Congratulations, @murr_burrs! NYC isn’t that far from Philly; my D, who just finished her sophomore year at UArts, has gone there at least a couple times both years so far. Some students go more, but many find they don’t need/want to leave because UArts is literally right in the middle of the arts district (and actually own a couple of the professional theatres), so the students are busy with the theatres, etc., in Philly (besides what is at UArts, which is a lot). My D even knows at least a couple UArts grads (maybe there are more, but D doesn’t know them) who work professionally in both cities, but with Philly as their base because they love Philly and/or the cost of living is cheaper. Plus, UArts brings in many other successful professionals to the college to work with the students, and most (if not all) are from NYC/active in the NYC scene.
I get wanting to be in NYC, but there are so many super successful programs and grads of programs that are far, far away from it.