<p>I am trying to make a decision on what university I want to attend. I was accepted to Brown and Columbia, along with NYU, and I am currently between the three schools. Does anyone know what the advantages and disadvantages of the respective theater programs are. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!!</p>
<p>I have visited all three and researched their respective theater programs as well as I could. I would rank them like this:</p>
<ol>
<li>NYU/TISCH</li>
<li>COLUMBIA</li>
<li>BROWN</li>
</ol>
<p>Now, for me, even if my passion is 100% theater, I would HAVE TO take into consideration other aspects of the universities… for example, where it is and what other advanced curriculum they have. Even if I am sure of myself, I can not ignore that 75% of freshman change their majors… </p>
<p>For me… given this choice, I think I would choose Columbia. I like NYC, their performance art facilities are good… (not great like Tisch) and just about every other academic focus is in the top 10 in the country.</p>
<p>Oothimus</p>
<p>Thank you for that information and opinion. I very much appreciate it. Is Brown’s program not as good as they let on? I saw that it was ranked #1 for non-audition programs, but maybe the poll is biased.</p>
<p>I hope someone more knowledgeable than me will weigh in (I think the board is extra quiet because of Easter weekend), but my understanding is that the opportunities for theatre at Brown are superb.</p>
<p>Once you know your Tisch studio, you will need to investigate the studio very thoroughly and also weigh whether you would want the intense theatre BFA offered by Tisch or the more well-rounded college experience offered by Brown.</p>
<p>Columbia is a great university, but I don’t think many people who are interested in theatre would choose it over Tisch or Brown.</p>
<p>Congratulations on your fine acceptances!</p>
<p>(I recall seeing a post on CC’s Theatre/Drama Majors forum about the theatre classes at Brown being more theory than practice (?) but the extracurricular opportunities being great. This is something you might want to look into further. Sometimes those rankings cannot be trusted if you are looking for performance-based academic programs.)</p>
<p>we saw the Roundabout Theater’s production (debut) of “Speech and Debate.” The lead was played by an actor who was currently enrolled at Columbia!</p>
<p>The female actress in that production of “Speech and Debate” currently attends Columbia, and one of the male actors graduated with a degree in film from Columbia as well. However, to make this kind of ironic, the other male actor in the production (also an original cast member in Spring Awakening on Broadway) is currently attending NYU, although not as a theatre major. There’s another Spring Awakening original cast member who is now a theatre major at Columbia, though! :)</p>
<p>I think you have 3 good options here! Price definitely comes into play, where you want to be located, where you got the best “vibe”, etc. You really have to find the place that feels best to you. Look at picky things like meals plans and what kind of dorm you’d be living in (I know I care about that vain stuff) and also what freshman corse loads look like. Do you want a BFA or a BA? There’s much more flexibility in one over the other</p>
<p>I agree with NJtheatremom’s comments, especially this one:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, I looked at Brown’s and Columbia’s websites. I wasn’t able to access descriptions of Brown’s theatre courses…but I imagine there is some way to do that if one is clever and persistent.</p>
<p>If you look at Colombia’s website, they make a point of saying that only a limited number of acting classes may be taken. </p>
<p>It appears to me that at certain schools a student learns about the history of theatre, dramatic literature, etc, but is not trained as a performer to any great degree…though he or she may have lots of opportunities for involvement in high level extracurricular theatre at the same school.</p>
<p>One absolutely must look very closely at the curricula, etc, when comparing schools. If you have questions or concerns, call the school. I’m sure you could easily find somebody who would be more than happy to talk to an accepted student.</p>
<p>I remember a few years ago I was looking, in a very preliminary way, into communications programs at various schools. At some universities, the communications major involved a study of the theory and analysis of communications…nothing “hands-on” was offered at all. I believe there may be a corollary with theatre programs, to a degree.</p>
<p>Thank you for that information!! I am still looking, and I plan on visiting Columbia and Brown. Does anyone know if it is possible to sit in on a conservatory class at NYU? I know you are not allowed to sit in befor you are accepted, but is it different once you have been accepted?</p>
<p>In general, the studios don’t let you sit in on classes even after you are accepted. You could always ask. Even if you can’t do that, though, I would urge you to make arrangements to physically visit the studio and hopefully talk to people there.</p>
<p>If you can communicate directly with more than one student in the studio, that would be invaluable.</p>
<p>I am assuming your admittance to NYU is at Tisch. And your first choice was MT?
