NYU New Studio vs OCU MT

soozievt
Sat, 10 Apr 2010 10:04:22 +0000

Has your D visited both schools? She should do a comparison chart of how each school matches her college selection criteria. These schools are very different (putting cost aside for the moment). BOTH offer excellent MT training. Their settings are very different. Their programs are very different. OCU is a BM and Tisch is a BFA and so the curriculums differ. The academic selectivity of NYU is greater than at OCU and for some kids that matters, and for some it doesn’t. If your D wants to take the required pre-med courses, that is doable at NYU as well (I know a girl who graduated from Tisch/CAP21 and did all the pre-med requirements as well). The BM is more heavily based on music with acting and dancing mixed in. The BFA is more equally balanced with music, acting and dancing. I think NYU may even have more liberal arts credits than OCU but you have to check. There are differences in the school climate/atmosphere and type of students who attend the university. There are many other differences as well. But in the end, a student can get great MT training at either school. It is a matter of which school fits your own criteria better.

That said, you have to weigh the cost difference and whether your family can afford the more expensive option. Many would go with the cheaper option. I will admit that even though we are on financial aid and paying for college and grad school for two kids is very difficult for us, we did not go with “cheapest option” but with best fit. My kid did go to NYU, though ironically she did have the highest scholarship of all her scholarships at that school (though the school has a higher starting price tag). My D did not apply to OCU, though chose Tisch over several other BFA options she had. For her, this was the best fit.