USC vs Northwestern

Hi everyone, I was recently accepted as a theatre major into USC (BA) and Northwestern (class of 2022), and intend on taking an acting emphasis (not musical theatre). While I am interested in exploring other fields of theatre and academic subjects, acting is my primary emphasis and passion. I don’t have a preference between theatre and screen acting.

I would love to know your opinion on which school would give me a higher amount of and better acting training and exposure, along with any other information (including aspects outside of theatre) you feels tips the balance in either university’s favor.

These are a few other things that would help (please feel free to elaborate with any other information):
A description of what a day in life as a theatre major at either school would be.
Weaknesses of either university/theatre program.
Pointers on which city (LA or Chicago) might be a better place to start off an acting career.

Thank you!

Chicago is the best city in the world for acting in straight plays. LA is still the film capital. You have two excellent choices. How do you feel about snow?

Agreeing with @Jkellynh17, this is a play vs movie/TV and also a weather question. It should be a clear-cut answer depending on what you want to do and the environment where you want to live. This Californian wouldn’t last a minute in a Chicago January.

Congratulations @ActingStudent22 !!!
Please go visit each program and immerse yourself in their day in the life. That’s the best way to get a feel for it. Talk to the students and faculty. Get to know LA and Chicago. You will know which is the best fit after doing all of these things. Make sure you print out the curriculum for each program so you can compare

@theatermom10, thank you! and while I’d have loved to go, I live in India, and going really wouldn’t be feasible.
@Jkellynh17 and @BennyBop, I really don’t have a preference between the two as of now, and would love to take up whatever opportunity I get. Although, I’m not sure if being Asian will affect the availability of roles for me differently in Theatre and TV/Film.
California scores points on the weather, but I don’t feel it should really make a considerable difference to my choice as I’m usually fine with the cold and snow.

I don’t know too much about the curriculum at USC - but I know that Northwestern offers kids excellent opportunities to explore MANY areas, the kid that I have known who wen there have often ended up with double majors or minors in several areas. It allows them to be super well rounded. Also second @Jkellynh17 Chicago is a wonderful theater town - esp for straight acting.

@ActingStudent22 You should note that USC also has a BFA program, while Northwestern has no separate BFA. A question you should ask over at USC is how the BFA and BA programs work together. Is there a preference for BFA students with respect to training or roles? At Northwestern there is no need to worry about these distinctions as I understand it. Both great options no matter what you decide, though.

What amazing choices you have, congratulations! Both are top programs AND top universities, so both offer you an array of academic opportunities outside of school. Really you can’t go wrong. A few differences to consider: USC is warm year round and has a lovely campus so kids are outside a lot. California has a laid back vibe and people like doing outdoor activities. It is also going to be a lot easier to fly home to India from LA than from Chicago, and USC would probably have a lot more south Asian students, as most California schools would. USC is a top film school and I would think that might give you more work opportunities than theatre as there are so many film formats these days. USC is known, however fairly I cannot say, for beautiful, wealthy and rather superficial people (please don’t shoot me USC grads, this is the rep) and the Hollywood emphasis on physical beauty, however recent years their academic standard have risen considerably so this is probably less true now. And, while USC has a lovely campus, it is in a rough part of LA and students have to been very careful about security and do not have much around the campus to take advantage of. Northwestern has a beautiful leafy campus along Lake Michigan with easy access to downtown Chicago which is full of culture and things to do. If you really enjoy being on stage, this program is probably going to be much better for you as their theatre major is top notch and the local theatre scene in Chicago is excellent. NU also has about half the number of undergrads than USC, which can be good or bad based on your perspective, with USC having more diversity of clubs and class offerings, but NU offering more indivualized approach and less chance of feeling lost. NU has the reputation for having more “serious students” and perhaps less of a party atmosphere. Both schools have great school spirit, though. I have tried to give you the high level reputations and differences, but as others have said you would have your own impressions that may be quite different to others, so sign up for the admitted students FB pages and try to talk to the other kids who are looking to go there. Good luck!

The last comprehensive rankings that I read for undergraduate theatre majors had Julliard at #1 and Northwestern at #2. Carnegie Mellon University #3, but NYU was #4 if I recall correctly. But this was several years ago. Try Google & see if you can get some better understanding of the various theatre programs strengths & weaknesses.

My source was the May 20, 2016 issue of The Hollywood Reporter “The Top 25 Undergraduate Drama School …” USC was ranked #10. UCLA #12. Included US & UK drama programs.

Just as a point of information, Chicago theatres are right now in the midst of an enormous push for diversity so your heritage might well be an asset as much as a hurdle. There is also at least one Asian-focused theater company ( https://www.silkroadrising.org). My sense is thst the movie industry is also working on this. I would worry more about being as good as you can be than anything else.

My S is a freshman theatre major at NU and is very happy. All kids start out as theatre majors, and have the option to audition for an MT certificate. You should definitely spend some time looking at the curriculum. The NU theatre program is very well-structured - first year is about history/analysis/production aspects of theatre. The acting core begins in the second year. Because the NU program is a BA, much of the first year is filled with taking gen eds and exploring the many interests you may have that will support you becoming a stronger actor over time! Evanston is a lovely town, and Chicago a great theatre city. There is a strong international presence on campus as well - including many individuals from south Asia. Good luck with your decision!

An additional piece of info about Northwestern’s theatre major for future readers: The number of majors is restricted to 100 students.

@efr9598 Because Northwestern’s first year is a lot more focused on production, and even more just on the gen eds, I wonder if USC’s higher focus on acting right from the first year on wards might be a better fit for me.

@ActingStudent22 Have you spent time exploring their website? There is tons of information there - including an option to pursue a Module in Acting on Screen. https://communication.northwestern.edu/programs/major_theatre/ I don’t know anything about the USC program, so I can’t speak to what first years do there.

@ActingStudent22 , my D is currently a BA-Drama student at USC-SDA. She loves it and the training is excellent. There are a lot of performance opportunities, both through SDA shows and the many theatre clubs. She has friends who act off campus as well. One likely advantage over NU is the film school, as the USC film students often seek out the drama students to acts in their many film shorts. My D has done a number of those. She also interned with a downtown L.A. theatre last summer.

The interaction with the BFAs is not an issue. There just is not that many of them, and there are a lot of BFA only shows and shows with exclude the BFAs. There are many double majors at SDA, as well as students getting minors in other disciplines, though NU is more known for that. One thing we have learned at USC is that the competition to get in an SDA show and talent level is incredible. But better to face that competition now and use it to improve, then to discover it upon graduation. You have two wonderful choices! Good luck!

Take a look at the number of USC grads listed…
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/2067462-young-adult-actors-theatre-drama-acting-degrees-and-pilot-season-2018.html#latest