<p>Hello all! I'm coming down to my final college decision, and I've narrowed it down to Sarah Lawrence, Columbia College Chicago, and NYU Tisch. My major will be musical theater (yes, I've already been accepted to NYU for MT), and at CCC you need to audition your sophomore year to enter the BFA track. I was wondering if anyone could give me any insight to these programs. I've already visited all three campuses, and love all three pretty much the same. I'm looking for some in-depth and relevant advice. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks :)</p>
<p>Congrats on your acceptances. These three schools are very very different. I think it is even a little unusual that such distinctly different schools appeal as final considerations for one person. Nobody can tell you which to pick, nor which is “the best,” as it comes down to fitting what YOU want in a college. I would have to hear your selection criteria and then see how each of these schools fits that. I’d also want to hear your specific thoughts and impressions and pros/cons for each school in terms of fit for YOU. Without that information from you, it is hard to provide effective input. </p>
<p>In comparing NYU/Tisch/NSB with Columbia College, the experiences would be SO different. Do you care about any liberal arts? If so, NYU has that and Columbia has much less of it as it is not a regular university. Do you care about the intellectual level of the student body and the types of students who attend? If so, NYU is quite selective and Columbia College accepts almost every applicant and so the student bodies will differ greatly. For a student who is qualified to get into NYU/Tisch, typically Columbia College would be a safety school for them. Would you be happy to attend your safety school if you got into much more selective schools? Do you care about retention rates? Columbia College has a very low retention rate and that will impact the four year experience as many don’t finish. At Columbia, there is no guarantee you’ll even get into the MT track. How badly do you care about training in MT? You have guaranteed MT training at NYU/Tisch, not at Columbia. </p>
<p>Sarah Lawrence is a terrific school with a very different educational approach and you should weigh which approach appeals to you. But even Sarah Lawrence is so different than Columbia just in terms of the level of intellectual exploration. SL is good for theater but doesn’t have nearly as specific or intense MT training as the BFA at Tisch and so you need to decide if you care about that. We can’t tell you as we don’t know your priorities in what you want in a college. </p>
<p>I could go on and on here but what YOU need to do is to chart or list your own selection criteria and then how each of these three schools meets (or doesn’t) each of those factors. Also jot down all information, pros/cons, thoughts, impressions, of each school. Compare that with one another and also with your own priorities. That will make it become clearer. </p>
<p>Be able to discuss with someone what you like better about A college than B college and so on. Be able to articulate clear reasons for each school. As you write these things down and discuss with others, I think it will be more obvious to you which school most closely aligns with what YOU want. The idea is to find the best fit for YOU and we can’t do that, not to mention you have not shared anything about what you want in a college, or what you like or not about each of your options, in order for us to discuss it with you with any significant meaning.</p>
<p>All three schools are sooooo different. </p>
<p>The three schools will offer you completely different educational experiences. It is all about finding the school that feels like the best fit for you.</p>
<p>My understanding is that NYU and Sarah Lawrence are more academically selective than Columbia College of Chicago. Columbia College of Chicago is probably the most “conservatory style” of the three… NYU offers the same level training as many conservatory programs combined with high level academics… Sarah Lawrence is a great professionally focused liberal arts program… lots of student generated work… a terrific theatre program at a liberal arts college.</p>
<p>I would suggest mapping out for yourself a list of the things you are personally looking for in a program. THEN look at the opportunities presented by each of the schools and see which school you fell in your gut wll meet your educational goals.</p>
<p>Is there even musical theater training at Sarah Lawrence?</p>
<p>^^^Not exactly. But a student can study acting, voice, and dance at Sarah Lawrence. In fact, their program is very interdisciplinary in nature.</p>
<p>As I said, these three schools are vastly different from one another and so it would be critical that the OP share what he/she is looking for in a college in order for anyone to offer meaningful advice.</p>
<p>(even on the surface, one is a university with a BFA conservatory program, one is a stand alone conservatory, and one is a liberal arts college)</p>
<p>It sounds like everyone thinks Columbia is not a good choice. Does the college have anything good to offer? My understanding is they are known for music. Do they have a good music program or is it substandard?</p>
<p>Columbia College Chicago accepts everyone, so it’s a big safety school for a lot of people. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it means that there will be a lot of not-as-talented people as there will be at NYU and SL (academically and acting wise). It’s retention rate until graduation is something like 26%, which on paper is not very promising.</p>
<p>I think Columbia College Chicago looks like a perfect fallback or safety school for my son. It’s in a great location, and seems to attract lots of creative, if not academically-inclined, students. I read up on its history: it was founded as “Columbia College of Oratory,” by early graduates of the “Monroe College of Oratory” (later renamed Emerson) in Boston. It seems to be a larger version of what Emerson was a generation ago, before it became more selective and prestigious. I think housing may be scarce, for people who apply late in the admissions season. We are visiting the campus in July.</p>
<p>Hey,</p>
<p>I’ve applied to UT Austin and Columbia college chicago for Film and video in both for Undergraduate.</p>
<p>I wanted to know that even though CCC has had more successful oscar - winner filmmakers than UT Austin - still Hollywood reporter and other places rate UT austin higher than CCC.</p>
<p>Also CCC being on the 25 top film schools by Hollywood reporter is Unranked on US news and few other sites. Their acceptance rate also suggests they are a bit desperate? because of rolling admissions and other reasons I am confused if and whether it is a good place to study?
