The schools I know who charge a conservatory fee do it to cover the private lessons - that way, it is included in the tuition and can be considered in financial aid/loan packages, instead of being added on after the fact. Of course, double check all those things for schools you are considering.
@halflokum Undergrad registration and service fees at Steinhardt are the same $1,212/ semester. But I was surprised by the gap in tuition between Tisch and Steinhardt. Steinhardt is currently $21,873/ semester while Tisch is $24,136. Our yearly total for art major/ singing D is more in the $66,000 range–a bargain!
@uskookfish, NO KIDDING! Can’t buy a BMW for the difference but might be able to lease one. 
Meanwhile voice teacher and accompanist are, wait for it… free at Tisch MT. Bahahaha!
I have spent some time today trying to find the whole $71K “total cost” estimate on the NYU website. I know that number isn’t made up and is somewhere in writing which of course we both know is so easy to navigate. I cannot find it. (HELP anyone who knows where it is.) I wanted to see the devil in the details of that number. I recall there is padding in certain things that I know I come nowhere near to actually spending.
I hope people get that I’m joking. My car is a 2001 standard shift Honda CRV with over 130K miles on it as well as all of the “love” that came from it being the car taught two teenagers how to drive. Cars are not my thing. I am looking forward to one day not having a vintage 1970’s kitchen. If that day never comes I really don’t care but one can dream.
^^^I don’t have your answer, but in my view, when discussing the ticket price to a college (any college) and for comparison purposes to other colleges’ ticket prices, I would just use tuition, room, board, fees, and NOT books, travel, and personal expenses. I’m going to guess (for the moment) that the 71K figure includes those latter things. And those vary from kid to kid and I don’t consider them part of the college’s own cost to attend.
**ALSO, keep in mind (as you know) that NYU Housing costs differ depending what type of dorm your student lives in (example: traditional style dorm or apartment style dorm).
@soozievt, it indeed does. I just can’t find the link. Agree that the real things to pay attention to are tuition, room and board. Not trying to build a case for Tisch. I can’t offer any personal info about need based aid there and leave it to those of you who can. Meanwhile for example, it is orders of magnitude cheaper for me to get to NYC from the west coast than it would be for me to fly to Ann Arbor, MI or Westerville, OH. and all of the blah blah blah that goes with that math of incredible schools which will more than suck up those travel savings. Had to just scroll up and remind myself what this tread is even about. Keeping it real. Nobody should ever expect a school in NYC to be cheap. If you are lucky enough to be a part of an up and coming program that wants you for whatever reason, or you have need and talent they want you too, you might get lucky with the math. Most mere mortals will find themselves looking at a “New York State of Mind” bill and will have to decide if they can do it - or not.
Halflokum…ok, I just scouted around online to find your answer at NYU, and it wasn’t easy. However, by George, I’ve got it! Here you go for NYU/Tisch:
http://www.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu/financialAid/documents/tuitiontisch.pdf
Cost of Attendance 2014 to 2015
Tisch School of the Arts
Undergraduate Students
For On/Off-Campus Student:
Tuition & mandatory fees (2 semesters, full time): $50,696
School-based fees: $520
Room and Board: $16,782
Book and Supplies: $1,070
Transportation: varies
Personal Expenses: $2000
TOTAL BUDGET: $71,068
*Note: School-based fees vary by school at NYU and course
*Note: Actual room and board varies depending upon several factors. There is a range of housing and meal plans available on-campus at NYU. The standard figure for financial aid purposes represents room and board for an on-campus student based on double occupancy and a typical 300 meal per semester “flex” dining plan (which averages 19 meals per week). This includes the cost of local telephone service,wi-fi internet access, and cable television to the residence hall room. This same rate is used to represent the room and board amount for an off-campus student since costs on average are similar to on-campusoptions, although individual costs vary as the NYC area has many different housing options and associated costs, depending upon location, number of roommates, amenities, etc. Also note that University meal plans are available for students who live off-campus.
(All of the above I copied word for word from the link provided)
@soozieVT I don’t know how you did it. I knew it was in there somewhere but for the life of me I could not find it. Buy a lottery ticket. Thank you!!!
^^^Ha…not sure how I managed to find it either. It wasn’t easy, that’s for sure!
