<p>My son has gotten into the Communications dept for theater at Northwestern and hopes to audition into the MT certificate next year. He has also been accepted at NYU Tisch for the BFA program. He is at a loss as to what to do–Northwestern seems to be an intellectually challenging, well rounded program v. a more specific actor training program at Tisch. He loves intellectual challenges but does hope to make his future in musical theater in some form so is anxious that he should be getting as much specific training as possible by going to Tisch. Please help with any thoughts/ advice!! (if you just want to tell him what to do that’s okay too!!)</p>
<p>I believe NYU is about to release their studio assignments. My son received his studio assignment last year on April 7th. Once you have the studio assignment, I think it will be easier–though by no means easy–to consider the comparisons between Northwestern and NYU Tisch. </p>
<p>FYI, My son is in New Studio on Broadway MT. His thoughts at the time were Playwrights or Atlantic–with the backup hope that he would get an MT nod. (He acts, he sings, he moves. Not a trained dancer. That last part is changing fast!) But you can’t realistically apply to NYU without the understanding that the studio assignment is the critical deciding factor. Just as with Northwestern. You must commit to the university well before any shot at the drama program. </p>
<p>Both superb choices, Congrats. Can’t go wrong either way. See what happens on the 7th. Then decide.</p>
<p>Best Wishes!</p>
<p>Oh, yes. My son called today to ask if it would be OK with us if he enrolled in an Irish history class and a tech/website construction class as 2 of his electives. The answer was a resounding yes! NYU Tisch has a lot to offer intellectually. However, it’s important to remember Tisch is a solid and demanding BFA program with very intensive artistic training. A limited but required academic curriculum. Then those all “selective” elective options. My son’s a smart boy. Great academic background from HS. He has always had an interest in a variety of subjects. At the moment, he can’t get enough of what NYU has to offer. He’s likely to end up like James Franco, chasing down all those intellectual avenues. Hopefully in the future, and on his own dime, LOL!</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for your input, BvilleLady. He is anxiously awaiting his studio assignment. Maybe tomorrow. Sigh…</p>
<p>Thanks again.</p>
<p>Hi I’m actually in the exact same predicament. I’m so worried that I won’t get the same level of professional training at Northwestern and that I won’t receive the same quality of education at NYU. I feel like accepting at one of those places would mean giving up a part of myself, either my passion for acting or my interest in academics (english, political science, foreign languages). This is one of the toughest choices I’ve had to make in my life. I could also reallyyyy use some advice.</p>
<p>jrosed,
The good news is (besides the fact that you were admitted to both…congrats!) that I don’t believe if you were to go to Northwestern that you’d be giving up professional training or if you were to go to NYU that you’d be giving up quality academics. I think you can get BOTH at BOTH of these two particular colleges. In terms of your coursework, you’d have more in the theater/MT category at NYU than at Northwestern but you’d get plenty at Northwestern and it is a very high quality theater program. In terms of academics, you’d get liberal arts at BOTH colleges and just a little more at Northwestern but you’d not be giving up academics to attend NYU at all. </p>
<p>In terms of “quality” of education (I think you meant academically), I think the two schools are comparable and that you won’t notice much difference in terms of the level of the student body at these two universities. </p>
<p>If you examine the profile of admitted students (and before anyone says that this year, Northwestern’s acceptance rate went down to 18% or the stats have changed…yes, the stats have changed, but they have at NYU too but since all of the relevant stats are not yet released for this year’s admissions cycle, and the idea is to compare apples to apples, I will give you stats of both schools from the previous admissions cycle):</p>
<p>Northwestern:
Accepts 27% overall, and 40% in the ED round
Mid SATs CR 670-750, M 690-780, W 670-760, CR/M 1360-1530
Mid ACT 31-33
90% from top 10% of HS class, 99% from top 25%</p>
<p>NYU:
Accepts 30% overall, 38% in the ED round
Mid SATs CR 650-740, M 660-760, W 660-750, CR/M 1310-1500
Mid ACT 28-31
77% from top 10% of HS class, 96% from top 25%</p>
<p>Northwestern is slightly more selective academically than NYU but not enough to make a significant difference in the academic quality or the level of the students. </p>
