Congrats! Amazing choices!
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Update: Northwestern was was a no, but we knew it was a long shot. Fingers crossed for anyone else waiting on them!
Accepted to NYU Tisch for Drama!!!
(And McGill University & University of Toronto)
Rejected: Carnegie Mellon & RADA
Hope everyone goes somewhere wonderful!!!
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Hey everyone! I am a prospective BFA acting student for fall 2025. I am stuck between a couple schools and I wanted to hear what y’all have heard about these schools. My top 3 that I’ve been admitted to is Pace, Penn State, and OKCU. What has everybody heard about these programs and curriculum?
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Huge congratulations! All of those are incredible programs, and I’m sure you are going to do incredible things wherever you end up. That said, I think Pace offers some of the strongest undergraduate training available right now. They also offer incredible opportunities with showcase/industry connections as well as the incredible location of NYC. At the end of the day, you should pick the program that is the best personal fit for you (and the best financial fit for your family!), which ultimately means going with your own gut regardless of what anyone says. That’s just my two cents! Again, HUGE congratulations to you! Please keep us posted on your decision making process!
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what did you decide?
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Thank you for the Feedback! I think ultimately I will decide Penn State for a couple of main reasons.
- During my auditions of both Penn State and Pace, I got a better vibe and think I clicked better with the Penn State. Personally, I lot of people I am friends with + me did not have the best audition experience with them, but it might just be the case that we were with only two of the professors. PSU professors were SUPER nice and honestly, they were really authentic about the audition and the school itself.
- At Penn State, I can double major. While I do love theatre and would love to do it as a career, I also know it’s really hard to break into this industry and I do want to have a back up plan. At my audition with Pace, there was a Q&A and during that time, they were very adamant about their actors only staying in the college of performing arts and with that, they were against Majors and even minors. At PSU, I can double major in business and acting and after college, I could get a good job and still audition for productions/projects.
- Pace does not allow actors to participate in the musicals and even at times, they said during the audition that voice lessons are hard to do as actors due to so many MT majors. At Penn State, MT people can audition for plays and vise versa with actors and with voice lessons, they states that they encourage students to take lessons. Also, PSU offers dance classes and other classes that can improve MT technique. Given how good the MT program is at PSU, it sounded really appealing to me. After college, I want to be good and well-versed in many techniques, not just acting and acting alone, but that is just me.
Those big factors, along with a couple smaller ones, will make me ultimately pick PSU.
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Hi all – first of all, thank you for this group & for everyone’s input and insight. It’s been a huge help as our kiddo applied and was accepted to schools (and now as she’s making her decision – more on that soon!).
I know that there are also many folks on here that are in an earlier part of their kids’ journeys, and that some of you are looking at summer programs. I wanted to recommend one that is not affiliated with a university but our kiddos loved.
Traveling Players Ensemble is DC-area non-profit year-round program with a rigorous six-week sleepaway camp focusing on Shakespeare. Last summer, they did Hamlet, this summer it’s Cymbeline. The company – 12-14 kids – receive intensive training and then spend their last week literally traveling around Virginia doing performances. They also have 3-week programs – this year they’re doing Love’s Labour Lost – as well as a tech theatre option.
And yes, they have a track record of their kids moving on to top-rated theatre schools. This year’s cohort was admitted to more than a dozen schools, including Pace, NYU, Emerson, Syracuse, LIU, Marymount Manhattan, AMDA, Muhlenberg, SCAD, and UConn.
You can find info here: Shakespeare Troupe | Theatre Conservatory for High School Students
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Penn State sounds like a wonderful fit for you, and I know you will do incredible things there! Congratulations!
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My final results…
Accepted
Bard (BA)
BoCo
CMU
DePaul
Emerson
Fordham (BA)
Ithaca
Juilliard
Marymount Manhattan
UMass Boston (BA)
UMich
UNCSA
Purchase
UT Austin
Waitlisted
NYU (declined waitlist)
Syracuse (declined waitlist)
Denied
BU
Withdrew
Northeastern (deferred EA → withdrew)
Northwestern
Pace (passed prescreen → withdrew)
Sarah Lawrence (deferred EA → withdrew)
Skidmore
USC (prescreen denied → withdrew)
Committed
The Juilliard School!
I feel deeply honored and very excited to share this news. I haven’t posted anything about my Juilliard admissions process on here as I knew it was such a long shot and didn’t want to jinx anything, but here we are. I could not be more excited. So grateful for this forum throughout the process. 
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wow, congrats, shows you how crazy the process is, exceptional acceptances and much less competitive waitlists and denials
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Thanks so much for posting and congrats – here’s hoping that you do not remain anonymous for long!
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Congratulations!
A friend informed me that I should be sending letters of continued interest to programs I was waitlisted for. Does anyone have input on this? I’d never consider it but I don’t want to miss out on an opportunity.
Hey BFA Acting Hopefuls & Incoming Students — We Made a Podcast for You!
Hi everyone! We’re the hosts of Show Biz Pod, and we wanted to share something we wish we had when we were auditioning, applying, and stepping into our BFA program and beyond.
We’re two real-life friends who met in our BFA program and now work professionally in theatre, TV, content creation, and more. On our podcast, we talk honestly about the financial side of what it’s really like to build a creative career everything from the day-to-day hustle to the bigger picture of making art your life.
So far, we’ve covered things like:
- Planning your financial future as an artist
- Taxes for actors
- Business ownership for creatives
- Side hustles that support your career
…and so much more of the real-world stuff that isn’t always covered in your training.
Whether you’re a student starting this journey or a parent trying to understand what the road ahead looks like, we hope our conversations can be helpful, grounding, and maybe even a little comforting as you get ready to take the first steps of your journey as professional artists.
You can find us at showbizpod . com or search Show Biz Pod on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen.
We’re also on social:
Instagram: @showbiz.pod
TikTok: @show.biz.pod
Break legs, class of 2029! We’re cheering you on! 
My senior finally had made a decision!
Accepted:
Pace University
LIU
Webster University
SCAD
SUNY Purchase (accepted off waitlist)
Not Accepted:
Juilliard
UNCSA
Final choice: SCAD Atlanta Campus 
It was a tough decision (and very hard to tell some of these schools no!) but ultimately the desire for more TV/Film training and SCAD’s casting office and location helped finalize the decision. It feels like the right choice has been made and excited to move forward!
I hope everyone finds their spot!
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Hi all – I realize I’m very late to announce and that most of you have likely moved on, but I wanted to share the final outcome:
Accepted:
Pace/Sands College of Performing Arts
NYU/Tisch
UConn
Muhlenberg
Emerson
James Madison
SCAD
Waitlist:
Rutgers
Boston University
Northwestern
Posse Scholarship finalist but no:
UNCSA
Auditions but no:
SUNY-Purchase
Ithaca
DePaul
Julliard
Elon
No:
Carnegie-Mellon
It came down to NYU, Emerson, and Pace. And the decision is… Pace/Sands College of Performing Arts!!!
Top-rated program, great industry links, great scholarship offer, and in New York! Our kiddo could not be more excited. 
Thanks to all on this chat who were a big help along the way!
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