How to get into Tisch?

College Majors Theater/Drama Majors
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<p>Hello everyone! I'm a new member of College Confidential and this is my first Discussion post. I'm hoping to get some guidance on building my resume and becoming a serious, competitive applicant for NYU. </p>

<p>To give a bit about myself, I'm 17 year old Junior in High School. I would say I've had trouble figuring out what I would like to pursue after high school and while a lot of people say I still have time to figure it out I honestly don't think the same. I want to make sure I get on the right footing and make sure I don't close any doors or limit my paths in any direction. Amongst becoming a professional actor, I'm also interested in Business, Architecture and other Design careers. I'm a very artistic person and in my free time I would like to do something that can allow myself to express myself. I've taken a Drama class before, several art classes, and math is an easy subject for me. Architecture was almost like the middle for myself and my parents, as my parents really like STEM related careers because they can be "safe" careers. While I convince myself the truth in that, I've always had an affinity to the arts and being creative. And now I think I would love the challenge and risk of a striving acting career. It all comes off as exciting and keeping it safe.. well I'm not sure, it doesn't excite myself. To add the traditional learning environment didn't seem to fit well with me as I felt teachers were never really helping myself. I am now enrolled in a charter school doing independent studies (class online). And yes I will receive all credits for science classes as I go in weekly for labs and such. </p>

<p>To sum things up a bit, I'm interested in Acting at Tisch. My mind is open to multiple colleges and hopefully you can share some that might be of interest to me. (: So, I take school seriously and math and academics are important to me. I like the idea of Tisch because I don't drop all of that. I like the idea of being well-rounded. I've taken 1 Drama, 1 Art, and 1 Music class in Middle School. In High School I haven't taken any artistic classes Freshmen or Sophomore year because I had to get some core classes out of the way. I'm currently taking another Art class and I will start up Drama next semester. I plan to take Art 2 and Drama again in Senior Year. Sports; Cross Country since 5th Grade, 1 year of Tennis, trying out for Volleyball this year. I've been a member of the National Young Leaders Program (now the Envison Experience) which I hope can come as a huge help in my resume. I'm also a member of the National Young Scholars Society. </p>

<p>In terms of academics Im a little concerned. I've read tons of posts with students taking 8 AP classes and more. I'm currently taking AP Biology and plan to take AP Macroeconomics next year. My school doesn't offer a lot of AP classes which from what I read would be taken into account that not a lot is offered to me? The only other AP class would be AP Phsycology which Im debating of taking next year. I have a horrible GPA of 3.16 last year. I took numerous Honors classes Freshmen and Sophomore year. I'm averaging out with a 3.6 right now in my Junior year. </p>

<p>Other:
I took a 2 Week Architecture Program at USC (Loved it!! The college experience was great. Also looking at USC Drama)
I played the Prince in Snow White in my Drama class play in 6th grade
Won 500$ contest fro creating virtual online club
Won multiple art awards </p>

<p>Sorry for the long biography aha. So, does Art classes look good on my resume? I'm taking them, 1 because I love them, and 2 as a backup to go into design if acting maybe doesn't work. I understand I need to raise my grades up a bit. I've taken the PSAT and scored very well in Writing/Reading, not math as I had not taken Algebra 2 yet. I just took the PSAT again and I took the ACT a while ago and waiting my response. What should I do to better prepare myself for applying to tisch? Do I need more experience to be considered? I'm thinking of going into a local performing arts academy for classes and more experience. How do I place right now, below average, average, or above? Please be honest I want to perform well and I want to succeed and I would like to know realistically where I place. What other colleges and schools should I look into? Any and all responses are greatly appreciated and helpful! Sorry this one a little unorganized and messy but please bear with me. If there is any other information needed to help declare my eligibility to Tisch or other schools or preparation for my future please ask!!!! Thank you!! (:</p>

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<p>I should also mentioned I’ve read many of the other Tisch related boards. However a lot of the boards were older dating back to 2012. Potentially things might of changed a little bit. </p>

<p>Thank you again!</p>

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<p>1st of all, welcome to CC- we are happy to answer questions and help :slight_smile: You are correct that your grades are low for NYU, and Tisch is 50/50 audition and stats. If your test scores (ACT/SAT) are strong that can offset that a bit- but if you are serious about Tisch you need to work on your raising your grades. </p>

