UCF/FSU vs NYU

filmoracting
Sat, 13 Aug 2011 12:45:01 +0000

I want to go to college for either film or acting. I never really got involved in clubs because I was always very shy, but my academics were as follows:

I had a 3.78 GPA.

My SAT was
640 Reading
580 Math
610 Writing

My ACT was a composite score of 26.

I’ve already been accepted into UCF and am attending my first year there this fall.

I’ve been thinking a lot about NYU because they have such a good reputation for their acting school. One that stands out is Peter Facinelli. He said he was shy, financially lacking, and had no acting experience whatsoever but got accepted into NYU and now has a very successful career.

My main questions are,


How did he get into NYU with no experience and/or natural talent? (He says in various interviews that he was by no means a good actor, and that he’s the poster child for “You can learn to act”, He says that good training can take a great actor and make them even more awesome, or take someone like him, with just a lot of drive and desire, and make them good enough for film&television.)


1.2 ) Was NYU cheaper 10-20 years ago by a lot? I’m just wondering how these people who claim to go to school there with 20k a year in income cover 5-6 figures in debt. I know there are many scholarships available and if I do decide NYU over UCF/FSU I will be busting my butt trying to get them. I’ve just read a lot of horror stories about students with 100k in debt talking about never being able to buy a house.

The thing is, NYU costs anywhere from 150k-250k total. My family makes about 80-100k a year, but I have 4 brothers. None of them are in college, and neither of my parents went to college. So far I don’t think I’m eligible for much financial aid.

I have the FMS scholarship which is estimated around 75% of tuition at Florida Schools.


Would NYU be worth it and would the education be much different and/or better than what I’d receive at UCF?
Would it be smarter to start at UCF and transfer to FSU? I hear Florida State is among the top 5 acting schools in the nation, I’d have Bright Futures for it, and it’s much closer.


Basically, I know everyone says that you can be successful no matter which school you go to, but going to NYU would definitely be a better location in terms of connections to be made and job openings.

I hear FSU takes their students to LA to see agents and scouts during their senior year to that’s good.


Would it be better to just stick with UCF? If I went to FSU, I’d have to restart my 4 years, which honestly I have no problem doing if I got into their acting program. The thing is, I only know of 1 popular movie to come from UCF being “Blair Witch Project” and one alumni who acts on a TV series that’s not very popular but still well known.