<p>My son was accepted into the BFA Acting program at Boston University and is trying to decide between it and NYU/Tisch (Stella Adler studio assignment).</p>
<p>Since we have never visited BU, we managed to find a weekday when we can go up there to get a better sense of the school. </p>
<p>An e-mail to the Theatre Dept resulted in a very nice invitation for my son to spend an entire day with a freshman Performance Core student and attend classes with him. We are thrilled about this and are really looking forward to the trip.</p>
<p>What I am curious about......is this a common procedure with regard to accepted students, or is BU "extra nice"? :-) </p>
<p>Other peoples' stories would be welcome.</p>
<p>I am sure BU is nice but I think most, if not all, colleges allow accepted students to come and visit and sit in on classes. That’s pretty much standard practice.</p>
<p>it is fun to enjoy the experiences of coming down to the last few. We are lucky to have these yummy choices. In the same boat, Tisch and BU. No studio info from Tisch yet.
With my son, it was all about the final visits, and his genuine experience of each place…Have fun, ask lots of questions, get off the tour, so to speak, explore, talk to whoever, people in the elevators, in classes, people love to tell you what they think, how they feel.</p>
<p>NJTheatreMom…what you describe at BU is common practice for an accepted student at a college. Many colleges hold accepted student events and overnights. You can attend these OR do a private visit and arrange things like you are doing at BU…either way.</p>
<p>Mother of GG – So your daughter did not have her studio assignment sent to her e-mail last night??</p>
<p>Soozievt – You think it would be all right for my son to ask to sit in on classes at Stella Adler?!!</p>
<p>Hi , you know maybe she did. We went to see Garden of Earthly Delights,at Minetta Lane Theater, and got in late, and she did not check her email. Everyone, this performance was AMAZING, and is closing on Sunday. IF you can see this epic, do so… Thanks for this info, I will call her at have her check from school today.</p>
<p>NJTheatreMom…the studios at Tisch tend to have a policy of not allowing observers. I think the main reasons are that the sheer numbers (given the number of those visiting NYU) would affect the classes too much and also the kind of work in the classes involves taking risks and they feel visitors would impact the work that is done in such classes. You can visit liberal arts classes, however. Sometimes, if you know a current student, that student may be able to arrange your visit to their studio class but that is on a case by case basis. But you certainly can visit and talk to students and faculty.</p>
<p>Okay thanks Soozie we’ll see.</p>
<p>From Chrissyblu on another thread: “Cal Arts, of all the schools, has done the most to convince her to come. Long phone call from the Dean.” </p>
<p>Re Tisch: My son was hoping for a chance to talk to somebody from his assigned studio, Stella Adler, at the Tisch Accepted Students Event, but there wasn’t anybody there from Adler that he was aware of. Or maybe he wasn’t assertive enough about asking. However, he is going to work hard on finding a contact person now.</p>
<p>Mother of GG, maybe you would like to post here about your daughter’s experience of the part of the Tisch Accepted Student Event where the students separated into groups according to their major. (Your daughter and my son are the only students I specifically know of who attended the event yesterday.)</p>
<p>There was a big group of acting students…my son said about 100 (so I am thinking that quite a few more than that must have been invited)…and at the end they broke up into groups of around eight and stood in circles doing “getting to know you” stuff and even fun little improv exercises.</p>
<p>I can tell you that Adler is a GREAT studio. My son went to summer teen there last year, and is going back this summer to advanced teen. The program is quite rigorous - thrity plus hours of very hard work - and on a smaller scale, similar to what’s taught to the NYU kids. It is taxing, enlightening, and very professional. I have observed some of the NYU classes and believe me, they are being prepared to work in a whole range of periods and styles, beautifully. I believe that the studio produces very polished, capable actors.</p>
<p>And in the interests of full disclosure - I have a close contact on the faculty! Which is probably why I got to observe that class.</p>
<p>My Daughter is a junior at Stella Adler Studio. She loves it! I have seen her grow as a actress. The training is great and very rigorous. She loves the studio and she feels her training is first rate.</p>
<p>Thanks for your comments, Datripp. I think my son is concerned that in a relatively large studio like Adler, he could have less of an opportunity to form relationships with faculty members than at a school like Boston University that has a smaller number of BFA acting students. Perhaps especially if he were to attend a different secondary studio after two years at Adler…??</p>
<p>Based on things people have said here, I should imagine that in two years at Adler my son would have a chance to work intensively with ALL (?) the Adler faculty members…but I believe he really needs to speak with one or more Adler students in order to be confident that this is true.</p>
<p>An acting professional my son knows who has an MFA from Tisch told him that she feels the atmosphere in the undergrad Tisch studios might be more “competitive” than the atmosphere at BU. I’m not sure exactly what she means. To a certain degree, competitiveness is good and mirrors real life, so long as the students support one another.</p>
<p>Datripp, if you are closely in touch with the Adler faculty member you mentioned, perhaps you could pass along his or her take on the “relationships with all faculty” and “competitiveness” issues. Thanks!! </p>