As you have posted on this forum I am assuming that is the case.</p>
<p>The conservatory/academic split at NYU will be very different than the classes at Brown or Columbia. And is MT where your heart is? Or would you be happy with another studio? Think about this as well as what the other colleges would be like.</p>
<p>But, also know , you can end up an actress no matter which college you go to. You have fine choices. The acting classes at Columbia will be held at Barnard, and I know that the acting teachers there are first rate. They also teach at Juilliard.</p>
<p>The performance facilities at Tisch are minimal. My D’s sophomore musical was in a black box with bleachers and folding chairs. No backstage area. Her high school had a better facility. Her classical studio performance was also in a dance studio. Folding chairs around the edges of the room. Don’t choose NYU for the facilities! She has loved her training and a conservatory was the right choice for her.</p>
<p>Take a deep breath and take a look inside yourself. Your way will become clearer within the next few weeks.</p>
<p>Good luck!
janenw</p>
<p>To me an issue in your decision is whether or not you want to sing or pursue musical theatre.</p>
<p>If you want to do straight theatre, then Columbia and Brown are more viable options. If you want to do musical theatre and study voice, then to my knowledge neither school will necessarily provide voice lessons.</p>
<p>D was accepted at Barnard and we could not get any real sense of what her odds would be to get voice lessons through Columbia/Barnard and the school would not give us any details as to who would be providing those lessons even if she would be selected. (And her intention was to be a music/theatre major.)</p>
<p>Now clearly, living in the city, there are many wonderful voice instructors. But since we were not getting any Financial Aid from Barnard, we really could not commit an extra $150/ week towards music lessons.</p>
<p>For us that tipped the balance towards NYU. Plus D had gotten a decent talent scholarship. She is at Steinhardt (not Tisch) and is very happy with her decision.</p>
<p>All your choices are excellent, so you cannot go wrong!</p>
<p>I talked to a student at Columbia who was a double english and dance major (with MT/Broadway aspirations) who said that private voice was INCLUDED in tuition, even for non-theater and music majors— you just have to audition for the teachers at the beginning of the semester (this is how some advanced acting classes work too), and it counts as a weekly class.</p>
<p>Voice is included in tuition, but you need to audition in order to get these voice lessons. There are only a limited number of teachers and lesson slots for the entire Columbia and Barnard community. We know a girl who was very talented who was in a Columbia accapella group and had done a very selective pre-college musical theatre program during the summer, who had not gotten voice lessons for 2 years.</p>
<p>With that in mind, we discussed the issue with the head of the music department and a Dean and neither could clarify how many students were turned down for voice and whether freshman/ sophomores get these lessons. To be honest they kept skirting the issue and would not tell us the qualifications/ background or methodology of the voice instructors.</p>
<p>So if this is important to the OP, I suggest she researches this carefully.</p>
<p>To the OP: is money/tuition/fees an issue in this equation? Which school is most affordable to you?</p>
<p>Sounds to me like a BA vs BFA thing… If you are willing to do the BFA and really want to pursue theatre, NYU is amazing. You’ll meet people who you’ll be creating theatre with for the rest of your life, and if you want a life in the theatre then that’s what it’s all about. We’ve had a couple of people come and sit in on classes at playwrights and no one’s minded, but maybe some of the other studios aren’t okay with that. Obviously as an NYU student I can only say that the worst thing about it is the cost. If you can afford it then by all means do it.</p>
<p>Strangely, I got incredible financial aid for NYU. It would only cost me about $16,000 a year, while both Columbia and Brown are more like $50,000 a year. I can make either option work, but NYU is much cheaper. I really want to be in NYC too, which is another consideration. I am, by the way, more of an actor than a singer or dancer by far. Having said that, I still desire voice and dance training. I appreciate all the advice. I don’t think there is really a wrong decision for me at this point, but I want to pick the absolute best.</p>
<p>Hannah…good luck with your decision. And you are right that you can’t go wrong with any of your choices. But because of this, the answer may not seem all that clear cut in terms of what is best or where you will be happiest. But in the end you will need to decide and you may even second guess your choice at times since all are so good.</p>
<p>But you cannot be at 3 places at once, so just go forward with the choice you make and know that it will work out.</p>
<p>Personally, I would save the money and go to NYU. You can always go to grad school for more academics, but chances are you will not have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of theatre with your peers like you will at NYU. And the networking you will establish will last a lifetime. Be assured that you will be surrounded by intelligent, driven, creative and talented people at NYU even though it is not an ivy.</p>
<p>In terms of grad school, if you are saving $30K per year by attending NYU, you can more than pay for grad school and living expenses for at least one post-grad degree!</p>
<p>You know, I was thinking about double majoring at NYU. Does anyone know if it would be difficult to double major in Drama and English at NYU? I was trying very hard to find information about it, but I have had no luck. Has anyone double majored? Or does anyone know how many credits are required?</p>