<p>Have you been in many shows? You mention 6th grade and some drama classes. That is not typical of students auditioning for a BFA program. I am wondering what makes you want to study acting- and what makes you think NYU is the place where you want to do it? (not saying anything is wrong, just trying to get a greater understanding) You should know that most BFA programs focus very intensively on theatre, there is often not much time for all of the interests you mention. NYU is slightly unique as it is a split between academic and artistic classes, but still, the balance is on drama. If you are interested in pursuing a variety of interests - have you considered a BA in theatre? Many schools have wonderful programs that allow you to study, perform, and double major/minor, etch… That is often a greater challenge with a BFA. You mention tons of interests- and that is fantastic, but again, not entirely typical for BFA kids- they are all art all the time :slight_smile: Have you been investigating the type of program where you feel you might be most successful? What is it about NYU that you like?</p>

<p>Lots of questions I know, just trying to get a little more pertinent info in order to give effective advice</p>

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<p>Welcome to CC. </p>

<p>First, you should examine the differences between a BFA and a BA degree. Tisch has a BFA degree. A BFA degree is appropriate for those who want to focus primarily on Acting and are committed to that as a field of study and potential career before enrolling. A BA is more appropriate to those who want to major in Theater but also explore other interests. For BA degrees, there typically is not a commitment to the major before enrolling (there are exceptions, such as BA by Audition schools). There are various threads on CC that explain the differences between such degree programs. Based on what you have shared, a BA is better suited to you, someone who has several interests and is not necessarily ready or desirous of putting 100% toward acting. I think you are still exploring what you want to do and a BA path will let you major in theater if you wish, but also to change your mind, if that happens. </p>

<p>Secondly, I would totally get rid of the notion of focusing just on Tisch, and even if you do pursue a theater/acting degree, explore numerous schools. Academically, your stats are low for Tisch. Artistically, Tisch is one of the most competitive BFA in Acting schools to get into. Typically, applicants will have been training and participating in acting and theater for many years before applying to Tisch (you must audition to get in and they accept a very small percentage). For now, you lack training and experience and are likely not competitive for admissions to a BFA program, though could get some serious training and be in productions within the next year as a start. </p>

<p>Read some threads on CC about some great BA schools for theater, and ones where your academic stats fall in the ballpark, as well.</p>

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<p>At first I had considered USC. I like how its a larger school and it offers a variety of things for students. I also like how its close to home, I had also looked into their Drama program. While researching potential career paths, I’m focusing on schools in NY and LA. Preferably where I would like to be. NYU was kind of the first thing I ran into and continued research, finding out its top 10 for Drama. I like NYU for one of the same reasons I like USC. The classes are smaller than typical schools and you get way more attention from the teacher which I love. I like building a strong bond with my teachers and in the long run it helps me. I should also mention in my academics the main two classes pulling my GPA down are sciences and spanish. I’ve consistently gotten straight A’s in math and history. </p>

<p>Now while I am currently interested in multiple subjects, I would like to settle on one. I like the idea of putting all my energy into a single thing. Now I’m sure it won’t hurt me to continue taking Art next year but I’ll be picking up Drama again and I plan on talking with my parents sometime this week to even begin lessons at a local acting academy to gain much more experience. For BA and BFA, both are good options. One I can do more while the other focus on one. Do you guys have any recommendations of other schools similar with BA and BFA? Preferably located in LA or NYC. I read something about PACE which confused me as it was part of the New School but not at a different university. Is the New Schools Drama program still good? </p>

<p>And yes toowonderful, I’ve explored many options. The ones listed in my previous post is where I narrowed it down. My parents don’t mind at all applying to multiple colleges and having a rather large list. So I’ll keep architecture in my focus while also applying to a drama school. To further answer you question, I also like how NYU has multiple studios. I like how that is organized as it decreases class size and gives you more 1 on 1 with the teacher. I also like how NYU is a good school and has good connections with their alumni. USC similarly had great connections. Now while I had revolved my post around Tisch, I really am open and hope to find more colleges. I don’t want to apply to one and as I do research, I am still continuing to learn about Tisch. My grades in Freshman year I know were similar to what I had now in sophomore with roughly a 3.6. Sophomore honestly was a bad year for me, with family matters. Hopefully I would have the chance to talk about that with any school. </p>

