Which Is stronger when it comes to double majoring in Music and Acting, Columbia or Yale. I know Yale might be stronger yet considering that Columbia is in NYC will allow an artist to gain more exposure to the industry since nothing goes around in New Haven
Yale perhaps, though your argument for Columbia does make sense. My issue, which may not at all be yours, is that Columbia has nearly 20K graduate students (yikes!), while Yale has nearly 7K. Professors teach graduate students, too (and many much prefer to teach grad students), though maybe for music and acting this is less of a problem. Others hopefully can help you here. In general, Yale, Princeton, and Dartmouth usually get highest marks for undergraduate teaching among the Ivies.
Still, this sounds like a setting issue for you as much as a course of study issue? If so, ask yourself how important NYC is to you. If it ultimately beats out all other factors, you have your answer.
So in April you were deciding between Harvard, Yale, Stanford and Pomona. May 1 you should have made your deposit. Did you deposit Yale & just come off the wait list at Columbia?
In any case, you should do a little more homework about Yale, New Haven and theatre. You seriously underestimate the resources, connections & exposure on offer.
Also, take a look at the course load at Columbia: the requirements of the Core will take up a lot of your time.
Yale has a famous grad school in drama. Undergrad both good. And nyc is great for Broadway but you most likely won’t be auditioning for a part to take you away from school hat much. Too much work.
I didn’t make a deposit since I have full financial aid to all of these college. And yes I said yes to Yale and just came off the wait list at Columbia
Guys I appreciate all of the advice your giving me but just keep in mind that I am an international and as long as I am in college I can audition. But the minute I graduate there would be no visa and thus I will be out of the U.S
Things must have changed a lot since I was an undergrad at Columbia. Back then, there was no acting or music undergraduate major. I assume you have researched the departments and that they actually exist and are good. If you are using college as a four year opportunity to be in the united states to audition then I think your choice is clear. You need to be in NYC. That is where all the auditions are. The only other choice would be LA. In that world, it doesn’t really matter how prestigious the theater program is. You will be auditioning based on your talent. They won’t care if you have a college background or not. Go to NY and take your shot.
What type of Music? Performance (vocal or instrument)? Theory?
@marvelagents, you are asking a question without giving much info on what you want, so it’s hard to know how to answer. Are you interested in theatre? musical theater? singing? what does ‘exposure to the industry’ mean to you?
Are you thinking 'go to university in the US, audition as much as possible, get a performing job that will be visa-eligible, take the job & drop out of school / take a leave of absence to do it (b/c there is no way to be in a show full-time & keep up your studies) & hope that I get another when the run ends?
(and/or make so many contacts with agents and producers that once I graduate I will be able to use those contacts in my home country or to get back to the US)?
You got full-ride offers to some of the best, most selective universities in the world, so you are obviously smart and hard working, and have reason to have a lot of self-confidence, but that is a breath-taking leap of imagination.
Both Yale and Columbia are clear that they are not ‘pre-professional’ programs. Their undergraduate drama programs are part of a larger overall liberal arts education, and the emphasis is more on the intellectual side of theatre than the vocational side (NYU Tisch is a better bet than either for pre-pro). Of course, there are lots of opportunities to perform- Yale has multiple productions running all through the year (undergrad, grad and mixed), and I assume Columbia is similar; there are acting modules within the majors; both have great access to summer internships*, etc.
Here is an FAQ from Yale about Theater Studies at Yale:
https://theaterstudies.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/FrequentlyAskedQuestions.pdf
This FAQ is from Barnard, which runs the Columbia Drama & Theater Arts program:
https://theatre.barnard.edu/faq
*the workload is heavy enough at both places that internships during term time are unusual
vocal and theory
So, did you take the place at Columbia, or have you started at Yale?