenomenal. Of course you know all these things. Also depends on if your child prefers to go out of state. Both of mine chose to do that but then again, we don’t have schools like NU or NYU in my state. Good luck!</p>
<p>“But when a Tisch faculty member calls up one of his famous buddies to ask if they’ll sit in on a midterm review in his/her class, they show up because for some of them all that means is hopping on the subway. This has happened repeatedly in many of my daughter’s classes her first year at Tisch”</p>
<p>Happens at NU quite frequently as well, probably other major colleges also. It is not particular to NYU at all.</p>
<p>Truth is, your family needs to look at the websites and classes offered, visit the schools and get a feel for it all. Probably the biggest difference between the two schools is campus vs no campus. Obviously, NYU has no campus, kids are dormed throughout the city as are their classes. NU has a traditional campus within a great college town with restaurants, etc. They also have traditional college activities - Big 10 athletics, Greek life, etc. which NYU does not. (True story, we didn’t think sports mattered at all 5 years ago, but my daughter has become such a huge Big 10 fan, she couldn’t imagine life without it.) It also offers great museums, concert tours, shopping, and no need for a car AT ALL with the great public transit in Chicago. (No need for transit of any kind, other than your feet or bicycle, in Evanston.) Getting into Chicago takes the same amount of time (or less) than heading uptown from NYU.</p>
<p>The one key difference IMHO between the two from a program point of view is that at NYU they choose the studio for you after you fill out some paperwork and audition for about 10 minutes. At NU they allow you to sit on three different professors classes 2 or 3 times towards the end of your freshman year so you can decide which teacher and teaching style works for you and then you list your preferences and that is your class for the next 3 years. </p>
<p>There are more differences but they are debatable, these are the more factual differences. I guess you could also say that you finish with a BFA vs a BA (or BS) but because NU has the quarter system the total number of acting and acting related classes can far exceed even those of a BFA program.</p>
<p>NY will always be there, college is generally a one time 4 years. Programs are really similar, I think the biggest question is does he want a more traditional 4 years or does it not matter to him? Good luck!</p>
<p>Excellent points amtc. The whole traditional college experience was very important to my daughter but not for my son. To me, that’s a big difference in the schools. NYU does have a Greek life- not that strong- but it is there. Tisch also offers free tickets to Broadway shows all the time. That’s another difference. Like you said- it’s all about where you want to live and what your family can afford. The OP already lives in New York so NU would definitely be a change of pace and will give them a chance to navigate another great city and experience what Chicago has to offer. My daughter LOVES it up there! The OP has a dilemma that most kids would kill for!</p>
<p>It is true my S has wonderful choices. He now has to prepare the good ole fashioned list of pros and cons. Only problem the pros outweigh the cons. He will be happy anywhere but my family is extremely weak in decision making. Deciding between sushi, Italian or Greek can take a half an hour.</p>
<p>Ha! That is so funny Muttle1. If your family has a hard time deciding between sushi, Italian, or Greek- there must be a complete meltdown happening in your house! For me, when all things are equal, I seriously make the finances my top priority! Like halflokum, I am jealous of the parents who live close to their kids’ college. I have not seen any of the productions my kids have been in because it’s just so expensive and I have a lot of college bills! The hotels in Chicago are so much less expensive than the ones in NY! I guess I was really lucky because both of my kids had clear cut decision for their schools. Of course, my husband would have loved for them to stay in state- for the cost alone.</p>
<p>Muttle, the bottom line is that he has wonderful options. Every applicant should be so lucky. 
