@MomofJ5 My recollection is that there was plenty of mixing and getting to know everyone in your year in your own studio and not just the 15 kids in some of your classes. I think one beauty of Tisch is that you are not stuck with the same 15 kids for 4 years, and finding your friendship group in that small subset, and there is a greater number of students to mix with in your studio, and also with the other studios in other things. My D knew everyone in her studio in her year, but also many kids in other studios.
But also, again, the Theater Studies classes that they must take every year is a mix of kids from various studios. Add, working on crew (required of all freshmen) mixes with students from all studios. The theater productions my kid was in involved kids from all studios. My D also switched studios after 5 semesters and created an even broader group. In that studio, she was not with the same kids in every class as in upper level, they chose their studio classes in that studio.
@Eastchestermom my son still sees his ped at age 21 so I’m surprised she’s dropped her. I thought for sure she’d see her through 18. What a bummer she is not going to be happy.
My pediatrician ages them out after they graduate from college. My older boys are juniors at 21 (so will graduate at 22). I like this because it allows them to keep their doctor until they choose where to live after college.
Anyone here have experience (positive or negative) with negotiating more scholarship money? Should you list the other offers and amounts? I’ve read a few articles about how to make your case, but do you go as far to say “school X offered this amount bringing the total cost down to $…” or keep it more generic? Any thoughts, experience or advice would be appreciated!
@onewaytobroadway we successfully negotiated more scholarship money but in order to do so the school that offerd more required us to send proof that we had received more money from a school that they considered competitive with their school (so we sent them the financial aid award letter we had received from the other school).
@soovievt: Is it true that NYU-Tisch selects a student’s studio for his/her first 2 years, and a student has to audition for one of the other 9 studios if he/she wants to switch studios thereafter; as not every MT major will get New Studio on Broadway. And that there is no guarantee that a student can switch to the studio he/she prefers after 2 years?
@onewaytobroadway We’ve done it quite successfully. My daughter has gotten very large scholarship offers from quite a few schools, and we used that to leverage almost $10K more from a school that gave her a lot of money to begin with. It didn’t matter that scholarships were based on grades and test scores and we wanted money for her to go into the BFA program, money is money. We are in the middle of using those numbers to negotiate more money now from another school…
@onewaytobroadway we needed to send photocopies of all of the scholarship offers she received, so I took each one and highlighted the amount of total funds from each school that did not have to be repaid annually so it was very clear to see. I sent scans of each page to the college we were negotiating with.
@Mr.Eggroll I can answer your question re Tisch studios from my D’s personal experience (she graduated this past May). Yes, it is true that Tisch selects a student’s studio for their first 2 years of training (their primary training). After 2 years they have the opportunity to either stay in their primary studio or train with another studio. They can train with one studio for their 3rd year and then a different studio for their 4th year if they really want to get a variety of training. My D was placed in Playwrights Horizons. She stayed with them for her 3rd year as well. In her 4th year, she auditioned for and was accepted to study with Stonestreet Studios. From her experience, the audition process was much easier than it was to get into Tisch as a freshman and not all advanced studios requires auditions. I’m not sure if that holds true for those who want to study at the New Studio their 3rd or 4th year. My D also did a summer session at NYU Florence where she studied Commedia dell’Arte. I’m sure @soozievt can also add some valuable insight. Please let me know if you have any other questions!
@collegemom2000 our pediatrician will see kids through college for exactly the reason you are stating, no time to find a new doc when they are only home for breaks and some summers
@jbtcat pretty much gave the lowdown to the question you asked about Tisch studios. As she wrote, you can opt to stay in your original studio placement all four years. After 2 years, or 2.5 years, or 3 years, you can opt to study in another studio. SOME of these upper studio placements are by audition, and some are not.
Upon entering Tisch for MT, I would never have predicted my D would change studios at some point. She did love her MT training in CAP21 studio. But after 2.5 years in that studio, she felt she had gotten everything she needed from it and was only going to miss one semester of MT training by switching, because the senior year was focused on showcase which she opted to give up (though at the time, there was a Tisch wide MT showcase by audition and she got into that and so it all worked out). She did audition for advanced studio in ETW studio for her final 3 semesters and loved it and was able to really take advantage of all that Tisch offers this way. There is no guarantee a student will get into their preferred advanced studio IF they are making a switch (they can stay in their current studio with no issue at all). Again, some advanced studios are not by audition.
