<p>Location, location, location.</p>
<p>NYC will still be there four years from now and the resources you save now may be better spent helping your S get a foothold in NYC after he graduates.</p>
<p>Uvahoo, if going to NYU is going to put financial hardship on your family, then no it is not worth it. End of discussion.
But if that is not the case…</p>
<p>I am going to be really honest, and I bet I’m going to be attacked from both sides…</p>
<p>Both schools are name brands, and both will give him connections upon gradation.
That is where the similarities end.
If he wants to be living, eating, breathing theatre 24/7, be only friends with theatre people and have the most intensive acting program, then his answer is UNCSA. It is a conservatory. Yes, I’m sure he will get better acting training.</p>
<p>What NYU gives a student, besides NYC and Greenwich village is life experience, intellectual challenge and culture. It is a top tier University. The students there will no doubt be better students and thinkers and he would be surrounded by not only other artists, but film makers, business students, writers, journalists, future mathematicians, scientist, etc etc etc.
He will be surrounded by people who are politically active, liberal, all races, nationalities, all in the heart of the coolest neighborhood in the country. The kids in your studio will be from all over the world with all different life experiences to share during class ( they are together 9 hrs a day, they get to know every intimate detail!)</p>
<p>He will also be taking academic classes taught by NYU professors. For some kids that could be a negative. My daughter loves her academic classes.</p>
<p>I’m my opinion, all this is just as important to becoming a fine actor as intensive acting training in the classroom. You only have 4 years to live the life as a college student. You can take acting classes the rest of your life.</p>
<p>My daughter didn’t apply to UNCSA for a reason. She didn’t want to go to an art school. So obviously your son is more open to the idea. Obviously I have nothing to gain either way. I just wanted to share why my daughter picked NYU. :)</p>
<p>I have no child at either program but I can assure you, the kids at UNCSA are thinkers as well. They are also top students and have chosen a different but completely top notch path as have the NYU kids. </p>
<p>I would compare the programs, not the kids. There is often quite a bit of crossover in the acceptances so I am going to assume that if they were smart students and thinkers for NYU, they are as well for UNCSA.</p>
<p>Just to clear up my post, mommy5 changed her post after I had already answered, so that is why my post has the word smart in it while her does not.</p>
<p>I don’t think they’ll be any problem being surrounded by film markers at UNCSA since it has one of the top-film schools in the country. Yes, its true you’d miss out hanging out with the scientists and mathamaticians but they have those at CMU and by all accounts there is not much hanging out that goes on between the theater kids and the scientits there. </p>
<p>And to back up photomom5’s point, my daugther has gotten to know already a large part of her incoming class and I can assure you that the class does not lack for intelligent kids that all had options to get in to more academically exclusive schools including one kid that turned down University of Chicago. I’d also point out that these kids come from all over the country and there is a signifcant amount of diversity among the class. </p>
<p>No doubt NYU is a different life experience than being at UNCSA and I’m sure it is a more appealing fit for certain kids. I just wouldn’t want anyone to decide not to go UNCSA because they think the kids there are not a diverse group of smart kids and thinkers.</p>
<p>Op if you had concerns about the cost of nyu maybe it is a sign that uncsa came through. It does not get much cheaper then that.</p>
<p>The intellectual experience at UNCSA will be very deep and rigorous, I feel sure. D goes to Hartt which is headed by two former deans of UNCSA, who have brought many aspects of the curriculum with them. She is studying Shakespeare and all classical theater, intellectually and physically-- I honestly feel she is getting a better literary education than mine which was supposedly great. </p>
<p>UNCSA has so much to offer, in real terms and ‘brand name’ terms-- I can’t imagine giving it up unless you really want to split your time with some other serious pursuit, like political science or history. If that’s the case, NYU may be worth the expense to you. But New York will still be there, the NYU MFA program will be there-- and, you’ll be able to afford them with the money you’ve saved.</p>
<p>In any event, congratulations on having a wonderful choice to make.</p>
<p>“Astute” comments, Gwen. In some respects it is the special, unique kids that shape the program, not the other way around.</p>
<p>Y’all are awesome, but you knew that already! Thanks so much. I know where I’d prefer him to be, but going to stay neutral on this for the sake of future harmony :)</p>
<p>I just went to see Place Beyond the Pines this weekend and was so struck by one of the young actors that I had to look him up. Dane Dehaan Bfa UNCSA.</p>
<p>Uvahoo87, whatever your son chooses, I hope he is happy. He is clearly very talented and bright. Honestly, and If you have any questions about NYU feel free to private message me and I will gladly answer. </p>
<p>Photomom5, I never used the word smart. That is false. My only edit was to correct a word I misspelled. And I also disagree with you. Your children will learn as much from their peers as they will from their teachers, maybe more so. Especially in anything in the arts. Who is IN the class, is just as important as who is teaching the class. </p>
<p>Actingdad, CMU’s program has as much in common with NYUs program as UNCSAs program does. Which is little to none. Drama students at NYU will indeed be in classes with all other academic students. They will dorm with them freshman year and at least in my daughters case, become friends with them. Not one of my daughters roommates next year is a drama student.