<p>In all, I need to raise my grades and get some more experience which is understandable. From Tisch related discussions on here, users had mentioned in all that the audition is what really decides your entry on the drama portion. While having the experience looks good it really helps me than decide my entry. I’ll definitely work on that. Now would you also agree that schools look at what classes are offered at your school and then judge your schedules? I had talked with many people who had worked at USC during the summer program and all confirmed that since my school doesn’t offer a lot of AP classes that that won’t hurt me. As long as I take whats offered to my full potential?</p>

<p>Soozievt, since their average GPA is roughly 3.7 some students had to be below for that to average it out that way. Hopefully I’m not too incredibly low to not even be considered. Would you agree or should I consider looking at some other schools? With the new school I’m at currently I plan on getting straight A’s this year. I have one B in AP Bio and a B in English. I do not plan on that finalizing at the end of the year. What else would you suggest is good to adding to my resume to help me? I hear NYU loves leadership related traits. I’ve been a member of NYLC since 4th grade of which I pride myself on. Attending multiple leadership programs over the course of my summers. Hopefully this would be of some use that other students don’t have on their resume? </p>

<p>Ill definitely look around for some similar posts with a similar case as myself. I have some favorited. If you have any you remember and are related to my situation, please share!</p>

<p>I greatly appreciate your responses! Thank you for the welcoming. I am incredibly thankful to be receiving help from you guys. Thank you again!!</p>

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<p>What will be most important for a BFA applicant’s artistic resume is their theatre work. Typically a resume will list the role, the play and the venue. I would say the typical applicant probably lists 6 to 9 high school productions (2 to 3 per year through junior year) supplemented by roles in community, summer and professional theatre. Some students will also have film and television credits listed.</p>

<p>Applicants typically also list their theatre-related training including classes, instructors, camps, workshops, summer intensives in voice, movement and acting.</p>

<p>Anything unrelated to theater, like NYLC, I would list at the very bottom of the artistic resume, if at all. It would be better to list special theatre-related skills like playing musical instruments,ballroom dance, ballet, foreign language, chorus, playwriting, improv, stage combat etc…</p>

<p>If you’re really serious about this, you might consider a pre-college summer intensive to see if a BFA is right for you; and then perhaps take a gap year to get the experience and training you would need to compete in the rigorous, expensive and highly competitive winter audition season.</p>

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<p>College acting classes do not tend to be large classes. In general, you would receive a lot of personal attention in performance classes anywhere. I would not let this concern rule out any program.</p>

<p>Absolutely the most important thing for you to do, if you want to apply to auditioned programs, is to get the largest possible amount of training and experience in theatre that you can. </p>

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<p>zkinafamous – you asked for an honest assessment. My honest assessment is that you are not asking the right question. Before you worry about trying to get into a BFA program, you need to ask yourself is an intensive acting program with long hours of voice, movement, scene study, stage combat, acting technique, etc. what you want to do in college. Based on your limited participation in anything like what a BFA program is about, I’m not sure how you can answer that question. Do you live near NY? Could you take a summer program at a place like Stella Alder or Atlantic (both of which by the way are places at which NYU kids get trained as part of the Tisch program) to gain an understanding of what BFA training is about? College is very expensive and acting jobs are very difficult to get. Its a huge investment of money and time committment. You need to be really sure. </p>

<p>What I glean from your post is that you have a well rounded academic background with a streak of artistic interests. Unless you are really sure you are all in for a BFA training environment, a BA program might be a much better option where you can expore a drama major that is not all consuming. If it turns out it really hits your passion, you can later pursue additional training either outside of the BA program or at an MFA. </p>

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<p>While I do have multiple interests I don’t plan to continue all of them after high school. I want to keep multiple options open until then to make sure I haven’t limited my future. While that does require more work to keep them all alive, I enjoy doing so. </p>

<p>ActingDad, I live relatively close to San Diego and about 2 hours away from LA. While my family and I are tight on money, my parents don’t mind enrolling myself and siblings in summer programs to help us get a hint of experience. In the end its better to pay a few dollars and not like it rather than going into college into something I haven’t tried and then end up not liking it and wasting tons of money. But at the same time I take it seriously, I do, and I would like to try another summer program hopefully this summer in NY this time around. My family and I have been looking at The New School as they offer both design and drama, also NYU as it offers Drama and Business. I presume its a very smart choice to go with NYU’s summer program above others? Thank you for the honest response, it gives me a better look at my case. </p>

