<p>Should I go to an acting school or an ivy league?</p>
<p>(assuming my apps are all on point and what not. I just don't know if I should dedicate myself to acting or go somewhere more... idk.. secure I guess).</p>
<p>For those who want more information:</p>
<p>Well, I absolutely love acting. There's something so freeing about it and I've always dreamed about acting in my future. It just sounded so ideal. As college looms closer and closer, I'm beginning to second guess my dreams more and more and I'm beginning to become a bit more realistic. In all honesty, the chances of me being successful as an actor are very slim. However, I would still love to act and if I went to acting school, I would know for sure what I wanted to do with my life afterwards. On the other hand, I have a passion for learning and I'm kind of decent at school; I can confidently say I'm smart, while I can't exactly say that about my talent in acting. Going to a school like Yale (that is, if I somehow got in!) would still be loads of fun for me and I would probably enjoy it just as much as acting school. That being said, I don't have any passion to pursue a career in a more "intellectual" field. I mean, it just sounds boring to be an engineer (even though I really like math and that kind of stuff???). Anyways, I don't want to feel like I wasted my intelligence by going to acting school but I also don't want to feel like I sacrificed something I enjoy. In the end, I'm probably split between acting and school stuff half and half.</p>
<p>So, what do you think I should do? Whatever I do, I know that I want to go to the very best place possible to pursue whatever I'm chasing. I wish there were a school that combined the two, but I have yet to find a school that does that for me. NYU, Carnegie, and Yale seem to sound the most appealing, but I just don't know. I'm really lost in all of this. Sorry if I didn't give enough information, either. I'm just really confused and I'm having trouble processing and communicating everything properly. If you need some clarification, I'll be happy to clear anything up.</p>
<p>I’m just gonna assume that as of right now, you haven’t been accepted to any ivy league schools. Just play it by ear kid, see where you get accepted and then make the decision.</p>
<p>and one school we’re looking at is USC BA’s acting program because it is a school where u can combine good academics with acting. i would suggest you make a call whether you want a BA or a BFA. there are threads on this that can help u with good info while u make this call. Although my kid will make the final call, I believe a BA at most of the schools they are applying to is the better call for them as they can combine acting with academics more and have greater flexibility in designing their own curriculum. but that is a call each person has to make. Fordham has a demanding acting curriculum and demanding academics. Although not an “Ivy”, it is an excellent school. and I’m pretty sure all the Ivies have some acting options and I think a BA theatre major. Columbia I think has the acting program through its sister school Barnard. Vassar is also well known for a good acting program as are some other Hudson Valley schools. our approach as a family is to pick a school that allows our kid to develop better as an actor and as a parent, I realize this may be the last few years they have to fully pursue this love of theirs so I am all for them pursuing acting while in college. they like u have no interest in being an engineer although they have the aptitude to pursue that and other fields.</p>
<p>My daughter was in a similar situation to the one you hope to be (except she wanted Musical Theatre); by April 29th her final two choices were Yale and Northwestern. My husband desperately wanted her to go to Yale and worked really hard to arrange meetings for her with major theatre and m/t faculty during Bulldog Days. We also attended Northwestern during their Wildcat Weekend. She adored both schools, maybe even preferred Yale a tiny bit, but in the end she knew what she wanted and that was a strong MT program that allowed her to be around really intelligent kids with many interests (including non-theatre/MT kids) and also allowed her to take classes in other areas which she did for fun (upper level math and history mostly). Yale’s theatre program is more theory than practical, not at all what she wanted. </p>
<p>That was in 2009, she just graduated from NU and has never looked back! (Her father on the other hand mentioned to me this past spring while at NU to see her in a play, that he still thinks she should have gone to Yale. But then he never did want her to major in MT!)</p>
<p>I would suggest Brown, not Yale, but it will be a different experience than a school more dedicated to theatre; not better or worse, just different. I would also suggest Northwestern for the combination of their strong theatre program and their strong academics. This is a decision only you can make, but like others have said, it is a bit premature.</p>
<p>You are a young person. NOW is the time to pursue your dreams. You have nothing to lose, and few responsibilities (children, mortgage, etc). If you pursue your dreams and they don’t work out, you can always go back and try something else. That happens A LOT these days, people switch careers several times over the course of their work life. You can get educated in one field, then go back later and get educated in a different field. For example, you can study a completely different subject at grad school than the one you studied as an undergrad.</p>
<p>If you don’t pursue your dreams now, you may spend the rest of your life wondering what would have happened if you had pursued your dreams.</p>
<p>I always tell folks like you to research the people who have the job that would be your “dream job”. The actors who are doing the sort of acting work you want to someday do. You may find that some of them actually went to Ivy League schools. Others may not even have degrees.</p>
<p>And there are also many many more options besides “acting school” and “Ivy league”. When I was your age, I really didn’t know about these options, and so didn’t make the right decisions. I regret it now.</p>
<p>To answer the questions:
-I’m a junior.
