Acting BFA Class of 2028

My S is waitlisted RD at NYU and BU and accepted to Pace BFA Acting (honors program with merit scholarship). He attended NYU Tisch summer program and most of his friends from that program applied ED and were accepted to NYU. Was a big blow for him to see the waitlist letter. Do any of you have thoughts on Pace acting program? He def would love to be in NYC in a great program. Pace and Juilliard were his favorite audition experiences- playful, thoughtful and got great feedback. Thanks for sharing any insights!

I’ve heard that Pace is an amazing program. Also, don’t count out NYU. The waitlist does move. I’ve heard that the best thing to do is to show interest by visiting and letting them know that this is your first choice.

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Honestly, from what I’ve heard from my college audition prep teacher and current college students, Pace would be a better financial decision as well as likely a better schooling decision. NYU’s classes are apparently huge, and unless you’ve got an ‘in’ (famous parents, child actor, talent scholarship, etc.), you might be wasting your time and money. Pace is fantastic, and actually one of two BFA Acting programs im choosing between at the moment (the other is CCM, which I’m likely going to commit to due to scholarships). I didn’t even bother with auditioning for NYU for financial reasons lol

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Thank you! He’s writing his letter of commitment and we’ll see what happens. The form specifically says not to contact admissions. He just saw himself at NYU Tisch since he had such an extraordinary 4 weeks there last summer. He’s visiting Pace - Sands College and sitting in on three classes. The generous scholarship is very appealing as well!

Update- back from the Pace Bound - Sands College of Performing Arts 3 day visit and truly blown away by their program, the attention given to their students, the warm and welcoming community and the kindness and intellect of their Honors students. The intensive training in the conservatory like departments is exactly what my son is looking for, as well as the smaller class sizes. It is evident how their faculty care for their students and prepare them for careers after college. Keep an eye on their new Sands Performing Arts building that is to be completed Fall 2024. It’s going to be a stunning space for their students to train and perform.

Did you make a decision? Curious

I’m curious what program you decided on? Did you get into NYU?

She finally heard back from UMinn- not accepted to the BFA Acting program- which we had figured out many weeks ago haha

Finally committed to CCM! Wishing anyone still deciding on where to go much luck!

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Correction - The new Sands Performing Arts building to be completed by Fall 2026.

Hi everyone, I’m in a lot of FB pages for parents, including Paying for Colleges groups. Is it just me or does it seem like it’s a completely different ballgame for our kids when comparing colleges? I see many posts about comparing costs as being the final, greatest factor. And some parents are shaming others for choosing expensive colleges. Although that is a huge factor of course, I feel like our kids, who had a much rigorous application process and some schools have something like 0.1% acceptance rate for acting/performance majors, also have to look at which has the best program and opportunities for making contacts and for their future. So I feel very removed from these conversations. I probably should just leave those groups but there is some helpful info in there!!

I’m a student, a transfer, so my opinion may be not as impactful, but I do think it’s very important to consider cost as well as the school. My first time around during auditions (I originally attended Marymount Manhattan. Amazing program but very expensive), the looming nature of my (very fortunate) financial situation of my parents paying for my college made me extremely anxious endlessly. It was one of the factors that made me drop out.

Now, I had several choices — as I believe many students have who also auditioned for manyyyy schools this year — and I decided on the school that had a shared factor of financial viability as well as connections over the programs that might have had a lot more connections but were far more expensive.

A BFA in Acting is great, especially if it’s one of those super popular programs that accept 0.1% of their auditionees like Juilliard, but the financial burden is also very much real.

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Yes. That is true. But not much different than kids who are full pay choosing ivys and lacs. My older one is getting a bfa acting and I am so glad he chose a less expensive school. They are very full of hopes and dreams when they start but very very few kids will be able to make a living acting after school. The less expensive schools give a cushion for helping them after graduation and for my kid to go to grad school for a related field. This ke a very low roi profession so costs should absolutely be in mind when making a decision.

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At the end of the day, even if you accepted into Juilliard/CMU/whatever prestigious conservatory, you should not go into mountains of debt for specialized degree (especially at an undergrad level). While yes, these conservatories offer direct contact, experience, and networking in the field, the ROI of even a school like Juilliard is not nearly worth the debt you’ll be in right out of school (average undergrad COA is $181,000 over 4-years and an average salary of $33,000 TEN YEARS after graduation…). The situation is similar at many schools because that’s just the state of having a career in the arts. Many people with arts degrees find work in adjacent fields, or pursue a broader undergrad experience before honing in with an MFA. Many MFA programs are tuition-free and and may even offer stipends (Case Western, Juilliard, Yale, University of San Diego for example).

The argument also can be had that you don’t need a drama school experience in order to be successful in the industry. Many programs are realizing this-- Brown, Harvard, ACT in San Fran, and many other programs have stopped admissions and are restructuring their MFA programs (even CMU shut down their John Wells BFA Directing track, and the University of Arizona stopped both their BFA Acting and Musical Theatre programs). There is very much a chance they won’t come back. These programs realized they were graduating students with lots of debt and not much opportunity in the field.

For many families, college admissions is absolutely determined by cost. The acting/musical theatre/performing arts (I’d go as far to say college and higher education in general) have historically been accessible to those who have the wealth, connections, and the means to pursue a career in the field. That’s also the bigger issue of how we value arts in our education system, and how to increase equitable access and opportunity for people to pursue the arts.

If you have the means to put on the financial burden of full-paying one of these universities, just don’t comment or engage with the posts. Leave the group if you feel. You know your situation is unique and the factors deciding your child’s path are valid too.

I’d say it is quite different than full pay at Ivy’s, LAC’s (completely agree with everything else in your post). ROI of Ivy’s and high-tier LAC’s (Amherst, Williams, Bowdoin, etc.) are going to offer you a more well-rounded education that will significantly help you be more employable in more fields. A BFA Acting/Musical Theatre degree are very specific programs with lots of competition in the professional world for very few spots. Graduates of Ivy’s and LAC’s earn easily double what a graduate of Juilliard is making.

(I used DoE’s College Scorecard for info)

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Totally agree, my comment was referring to the pushback that parents get for paying full price for Ivys and LACs not that the roi is anywhere the same as BFA programs. My s24 is going to Williams full pay and for him it is worth it since he is planning a finance career and the opportunities are worth the increased price

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So at the last, my kid zagged, when I thought she’d zig.

She was a no to NYU, so I thought she’d go Pace.

Instead, she’s going to Chapman. It was the visits that really sold it to her.

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Where did everyone’s kids end up committing? Big congrats to all the kids and parents for surviving the process!! That is an accomplishment within itself :slightly_smiling_face:

My D is going to Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama!

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Congrats! My daughter has yet to commit - weighing three options and mostly hoping to come off a waiting list. I think she’ll be committing somewhere this month regardless of if that WL has moved, but hasn’t fully decided so is taking advantage of the later decision dates.

just checking back on this thread, i ended up getting into nyu and will be attending in the fall. never really expected to get in when i posted and was able to figure out financial stuff!

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Just wondering, has anybody heard of any movement on the Rutgers waitlist?