<p>My niece in an Asian country is graduating from college there, and planning to come to USA. She is a drama production major and attends the most prestigious school in that country in her chosen field. She is ranked #1 in her class.</p>
<p>She applied to Columbia graduate school for her field, and did not make it.</p>
<p>Now she is thinking about coming to NYC and attend CUNY Hunter College as an undergraduate transfer. She seems to think that this will prepare her better if she wants to try again (graduate admission) since it's in Manhattan a stone's throw away from the Broadway. And, she may even use the period to rethink about her professional field in case she wants to change major and apply to graduate school later in a completely different field. </p>
<p>I personally think this is a crazy idea. I think:</p>
<p>(1) spending a couple of more years as an undergrad in a rather non-competitive college without academic rigor or an opportunity to beef up her drama production credential will actually make her LESS competitive down the road.</p>
<p>(2) If she indeed want to change her major, CUNY system is simply not academically rigorous enough to make her an competitive candidate for a good graduate school later.</p>
<p>My sentiment is, she should either build up her drama professional credential by staying in her home country and working in her field a couple of more years, or if she wants to change major, just apply to a graduate program straight while she still has the claim of having attended a very prestigious college even though it's out of USA. </p>
<p>Any thoughts? Opinions? Anybody with experience CUNY system??? What I learned by glancing some stuff on the web is not very encouraging.</p>
<p>Hunter has an excellent Honors Program and a lot of scientists come out of it. I do believe that you must start in it, not transfer into it. I dont believe they have a great drama department – and by the way by drama production do you mean directing or something else?
I agree with your opinion that getting a degree as a #1student from a prestigious institution is much better for a graduate program (whether in her major or in a different field). Simply being physically near Broadway will not bring her to work on it. If she is interested in acting you may point her to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Its on lower Madison Avenue. If money is not an object, perhaps she can take a summer class, AFTER graduating to get oriented to the field and ponder her options.</p>
<p>Your neice will not be able to apply as a transfer student if she already has a degree, she will most likely have to apply as a second degree student. Even then she ill have to take courses and fulfil the residency requirements to get the second degree. After doing this, it may still not necessarily get her into Columbia.</p>
<p>You are right that unless she is planning to get a second degree, going to any college whether or not it is in the CUNY system is going to get her closer to attending Columbia. She should just apply to Grad school.</p>
<p>Don’t totally discount Hunter as they have a number of top notch programs, especially if in social work, health, education or nursing.</p>
<p>Has she considered applying to other grad programs (Hunter, Fordham, NYU, ) ?</p>
<p>Brooklyn College has a respected theater program. A friend of mine attended for dramaturgy (master’s degree) and was very satisfied with the level of work. And as a unit of CUNY, tuition would be reasonable. Here is the information for the MFA program. As you can see, internships are a major part of learning. That would help her make contacts in New York.</p>
<p>What is the general level of academic excellence at Hunter? Not honor program, since I don’t think as an international transfer this applies to her. What are her classmates at normal (non honor) program be like in terms of quality of education, etc. Any honest feedback will be appreciated.</p>
<p>She is thinking about English department - again, I believe she is misguided if she think this program will be a good place for her to buy time, upgrade her English, and in case she changes her mind about future direction, can apply to a grad school in a different field.</p>
<p>Hunter College students vary enormously. It’s far from a typical college. Many–probably most–students work full time. There’s a large contingent of illegal aliens and some of them are smart. They attend Hunter simply because they are here illegally and thus don’t qualify for financial aid. While there’s some sort of student government, many students don’t spend any out of class time on campus. After class, they go to work or back to their families.</p>