<p>njtheatremom, all students will be matched with a current student in their studio over the next few weeks. If I were you, or your S, I’d give Tisch a call and see if that can happen ASAP in your case. Then, perhaps, in addition to speaking to an actual Adler student, he could probably arrange for a revisit and attending some classes with that student. Ultimately, he is going to have to be the one to make a decision and probably, even then, he will still have unanswered questions about his entire four year college experience. Although it’s good to plan as much as possible, it truly is IMpossible to know every and any possibility about a school and their program, and impossible to plan for every eventuality.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tip, Alwaysamom. At the Tisch Accepted Student Event they said a student mentor would be assigned in early summer and there would be constant access to the person. I had no idea it would be somebody from the studio. </p>
<p>You’re right, it is up to my son. We are certainly not going to insist that he attend NYU because their financial aid package is better.</p>
<p>By Monday at the latest he is going to have to decide either to choose BU or to take part in an assertive campaign to obtain the additional info that will enable him to decide between Tisch and BU.</p>
<p>AlwaysAMom, I gave NJTheaterMom the name of my former student who is a freshman at Adler and said he is willing to talk with her son and actressmom’s D is too and so she has two student contacts. That may be enough but I think also going to Adler may be a good idea since they live in South Jersey. I agree that it is impossible to think of every eventual thing in college as students evolve and change. The nice thing at Tisch is that there are so many options and you are not stuck in one track. If he likes Shakespeare, I have heard that Classical Studio is wonderful.</p>
<p>I cross posted but he truly has until May 1 to decide, NJTheatreMom and so it would likely help him to not push the date sooner.</p>
<p>Brings back memories. Five years ago my son was weighing the pros and cons of NYU vs BU, but in his case the stakes clearly felt momentous as he had applied and was accepted to NYU in theater and to BU in art. I don’t think he has ever regretted his choice. I don’t think your son can go wrong. They are both great schools.</p>
<p>My Daughter said that if he called Stella Adler he could arrange to sit in on some of the classes. She has seen other students do this. I think this could help him decide. She also said that at Adler he would learn many acting techniques not just Adler.</p>
<p>Aha, actressmom, I suspected that Adler Studio did not teach just the Adler technique. Thanks very much for that info. </p>
<p>Well, I can report to those following this drama that my son and I had a heart-to-heart a few hours ago and I think what is happening is that he is now leaning so strongly toward BU that he is actually going through an emotional process of letting go of his NYU dream. It is almost a mourning process. That is why he is of divided mind about calling his two Adler contacts.</p>
<p>He said that depending upon how his thoughts and feelings run during the next few days, he might make the calls, and then if the calls go well he <em>might</em> want to arrange to go up to Adler and talk to faculty and sit in on classes, etc. I suspect it isn’t going to happen though…</p>
<p>I now believe that he will almost certainly end up at BU at the end of this decision making process. Making the final decision is scary. He would really like to attend both schools at once, lol.</p>
<p>One factor that wasn’t discussed in the recent “debate” about the two schools here is that BU is somewhat more like a conservatory than Tisch is. My son likes the fact that at BU there are courses related to the acting/performance core every day of the week, whereas two days a week at Tisch are devoted to academics. He had originally wanted a pure conservatory like Purchase or Rutgers but was denied at those schools.</p>
<p>I really appreciate all the support and advice that everybody has provided. Thank you very much!! This is quite a process and it really helps.</p>
<p>NJ: In the end, it will come down to your heart. If he already has his mind set, I wouldn’t waist the calls. People may have a dream school, but it may indeed change over time. It may just be that he is having a hard time getting rid of his dream school. It’s like he may always wanted to go there, but now he finds that he is a better fit a Boston U. Good Luck to him!</p>
<p>My two sense, dought it matters.</p>
<p>Early_college, what you say matters, whether you call it your two sense or your “two cents” like a lot of other people do. 
