<p>I'm a freshman acting major at NYU Tisch School in the Stella Adler Studio. I'm not happy here because I miss the academics that I'm not getting in a BFA acting program, and I haven't enjoyed living in the city as much as I envisioned I would. I'm looking to transfer to a college that has more of a balance between academics and theatre. I would also prefer to be at a school with more of a campus than an urban setting like NYU.</p>
<p>NYU GPA: 3.9
High School GPA: 3.6
SAT: 2060 (730 V, 620 M, 710 W)
I also did a ton of extracurriculars in high school that were mostly performing arts and community service oriented.</p>
<p>I'm really not sure where to transfer at this point, any ideas?</p>
<p>I’m not really sure I care about the size so much… I would be willing to go pretty much anywhere but the west coast. I’m from the northeast, so I would rather not go further than the midwest.</p>
<p>If you really want to be an actor, then the program at NYU Tisch–with training from the Stella Adler studio!–is one of the best places for you to be right now.</p>
<p>As an actor you are going to have to live somewhere like New York City anyway.</p>
<p>Can you do these “academics” you miss as hobbies on the side?</p>
<p>I really think that if you want to be an actor you need to bite the bullet and get through the NYU Tisch/Stella Adler program. Only four years, right? If you transfer into one of these other programs, you really seem to me to not be 100% committed to your goal of being an actor, and instead should choose a different career for yourself.</p>
<p>Sorry to be so blunt about it.</p>
<p>You have been there, what, less than two months, am I correct? Have you really had the opportunity to learn about New York City, and find the things there that interest you? A big city like that has EVERYTHING, but sometimes the thing you are looking for can be hard to find because the city is so large. (I’m drawing from my experiences living in London and in Chicago, I have never lived in New York City)</p>
<p>You are still adjusting to life in college, life on your own as an adult. This is always a hard transition. Is there any sort of counseling available to you through NYU that can help you with the adjustment?</p>
<p>Wow RealKevp that is such an unfairly judgemental posting. There is no way you can tell what is “clearly one of the best places” for the OP right now especially since he/she has given valid reasons why it’s not. There are many different routes to the end goal (which, btw, has not been stated). </p>
<p>jwl387 - Relax, there are lots of great programs out there that include more academics than NYU and that will offer you a more traditional college experience. Northwestern is probably the most obvious along with Muhlenberg. Kenyon, Vasser, and American are also strong in both theatre and academics within a more traditional college setting. Look into the excellent list that KTMT gave as well as Northwestern and you will find that there are different routes to similar degrees.</p>
<p>I also think it takes a lot of courage and fortitude to transfer, you should be proud that you’ve realized that you might have made a mistake. Good luck!</p>
<p>Poster wasn’t asking for our advice on whether he/she should transfer. There are lots of wonderful BA programs out there. Hang in there until you are able to transfer. I went away to college and knew in about a minute I had made the wrong decision. You will find your way and it sounds like you know what you are looking for now. Good luck</p>
<p>One of OP’s frustrations may be that for the first year, all the academics are within Tisch. The students must take two semesters of Intro to Theater Studies and a yearlong “Writing the Essay,” (all NYU freshmen must take WTE, but not sure for more than one semester – the Drama students take it with Tisch students from other disciplines and it is arts-focused).</p>
<p>Beginning in sophomore year, the students can branch out as they want – although there are still five more semesters of Theatre Studies to complete before graduation. it is not only the intensive acting that immerses the students in theatre, it is academic component as well. </p>
<p>Tisch students take their academic classes on the two days not in studio – generally students take two four credit classes, plus a two-credit elective (if desired) for a maximum of 18 credits a semester. (more than that, and the student has to pay an extra tuition fee). Technically, it’s 50/50 because studio is 8 credits, and 16 credits are required per semester. </p>
<p>I would say the biggest challenge for students who truly want a well-rounded education at Tisch is the lack of flexibility with taking courses that meet on studio days. There are definitely some areas of study my D could not pursue because of this. However, a student can also take one or two semesters solely of academic study, beginning in junior year. For the BFA, the students must take a minimum of six semesters of studio (the first four consecutively) and up to a maximum of eight – so there is an opportunity to add more academics that way, too.</p>
<p>This is more in response to actingmt, not the OP (although if the OP liked everything else about NYU, I might suggest that he/she wait to see how they feel once they can add in different academics).</p>
<p>^actingmt, that is not what the OP is saying. He/she is saying they are missing the academics that they are not getting in a BFA program. That is not unique to Tisch and would be true anywhere because you spend the bulk of your time in studio classes. Though it could be at NYU some of those studio classes still have academic type requirements including reading and papers btw. Nobody ever said you spend 50-50 with studio vs. academics at NYU. You are confusing that with admission criteria. I posted the breakdown on hours spent in each in an earlier thread about “conservatory vs. not”</p>
<p>jwl387 what your feeling absolutely does happen and is completely understandable. My daughter is a sophomore at Tisch and two of her best friends in her program went through the same thing. The first sometime during first semester last year like you. She also thought she would transfer out of NYU entirely but instead changed majors (left Tisch) and is staying at NYU. The second decided she had other interests after finishing her freshman year. She is taking an academic semester this semester (her first semester sophomore year) and hasn’t entirely left Tisch yet but is testing the waters with whether or not she will switch majors entirely. That’s one of the good things about NYU. You DO have the option to take an academic semester while you sort some of this out (or work on your transfer applications).</p>
<p>Finally, the city is not for everyone and it takes a LOT of adjusting if you aren’t used to it. But most students do adjust. I know that my daughter is so glad to be able to hit the ground running this year and not have to spend any time on that again. I’m not trying to talk you out of your feelings about life in the big city, but I am trying to say that adjusting to any college setting is normal but city campus, perhaps even harder. It’s still pretty early though. Perhaps more time? (Or not, again, I’m not talking you into anything). </p>
