Hi everyone,
I’m an international student (living in Dubai) who wants to pursue screen acting as a career. I just got off the waitlist for NYU Tisch and found out I got accepted!! Now I’m deciding between NYU Tisch for BFA Acting and Boston University for BFA Theatre Arts/Acting. I do want to ultimately end up acting for screen so I’m trying to decide what will have the best program for me. BU has a smaller acceptance class of 35 but NYU has 200+ and I also do want to get as much 1-on-1 attention as possible. Obviously being international I’m not really sure which is best so if you have any advice, please please please do reply!!!
Thank you!!
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Paging @soozievt
Wow, congratulations! Two excellent choices. I would go with NYU, because they are famous for film school - and guess what, film students need actors. Plus it’s NYC vs Boston. Acting, and screen acting, are such long shots that I wouldn’t say that you should go to a smaller program in the hopes of being a big fish in a small pond.
Congrats on acceptance to both excellent programs! When you talk about size of those in the program…please understand that this does NOT affect individualized attention. At NYU, you will be placed in a studio and within your studio, you will be in classes of approximately 15 students, no different than smaller programs. There are more faculty! Both programs are excellent. If you are interested in screen acting, at NYU, you can opt to do advanced studio for your junior or senior years in Stonetreet studio, which is specifically for acting for the screen. Not sure if BU has this level of focus offered in screen acting. As already mentioned by others, NYU/Tisch has a top notch BFA program in film and so the opportunities to be in student films are great. Put the programs side by side to compare their offerings. See if you can talk to current students in each program too.
I am the parent of a Tisch graduate who is now a working professional in this field. One way NYU/Tisch differs from some other BFA programs is there is a lot of flexibility to build out your own program over the four years, as it is not lock-step all 4 years. The quantity of opportunities is huge.
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thank you so much for your reply! I completely agree with everything you’ve said. do you think there would be any chance I could get in touch with your son/daughter to ask about their time at NYU?
I think it would be better to reach out to Tisch and ask them to provide some current students, perhaps who have done Stonestreet Studio (the screen acting one) to talk to you. My daughter did not study in the screen acting studio and is more focused on musical theater. She also graduated 14 years ago. I imagine you have to decide quickly and I know she just flew in from London minutes ago to NYC (where she lives) and has to be in DC tomorrow and so her availability right now is limited.
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Tisch is world class for acting but really good people have come out of BU, which also has an excellent program. I would go for BU due to the smaller size and more opportunities that will be available for you.
Hey there! It’s been over a decade since I’ve been on this forum. Feeling nostalgic lol! I graduated with my BFA in Acting over a decade ago and have since lived in NYC and LA. You’re at an exciting time in you life right now and this forum can certainly be an outlet for that. I’ve been there! I’m going to be real with you and it may sound tough but none of this really matters that much in the long run.
Putting aside the utility of a BFA which is a whole can of worms in itself, at the end of the day your BFA experience is about maximizing your opportunities when you leave school. Training will only get you so far and most people in the business will tell you that raw talent is only 10% of the game. Most BFA programs are solid and you’ll learn techniques and work your acting muscles but that’s about it. BFA programs are a lot of fun, but at the end of the day you’re going to have to start hustling when you leave. For 99% of BFA grads, there won’t be a talent scout in the audience at your senior year play that immediately signs you and propels you to stardom. You’ll be very fortunate if an agent signs you at your senior showcase. The real challenge is about figuring how the business works and getting your foot in the door at every opportunity wherever that may be. Boston is a lovely city but it has an “opportunity ceiling”. I know I’m going to ruffle some feathers but if your school isn’t in NYC or LA (or at the very least within 2 hours from either) don’t bother. Perhaps that sounds cold but if you want as many creative opportunities available to you then those two places are the place to be. Unless you’re really intent on doing regional theater (which is cool), it’s better to be a small fish in a big pond. Again, more than likely some NYC agent or producer isn’t going to see you in a local Boston show and say, “that’s the one!” Lol
Also, just from a practical purpose, it’s really difficult to move to a new city like LA or NYC after graduation. You have to start all over again finding a job, an apartment, making friends. None of that is guaranteed. It’s tough enough graduating from a BFA program. I had a classmate junior year that I think dropped out because of personal issues and/or poor grades. A couple years later I saw on Facebook that she got into Juilliard and was doing quite well. After she graduated, I remember reading a very poignant post from her that she felt lost and apparently had to move back home for awhile. Unfortunately, that’s very much this business. There’s tons of actors out there that never even went to college, are just as talented and are famous or booking all the time.
To sum it up, I wouldn’t worry about the strength of the program that much, but I’d suggest NYU because it’s likely to get you grounded in the city with the most cred tube opportunities after you graduate. All the best to you.
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