<p>What BA programs would you recommend I look at as well?</p>

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<p>zkinfamous – for the purposes of getting a sense for whether this is something you like, it is not necessary to go to NYU summer to figure that out. I don’t know San Diego at all but you might even be able to find something local. Certainly, LA has many many options. There has been very little evidence here that going to a summer program for a program has any impact no the likelihood of being accepted at that school so I would not go there for that reason. </p>

<p>I’m not the right person to ask about BA programs. My daughter’s largely been “all-in” about wanted to act since she was 8-9. Is WAY happier in a studio doing acting training than in a classroom. She wented to Stella summer and CMU summer, which only confirmed she wanted a conservatory so all she applied to was BFA programs. There is a ton of info here on BA programs. I would suggest doing some searches, which will point you to lots of threads about good BA programs. Good luck. </p>

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<p>You mentioned that your family is tight on money…are you aware of the tuition/board costs for NYU? </p>

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<p>Thank you ActingDad. I appreciate the guidance very much. I already plan on looking into BA, thank you again!</p>

<p>Bisouu, I actually made the wrong use of words. My family is well off, but we spend and act as we are tight on money. My dad and mom are both very cautious in what they invest their money on and would hate to spend a fortune on a college I ended up disliking very much. Hence its in there best interest, and I am very very grateful for, that they help me seek experience before making huge investments like college at NYU. Sorry for the confusion!</p>

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<p>There are so many,and it’s so personal, it’s hard to answer. Here is list of ones CC users were accepted to in the last admissions cycle:</p>

<p><a href=“Theater/Drama Acceptances HS Class of 2014 by School Name - Theater/Drama Majors - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/1621838-theater-drama-acceptances-hs-class-of-2014-by-school-name.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I would start looking close to home just to get a baseline and learn about college theatre.</p>

<p>Visit UCSD, UCLA, USC etc… email the dept chairs and ask for a department tour. Ask general questions. Attend an acting class. Go see some student productions. That’s what my daughter did and it gave her the direction she needed to choose a BA program that is a good fit for her, </p>

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<p>If NYU is a particular passion for you- then tisch has a summer program. My D enjoyed it immensely</p>

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<p>There are so many youth, community, and professional theatre options in San Diego, including North County and even Fallbrook and Temecula. I assume I am covering your area here. If you are interested in pursuing acting seriously in college, you really should pursue it seriously in high school first. Also, rather than spending about $10K on NYU’s summer program, please look into the Old Globe Shakespeare Intensive and the La Jolla Playhouse Summer Conservatory. Both of these are auditioned programs, so that would be a good way to gauge your competitiveness, as well as getting training and exposure. </p>

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<p>Thank you arwarw, toowonderful, and elsacc! I’ve talked with my parents and we plan on taking up some local lessons to gain more experience. Hopefully before the end of the school year I’ll think about a summer program if I want to further my education before making any college choices.</p>

<p>Thank you elsacc! While La Jolla is reachable it is a little far, I plan on looking into Old Globe Shakespeare Intensive! :)</p>

<p>I also should mention that I am re taking a Spanish class I got a C in last year. I am maintaining an A in it right now. I also plan to retake English 10 from last year. These 2 C’s I plan to replace with A’s, raising my GPA for Sophomore year. Hopefully my overall high school GPA will now be significantly higher. </p>

<p>I did some research on NYU’s freshman admission and was able to access some information which helped me determine somewhat of a placement for myself. </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg02_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=436”>http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg02_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=436&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>On this page, it shows that 21% of those incoming freshmen held a GPA of where I stand (3.25-3.49). While retaking some classes in previous years, and aiming for straight A’s this year and senior year depending on my classes, hopefully I’ll be in the upper percentile of that 21% or reach the next level of the 36% of those students (3.50-3.74).</p>

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<p>@zkinfamous, you need to know that one doesn’t go to Tisch with the intention of also majoring in business at Stern. You can’t do both at NYU. I’m not sure about architecture but I’d have my doubts on that as well simply because that’s also a field that demands a certain amount of (maybe this isn’t the right word), “studio” time. I’m not sure the majors are compatible for a dual major because of the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day. Research it vs. assuming it can be done.</p>

