<p>I know this has probably been done to death but, is NYU a better choice when it comes to theater and acting? Or is it generally more about the are afterwards? LA there's a lot of film and in NY there's a lot of plays. Which is better?</p>
<p>NYU is pretty much the industry standard for theatrical acting. That’s not to say that it’s a perfect fit for everybody, and I hesitate to say one is “better” than the other, but UCLA tends to gravitate more towards film and TV and has more limited opportunities for undergrad students in theatre. If you’re set on choosing between the two and you prefer the stage, I’d recommend NYU.</p>
<p>I don’t think I would call NYU the industry standard for theaterical acting. If you do some searches on old posts, you will find quite a bit of differing opinions. I don’t want to open up that can of worms as its been debated many times. For example, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone that would put CMU or Juiliard behind NYU. And I think many would group all of Juiliard, CMU, NCSA, Rutgers, Purchase and BU over NYU. My daughter certainly does. </p>
<p>UCLA is a very different school. It is a BA program but it operates more like a BFA program. Nonetheless, I believe it has even a higher academic component than NYU. Still, if you do some old searches, you will see quite a bit of favorable commentary about training there. </p>
<p>I think the NYU there is a lof plays and UCLA there is a lot film is a too simple way to look at it. If you want to decide between the two, I think you need to dig a little deepers</p>
<p>I’ve looked at a lot of old posts. A lot were saying that academically UCLA is a better fit, especially if we want to experience an actually campus. But in terms of theater NYU Tisch would be the better fit since I’m not going to UCLA for anything other than theater. Plus, the city life is great I hear. I live on the east coast as well. I also feel I’m not for the stage. But I’d still like to learn as much as I can and improve for both sides of film acting and theater acting. So at this point I’m stumped.</p>
<p>I should also consider financial matters too I suppose. I’m only interested in the Summer sessions, but don’t want to stay near home… I have family all up the east coast, so this helps. NYU and UCLA aren’t the only theater schools, so maybe I should look into more like Rutgers and CMU. I’d also while taking classes like to practice and audition for stuff around the city…So anything advice is nice…</p>
<p>So you’re looking for a summer program? The NYU Summer program course offerings usually are available on the website by the third week in January. You can see what Tisch is offering for the coming summer, and see if anything interests you. Registration is usually in February. I don’t know what Tisch is likely to offer, or which studios will be available, but it’s likely to be a different experience than attending as a Tisch student during the school year.</p>
<p>If you are looking for an east coast summer summer program, I think you could get all your looking for from a number of east coast options. My daughter did CMU’s program and loved. Lots of parents and kids on CC this year who did BU and loved it. Rutgers has a summer program as well. If you don’t need one with a housing option, my daughter did Stella Adler’s teen conservtatory two summers ago and had a good experience there as well.</p>
<p>Are these summer programs available to graduating seniors?</p>
<p>I’ve checked out Rutgers, NYU, CMU, BU, and UCLA.
They hall ave Pre-College summer sessions for high schoolers.</p>
<p>Rutgers, UCLA, BU, and NYU all have Summer sessions for other college students.
I honesty don’t know which to choose…They all look like good choices. It feels like I have to calculate cost…This is difficult.</p>
<p>May I politely interject my protest of your negative remarks about NYU Tisch? </p>
<p>What a lot of prospective students and parents may not understand is that Tisch is divided among numerous well regarded acting studios under their BFA umbrella. So it is nothing really like any other acting program in the country. Arguably, It may not be the “industry standard,” though the Industry does indeed acknowledge NYU Tisch Grads; yet it is certainly not less reputable than any other top tier program, large or small. If your daughter doesn’t think much of it, she is certainly entitled to her opinions. NYU Tisch has it’s legitimate place – and most knowledgeable persons get it. It may not be right for all – for a variety of reasons – but I do not appreciate your devaluing it in a flip forum statement. My kid is an actor there and would probably take greater offense, as would many. Please try to give this poster good advise, not snarky advise.</p>
<p>Where did I say she did not think much of it? She is actually applying there. She is very familiar with the studios there having done (and loved) the five week Stella Adler teen conservatory. She has also worked with a teacher at Atlantic in the past. Did I say it did not have its legitmate place? What was in the least bit “snarky” about my advice? </p>
<p>I just don’t think its an accurate statement to say it is THE industry standard. I also think my comments of how certain schools are generally viewed is pretty accurate and is based also on talking with managers, agents and casting directors. The one common theme I’ve seen on this board is how defensive Tisch parents are to even a perceived slight. Is it really such a crushing criticism that it might be more like a top 10 school and not THE top school in the country?</p>