-I would rather be prepared to make a decision (or at least be leaning towards something) than rip my hair out last minute. Also, it’s nice to have things figured out early.
-I’m currently doing things related to theatre whenever I can and it doesn’t feel like I would ever be able to just “switch” acting for something else. Then again, I really enjoy math and physics and psychology, so I’m sort of all over the place. That’s one of the reasons why I adore Yale; I can combine a strong liberal arts education suited for the challenge I desire with a pretty sound theatre program. I don’t want to have my entire life mapped out right now. I just want to get an idea of what I plan on doing.
-I know there are other options and I have done ample research about college. In general though, I don’t think I would really be happy at any other schools. They just don’t offer the rigor I want, the level of maturity, the atmosphere… whatever it may be, most schools don’t have everything I want. In fact, none that I’m aware of do at this point. But ivies or a great acting school seem to get as close to my desires as possible.</p>
<p>thanks for all the opinions, though! I’m always open to others’ ideas.
(however, if you’re going to post some cynical remark plastered in negativity, don’t bother. I’m quite realistic about college and I know what I’m capable of, I have an idea of what I want, etc. Please don’t try to lecture me about any of that; I simply want opinions on the question at hand.)</p>
<p>go for it… apply to the Ivies. study hard for the SAT or ACT, whichever u take and get a realistic idea of what it takes to get into Yale and other ivies not just for test scores, but grades, and extracirruculars. and i say this cause u have some time to make yourself a stronger candidate for these schools. also plan to apply to some non-Ivies. the best suggestion I’ve read is to apply for some hard to get into schools, some that are a “match” for u, and that some are safeties. Don’t mean this as a lecture, just ideas. But by all means, go for ur dream. Again, I think Yale and Brown offer the strongest theatre programs. and if Yale is it, learn everything about them that u can now so you can build ur college app for them. they have info sessions daily where they discuss this info if u are close enough to visit campus. and see if they have a ED program. Their website, which i suspect u have already looked over, has a lot of info. I was in ur shoes a long time ago and in a different field. but I went after my dream schools and got accepted to several of them. don’t let naysayers bring u down but keep several doors open too.</p>
<p>Yah, I know that I shouldn’t apply to only super hard schools and I’m already prepared for that. I’ve probably read every single thing on Yale’s website twice, which is also why I might be a bit (or a lot) biased towards it. From what I’ve read though, Brown sounds great, too, along with a few other schools with less prestige. I’m definitely applying scea to Yale, but I don’t even know if that’s what I want. I mean, I think it’s what I want, but I’m just so confused because my passions are everywhere and I want to just choose one, but I can’t, but I sort of need to narrow my choices, but I also need to remain open, but I want to pursue something in great depth and not a ton of things to an extent, but I want to learn lots of different things and everything is just so contradicting. That’s sort of where I am right now. I have a few schools in mind that are reaches, matches, and safeties, but I don’t know what I want to do. If any of that makes sense… I’m not very coherent when I’m so jumbled.</p>
<p>You might consider going to a summer pre-college acting program to see if you would want to go the BFA/conservatory route like CMU. It’s a LOT of studio time. Some good summer programs for highschoolers include CMU, Brown Theaterbridge, NU cherubs and BU.</p>
<p>Hey, ur young and u have time. We started on the college search later than u and it was overwhelming at first. But now it’s narrowed down to a few schools kid will def apply to and he will add others to the list if he wants and after we visit them. He is a year ahead of u. good advice on checking out a summer program above. and once u settle on a school, there is a lot of flexibility at least early on in switching majors as you mature while in college. i would suggest as I noted above gearing ur college app towards Yale. By doing so, you will have an amazing package for any school u apply to. and truly, start prepping soon for the ACT or SAT. if you have not already, see which one suits ur personalty and aptitudes the best. Yale I think requires 2 subject tests on top of the SAT or the ACT plus writing test. check their website to make sure and I’m pretty sure they like to see all scores, not just ur best ones. again, check with them directly. there are other forums on whether you want to take a prep class or not. i believe the bottom line is it depends on u and ur study habits. You sound driven and motivated so u may be able to study on ur own with prep books. do some research on the testing boards here on CC to see what are the best prep books.</p>
<p>arwarw,
Thanks for the suggestions! Those sound great; I was actually considering taking a program at CMU, but I’m taking a math class this summer at my school so I couldn’t. I’ll probably look into one for next summer when the time comes.