<p>You can get strong academics at both schools. You can get strong theater and MT training at both schools. You do not have to give up one or the other for one of these schools. The amount of theater coursework will be heavier at NYU than at NU and the amount of liberal arts credits will be a bit more at NU than at NYU, and so that is a bit of a difference. Then, there are differences of course in terms of location, setting, and size and atmosphere. Also, at Northwestern, there is no guarantee of being admitted for the MT Certificate program and you have to make sure you are fine with that just in case that is how that part plays out.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your advice this really did help me a lot. I realize that they are very different schools and I will have to make a choice eventually but it’s good to know that I won’t be giving up much by choosing one over another. Thank you thank you thank you</p>
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<p>I just saw 2015 stats for both schools. This year NYU admitted 33% of applicants, while Northwestern admitted only 18%. NYU’s acceptance rate increased because in the past they had been improperly reporting LSP admissions, which they now are adding to the stats. Without them, this year’s NYU admit rate would have been 26%.</p>
<p>[nyu</a> admissions rate - Google Search](<a href=“nyu admissions rate - Google Search”>nyu admissions rate - Google Search)</p>
<p>OK, so without LSP, NYU accepted 26% and Northwestern accepted 18% (trying to stick with apples to apples comparisons as NU doesn’t have something like LSP) and these acceptance rates are a small difference but not enough to feel significantly different with the level of student bodies and level of academic challenge at both institutions. But I was saying that the “stats” as far as SATs, GPA, class rank, etc. of admitted students for the class of 2015 have not all been released and so had to compare those stats between both schools from one admissions cycle and those stats are fairly close if you look at them with NU being slightly more selective than NYU. </p>
<p>I still feel that the point that the level of academic challenge or the kind of motivated student body at both these colleges are fairly similar and not enough of a difference to use that as a basis of “If I go to this school, it will be more academically challenging or better quality of education” than that school. The schools are academically in a fairly similar ballpark as well as in terms of selectivity. Where you see a major difference in this area are between schools that have very different acceptance rates and very different stats of admitted students.</p>
<p>Ooops… just saw that the rest of my post didn’t make it (must have edited too long ;-).</p>
<p>Soozievt - I absolutely agree they’re both great schools, and both were on D’s list!</p>
<p>I’m chiming in here since no current NU parents/students are posting on NU thread. Part of that may be because the MT program is small - ~35 per class. 97% of enrolled NU students graduate, but the 100 accepted Theatre students include Designers, Directors, Production folks, straight actors and MT actors (who also come frm Voice and Dance majors). Student/teacher ratio is 8:1 overall, lower in the Theatre program. NU admits 50% male/female ratio.</p>
<p>Congratulations to all on having such great options!! Hope you have/had a chance to visit both schools!!</p>
<p>Bear in mind that at Tisch, you will have plenty of students turning down more selective and higher “ranked” schools, so there will be plenty of really smart, high-achieving students in the classroom! My D is in acting studio at Tisch, and NYU academically was a match for her, not a reach and she is one who turned down a higher ranked university. The classes at Tisch are small, in the studio and in the academic classroom. I can’t comment on the CAS component yet, as my D is just a freshman and has not yet taken classes there. </p>
<p>I would really take a close look at the curriculum and requirements for the two schools, both in the actor training and liberal arts requirements, and decide which is of greater interest, and not worry so much about the “quality” of the students. </p>
<p>One feature of NYU (and I can’t speak for NU, which may have this as well), is that the school really does use the city as its classroom. For both her studio and her Theatre studies classes, my D has had to take herself out and about to a wide variety of places on assignments (not group field trips but individual excursions to explore a question posed by the professors relating to artistic perception).</p>
<p>You guys are lucky and blessed to have two such amazing choices. Deciding what to turn down is really stressful. So good luck, and I just hope that you and your kids are the kind of people who move forward with decision-making and not look back and say “what if?”</p>
