<p>Me'smom, congrats to your daughter on her acceptances! Tisch Arts Rep is being WONDERFUL to field questions. Just so you know, he/she is a STUDENT, not an official adminstrative rep for Tisch. He/she is a student rep for Tisch, sort of like an 'ambassador'. To obtain any official information, you should contact Tisch directly. Advice or information from a student's perspective is what is really wonderful to have people like TischArtsRep participating. </p>
<p>AlwaysAMom explained the difficult odds of getting off the waitlist. Tisch, like many schools, accepts more students than slots available. Most seniors have more than one acceptance and so can't necessarily attend each school to which they were accepted. So, schools will accept more students to eventually yield the number they wish to have in the entering class. Your D might be considered for any studio. But as AlwaysAMom wrote, traditionally Tisch has accepted approx. 80 students for CAP21 for about 64 slots in the class. So, even if not every student takes the offer, they still do not necessarily have to go to the waitlist to get their 64 students. Last year, all 80 took the offer. Colleges tend to establish a number they need to accept to yield the number they need based on a historic pattern from past years. Some years, conceivably less enroll than slots available and then a college will go to the waitlist. A school cannot provide you with odds for THIS year to get off a waitlist. But some schools can provide you with the total number on the waitlist and how many they took off it in the past five years, to give you some idea. </p>
<p>A student put on the waitlist can put some efforts into contacting the college and reiterating their interest in attending and why. If the school is the student's first choice, he/she can say so and that they would attend if accepted. One should only say that if true. Otherwise, it is best to say one of my top choices. Honesty is important. A student can send updates of achievements and activities since they sent their application. Additional recs could be sent if they DIFFER from the kinds of recs already sent. In your D's case, that could happen since you say she only sent academic teacher recs and no artistic recs. She should not send additional academic recs now. She could send artistic ones. In my view, not that this would have changed the outcome, she should have sent artistic supplemental recs with her applications, beyond the academic teacher recs. She also could have a guidance counselor contact the school on her behalf. But ALL that aside, it is very important that your daughter, and yourself, look at the situation realistically. She can put in these efforts as they cannot hurt. But after that, she must psychologically move on to the acceptances she DOES have. Move forward as if NYU will never come through. She can put some thought into the slim chance that she gets off the waitlist, what she would do in that situation but then let it go. Her focus now should be on the wonderful options she has. </p>
<p>She should brainstorm all the facets she likes about both OCU and Webster, any drawbacks, or any other criteria. It may become clear which school matches what SHE wants in a college best. That is what it is about, not what we think of OCU vs. Webster. If possible, she should return for accepted student events and often those help a student decide which feels like the best match. Talk to as many students and faculty at each school if you can. </p>
<p>Also, your D could not apply ED to Tisch as a transfer. I believe transfer students audition for Tisch in March. I would have your D go to whichever school she chooses with open eyes and not with a preconceived intention to transfer. She should experience that school. ONLY IF after six months there, she is unhappy, then entertain other options. But do not assume she could only be happy at Tisch. I feel quite certain that a student could be happy and thrive at far more than one school. It is not one school or nothing. With such difficult odds with BFA schools, it is best to not focus too much on a dream school. In fact, once your D is enrolled in OCU or Webster, it may feel like a dream six months from now when she loves it. Wait and see!</p>
<p>Good luck,
Susan
(by the way, I am a parent of a CAP21 freshman but I am also a college counselor)</p>