Just to muddy the waters a bit, this chart from NYU shows the tuition at Tisch to be slightly higher than what @soozieVT quoted, and it also states that tuition will rise approximately 5% in 2015 and in each subsequent year!
http://www.nyu.edu/global/international-immigration-services/students/inbound-to-nyc/pre-arrival/estimatedexpenses.html
Sorry this is off-topic, but to respond to halflokum’s post #45, which I had not seen until now, here is some information and the sources, when it comes to need-based aid at NYU:
halflokum wrote:
http://www.nyu.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/financial-aid.html
https://www.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu/financialAid/documents/navigating-finaid.pdf
I copied the following off of a graph:
http://premium.usnews.com/best-colleges/nyu-2785/paying
^^not sure this link will work for others, as I am a paid subscriber
***EDIT: OOPS! I think I read halflokum’s post wrong and I now realize she was speaking about not having PERSONAL information on need based aid. Sorry! Well, I’ll leave my post in case it is helpful to others. The only personal information I can divulge is that my D got a $20,000 scholarship/year, plus loans to NYU. We had two kids in college at the same time. She got a few smaller scholarships in addition to that from NYU in her senior year (nice surprise).
Dusing2…the link you provided in post #49 is under “Global” at NYU and I believe pertains to INTERNATIONAL students. For example, they have certain health insurance requirements.
I was looking only at tuition, room and board (which is the same for all students). The tuition difference is probably the couple hundred dollars in international fees that are tacked on. But, that chart is one of the few that let’s you easily compare Tisch and Steinhardt tuition. Also, it mentions to keep in mind the 5% increase in costs associated with NYU.
^^Yes, I do understand. I was just trying to point out that the link is for global students. But you can still glean information!
In terms of increase in costs in subsequent years, I must say this is true almost everywhere. College costs keep rising!
If the annual increase is only 5%, consider yourself lucky! It was more than that when my D was there. And, yes, as Soozie says, that happens almost everywhere.
http://www.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu/financialAid/documents/tuitiongeneral.pdf
This is the same chart that @soozievt found, but for Steinhardt. Regarding aid, D received $11K a year in merit aid (no need). But she graduated in 2012. I was told not to expect the same if younger D applied RD for class of 2016 because the amount given out for merit aid was shrinking. As a matter of fact, older D almost didn’t get that $, because they added a financial component to her Steinhardt “academic” scholarship awarded by the VP department. The award was never granted because of the change in requirements. Head of VP had to fight for D to receive a “talent” award instead. (The talent award didn’t have a newly revised financial component.) Not sure what exists today though.
At the other end of the spectrum, WSU has $600/semester “Theater Course Fee” - covers voice lessons, etc.
Also watch out for “Student Health Insurance” fee - which I believe is charged at most schools UNLESS you prove your student is covered by parent’s policy (WSU did not prompt for waiver, just charged until proven otherwise) - at WSU = $581/semester.
As someone earlier posted, be prepared for the costs of going to auditions - whether a quick day-drive, one city away, or a multi-night stay at a big unified audition/convention with “extra” workshop fees and an airplane/shuttle service ride away. If students traveling are all under 21, some sort of adult may need to be present secure a decent hotel room - sometimes prepaid before arrival. Students with low balance on card my not be able to book a room.
Aside from perhaps buying special shoes, has anyone had experience with a student needing to pay costume/participation fees to be in school shows? What about for summer theater jobs?
When my kid was in college, she didn’t travel to any auditions. But this is a perk of going to school in NYC. If you want to do summer stock, StrawHats and other auditions take place right there. My D performed every summer but only chose to do summer stock her first summer.
In terms of any expenses associated with school shows…nada. Same with professional shows.
In terms of health insurance, one way or the other, a kid needs it.
There are less books to buy for a BFA program than many BA programs (though there are still some!), but you can estimate that the suggested books/supplies line item evens out as these kids may get sheet music, plays, dance attire/shoes to make up for less books to buy.
Just had a new “additional expense” pop up today. D texted and asked for the Amazon Prime login so she can rent a movie assigned in a class. (If you are familiar with Amazon Prime - there are some free movies/shows - but the vast majority require a rental fee - but you can’t even get to them without the membership).
Funny @kategrizz. I tend to know what S is up to by checking the Amazon bill