<p>In terms of prestige, reputation, and easiness to get into, which is the more impressive school? I know they are two very good schools, but I've never been able to find anything online comparing the two? Thanks</p>
<p>NYU seems to be a little easier to get into it seems as they take quite a bit more students and choose the studio for placement. Rutgers is more of conservatory type program. If you get a callback at Rutgers that is a great way to really see the facilities and the faculty and get an understanding about what they are about. NYU does not have callbacks and you don’t know the placement until right before the May 1 deadline. As far as reputation, they are both up there. NYUs program is more well known and is always listed as a top program. But then again they have 300-400 in Tisch and Rutgers has 21-25 each year. NYU is very expensive with not much in terms of schilarships, Rutgers gives academic and some talent scholarships. I have also heard that NYUs Masters Program is great but a Masters Program is not necessary if you have a BFA (or BA Hons overseas degree) from top conservatory programs like Rutgers, Purchase, UNCSA…</p>
<p>Neither is at all easy to get into, because they are top tier acting programs, and incredibly competitive. Saying that one is easier than another would be like saying you have a better chance at Harvard than Yale, but even more so.</p>
<p>They are very different. For starters, Rutgers is a smaller department and much less costly; NYU looks at academics more than most auditioned programs. Both are schools you want to know a lot about before you commit, if you did get in, because Rutgers teaches exclusively the Meisner approach to acting, and NYU has an unusual system of assigning students to affiliated acting studios, sort of like outsourcing a drama department times twenty, and the students don’t get much if any input about where they are assigned. This past year Rutgers had a “callback weekend” which I think was a bit of an experiment, it isn’t clear if they will do that again. Last year they said that students who weren’t invited to the callback weekend weren’t necessarily not admitted, but I never heard of anyone admitted who wasn’t called back.</p>
<p>“Neither is at all easy to get into, because they are top tier acting programs, and incredibly competitive. Saying that one is easier than another would be like saying you have a better chance at Harvard than Yale, but even more so.”</p>
<p>Prodesse hit the nail on the head.</p>
<p>You people need to remember, that even though Tisch is a larger program, they have more applicants, thousands more (from all around the globe ) than these small conservatory programs.</p>
<p>I don’t understand the concern with which school is more “impressive.” Are you talking about status? Status is so subjective, and pretty pointless. NYU and Mason Gross are two completely different programs where you will get great training. How are they different? Do your research. </p>
<p>My daughter was admitted to both NYU and Mason Gross. People from the world-at-large were very impressed she got into NYU because NYU is more famous. People from theaterland were very impressed she got into Mason Gross (whereas the general population, outside of New Jersey, does not know MG, Tisch is a household name. So what?)</p>
<p>She chose Fordham. No one from the world-at-large and few from theaterland are “impressed” she goes to Fordham. However, at Fordham, she is being given tremendous opportunities there and is convinced she’s in the right place.</p>
<p>Glassharmonica, I actually thought of you when I saw the name of the thread. 
Good response above. And I’m so glad your daughter is loving Fordham! Good to hear.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if you audition at Unifieds for Rutgers do they require an onsite callback?</p>
<p>Rutgers has a call back weekend so they do not generally do formal on-site call backs. I have, however, heard of a few instances even last year where a student would be asked to see an additional reviewer though I don’t know that I would call that a call back. If I had to hazard a guess, I suspect that is probably done in a case where a reviewer just quite isn’t sure whether the person should end up on teh call back weekend list.</p>
<p>So if I understand correctly, if you participate in Unifieds in order to be admitted to the school you will have to participate in a callback weekend at Rutgers?</p>
<p>Two years ago there were quite a few Rutgers kids accepted that were not invited to the call back weekend. Glassharmonica’s daughter fits that category. </p>
<p>Last year, however, the school was still perpetuating the notion that no call back did not mean no acceptance but it appears as if the only gets admitted to Rutgers last year were kids who were invited to the call back weekend.</p>
<p>Actually, my daughter had an onsite callback, was not invited to the callback weekend (but did not receive a decision either way.) Then she and a group of other students were invited to another callback weekend, late in the cycle (very close to April 1) and all were admitted from that group of around 7 or 8. That was two years ago, but they may change their procedure. It could have to do with the availability of the faculty, etc. Although we found it confusing, they did seem to be following a clear plan.</p>
<p>The best advice (and I know it’s hard to follow) is to put your hat in the ring, do your best, and then try not to think about it. It’s not in your control, and no matter what happens, you’ll barely think about it a few months after it’s all settled.</p>
