@JaneDo @milmom2 @toowonderful My daughter was accepted last year to Syracuse … she loved the audition - the woman in the room worked with her for 15 minutes on her voice. We liked what we learned in the information session … then came the price tag… yikes!! Out of our range. Same with Boston Conservatory - such a great audition experience, the person in charge of the dance audition really took a liking to my daughter - she felt great … again - the price tag was crazy. She ended up attending Oklahoma City University in their BA - Music Theatre. It was half the price AND has a really great reputation. Location is not so great - but it’s a 2 hour flight from where we live (easier than getting to Syracuse!) Not a BFA which threw her off for a bit - but their curriculum is very similar to BFA but they come out with a great music education. As a Headhunter, I am helping client’s fill positions all the time. I think a Bachelors degree is more marketable than a BFA anyway … if she decides to leave performance and try something else later in life. Really though - I think a person can be successful coming from any school … more about the person than the school. It does help though if there is a strong alumni base out in the world to connect with to help get your foot in the door. Syracuse would have been a great option for my daughter - but just couldn’t swing the price.
@toowonderful funny all the reasons your daughter didn’t want Syracuse is why my son does lol. We are still waiting on NYU but in his eyes that might not even matter. He loves that it is basically a conservatory program at a traditional school where he can be a part of other activities. He also likes that you can earn equity points while in school shows and getting to live in the city senior year is amazing. If cost wasn’t a factor he would have already committed. He has a few friends there that can’t say enough good things. Wish they would offer him some financial help but as of now there is nothing. I need to call them and find out.
@sopranomtmom @DramaMama603 @freddieggirl @Spike27 Whohooo. Got son’s Hartt acceptance package with Honors Program invite and scholarship information today. So happy for him; he is over the moon after expecting nothing but rejections from here on out. He auditioned in Chicago BTW. @DramaMama603 Muhlenberg acceptance came in the mail last week I think for us. Still waiting on BoCo and NYU but this was a (happy) surprise for sure.
@CollegeDadofTwo - that is not how I would characterize NYU’s studio system, though I am not surprised that someone might. NYU is VERY different from other BFAs, and it is easy to get confused by, or be dismissive of things you don’t understand properly which I what I gather from what you have “heard”.
There are some studios that are run directly by NYU - NSB (the MT studio), ETW (experimental theater) Playwrights Horizons are examples. Others are part of established acting conservatories: Stella Adler (which my D attends), Atlantic, Strasbourg etc. I can of course only speak with direct knowledge of Adler - and not too much there, b/c my D doesn’t spend time with the people in the outside training program. (housed in same building, but NYU has own floors). They do share some teachers but NYU had their own administrator with the Adler program (who is phenomenal) You have studio 3 days a week from about 9-6. One unique thing about NYU is that while all students are required to stay with their “primary” studio for 2 years, afterwards you have a great deal of flexibility to either go to an “advanced” studio (Like Classical, or Stonestreet Film) Many students take advantage of this opportunity. @soozievt has written often about how her D moved from the MT studio to ETW b/c she wanted to focus on creating her own work. People often discuss on CC the rigidity of a BFA curriculum (which is a reason some end up choosing BAs instead) NYU has more training flexibility than any BFA school I know of.
You are correct that Conservatory Tuition at Stella Adler Studio is less than $10K a year, and NYU is way more. TBH - I have no idea if the education I am paying for via NYU is better or not better than what I could have gotten from the outside studio. BUT - I wanted my kid to go to COLLEGE, not into just training. So my D is also spending 2 days a week taking “regular” classes at one of the top 30(ish - rankings are conflicting) schools in the nation.
There was a thread here YEARS ago about how you could piece together training in any major city (vocal teachers, acting teachers, dance classes etc) for WAY less than the cost of a BFA. Perfectly viable choice - not the choice we made
@Eliza806 Thank you! Her audition for Hartt was at Chicago Unifieds. I remember it was one of her first so it must have been on Monday which was 2/6.
@milmom2 - funny how things work- Syracuse was our LEAST expensive BFA option- D got some great merit $$ there (a competitive scholarship - can’t remember the name, she had to write an essay and do a skype interview)
And you are entirely correct- what makes a college LESS attractive to one person, makes it MORE attractive to another!! So find your fit and thrive!!
Thank you - my daughter auditioned on campus mid-February (actually on the last weekend it was offered) but I don’t know if the audition timing is significant.
To add onto the NYU difference…
Students have the opportunity to minor or double major at a world class university. NYU openly states “great thinkers make great theatre makers”. To that point academics are stressed as well as training.
Tisch encompasses so much more than acting! These students start networking early between writers, directing, music, and more. Case in point Tisch 48 hour film festival where students across many departments create original work. The cross discipline work was a key benefit for us.
Depending on your child’s interests, there are so many opportunities in NYC to go beyond peers at other schools by taking classes outside of school.
Auditions-our child came in with agent and has been starting to build connections with NYC casting offices! Has been on film and TV auditions for major networks! We went in saying we are paying for academics, training, networking and getting into the NYC casting offices to start building reputation in the market.
And it’s NYC!!
@MomofMTBoy Congratulations to your S! My D received the invite to the Hartt honors program as well. I was just researching it, as I know nothing about it. It looks like the honors program kids can apply to live in Hawk Hall which looks pretty nice. My D auditioned at NY Unifieds, so we are planning a visit on 4/7. Here’s hoping my D falls in love. She has a few other options, but nothing that is calling to her.
My daughter got into the honors too at Hartt I called and was very very disappointed at the extremely low amount she got!
With all the NYU and CMU talk we passed on both school because of the lack of Merritt money! Regrets none here!