I will just add that many of the acting studios still have voice and dance. As well, a student can take private voice if in an acting studio. Also, students from any studio can audition for musicals at Tisch. All the musicals my D was in while at Tisch were not even in her own MT studio! There are lots of talented MT kids in various acting studios and I know a number of them have gone onto MT careers, including on Broadway.
@jbtcat and @soozievt: Thank you very much for the information and your insights. Obviously your daughters are exceptionally talented, and were able to take full advantage of the many opportunities offered by Tisch.
I don’t know that every student will be able to navigate Tisch’s studio system as easily, however, and get the studio/training/performance opp’s. he/she prefers. There are just so MANY talented students at Tisch.
@Mr.Eggroll - I don’t know any students who weren’t able to participate in different studio at NYU if they wanted to… with the exception of the study abroad at RADA - that was a pretty small cohort. I do know students who had to apply 2x to a particular program - seniority seems to be a factor there. But I believe you are able to apply for more than one. For example - a friend who went to London with D had applied to another program as well - in case he didn’t get into RADA.
Thank you @Mr.Eggroll! I actually think that Tisch is very supportive and helpful so that all their students can make the most of the opportunities they offer. Also, since your student is placed in a primary studio for their first 2 years there is not much negotiating to be done until their 3rd year and by then they are more sure of the direction they want to take with their studies and have professors and advisors who are available to help them. I’m sure the experience is different for every one and that NYU is not the right place for every one, but my D never felt like she was just a number or one of too many students. She really bonded with her small first year group and then grew into moving into other groups. She enjoyed the opportunity to explore new techniques after 2 years and then focus on film/tv in her senior year. She became close with a number of professors and still keeps in touch with a few of them who have been instrumental in guiding her in her first year out of school.
And… as if I’m not already super confused by this process and decision making situation… i have a question. Any Temple auditioners our there? My daughter got a rejection letter after Unifieds… but got an email tonight from the head of the theater dept. congratulating her on her acceptance. What is going on?! Is that a redirect to a different major with in the college or did it get sent to her by mistake? Temple was definitely not on my radar?! Anyone else get that email? What does it mean? LOL
@Mr.Eggroll Just to add what the other Tisch moms have said. The studios with which I am familiar do a very good job of being supportive of their students. I have never heard of a student who had difficulty navigating the studio system. It actually isn’t that difficult. I have to say that I did prefer the way they used to do it re: initial studio assignments, allowing the applicant to specify a preference. This was something that would be discussed in the interview and if the student has actually done their research and can speak convincingly about why they prefer a particular studio, then it was rare that it didn’t happen. I think it’s unfortunate that they do not do that any longer, and I also think that it takes way too long now for them to notify accepted students as to what their studio assignment is. My D applied ED way back when and received her confirmed studio assignment with her acceptance. From what I understand, they no longer even do this for ED accepted students.
Another thing to keep in mind, and to inquire about, perhaps on the accepted student days (do they still call them Weekend on the Square, or something similar?) is the number of performance opportunities. When my D was at Tisch, there were ~100 productions a year, of various descriptions. In addition there are student films that are always looking for actors, and of course, other opportunities, non-NYU related, in the city. The one complaint I heard years ago re: missing out on auditions for some productions was a result of a student not being on top of audition dates and times and not signing up in time. There are limits, which is understandable and reasonable. Students, at that time, needed to be on listserves (probably a changed method now) and if they didn’t pay close attention, or if they were students who worked part-time, they may have had difficulty getting an audition slot. Other than that type of complaint, I don’t recall hearing of any problem. And, there is guaranteed casting within your studio, unless something has changed.
@MomofJ5 Yes, RADA is a one semester study abroad, one of several abroad opportunities that Tisch offers.
I have to say that I did prefer the way they used to do it re: initial studio assignments, allowing the applicant to specify a preference. This was something that would be discussed in the interview and if the student has actually done their research and can speak convincingly about why they prefer a particular studio, then it was rare that it didn’t happen. I think it’s unfortunate that they do not do that any longer, and I also think that it takes way too long now for them to notify accepted students as to what their studio assignment is. My D applied ED way back when and received her confirmed studio assignment with her acceptance. From what I understand, they no longer even do this for ED accepted students.