<p>Look- NYU is a GREAT school with a GREAT BFA program. My son is a junior there and absolutely loves the program and his professors. NYU vs UCLA- UCLA has a campus, football team, and it’s close to the movie/television industry. My understanding is you can’t audition for professional things while you are a student (I could be wrong- maybe someone with real knowledge can correct me on this). The weather is probably nicer at UCLA- no snow and I don’t believe it’s as expensive as NYU- public vs private. NYU- close to Broadway, GREAT public transportation, movies and television are shot there… Well, you all get my drift. It’s a matter of what you prefer. NYU admission is half talent half academics. For UCLA- it’s really hard for out of staters to get in but I believe they are changing that because they need to make up for the massive budget cuts in California. My daughter chose neither coast and decided to be closer to Chicago. She’s a freshman who entered in the BFA acting program but after one semester, decided to major in communications and minor in theatre. Long story, but I believe she has made an excellent decision based on all of her past training before college and her future. She is experiencing real college with football games (her team went to a BCS bowl game), sorority life, and being able to have spare time for the first time in her life. She has been getting real life experience that she has been able to use to do convincing scenes in her acting classes. She will supplement with acting intensives. When you look at all the colleges that offer theatre programs- how can one really measure a subjective art form with objective measures? Oh- and if you look at the top movie actresses in Hollywood, most of them have dropped out of high school, dropped out of college, or didn’t study theatre at all. Jennifer Lawrence just received her second Oscar nomination and she has never even taken an acting class. Anne Hathaway dropped out of NYU. I guess when you’ve got it…I think all of us parents need to relax and let our legally adult aged children do what they think is best. It’s their lives!</p>
<p>I have opened a can of worms, I’m sorry lol.</p>
<p>I might just try my best to look up internships around those areas.</p>
<p>I just thought I’d chime in about UCLA - not necessarily their summer programs, but the undergrad program.</p>
<p>I recently spoke with a friend who is a sophomore at the school, and she thoroughly enjoys the program. She says that the way it works is that the first two years are mostly full of getting GenEds out of the way, with a few acting classes (so far she has taken two: stage combat and the history of jazz or something similar), and the last two years are almost entirely acting classes. She said the professors she has worked with so far are brilliant, and she is looking forward to the more intensive training.</p>
<p>UCLA is definitely a traditional campus, granted it is very, very large. She says the hardest part of the program is living off-campus because in order to afford the off-campus living, she has to work several jobs which prevents her from performing in all of the shows she would like to perform in, despite living with several roommates.</p>
<p>Also, in regards to out-of-state students getting in easier than in-state, due to budget cuts, the UC system is letting in significantly more OOS students than it does currently, but I don’t know if it’s necessarily easier for them to get in than in-state students if that makes sense and I am also not sure if this change applies to the theatre department.</p>
<p>I agree 100% with Aspiring’s comments on the UCLA program. The acting program is great, the GenEd requirements are hefty and require a real interest in broadening oneself in academic classes, and it is extremely difficult to be admitted whether instate or out. </p>
<p>OTOH, there is not the aggregate number of actors-in-training that one finds at NYU. There is not the incredible concentrated pool of Broadway, off-Broadway professional theatre talent, culture and community that one finds in NY. For any pre-professional training, I think there is a lot of worth in living where that specific profession thrives, if feasible. </p>
<p>On yet TOH, living in NY is a very particular kind of life, with challenges, thrills, and may require a certain city-smart, streetwise, toughness/maturity that some 17 or 18-year-olds are not yet ready for. The city can be ultra-expensive and the lack of a campus means making friends/finding community is not as 18-22 year old rah-rah easy as it can be on traditional campuses. But where else but NYC can you see such a staggering number of live shows, be involved in networking with theatre professionals, and test yourself against such a large pool of the best and brightest upcoming acting talent?</p>
<p>So for those considering these two schools for undergrad, they are both exceptional and will provide excellent training and many opportunities for growth. </p>
<p>The deciding factors may come down to professional objectives, desired industry (film vs. stage), and comfort level living in these 2 very different environments.</p>
<p>That’s understandable. I would like to learn more about both…but I’m leaning more towards film… which make the decision making hard.</p>
<p>UCLA and NYU are both amazing schools and I don’t think you could go wrong artistically or academically at either one.
I would like to make one correction to many of the posts above though.
NYU does not, by any means, cater to more of a stage actor compared to a film actor. Students have the option to study film acting exclusively, if they so choose, once they are a junior. Plus, the fact that NYU is one of the top film schools in the country leads to an enormous amount of opportunities for acting students to be in student films and make friendships and connections with future film makers, writers, producers, etc, etc.
This starts day 1 freshman year.
I’m sure UCLA has that as well. I just wouldn’t want someone to miss the opportunity to graduate from NYU because of misinformation.</p>
<p><a href=“Alumni”>Alumni;
Since the Golden Globes are on tonight, I thought this would be fun to share. Here is a list of Tisch people that are nominated tonight. It’s 2 pages long.</p>
<p>Both UCLA and NYU have great film schools and it’s nice for actors to go to a college that also has a film school. My son has already been in two student films at NYU- his freshman and sophomore year. I hope he gets to do it again this year.</p>