If my son decides to make the calls, they will not be wasted even if he chooses BU, because he will be making a better informed decision. Either way, it’s up to him.</p>
<p>I hope this thread has helped other people who may be facing all this next year. I would certainly advise people to contact the studio the moment you get your studio assignment and try to set up face-to-face interactions (or at least engage in substantive discussions) asap…whether or not you attend the Tisch Accepted Students Event. </p>
<p>I know of at least one other student who was rendered so lukewarm by that event that feet are now being dragged about contacting the studio directly for more info. It’s a shame, but there is only so much a parent can do.</p>
<p>Lol. It will help him either way, your right. I see lots of people write “sense” and I guess it rubbed off on me. I think you have done everything you could have done. Also, many parents let their kids do everything for college. They let them plan it out, and will just back them up. You on the other hand do more than most parents. You have done all you can, now it’s up to him.</p>
<p>NJTheatermom, regardless of which school your son attends, I would let NYU know that the accepted student day was such a letdown. Unless they have honest feedback about an event they can’t possibly know how it affects people. Perhaps your son’s experience (and the other student you mentioned) would convince Tisch to have more representatives at the event for “their” accepted students… just a thought.</p>
<p>^^They’re aware. Apparently there was an oversight with a couple of the studios. It can be remedied, though, as has been suggested, in several ways. It’s not as though that day was the only opportunity to learn about a particular studio.</p>
<p>I heard at NYU that it is harder to make connections… they more kind of toss you out into the big pond as soon as you graduate. Can anyone vouch for this?</p>
<p>Also, I have not received any fin. aid info from NYU yet. Has anyone else not heard yet? Is this bad/good?!</p>
<p>Becca, most people received a financial aid packet/offer inside their big purple folder. I would call NYU if I were you.</p>
<p>Oddly enough, there is a student on the NYU/Tisch MT subforum (top of the MT Forum page) who, like you, originally did not receive a financial aid packet. He is now saying he was offered a full ride to NYU!!!</p>
<p>You might want to look up that student’s posts and PM him. He was placed in Adler like you and my son (and he is curious about it…I think he was originally a CAP21 applicant). His screen name is Yasha…he posted that his real name is Josh, when somebody thought he was a girl.</p>
<p>Becca,
</p>
<p>Considering this is heresay, I thought I would pop in to give a first hand experience (well, as a parent of a kid with four years’ experience at NYU/Tich)…</p>
<p>Throughout my D’s time at Tisch, she she has worked with theater professionals in the industry. She has even done professional work in NYC through the connections she made at Tisch DURING her time there. As well, her fellow students who are training as directors and the graduate students as writers, have been further connections and she has gotten paid work through them. In addition, well known people in the industry have been brought in to work with the students. Agents and casting directors are also brought in to work with students. Now, as a senior, she was recently in the Tisch Industry Night presented for agents and casting agencies in the city. She had five agents contact her from this showcase last month and is signing with one this week. She was recently in a major audition in the city and as soon as she walked into the audition room, the casting agents recognized her from the Tisch showcase and were talking to her about that and in fact, have called her back. It probably did not hurt that the casting agents had an idea of her talent from the Tisch showcase and not just the audition room. She isn’t even out of Tisch yet and I feel the networking through the Tisch faculty and students and industry professionals has been GREAT. </p>
<p>NJTheatreMom:
</p>
<p>Your son is leaning toward BU and it is a fantastic program and ultimately if he favors one school, he should just go with it. But I also think as he is weighing certain factors, he should have the right information. If you were to compare the curriculum or how much time is spent in the BFA training (conservatory part…not academics), you would need to examine the coursework side by side. I am less familiar with BU"s curriculum but what I would caution you NOT to do is to judge the “three days in conservatory, two days in academics” vs. conservatory each day. At NYU, the conservatory days are 9-6 full days. I don’t know the story at BU but at some schools, the BFA training is the EXACT same amount of time as NYU but simply the courses are over five days and the academics are mixed in on those same days. In other words, number of days is not a good comparison. Look at the credit hours in artistic training and in academic coursework and compare those between two schools. NYU simply set it up to concentrate all the training into three long days per week with no academics mixed and the academics are on different days whereas at many schools, the course work in both are spread over the five days. Again, I would put the curriculum, requirements, credit hours and such side by side and not go by days of the week. Tisch does have conservatory training.</p>
