<p>I think what I’m saying is lost in translation (foreigner) . I am not saying people without connections at Brown or anywhere, in any field of work, won’t make it. And I’m DEFINITELY not saying some children of celebs aren’t talented because that would be ludicrous of me. There are many cases like that boy you speak of, @alwaysamom . You don’t need connections in this business to make it, but it would be quite ignorant of me or you or anyone to say that who you know doesn’t matter because it does. </p>
<p>I’m not trying to put down schools especially not Brown which everyone knows is a fabulous institution. However, 75% of CC is full “denigrative” threads talking about which schools are the best. Even though a CMU is known for producing great actors there is sure as hell great actors coming out of schools no one has ever heard of, which I am completely aware of.</p>
<p>I’m sorry if anyone thinks what I have to say is “mean-spirited” but it is my opinion. </p>
<p>Actors (or anyone in a tough field of work) w/o connections, like minorities (which I am) in this world, have to work ten times harder to reach the amount of success that some people are given on a silver platter. </p>
<p>These are my views and I’m sticking to them.</p>
<p>The issue when it comes to minorities having a hard time working in the biz has to do with the fact that there are less theater, film and tv roles for minorities.</p>
<p>The way for you to overcome this is to write your own material and cast yourself. </p>
<p>I wasn’t talking about minorities in the biz, I was talking talking about minorities in general in any career. By minorities @bisouu I’m talking about PoC (latin, black, asian, etc.) I highly doubt your daughter gets discriminated against, and it’s offensive that you’d joke about that.</p>
<p>Actually, one the hot types right now happens to be ethnically ambiguous. There is no shortage of talented white girls. Especially, the ones in blue dresses and nude pumps. Be yourself is always the best advice.</p>
<p>“I think what I’m saying is lost in translation (foreigner)”</p>
<p>Yes, this could be a translation thing because I’m understanding you to say that Brown is not one of the better BA theatre programs (at least relative to Yale) because nobody you know goes to Brown to study theatre and because celebrities send their children to Brown. That doesn’t really even make sense to me, unless i’m misunderstanding you.</p>
<p>Also, I think you may be saying BU practices nepotism in the selection of its theatre students. Why would you say that? Am I misunderstanding you?</p>
<p>Yes @arwarw this is a misunderstanding. We can argue if Yale theater program is better than Brown, but at the end of the day it’s the same as arguing about if Yale is best Ivy League, it’s all a matter of opinion.</p>
<p>I’m not saying Brown practices nepotism at all, that would be ridiculous since it is a BA program and students don’t audition. What I am saying is that many of Brown’s alumni are children of celebrities, and they’d make it in the biz regardless if they went to Brown or not.</p>
<p>I am also saying that I believe Brown’s admission dept. favors wealthy students,why wouldn’t they it’s a business, and if that wealth also comes with an A-list celeb like Steven Spielberg or Bruce Willis, that’s a bonus. I went to school with a Kennedy who’s a legacy and has a little fame in her own right, and the girl had grades that could compete JFK(who’s notorious for having a C+ average), but guess what? She goes to Brown! Go figure. </p>
<p>“I am also saying that I believe Brown’s admission dept. favors wealthy students,why wouldn’t they it’s a business, and if that wealth also comes with an A-list celeb like Steven Spielberg or Bruce Willis, that’s a bonus.”</p>
<p>No argument here. Extreme wealth and A-list celebrity is a well known “hook” at most selective schools - just like being a recruited athlete or an under-represented minority. </p>
<p>And I’m not arguing Brown is better than Yale or vice versa - I just don’t think Yale is necessarily THE default Ivy League school for theatre students as suggested by the linked article. If anything, I think NU or a conservatory like Juilliard, CMU or UMich would more likely cause someone to pass up a Harvard admission than an admission to Yale, Brown or another Ivy League school. </p>
<p>From an article on Ivy League financial aid practices - “Admission to all Ivy League schools is “need-blind.” Yale was the first to institute the policy in 1966. Under this policy, all candidates are evaluated for admission with no regard to ability to pay. The overall message is: If you can get into one of these highly selective schools, they will do everything in their power to help you afford it.”
Ivies don’t necassarily favor “wealthy students.”</p>
<p>I have to agree hopenest (after the explanation). Definitely Ivy league colleges admit based on wealth and connections (among other factors). Yes, why wouldn’t they? They need donors and connected alums. There are all sorts of stats about this and books have been written about this. To clarify–Need blind doesn’t mean that you stand an equal chance of getting admitted if your parents earn $75,000/year versus if your dad is one of the top 300 wealthiest people in the US. Colleges can still easily tell who has extreme wealth–name recognition, even the address (eg Park Avenue on the Upper East Side). And they certainly can tell if you are Y celeb’s child or Z Royal Person’s child. Not to say they don’t value driven lower income students–they do, and they generously support them. </p>
<p>But this is sort of off topic, isn’t it? I thought we were talking about the article and I agree with arwarw very much–Yale is wonderful, of course, but it is not the default undergrad theatre school. Brown is also excellent and, in point of fact, Northwestern, where my D goes, arguably has a better undergrad theatre program than Yale.</p>
<p>^^^Agreed. I think wealth only factors in to admissions when your tagged as a ‘development’ file meaning your family has or will donate a substantial amount of money to the college - like millions of dollars. </p>
<p>From Hernandez a former Dartmouth admin:</p>
<p>Having a “hook,” meaning something that offers strong positionality for an applicant, dramatically improves the odds of college admission. Typically 40 percent of the students attending top-tier universities such as Harvard, Princeton, and Yale have a hook. The major hooks are:</p>
<p>• Legacy, meaning a family history of college attendance at a specific school (usually mother or father, but sometimes a grandparent – and graduate school attendance does not always count)
• Recruited athlete
• Underrepresented student (African American, Latino/a, Native American, Alaskan Native, Pacific Islander, bi-racial, or multiracial)
• Development (donation) case
• VIP or high-profile applicant</p>
<p>Yes, I’m sure they look at opportunities for future development, but I just wanted to point out that Ivies do have a strong commitment to students with demonstrated need, and might bristle at comments that they favor “wealthy students.”</p>
<p>If you have any questions on being a Theater major at Harvard, ask Mark Mauriello. He’s a current Harvard student who is majoring in “Theatre Arts and Performance” at Harvard. He worked with his college advisor to create the major, so he’s able to major in it before they formally add it soon. </p>
<p>francesyun thanks for posting this link. Very interesting. I enjoyed reading this kid’s web site <a href=“http://www.markmauriello.com/”>http://www.markmauriello.com/</a> He looks to be pretty much all-in on his art. Unlike the typical HYP hopeful you often see here on CC, he doesn’t appear to be the type who was overly obsessed on SAT’s, logging in community service hours or winning club officer elections. Next time someone asks how to get in to Harvard, I’m tempted to link his web site.</p>
<p>What other schools would you recommend for theater. My daughter was declined from brown, Yale and Carnegie melon even though her grades, test scores and leadership are up there. How’s NYU Tish BFA and Emerson College BA Acting?</p>
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