<p>I happen to know the young woman whom Billy referenced and her story is not exactly as he portrayed it to be. She graduated from U of Richmond 7 years ago so she clearly made her college decision more than five years ago. She then moved to NYC to study at the Actors’ Studio so it was much later that she was cast in The Lion King tour. This girl is not only a very talented actor but was also an exceptional academic student. Not only was she on an almost free ride at U of Richmond, but upon graduation she won one of the largest grad scholarships available in the country to pursue further education. She’s had a good amount of success since graduating 7 years ago and is currently on the Xanadu tour.</p>
<p>ianjoseph, I don’t know what Billy meant by his ‘three figures’ comment either. Even five years ago, Equity minimum was over $1000/wk.</p>
<p>Again, I made a mistake and I meant a director saw her at a UR show and casted her in his equity show. You sure are on top of fact checking (in a good way of course)! And I don’t wish to divulge all of this actress’ personal information, but she made 6 figures doing the The Producers tour. If you want more information I will happily PM you, Soozievt.
Your child is very fortunate to have you pay for all of her Tisch education, but most us cannot afford NYU with the aid they do give. You are right, we don’t know the OP’s situation. Quite honestly though, even with aid, most middle class students would be left with between $150k-$200k in debt. At least this would be the case with me and my four other friends who were accepted to Tisch. A full ride is an incredible opportunity and should be carefully considered before being turned down.</p>
<p>Alwaysamom, you are right about her graduating longer than five years ago, but I was just estimating because I don’t remember the exact year she graduated. My story actually is accurate. She was casted in an equity show (non-musical) right out of UR and received her equity card. She did receive a major scholarship for graduate work in NYC, but she dropped out when she realized the program did not offer her the training she needed. It was then that she was casted in The Producers. I know this girl and have spoken with her on more than one occasion about her career, so I’m not making things up here! :)</p>
<p>How does Columbia’s acting program compare to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts BFA program? And if I wanted to study acting which school would be better attend?</p>
<p>Billy, my point is not that some of us can afford NYU (I really cannot at all when it comes to out of pocket), but that for some students, it is the parents who are going into debt, not the student. And so the issue of being able to pay back the debt as an actor may or may not be the case for the OP. We have huge loans to pay for NYU (we are middle class), but our kid is not paying them back. We are. Also, it would be highly unusual for someone to have $200,000 in loans because that implies paying NOTHING toward college out of savings or current income, and receiving no grants in their aid. An EFC of $0 is typical for the poorest of students, not middle income ones.</p>
<p>Billy, I wasn’t disputing her Equity status. She got her card at 19 (not at graduation) by being cast in that Richmond show. It was the timing that needed some fine-tuning. :)</p>
<p>“Billy, I wasn’t disputing her Equity status. She got her card at 19 (not at graduation) by being cast in that Richmond show. It was the timing that needed some fine-tuning.” </p>
<p>Gotcha! Thanks :)</p>
<p>“Billy, my point is not that some of us can afford NYU (I really cannot at all when it comes to out of pocket), but that for some students, it is the parents who are going into debt, not the student. And so the issue of being able to pay back the debt as an actor may or may not be the case for the OP. We have huge loans to pay for NYU (we are middle class), but our kid is not paying them back. We are. Also, it would be highly unusual for someone to have $200,000 in loans because that implies paying NOTHING toward college out of savings or current income, and receiving no grants in their aid. An EFC of $0 is typical for the poorest of students, not middle income ones.”</p>
<p>Point taken Your daughter is so lucky! Let me tell you! I truly wish my parents would do that for me My parents can only pay so much out-of-pocket (about $15K per year) and then the rest is on me to pay back in loans. I haven’t received my FA information yet, but my dear friend received no grants–only loans in her package. I’m calling NYU tomorrow to find out about my aid. I just have to decide if I’m willing to graduate with a lot of debt. I truly believe an amazing education is worth the cost. Well, we’ll see…</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies, everyone!
I’ve heard a lot from all of you about Tisch’s program, but does anyone here have that kind of insider information about UR’s? Billy!'s been the only person to really comment about Richmond, and while it demonstrates a really nice success story and the kinds of opportunities there, it doesn’t really tell me a lot about the program itself. Are there any UR theater students/graduates or parents who can enlighten me? :)</p>
<p>@ TJL111: Try to hijack my thread, will you? We’ll see about that! <em>cue twirling of handlebar mustache and maniacal laughter</em></p>
She graduated from U of Richmond 7 years ago so she clearly made her college decision more than five years ago. She then moved to NYC to study at the Actors’ Studio so it was much later that she was cast in The Lion King tour. This girl is not only a very talented actor but was also an exceptional academic student. Not only was she on an almost free ride at U of Richmond, but upon graduation she won one of the largest grad scholarships available in the country to pursue further education. She’s had a good amount of success since graduating 7 years ago and is currently on the Xanadu tour.</p>