<p>I rarely post anymore, but I have to chime in here. I do not understand “prestige” and “impressive.” This process should be about where your child believes he/she will receive the best training for him/her. Additionally, it should be about where your child fits best and believes he/she will flourish, learn, grow, but be respected and encouraged to take risks in a safe environment. Talent, desire, and drive will win out. Prestige/impressive, while perhaps “looking good,” may not be all it’s touted to be. There are many, many upcoming programs who offer incredible training and opportunities. There are many other programs, who not necessarily up and coming, are graduating talented kids who are being gainfully employed. If you want to talk “prestige” and “impressive,” how about the school that has a freshman BFA MT class of 8 and a straight acting male class of 2, with the girl acting class being…4 maybe? I don’t know, but I’d call that pretty damn impressive, and it’s not either of the schools mentioned. </p>
<p>Crawling back into my lurking spot now…</p>
<p>No crawling, ugadog99!! You swagger back to your post after those words of wisdom!</p>
<p>Kidding aside, I think the OP will start to research programs (through CC or just through Google!) and see that the programs that everyone has heard of (the two mentioned) are just the tip of the iceberg. So many wonderful programs available for college students to experience!</p>
<p>Also, there are schools and programs that the average person would not have heard of, that are very well known in theatrical worlds. </p>
<p>I bet most non-arts people have no idea that Carnegie Mellon University has a top conservatory. I didn’t, before about 18 months ago. I thought it was strictly computers and engineers and mathematicians.</p>
<p>I thought the North Carolina School of the Arts was only a high school, when in fact it is part of the UNC system and another top school. </p>
<p>I hadn’t ever heard of CCM, the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, another terrific one. </p>
<p>I didn’t know much about Ithaca, where my son is now a freshman, and my mom is still convinced I sent him off to nowhereland, but it’s well known and respected in both theatre and music.</p>
<p>BoCo, aka Boston Conservatory, isn’t just for music. Some conservatories have drama, like Juilliard, and others don’t, like Curtis.</p>
<p>SUNY-Purchase is mostly a not-so-hot commuter school in the SUNY system, except that it has one of the very top acting programs as well. </p>
<p>Obviously I could go on and on. The point being, most people don’t know anything about theatre schools, until they start researching.</p>
<p>True, but people in the industry know. Obviously, you can learn and grow anywhere and you do have to get in so it’s not as though you can just choose is it? But to suggest that brand name means nothing is maybe going to far in the opposite direction. Usually a Julliard student will have a very different career than a Podunk student. Usually, but not always.</p>
<p>I don’t say that brand name means nothing, just that (as Marbleheader suggests) the OP doesn’t know what the brand names are yet.</p>
<p>I agree that a kid should not pick a school on “prestige” or “name brand” but I think it’s a bit naive to think that that is unusual in the college selection process. Everything around our kids, and ourselves for that matter, we picked for its name brand. Our handbag, our jeans, our cars, our kids sneakers, our cell phone, etc, I can go on and on.
College is no different. Going to Harvard, Princeton or Yale is a prestige thing. Period. I’m sure a kid could get as good an education, possibly better, at let’s say Middlebury College.
But it does not have the same cache. </p>
<p>I never knew Rutgers had what was considered a top theatre program until I got involved in this process. So Im not sure why you assume the OP hasn’t done their research?
Maybe they want a large University in or near New York City with a BFA program? Those 2 schools fit the bill. Why do we get so defensive?</p>
<p>I’m not sure who’s being accused of being “defensive” in this thread, but I do have to say that NOT everybody bases important decisions on prestige or name brand. My Middlebury diploma has carried plenty of cachet (proper spelling) in my life, and fellow alumna Amanda Plummer has built a pretty distinguished acting career despite a Middlebury degree. I think the things we value in the quest for a college will be largely a function of our individual outlooks and temperaments; some people determine quality via personal fit, others want statistics and a well recognized name. Neither way is wrong. For me, worrying about whether other people find my school or my kids’ schools prestigious is totally meaningless; to quote an overused Dr. Seuss line, “those who matter don’t mind, and those who mind don’t matter.” Look for places where you think you’ll thrive. And if that sounds defensive, so be it. ;)</p>
<p>I actually just laughed out loud in an office full of people.</p>
<p>My luck to say Middlebury is a better education than Harvard, Princeton or Yale, and yet still manage to insult you somehow. Oh well, I’m sorry, that was not the point of my previous post.
The point was, that the OP is an 18 yr old that for whatever reason, is interested in Rutgers and Tisch. And I wholeheartedly agree that the “name brand” of the school should not be the sole reason to choose between the two. But people seem offended by the kid’s question, and that’s what I find strange or “defensive”. </p>
<p>And I’m sorry about the typo too. Not all of us graduated from Middlebury. :)</p>
<p>I never heard of Mason Gross until I joined CC so I would say NYU Tisch has a larger reputation outside of the theater world.</p>