The article was very helpful for me and sometimes I just wish Yale would combine its school of drama into its core curriculum. If that were to happen, I think I would have negative discrepancy (???) between school paths. <em>sigh</em> It sounds like Yale might fix the issues presented in the article in the next few years to come, so I might just be in luck. Hopefully things work out perfectly, but only time will tell.</p>
<p>ctl987, thanks for the advice on yale. I’ve already figured out that I perform better on the act and I’m working on studying a tiny bit ever few weeks until I take the test, which isn’t until next spring. I’m generally a good reasoner, so I’m not so worried about how I’ll do. I know I’ll do well enough to get my applications through the doors, so I guess that’s all I can really ask for. My main concern is that I might end up at a school like Yale, realize I want a conservatory program, and not be able to get that (or verse visa).</p>
<p>that’s a tough one and was ur original question after all!! i’d say visit both types of programs, sit in on classes that are conservatory and not conservatory, and make the best decision u can. talk to as many students in both type of programs as u can to help u make that decision. good thing you have almost 2 years to make it cause it is a big decision! And Fordham to me seems to be a school that has the closest combo of both. As someone else pointed out, it sounds like Northwestern might combine a lot of academics with either a conservatory or quasi-conservatory approach too. Good luck!</p>
<p>This thread has made me think more about northwestern and honestly, I never really put much thought into it. I always thought I could go there if things didn’t work out the way I wanted them to, but it seems like Northwestern might just be making it up on my list. I owe a special thanks to amtc, as I am pm’ing her right now. Whatever happens, I’m sure it will be fantastic; I just hope I make the right choice!</p>
<p>I clearly said in my original post to assume that all of that is good enough for the things I want to do. If it makes any difference, I took a retired act test in the beginning ish of my sophomore year and scored a 32. I have yet to take a real test, but the plan, psat, and retired test predict a score somewhere around 32. Then again, those tests will be over a year old by the time I take the real act, so I may do better (or I may do worse :/). I have a 3.9 gpa and I’m somewhat involved in ec’s. I still have 1.5 more years to do more, so I’m not so worried about all of that. I’m realistic about where I’ll be accepted and I don’t need a stranger on the internet to tell me what I’m capable of. I just want opinions on a hypothetical situation.</p>
<p>NOTE: This isn’t a “chance me” thread, so don’t try to, in fact, chance me, because I have no interest in being chanced atm.</p>
<p>@lolholler… my S is going through the exact same thing right now. He loves acting, but is also likes academics. It is a tough decision for him too. He has decided to apply to some BA’ schools with strong academics and plenty of theater opportunities, and also audition for some BFA schools. He is not strong enough for any Ivy’s ( but who really is nowadays),but he is competitive for most of the others. He has a vary wide range of schools and has decided to wait to make any decisions until all results are in. He may change a lot this year, and you might change even more in 2 years. I would recommend keeping all your options open and be happy you have the grades and scores to have many doors open to you.</p>
<p>That was probably the most helpful thing somebody has said thus far, so thanks a ton. I suppose I have no choice but to wait it out, but it’s so frustrating to not know what I want to do more. It’s kind of like I don’t truly know who I am. I don’t know… maybe I’m thinking too far into this. Anyways, best of luck to your son! If he is as ambitious as he sounds, he’ll need a ton of luck (as all ambitious teens need) haha</p>
<p>Lolholler. You might want to review the threads on the Ivy’s. I know you said don’t chance you, but your stats look a bit low to me. There are kids with over a 4.0 and 2300 or more on SAT’s who are routinely rejected from the Ivy’s. I looked it over once out of curiosity and was surprised at the competition.
An ivy education and a BFA acting conservatory are very different. The ivy will be more theoretical and more than half your time is in the classroom. The BFA is very practical and two thirds of your time will be in the acting studio.</p>