<p>My daughter has decided to follow her passion in Acting. she is a top academic student 33 act and 2200 sat but wants acting. She has been accepted to BU - BA Communications major with a minor in acting (this was before she decided to pursue acting as a major), Emerson College BA Theater Studies - Acting Pace University BA Acting, and waiting on SUNY Purchase BFA Acting and NYU Tish BFA Acting. Can anyone suggest the best place to go ranking these four schools with a 1-4 with 1 being the first recommended place to go. Thank you!!</p>
<p>You’ll get the best responses re-posting on the Theater/Drama majors forum: (<a href=“Theater/Drama Majors - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/</a>)</p>
<p>Since both Tisch and Purchase have very low acceptance rates, you should wait a few days to see if they are even in the mix before comparing. It’s hard to rank BA programs with BFA programs, since they are very different beasts. For BFA’s, Tisch ranks above Purchase and your D would be among her intellectual peers there. But if she wants to take a lot of traditional college classes and explore various disciplines, a BFA program will give her much less opportunity to do that. And if along the way your D decides acting is not what she wants–and it can happen–it will be hard to switch gears from a BFA program without adding extra semesters. </p>
<p>I’ll also mention that going into a BA theater program at a school that offers a BFA in acting (e.g., Emerson, Pace) merits some hard thought, since the BA students are often second class citizens when it comes to training and roles. </p>
<p>I agree with above… going for a BA in acting at a school that offers a BFA will likely limit your daughters options. I’ wanted to add that with the BFA programs she’s up for, look into whether they are a “cut program” or not. Some kids are OK being in a cut program but others do not like the atmosphere that it can cause.</p>
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<p>The OPs other thread has been redirected to the Theater/Drama Majors forum.</p>
<p>Great advice. Thank you both. This is so hard because she does want some academics and I would like her to have something to fall back on in case she becomes an unemployed actor after graduation. Also would a BFA prevent her from getting into grad school for a different field later in life if things don’t work out in the acting field? On the other hand, She is very is serious about acting so I really wouldn’t want her to feel like a second class citizen either. Still confused as to what would be better for her a BFA or a BA. Do we sacrifice the academics with the hopes that she will get better training? </p>
<p>Depends on who she is. My own daughter loves theatre and has been working professionally from age 10 but she is totally unwilling to give up her academic life. She applied to programs that either already had combined majors (like literature/theatre) or programs that would allow her to double major. She plans on going to grad school for directing after getting her BA. No BFA’s at any of her options. While I’m positive they exist, the kids we know going the BFA route aren’t all that torn up about giving up an academic life… some question whether it’s a good idea but that’s quite different from feeling like they’d be losing a part of themselves. It should be said that not all BFA’s are void of general eds. BFA’s at public schools tend to have an academic component, for example.</p>
<p>Long way of saying, this all comes down to your daughter and what she wants.</p>
<p>It’s a tough question to answer. I have a D who went the BA route (Theater major) at a small LAC. That suited her because she was unsure about the path she wanted to follow in college. Once she started college and began taking drama courses, she knew that she wanted to pursue acting as a career. To get more technical training, she spent a semester at the Moscow Art Theater (study abroad), another semester as an apprentice at a theater near her LAC and a summer at another Moscow Art Theater program in the US. She was also cast in college productions all four years. </p>
<p>She probably didn’t get as much training as someone who went for a BFA but since she graduated she’s been able to get fairly study work as an actor. She also got herself an agent. I don’t think she sacrificed academics–she still had core requirements to meet and she had a minor in Russian. She graduated magna cum laude. </p>
<p>She loves what she’s doing, but acting alone doesn’t pay the rent. She supplements her income with teaching drama at two schools (drama class and a drama club). She’s also doing yoga teacher training, which would also supplement her income when she completes it. She’s found a balance that works for her and she’s happy. </p>
<p>I don’t think you need to worry so much about a backup. She can spend the 4 years studying theater/acting and whatever liberal arts (BFA) and other subjects (BA program) are available to her. She will have access to jobs requiring a bachelor’s and to professional or grad schools as well. The skills gained in studying acting will transfer to many job areas (public speaking for one). She can also have a day job and act, as many artists do.</p>
<p>I thought you might like to read this essay that pertains to musicians’ choices, which could equally apply and demonstrates how it really does come down to the individual. <a href=“http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/conservatory/admissions/tips/doubledegree.html”>http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/conservatory/admissions/tips/doubledegree.html</a></p>
<p>BU is a good possibility by the way. She could try to get into the theater major but there is a large array of other classes right next door.</p>
<p>Thank you for all of your replies. Just found out last night she got accepted in NYU Tish BFA and can also doublle major or minor in one of their college of Ats and Sciences as well. So the top 2 choices now are NYU BFA or Emerson College BA theater studies acting with a minor in communications. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Tisch, if you can afford it. </p>
<p>All I can share is that we’ve heard from 2 former students at Emerson (transferred out) that Emerson theatre program is pretty cut-throat… at least the BFA program is. Each did not like the culture in the theatre department at all. Both kids were very experienced going in. Of course, that’s just 2 kids we happen to know. That hardly speaks for everyone.</p>
<p>Edited to correct that these were experiences with the musical theatre department.</p>
<p>Congratulations to your D! </p>
<p>FWIW, the “cut” program at Emerson, which likely gave it a reputation for being cut-throat, has been dropped. But nonetheless, I’d pick Tisch in a heartbeat, assuming the finances are doable and your D doesn’t vastly prefer Boston to NYC. Two seniors from my town just got into Tisch, one in acting, one in musical theater, and they are jumping at the chance to attend. The one person I know who chose Emerson over Tisch in the last few years picked the former only because Tisch was unaffordable. </p>
<p>Turtletime - would you mind elaborating on what the culture in the theater department at Emerson is like.
My daughter applied BA acting but I’m sure the culture will be the same as MT. Also, how long ago did they attend?</p>
<p>Thank you MommaJ. My D actually loves NYC. I think she was originally attracted to Emerson when she went for a visit and saw all the large theaters and communication rooms. She applied to the BA acting and was going to minor in communications. She liked the city of Boston as well but does favor NYC. </p>
<p>I’m thinking NYU might be the better choice because of their strong academics. NYU will allow a minor or double major in addition to the BFA but I still have to look into the details. </p>
<p>Her 3 choices are NYU, Emerson or PACE. . Should pace even be in the running?</p>
<p>For musical theater PACE may be in the running but for straight acting I would say less so… Also, not so much if academics are a priority for your daughter.</p>
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Perhaps Pace has a smaller cohort of acting majors and consequently smaller classes and more performance opportunities? (Just guessing here.) On the other hand, the non-performing arts courses will not be at all challenging for your D at Pace–the admissions criteria for the rest of the school are far below NYU’s. I’d be inclined to call the Pace department head and ask why they think anyone should choose Pace over NYU. He/she may have something interesting to offer.</p>
<p>The biggest difference between the two schools that we noticed 2 years ago was that PACE placed a huge emphasis on professional opportunities while in school and at NYU this was a big no-no. NYU studio classes are quite small but maybe what studio she gets would be another factor to consider. She has some very good choices. </p>
<p>I just reread the original post and what she is looking for - Tisch wins.</p>