<p>Good point, Soozievt, about two days per week of “academics only” at Tisch not necessarily equaling LESS “BFA training (conservatory part…not academics).” I’m sure you are correct about that.</p>
<p>However, Tisch has the reputation of requiring more academics than many other programs, in order to produce a better-educated, more well rounded actor. This is an excellent feature of the school…a valuable aspect of the program that Tisch is justly proud of. Because of the amount of academics, scheduling is undoubtedly made easier by devoting two days to that and having three long, intense studio days. (It could be that it is also easier on some of the studios to have the Tisch students there for three long days per week and absent on alternate days. I don’t know.)</p>
<p>The very first time we visited Tisch, during my son’s freshman year in high school, we wandered onto campus and spoke with a student doing work study in the Tisch office. One thing she said was that she considered her academic days as something to “be gotten through,” basically, and she just couldn’t wait for her studio days to roll around again. Of course that was just one student’s opinion, but it did come straight from a student in the program.</p>
<p>The amount of academics and the weekly schedule are a minor considerations, I admit, but I don’t think you could say they are not valid considerations. I had completely forgotten about this difference between the schools, to tell the truth, and then my son brought it up again when we were having the heart-to-heart about his decision making process yesterday. It does matter to him, to a small degree…when you line up all the different aspects of Tisch and Boston U side by side.</p>
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<p>becca, Susan has covered most of what I’d say in reply to your question. I’m really curious who it is who says these things, though. I cannot imagine anyone who has any inkling of what Tisch is like saying that it is harder to make connections if you’re a Tisch student or grad. I don’t usually make a definitive statement like this on the forum, but I’ll make the exception here and say that you will, as a Tisch student, have the opportunity for making more industry connections than you will at any other program. Period.</p>
<p>I have always acknowledged that Tisch is not the place for every student, for various reasons, but it certainly does get tiresome hearing about these comments that people ‘have heard’. In most cases, the people saying these things have no real knowledge of what the situation is at Tisch and yet feel no compunction about making false claims. I don’t know why it still surprises me that people do this.</p>
<p>AlwaysAMom, yes, the irony is that given that NYU is right in NYC where industry professionals are constantly involved with NYU, let alone faculty are working professionals compared to some schools that occasionally bring someone in, is surprising to then read these false impressions that get spread around!</p>
<p>NJTheatremom, I am not saying your comparison to days of the week in studio vs. academic between the two BFA programs is invalid but rather make sure you are comparing apples to apples…compare how much TIME is spent in training (credit hours, time in class, etc) between the two programs, not how that time is scheduled, to make a fair comparison. If the time in the BFA training is the same (and I don’t know as I have not looked up BU’s curriculum and requirements…though I think your son should), then it is simply a schedule issue and not quantitative in terms of how much time is artistic training and how much time is academic. </p>
<p>You also mention how a student could not wait for her studio days when it was an academic day at Tisch. First, you will meet all kinds of students. There are some who do not want to EVER take academics (they should not have picked Tisch…but rather a school that had hardly any academic requirements) and you will meet some like my own kid who likes the academics. Anyway, let me give you another picture of the non-studio days…my kid is IMMERSED in theater on those two days! First, 50% of her academic coursework is the required THEATER studies on those two days. Second, since there are less scheduled hours on those two days, she meets with other students for scene preparation for class or prepares her own monologues and songs, etc. for class. In the evenings, she has production rehearsals for at least four hours. She happens to ALSO be in an capella group that rehearses as well. She is involved in theater 7 days per week at Tisch. Academics is a very small part of the time there overall.</p>
<p>In terms of connections…I forgot to mention another example…my D’s job last summer and this coming summer at a professional rate of pay came about due to a faculty member with whom she has worked, first in class…then the faculty member hired her to musically direct a premier of her new work in NYC during the school year her junior year (as well as record a CD), and now hired her the last summer and this summer for another job. This faculty member has written and directed for Broadway, received Tony nominations, Obie awards and so on.</p>
<p>This past fall, my D was in a show that the students created and it was guided and directed by a Broadway director/writer who currently has a show on Bdway.</p>
<p>Would you say that your D’s experiences at NYU are the norm, Soozievt? That is an impressive list of accomplishments!</p>