<p>I think NYU and NU are quite different actually. I just don’t see the differences so much in the quality of the education or level of the students. I agree with SDonCC. A lot of it comes down to deciding on the BFA vs. BA and the curriculum differences and other factors more than the level of selectivity, quality, and challenge, in this particular case of two schools. Both are great options but it is about fit to what a student wants in their college experience.</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone. I do think for my son it is going to boil down to: " does he want a “true” college experience with a campus and more non-theater classes or does he want to dive right into his theater training and live in NYC?" When I mentioned academics in my first post I really was trying to express the fact that at NU he would be taking a broader range of classes outside the theater realm in addition to his theatrical training. We travel to NU next week. Then, as I told him, I am handing him a quarter to flip!!!</p>
<p>I very much agree with the posts above. I think when kids see both options, they know which is the better fit for them. D has friends at NU who were accepted to all the best MT BFA programs and have several Broadway credits, and there are probably kids at NYU who turned down Harvard. Each actor has their own path, and different kids want different things from their college years. That’s part of what makes this all so very exciting!</p>
<p>Best of luck to everyone!</p>
<p>Agreed. I have had students get into Northwestern and turn down their BFA options. I also had a student go to NYU/Tisch this year who turned down Stanford and Brown. </p>
<p>It is about fit with what you want in a college experience. NU and NYU are different. My earlier point is that the academic quality is not what really sets these two schools apart.</p>
<p>Northwestern would have been a Match school academically for my daughter, but she did not apply as she only applied and only wanted BFA in MT programs. I have had students apply to Northwestern for MT who were interested in either a BFA or a BA.</p>
<p>pemestau, didn’t see your post when I just posted. Glad you are doing the visits as that will really help and sometimes it is just a gut feeling too! Both NYU and NU will provide MT training and academics. But NU has a bit more on the total percentage of the curriculum that will be academics and NYU has a higher percentage that will be the training. Both schools will give you BOTH things, but the balance does differ some. Another factor is that a student who wants to do MT and chooses NU, has to be OK with the fact that it is not guaranteed to be admitted to the MT Certificate program. However, I’d like to think that a student who was accepted to very selective BFA in MT programs, stands a decent shot of getting into the MT track at Northwestern eventually.</p>
<p>I don’t yet have firsthand experience with this, but D has heard from her friends that the expected kids get into the MT program at NU – I.e. the most talented – so she’s heard that the most accomplished incoming MT kids are virtually always accepted. She’s also heard that those not admitted can still get very strong MT training (hence the 97% graduation rate?) so it’s all good.</p>
<p>… one last thing… I’m jealous of those who are going to Wildcat Days at NU – and of those heading to NYU for visits. If you learn anything interesting while you’re there, please share! :-D</p>
<p>Aren’t our MT kids just the luckiest people?</p>
<p>Both are great. One element to consider is where the student might want to live after graduation. Chicago has a very strong NU alum theatre community. We have some very good regional commercial MT theatres (Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre and Drury Lane Oakbrook to name two) that employ a lot of them! I have the impression from my friend’s D who is at NU that there are a ton of student-run productions going on all the time–she is always involved in some show doing lighting, tech, acting, costuming, etc. so lots of opportunties to be active and get experience. NU has a beautiful lake-front campus and the town is very student-friendly. The two choices could not be more different but both are wonderful (my D’s at NYU and wanted the city having grown up in the 'burbs not too far from Evanston!) so it’s really about the overall experience you are going for.</p>
<p>ccsmom, that is actually part of the problem. My son really does want to try NYC at some point in his career which is swaying him somewhat toward NYU but also really wants the college experience that NU can offer. SOOOOOO ready to have this decision made. Thanks, everyone, for your input. Leaving for Evanston tomorrow–he’s touring, sitting in on classes and talking to head of theater department. That should help some!!</p>