| I do not have all the answers to your questions on this, Angst. But I know you can transfer into Tisch. If you visit their webpages, it does mention transfers who also go through the artistic review.
One of my D's good friends and prior roomie at SDM, who just finished her freshman year at Tisch in Lee Strasburg Studio, has an older sister who transferred into Tisch (I think is also in Lee Strasburg Studio) from Tufts University. I cannot say whether you can transfer into CAP21 studio which is the only MT studio in Tisch. I have this gut feeling that you can't. The reason for my "feeling" is cause at Tisch Drama, for regular students (not talking transfers now), after two years, you can switch studios (they have 8 studios, but only one is for MT, the others are for acting). But at the presentation on the audition day, they said you could not switch INTO CAP21 after two years if you are in another studio. You can switch out of CAP21 into another studio after two years (my D just spent the night in NYC with a girl that did that and just graduated). So, if current students can't switch into CAP21 from an acting studio, I can't imagine letting in transfers to the CAP21 studio. But as I said, they DO allow transfers into Tisch Drama but I only know the girl who transferred from Tufts into Lee Strasburg Studio (acting). My D's friend (the younger sister of the transfer) who just finishsed her first year in Strasburg Studio, really wanted to switch to CAP21 and was not allowed to. So, I do not have the definitive answer for you if CAP21 will take transfers but they don't let kids switch from other studios into CAP21 after two years like they do allow other studio switching with the other studios after two years.....and as I said, you can TRANSFER into Tisch Drama itself, just not sure about the MT studio.
I would look for a college that your D loves and can get into without the thought of transferring. Find the match from the start.
Also, I doubt that it is easier to get in as a transfer than as a freshman because the standards are the same. They still audition on the same audition dates at Tisch. A transfer is vying for far less open slots than a freshman is. There are 60 slots for CAP21 freshmen and even that is hard to get one so I can't imagine the acceptance rate for a transfer when there must be very few open slots due to students having left the program early. So, I would not use that as a strategy. If anything, the chance of admission is even LESS as a transfer. Given that the odds are so difficult as a freshman, I can't imagine making them more difficult. I would instead go for it as a freshman and also find several other programs of interest.
Also, I would not apply to a theater program unless I wanted to immerse myself in theater. I know your D is interested in pop vocal performance and while a kid who goes to a theater program can also do that kind of stuff (I know a girl from SDM who goes to CAP but is also in a band), it is not aimed at vocal performance or contemporary music. I would seek at a program that is aimed at training in vocal performance in contemporary music such as Berklee. I once did the research for you on schools that offer that area in NYC or LA (your child's preference) and I would start with those. That is, unless she has decided she wants to focus on theater and not pop music. If theater is it, then Tisch is one of many excellent choices.
Susan |