Aside from the usual comparisons that are school/program/city related many of which I would hope that both of you would have done long before now!, I would urge you, and him, to look at the financial aid aspect very carefully and get a good idea of what he’s likely to receive for all four years. No theatre student should be taking on debt in the form of student loans, in any significant amount.</p>
<p>amtc- are you straight theatre or MT? Were you also able to double major in something else? I have noticed that NU does allow for double majors because of the abundance of classes in their trimester system.</p>
<p>alwaysamom- unfortunately we have loans. Even though my kids could have gone to a state school and would have gotten paid to do so, they just didn’t have provide same opportunities. That’s the price we pay- literally!</p>
<p>I agree with everyone that these are both fabulous schools. Some other differences besides campus vs. no campus, or sports, Greek life vs. broadway shows, contacts, etc., is the difference in academic requirements. I’m assuming your son is a top student… But does he want to take as many academic classes that a BA requires? At NYU you can take plenty if you choose to, but because it is a BFA you are not required to take as many. Also NYU allows and encourages study abroad. I’m not sure about northwestern for their theatre students. </p>
<p>And I agree with the post about having an acting student driving distance away. It is really nice to be able to hop in a car to see them perform, compared to flying, staying in a hotel etc. even if money is not an issue, it is certainly more difficult.</p>
<p>supportive - my daughter is MT and decided a while ago that she was not interested in having a second major or even a minor. Her feeling was that taking non-required, non-major classes would be much more fun and less stressful if they were subjects in which she was interested instead of “required” for a major or minor. She also wanted to take as many acting/theatre type classes as a BFA student would. She came in with a good number of AP credits that covered a lot of the core requirements, strangely enough her voice lessons count for English and there’s a theatre class she took that covered another core requirement (don’t remember what it was, but the kids all know it). I asked her about this earlier today and she said that between her AP credits and that class I can’t remember and her voice lessons she actually only needed to take about 5 classes from the core that were not theatre related. She has occasionally taken world history classes and math classes for “fun” because they didn’t “count” for her major or anything else so there was less pressure - a B+ or A- was okay. But most kids do double major, just not my daughter! </p>
<p>To repeat for MOMMY5, there are an incredible number of contacts that NU students have just from going to NU (I know, as a native New Yorker, that we think NY is the only place to obtain these contacts, but the truth is actors and playwrights are constantly in Chicago and incredibly excited to meet with their NU professor friends when in town. Do the names Sutton Foster, Mary Zimmerman, Tom Hanks, Nathan Lane sound familiar?) As far as seeing Broadway shows, many start in Chicago but even so, not enough of a reason to choose a school, IMHO.</p>
<p>Studying abroad is possible, about 5 theatre kids do it each term, but the professors don’t love it; they’d prefer it done over the summer. </p>
<p>Flying to see our daughter is a breeze, there are numerous hotels walking distance to the campus, it has never been a problem in four year, but finances aren’t an issue for us. We’ve also driven about 3 hours to see her in summer stock. Although she likes us to see her in shows and we enjoy going, again, not a reason to choose a college.</p>
<p>Both great schools, both equal in so many ways, not a bad place to be!</p>
<p>Thanks amtc! I’ve never heard of a voice class counting for an English class or a student taking a math class for fun! I agree that Chicago is a great theatre town. My daughter said her brother can get contacts in New York and she wants to have contacts in Chicago.</p>
<p>p.s. Did your daughter also go to a performing arts school or a public high school with a great arts program? It’s great that she was able to get so many AP credits to take care of the Gen Eds. That helps a lot!</p>
<p>supportive - I wish! My daughter went to the local public high school which has a terrible, basically non-existent arts program. She did belong to theatre groups from a pretty early age and she acted professionally from about age 14.</p>
<p>Our PA high school is public and free but to me, the head of the theatre department did not do a very good job with the program. Where we live, there’s not much opportunity for professional acting as well. We only have one equity theatre and it’s a dinner theatre. I didn’t let my kids do that because school and making good grades was their number one priority (and that garnered some great merit scholarships). Luckily, they weren’t distracted with those opportunities because I know my daughter, in particular, is dying to do professional work.</p>
<p>p.s. amtc- has your daughter already graduated? If not, what year is she?</p>
<p>Have you done any research into the faculty ? What studio is he in at NYU ? I thought Texas was just an MFA.</p>