<p>I’d speak to your advisor. They can give you guidance about possibly switching to an academic semester which would still allow you to return to your BFA if you decide you want to. Good luck!!</p>
<p>(cross posted with SDonCC. Agree with all. Did also want to mention that my daughter is planning on minoring in something outside of Tisch so “other” classes of an academic nature can be accommodated while one is still in the BFA track. Just FYI).</p>
<p>The Guthrie program at the U of MN Twin Cities places a huge emphasis on academics. Their BA is also fantastic with many many many opportunities!</p>
<p>D had a friend in her BFA who felt the same way, transferred to Wesleyan U, is very happy there. I think Wesleyan would be a possibility for you. Lovely campus in a nice town, great academics and theater. What other academic disciplines are you interested in? That would help us think about this. </p>
<p>In answer to some posters above-- of course you should apply to transfer, feeling as you do. If you change your mind in the spring, you can stay where you are. People change enormously from year to year at your age. An admissions officer I know always says the most important thing he can advise is to transfer if that feels right. (And often in BAs, transferring is a little less competitive than Freshman admissions.)</p>
Yes but it isn’t just as simple as that when you are talking about transferring. Do you have aid at NYU that you will lose if you leave the school? Most merit aid is awarded to incoming freshman (and yes, NYU isn’t famous for straight merit aid) and very little is available for transfers. NYU is expensive in the first place so the math may work regardless but it should be something that you factor in to your thought process. </p>
<p>Jwl387, I’m not sure how you already knew your NYU gpa in mid October. Is there such a thing calculated already for a first semester freshman? Some studios tend to be awfully coy about grades. Generally if you get a B in studio, it means you’re doing fine and an A is rare if not non-existent. I assume that as long as you continue to do well with your work while at NYU and then combine that with what is a competitive high school record, you will have good options. This assumes that colleges still look at high school record for early transfers. Does anybody know if HS grades are still the major factor in a transfer application after freshman year? </p>
<p>Schools like NU and Wesleyan which I agree are amazing schools, with solid theatre training as have been suggested on this thread, do not come easy even for high school senior applicants who have your stats. And they are competing for the most openings. You will be a transfer. Cast a wider net if you cannot make an academic track work for you at NYU.</p>
<p>JWL387: I wish you luck in deciding whether or not to transfer. </p>
<p>Being happy in your environment for 4 years is very important to the well being of a college student no matter how fabulous the reputation of the school may be and NYU is certainly way up there. Congratulations for getting in there and doing so well. But you should not feel that you are stuck somewhere that you are not happy.</p>
<p>As I see the question posed to us, you are looking for suggestions for programs that give you more of an academic feel on a day to day basis. I hear what you are saying. My D felt a void in her schedule freshman year being a Communications major and she missed taking math, science and english courses as well as random interesting courses. If this is what you are feeling I’ll give you my suggestions some of which have been mentioned already. A few that come to mind which allow for a schedule blending the study of theatre in addition to access to more liberal arts courses for me are Brandeis, Northwestern, Fordham, Kenyon, Muhlenberg, Montclair and Connecticut College. I’ve recently heard that at NYU there is the Gallatin school which may offer you some of what you are looking for in your schedule although of course its still in the same location in the middle of the city. </p>
<p>Please also look in the flagship university of your state and other large universities which will offer you more of a liberal arts curriculum and some of these have fantastic BA and BFA programs.</p>
<p>I have always heard that there is less money available for transfers-- but I know several kids who transferred this year and all got the same or more FA/merit money at their new schools. And yes, you are applying for one of fewer spots, but you will be one of vastly fewer applicants–kids I saw transfer this year did better than they did in the first round.</p>
<p>Each studio sets different hours and requirements, so some students will work on theater-only classes 9a-6p three days a week, other students in other studios less. You can also take an academic semester to explore non-theater courses. Put another way, some BFA students experience something like 50/50 ratio while others closer to 70/30, that is, similar to conservatory training.</p>
<p>^^Pretty sure the demands do not really vary by studio, or you know something that I don’t know and have never read. Meanwhile, quoting from the Tisch Handbook: </p>
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<p>Now that certainly does suggest a 4th year with some wiggle room so I sort of get where you are coming from. In any case, you need a minimum of 76 out of the 128 credits needed to graduate from NYU have to be earned in studio for the BFA. Just on the basis of credits, you are talking as minimum of 60/40. However, in terms of hours, any Tisch student will spend way more time earning their precious 8 credits of studio every semester than they ever would in academic classes of the same credit value. So I don’t think there is actually a mathematical way to get to 50/50 no matter how you slice it.</p>
<p>The academic semester does not need to be taken in the fourth year – it can be done during any semesters in the junior and senior year. And, studio can be broken up that way as well. So, a student could, for example, go abroad fall of junior year, do studio for the second semester, take an academic semester fall of senior year, and finish with studio again in the spring. Or, a student could take the entire junior year in academics only, perhaps all on campus or one abroad and one in NYC, and then finish up in studio all senior year. Or just take one semester any of those years off from studio. Or, do a summer studio abroad (but that counts for one of the semesters of training – because summer programs meet daily they get a full 8 credits). </p>
<p>These are all random examples, the point being, that once primary studio is done, there is flexibility in how the students finish out their remaining semesters – and to add a wrinkle to all this – students can easily graduate early if they choose (and I know alot of kids who have done this) – i think that most apply AP credits, or take some extra electives, or do some programs during the summer or January terms when a full credit load is not required.</p>
<p>there may be some advanced studios (perhaps Classical?) where a full-year commitment is required.</p>