From personal experience I can tell you it is really hard to pull money out of CMU. They are the top and they know it. Kind of “its the cost of doing business with the best” attitude. I can’t really fault them, but it is a difficult process for a parent.
Lots of different conversations going on here! This is a busy time when all is coming to fruition for those in this year’s admissions cycle. Congrats to all who have heard some positive results! And it ain’t over. Soon and then going forward from there, it won’t matter one bit how many schools your kid got into. They can only attend one. It is just that you are immersed in it right now. Hopefully, your child had two sure bet schools on the list, thus leaving him/her with options if their BFA schools did not come through (if they applied to those and wanted one). A BFA is not a necessity in this field and those who succeed can come from many paths.
To chime in on one of the threads of this discussion today, though @toowonderful already responded…
As the parent of an NYU/Tisch MT alum, I have to disagree with this statement. For one thing, several of the studios in the BFA program at NYU are run by NYU itself and are not outside studios. The current MT studio is one of these, in fact. That simply means that the faculty of those particular studios are NYU faculty. The outside studios are well established and regarded studios. The NYU students in those studios do NOT mix at all in classes or productions with the non-NYU students who may be training at those studios. NYU has oversight on their students.
However, studio is just ONE part of the NYU education! All Tisch BFA Acting/MT students also take 7 Theater Studies courses at NYU with NYU faculty. They also all take liberal arts courses at NYU too. Besides the coursework, they are part of everything a full university offers, that an outside studio does not. Many services are involved. Many activities too. The NYU/Tisch experience is not the same whatsoever from simply attending one of these studios outside of NYU. The Tisch student is getting the full university experience, not just studio training. As well, Tisch runs theater productions that are not studio based. My D was in productions at NYU for three years, including MainStage, and NONE were based in her own studio! As already mentioned in another post, students at Tisch can partake in more than one studio training during their 4 years at NYU (my D did this, but hadn’t planned on it when matriculating). As well, many Tisch MT and Acting students minor or double major in something else (though my kid did not). Due to the size of Tisch and the many artistic fields that they offer training in, a MT/Acting student will mix with students who focus on directing, choreography, producing, writing, etc. and these connections go beyond the college years where they end up working with one another on shows in the professional world (I can’t tell you how many peers from Tisch my D works with who are directors, writers, producers and choreographers now).
I’m not pushing NYU as it is not for all people. But simply trying to correct the misconception that was stated.
My daughter had a phenomenal experience at NYU/Tisch, and loved it very much. It was a great fit for her. She has supported herself entirely in the fields of theater and music since her graduation day, which was our expectation. She remains in NYC, which she loves dearly.
As an aside, as some were talking about Syracuse vs. NYU/Tisch…my D got into both actually too. She really liked the Syracuse program a lot. I’m sure she would have been happy to have attended. It is an excellent program. She dreamed of going to NYU for a very long time and I think it was the best fit for her in the end. Both schools gave her substantial scholarships, but NYU gave her more, but that didn’t enter into the decision. Syracuse has a lot to offer and I would recommend it highly to others for the BFA program.
@lincoln56 and @MTDadandProud CMU has not traditionally been great with merit aid, but for the arts they do their very best to meet full need. The have also started a merit scholarship program as they are getting bigger donations (and won a major patent lawsuit).
Every school has its advantages and disadvantages and those change depending on the individual and what is important to them. My daughter was afraid of the studio system (we didn’t really understand it) and if we could have afforded it now as time has gone by would no longer be worried about it and we would have applied. What is so nice about the hundreds of colleges to choose from there is something for everyone. I think the tippy top schools are often seen as the only way to make it in this business and I personally think this is a huge mistake. JMHO
@bisouu you are so right about about the tippy top schools not being the measure of what it takes to be successful. It is really more about the drive and work ethic of the student (it does help in some ways). I went to a small Jesuit college that did not have a theatre program. From my class year, and the year after, three current, very successful working actors emerged. One had studied accounting and was working as an accountant in a casket company (in Syracuse) when he decided to give acting a try. Another was planning on starting law school and took an acting class before he started because he thought it would help his litigation goals. He was hooked.
You can be successful no matter where you go to school! It is the person who makes it, not the school where they attended. And yes, one’s drive plays a big part! If you don’t have that drive, it will be hard to make it in this field even if you go to a tippy top school.
But WHERE you go to school matters for a different reason, and not to do with what jobs may be available to you. The school you pick really needs to be a good fit for what you want in a college experience. What one person wants is not the same as another. That fit is pretty important and so being able to attend the school that fits you well and you fit it, matters. That may be a “tippy top” school and it may not be. The experience has to suit the student well. So, in that respect, I don’t think any college will do. The right environment for the student matters. Then, what they make of that experience and what they do afterward is a matter of their own, not their pedigree, and of course, some luck thrown in.
I am finding the conversation about NYU fascinating - and very helpful. I’m wondering if any experienced parents out there have thoughts about Northwestern? We know that he’ll need to audition for MT in freshman year, but I’m curious about other thoughts about the theater program for a kid who loves MT.
I am also really interested in the NYU conversation. I guess it doesn’t matter if D isn’t accepted, but if she is, we have a huge decision to make. It’s really difficult because I think she has dreamed of NYU since she was very young. Now that we are here, I realize she doesn’t have to go to NYU to thrive in a program. Let’s see what happens next week when NYU results are out and then I may be looking for more guidance @toowonderful @soozievt
@LAM2017 - wishing all the best to your D, and will be happy to answer any questions should the need arise. NYU is definitely not a “typical” BFA, for some that’s a positive, for some a negative. I can say definitively (b/c we just talked about it the other night in context with the acceptances of a friend of hers graduating from HS and making choices) that she wouldn’t change her choice for the world. That’s a good feeling for the person paying the tuition 