NYU: Tisch for Drama

EmmyBet
Thu, 13 Sep 2012 15:23:20 +0000

Kat, is anyone helping you figure out how to get yourself into college? You are welcome to ask our advice all you want - this is a great place to learn what to do and how to organize yourself. No one here can give you the secret answer to getting in anywhere, of course. But we can help you make sure you do what you need to do, get the information you need, and make thoughtful decisions based on your personal goals.

We’re going to assume that your plan is to attend college for theatre, and that you realize there are costs involved in both applying and attending. What you - and anyone who is helping you - will need to do is decide what you want in a program, and research schools based on your interests and needs (including financial). Auditioned theatre programs have VERY low acceptance rates, and if you absolutely want to be in college for theatre next year, you will want to have a list of schools that include schools where you know you will be accepted academically (based on their admissions stats) that do not require an audition, and that are affordable. Then you can have slightly harder schools to get into, and also some “reach” schools that you are aware you might get rejected from but that you love anyway.

NYU is pretty much always in the “reach” category for everyone, so you can think about what you love about NYU and find other schools that would give you a similar experience, that are easier to get into. If it’s just because NYU is well-known and getting in would prove something to your folks, I’ll tell you as some others have that you need to broaden your thinking, for all of the same reasons. There are hundreds of schools where you can study theatre and have a great career. But they vary a lot, so it would be helpful for us to know what exactly appeals to you - location, size, program, etc.

Also, you are in a unique situation academically, and you’ll need to find out where you stand for making applications. Many colleges require that you have taken a certain number of classes in various subjects, and most require placement tests like SAT and ACT (although there are many that don’t). You’ll have to get organized about getting some of these taken care of in time to make application deadlines this year.

For BFA programs as you probably know, you also have to prepare audition material and figure out how you will go to auditions - either on campus, at Unified Auditions (which likely have locations near you), or through DVDs. Every school has different audition requirements, so you’ll have to keep track of that, too.

You can do this - I can imagine that you might need another year to have everything in place, or to prepare successfully for auditions, but if you find the right schools to apply to and put in a lot of effort (and have some good supports) you’ll be in college next fall. Please let us know what we can do to help you. Good luck!