Concerning diversity, at UNCSA 47% are from North Carolina and 1% are from outside the US.</p>
<p>I never said the students at UNCSA wouldn’t be smart. I said the NYU students ( the entire population, not just drama) would be better students as a whole. This is not my opinion. That is a fact.
At NYU 96% were in the top quarter of their class. SAT-math 650-750, reading 630-730
At UNCSA 37% were in the top quarter of their class. SAT- math 490-610 reading 500-630</p>
<p>I don’t point this out to make anyone feel bad. I point this out because many of you, your first instinct is to be defensive. If you read my earlier post without feeling the need to attack the NYU mom, you will see there was nothing I said that wasn’t true. Uvahoo87 asked for input because they were torn between the two schools. I took my time to try to help.</p>
<p>Nice post MOMMY5. All you were doing was stating the facts. There’s nothing wrong with that. Both of my kids chose not to room with any theatre majors in college either. Since they both had gone to a PA school, they were pretty sick of being around them. Very smart decision for both of them in my opinion. My daughter even made sure not to room in the dorm that housed all the visual arts performers. Kids need a break from that every now and then. :)</p>
<p>“The students there will no doubt be better students and thinkers … all in the heart of the coolest neighborhood in the country.”</p>
<p>There is one thing you said here that I feel is untrue. I think it’s going way too far to say anyplace is the “coolest neighborhood in the country.” When someone talks in hyperbole, it tends to put people on the defensive. If you don’t want people to react negatively to things that you say, don’t use comparative words like “better” or “coolest.” Please don’t say things that negate others’ opinions, like “no doubt.” Many people believe that grades and scores do not define anyone’s intelligence or creativity. Often with artistic people, they are very unreliable measures. In the area of creative giftedness, the SAT rarely is used as an assessment tool.</p>
<p>I have seen all ends of the spectrum, and I wouldn’t say that any school’s students are “better” than others. People choose their colleges for all kinds of reasons, and young people’s intellect and focus mature at greatly varying rates. I went to a very highly esteemed University (at least by conventional rankings, whose validity I often doubt, to tell the truth). Their goal was to find HS students who did not have high grades and scores, because they took risks and hadn’t come to their full potential. Many very intelligent people dislike this school, and many non-stellar achievers in high school come to their full intellectual bloom there. It’s a very mysterious process.</p>
<p>Lots of people come on here to talk about lots of schools, and it is very helpful. It is wonderful to tell about great experiences, and it’s also helpful to describe things that might not be to someone’s personal taste. I prefer in doing so that people use words that don’t disparage other schools or their students, no matter what school they are referring to. I strongly regret any time people have taken offense at anything I’ve said here, and usually that has been when I have sought to characterize or make comparisons with schools I am not familiar enough with.</p>
<p>EmmyBet, your point is well taken. :)</p>
<p>I don’t mean to change the subject (or do I?), but I noticed on the Final Decision thread that SKEWL’s DAUGHTER has made her final decision (U Miami) and I can’t remember where we go to say congrats, so I’m saying it here!</p>
<p>Congrats, Skewlcounselor! Yipee!</p>
<p>Yes, here. I second that congratulations for SkewlCounselor’s girl-child!</p>
<p>Emmybet is much more articulate than I am!!!</p>
<p>Mommy5 your statistical facts may be accurate but the reality is off. NYU very often lowers their academic standards for their theatre kids, as do many other colleges. I say this so as to not discourage those who would like to apply but are not at the same level numbers-wise as those you cited. Like financial aid, academic ability is flexible depending on how much they want you.</p>
<p>Good point, amtc. On the flip side, many theatre kids at “lower tier” schools (where many great theatre programs are housed) have fantastic academic stats (and get great scholarships as a result). Many are in Honors Colleges, where the admissions stats rival those at any University. It’s such a mixed bag. This is one of the reasons this Forum is so helpful. The mix of academics and artistic classes varies so immensely, even within BFA programs, and it helps so much to get a clear picture from people who know what it is like at any given school. </p>
<p>Congrats to all of the new decisions! The end of this road is near - the next one will surely be more enjoyable!</p>