Like networking is one of the key things am looking at…which i think ccc looks promising because of so many oscar links…and opportunities.</p>
<p>Also having an interest in the technical aspect as well as the creative aspect of filmmaking what I am looking at is a Balancing blend of Good Equipment and faculty resources, Good networking and career opportunities in both Media and Film industry and Good artsy influence for creativity and innovation to nurture and grow. (also a good diversity of people who accept all ethnicities and type of people)</p>
<p>What do you think?</p>
<p>I have applied to:
Penn State University for BS in Media
HUnter College - CUNY for BA in film
Columbia college chicago (CCC) for BA in film
UT Austin - BS in radio tv film
CSU - LB for BS in narrative production
CSU fullerton for BA in radio tv film</p>
<p>I am really confused and like I want to take a wise decision.
Please do suggest me, your advice counts a lot.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Aasthaak: this is the theater forum. For info regarding Film/Video check out:
[Visual</a> Arts and Film Majors - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/]Visual”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/)</p>
<p>By the way, there is a Columbia College Chicago app on facebook, in which you can connect with current and prospective students and learn more about the school.</p>
<p>My son chose Columbia College Chicago as his “safety” last year. We had our doubts about their theater program, but we were blown away by their film facilities. They have a full, Hollywood-size soundstage on their premises, and place film students in excellent internships and jobs. They consider themselves a “top-10” film school, but far less selective than the others in the field. I think the one drawback might be course availability, and competition for slots. KEVP is an alumnus, and he can probably tell you more. You should certainly consider it. Chicago is a great city for film and media, and CCC is centrally located. I’m sure the residence we saw was not typical, but it was one of the nicest housing units we saw anywhere, on any campus. It had a spectacular view of Grant Park and Lake Michigan.</p>
<p>Columbia College is a great school for the right student. One reason they have a low retention/graduation rate is because the do accept many kids who would not have gotten into other programs, giving them a chance to “prove” themselves once out of high school. They are in a great town (Chicago) and have great facilities/equipment. This is almost by definition, a school where you get out of it what you put into it. Our friend’s son goes there and he has done amazing things, they never said no to him. He graduated last year and has been doing very well ever since. Is it for everyone? Absolutely not, but it does have a place in this industry.</p>
<p>As others have said, you have picked three very different schools to choose from. You need to really look at what’s important to you in a school. Not looking at the academics, two of your choices have no real campus, using their cities as their campus, does that matter to you? Sarah Lawrence is close to NYC but it does have a lovely little campus; it is also overwhelmingly female in it’s population, does that matter to you? Are you looking for academic stimulation? That would eliminate CCC probably. What about size of student body - also very different at the three schools.</p>
<p>My daughter had two similar choices when she was admitted a few years ago (she had more but in the end it came down to two); Yale and Northwestern. Yale sounds like it was similar to Sarah Lawrence in that she would have to cobble together a MT program. Northwestern had no guarantee that she would get into the MT program at the end of her sophomore year. She made lists of what was important to her in a college program and, much to her father’s dismay, she chose Northwestern over Yale. She’s a senior now and has never looked back.</p>
<p>I suggest you do the same thing my daughter did, make a list of what you truly want from a college, preferably in the order of importance and see which school fits them. These schools are so different, it shouldn’t be that hard to decide.</p>
<p>I agree that Columbia College Chicago is a great school for the right student, and I was one of those students.</p>
<p>They have a very “open” admissions policy, not because they are “desparate” but because they love being a very large and diverse college, and don’t really have apspirations of being “elite”. (The law school I went to had the same attitude, they valued diversity over elitism)</p>
<p>Another reason why they have a low graduation/retention rate is that many of their students aren’t really interested in earning a degree, they are just taking courses in an artistic subject that they find helpful for their artistic career or even hobby. Folks have been known to leave CCC before graduating just because it is time for them to go pursue their career.</p>
<p>CCC will give you a LOT of artistic freedom, which is why it attracted me. As an undergraduate, they let me direct plays which I chose, and gave me access to their theatre, costumes, sets, props, lights, etc. together with a small budget. I got the impression the film directors were doing similar things. Some people (like me) do very well with this sort of artistic freedom, others can’t handle it.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>