<p>Another question would be whether staying at Adler for three or four years would be best in terms of classical training…given that most of the specifically classical content is in the third year at Adler, as at most programs I believe…or whether a student interested in Shakespeare, etc, would do better taking a semester in London or at least one semester at Tisch’s classical studio. </p>
<p>Admittance to both Tisch’s London semester and its classical studio are by audition I think. My son loves Shakespeare and has heard that BU emphasizes it…at any rate, BU has a London semester that all the juniors attend as an integrated part of the program.</p>
<p>I posted before I saw your comments, actressmom. Perhaps you could pass along your daughter’s take on the specific issues I was addressing above? </p>
<p>It’s not that we are not confident that Adler is good. It’s just so confusing trying to weigh and balance the attributes of two different programs that are both excellent. We are blessed even to have this dilemma, but it is still a dilemma. (A speaker at the Tisch Accepted Students Day session yesterday called it the “decision making vortex.”)</p>
<p>I must admit my son loved the two NYU dorms we saw, Hayden and Rubin, and he seemed excited by the concept of the Explorations floors which were eloquently lauded by a student sitting in her dorm room happily chatting with the visiting groups.</p>
<p>NJTheatreMom: After reading a lot of your posts. I have to say Boston University sounds like a better fit for your son. I think you have way more cons for NYU than BU. I have a feeling that your son may go there.</p>
<p>NJTheatreMom, the folks here who have kids in Adler could help you more than myself. My D has many friends in Adler who love it and are very strong actors. She wanted MT when she applied to Tisch but if she had to get an acting studio, she was quite interested in Adler in fact. </p>
<p>As far as size…and relationships with faculty…I can give you this one perspective…My D was in CAP21 her first five semesters and it is a large studio and her class was larger than any others they had had (more took the offer of acceptance than they anticipated that year). But all her classes were broken down to 15 students and one class into 8 students. So, each class was the size it would be in a smaller program. She knew each faculty member very very well. For that matter, both at CAP21 and her experience at ETW, she has sometimes had more than one semester or more than two semesters with a certain faculty member. But one beauty about the size of the program is that over four years, she has gotten to work with several theater professionals on the faculty and not the same very small handful for four years. That has had a lot of plusses as she knows and learns from different faculty and their approaches. She has had advisors assigned to her in each studio as well as her Tisch advisor. Right now, she has an assigned advisor just for her independently written musical she is putting on. Ironically, this advisor, who she has had for one class in ETW, was her auditor to get into Tisch four years ago. She has forged relationships with several faculty at Tisch and the size of it has become an ADVANTAGE. She has gotten professional work due to her relationships with various faculty. Now, this could happen in a small program that has just a few faculty members for the entire program but the odds become greater as she has forged relationships now with a number of professional faculty members.</p>
<p>Soozie, thanks for your comments on the advantages of having relationships with <em>more</em> faculty…makes sense. </p>
<p>I also like the idea of advisers within the studio and would be interested in knowing more about what role they play…is it mostly that they know more about the acting studios’ curricula and choices than the Tisch adviser does? </p>
<p>EarlyCollege – You are correct to a degree. But this is a very difficult decision because Tisch offered us considerably more grant money than BU (I wanted to hug them when I saw the figure)…because NYU is less than a two hour drive from home whereas BU is eight hours or so…because a number of my son’s theatre friends are going to school in the New York area…and because the idea of going to school in New York City is so terrifically beguiling.</p>
<p>Before you have experienced this, it may be hard to imagine the emotions one is buffeted with as acceptances occur, financial awards are offered, visits are made. One wants to be very, very fair to each school. You feel like taffy being pulled.</p>
<p>I did not mean to say it wasn’t a difficult decision. I just meant to say it seems that he is a better fit for BU. I just said this because of things you have wrote. Also, it may be a good thing that your son goes to Boston. If lots of his friends are going to NY, it may keep him from finding new friends. I would think of it as a con. </p>
<p>I think it will come down to which school makes your son happier. Is your son willing to take loans? You also can ask BU if they can give you more aid. You can tell them what NYU gave you and I’ve heard of this before. It just seems like your son has a lot more cons for NYU. I think the concerns come with the studio assigned. I think the studio would be a good fit, because your son does like classical theater. I wasn’t trying to be rude, but just like someone else who told Chrissy that her daughter is a better fit for CalArts. I may not have been through it, but it makes sense when I read your posts. If money comes down to it, then NYU seems like a better fit. It’s your sons decision, and he will make the best choice for him. Good Luck!</p>
<p>Oh, and I know cost will be a huge issue. I won’t be in $200,000 debt when I’m 22. It’s hard for my family, because my brothers and I are close in age. I have a brother who is a sophomore (wants to be a chef) and one who is in 6th grade. I think I will be going a different route, so we’ll see where that goes.</p>