<p>Your description of what you seem to be looking for to me screams “look for a great school with a theatre BA” and not at all, look for a theatre BFA. With that in mind, I would highly suggest not limiting yourself to LA and NYC. You can have wonderful college experiences at schools that will fit your needs and then move to LA or NYC if you want to. Studying there now sure has certain benefits for actors (and a boatload of additional expenses), but if you don’t really know at this point that you really want a career in acting never mind if you would like studying acting “all in” which many people discover they really don’t. And meanwhile there are amazing schools with great architecture programs too that are not in either of those cities. Stay open.</p>

<p>Since you did ask about resume building for college acceptances and then mentioned several schools that are known to care about GPA, I’m a bit confused by your GPA math that you are using to figure out where you expect to be when you apply. I guess I never thought about replacing earlier grades by retaking the classes in high school. Didn’t know that was a thing. Can you do that and still graduate on time and present a rigorous course load that would also matter in the application to some of these more academically focused schools? Time spent retaking also means time not spent moving on to other advanced classes which also will build your application. I assume you are getting good advice on that.</p>

<p>But do know if you are already a junior, it’s really hard to move the needle on your GPA in big swings like you could have last year because every year that goes by means that average is calculated by more and more classes in the denominator. (Example. If you had a freshman year GPA of 3.0 and the a sophomore GPA of 4.0, your cumulative average goes up a whopping 0.5 points from a 3.0 to 3.5. But if junior year your GPA is also a 4.0, your cumulative average only goes up .166 points to a 3.66. And so on…</p>

<p>So even if you get 4.0’s this semester (where you said you are at 3.6 now but let’s assume 4.0) and every semester beyond that through senior year (of which… last semester really won’t count because you’ll already be admitted or denied at that point but let’s assume it does count), you can’t go from a 3.16 to anything better than a 3.58 not that is anything to sneeze at just understand the math.</p>

<p>Anyway, in summary, I think you need to cast a much wider net than what you are talking about. This is coming from someone with a daughter in the BFA at Tisch right now and a son who got into USC last year and came this close to picking it… literally deciding just before the May 1 deadline and it was painful to let it go. I know enough about both of those schools to urge you to cast a wider net. I also don’t think you need to necessarily do a summer acting program at NYU to figure out whether or not you want to go all in for acting. A good program local to your region can do the trick too and you are lucky to live near some exceptional ones. All the best!</p>

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<p>@halflokum Yea the more information I find and learn, I now understand probably a lot more than when I had started this discussion. I had chosen LA and NYC for really two reasons. Those are areas I would like to live, and then they hold some of the best creative arts and some performing arts schools. It made a good mixture. However I have been opening my mind, I’ve gotten a few messages of suggestions to other colleges of which people recommend me. I am so appreciative to you and everyone else who has answered. I really have been so unorganized and every time an adult tells me I still have time to figure things out I literally want to yell in there face that I really don’t. Ahaha. </p>

<p>Now I know I really am not the best for the best schools but I really am working on it. My mother and father both would rather a go to a school thats placed higher on charts for the sake of education. While that changes a bit for schools that my dad knows about from his college generation, the ones he doesn’t he wants to make sure I’m getting a great education for the money. </p>

<p>And yes, I am able to re take classes and then my GPA would be changed in effect. I am however not putting off any other classes to take these classes. I had enrolled in another school where I am able to take some classes online. Its not the K-12 thing because you don’t get credits for some of those classes. I also plan to take a class or two over the summer. After talking with my dad, he believes if I retake what I plan to and get good grades my Junior year, I’ll average out around a 3.5-3.6 for my high school GPA. I believe that sits right under Tisch’s 3.7 freshman acceptance average. </p>

<p>I also understand I shouldn’t be selective in a college and be open while having a larger list. I had gone with Tisch because being that it placed really high, If I can mold and fix up my resume to suit them I would believe I am well suited for them and then colleges similar and below them.</p>

<p>Thank you very much though!! Being that your children have been accepted to USC and Tisch, would you mind if I sent you a message and learned a bit more about what their resumes looked like? If not I understand, and thank you again for your input! It helps a lot. :)</p>

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<p>You are welcome to PM me. Expect to be fully underwhelmed by my kids’ resumes. :-)</p>