How Katerina Got Into NYU Tisch: College Application Tips for Aspiring Arts Students

Hello, this is Shellee Howard with College Ready and Parents. Is your teen college ready? Today I have a wonderful guest, actually one of our seniors, Miss Katarina. Welcome to the show.

Hi.

So Katarina is a, uh, senior— I want to say rising senior— and we thought it would be really helpful for her to share some of the things she's learned over the last few years in high school, maybe middle school. So, Katarina, maybe you can give just like a brief background of the high school you're at, um, anything that would give context to the information that we're going to share.

Okay, so I go to a school at Waukee Northwest High School in Iowa. So it is like a— it's a big school, but it's like a smaller town, obviously, since I'm in Iowa, smaller state. And I guess my school has a lot of opportunities, but not as much opportunities as you would find in bigger cities. And I've, like, learned a lot from my school. It has, like, a lot of AP classes, a lot of extracurriculars. Just, I feel like if you really want to push for it, it's, like, kind of hard at that school, if that makes sense.

Good background. Okay, now we're gonna talk about— so, Katarina, do you remember the schools that you applied to this year? Before you got the big acceptance?

Yes, I think so. I applied to 14 of them, so I might miss a couple. But I applied to the 2 state schools in Iowa, Iowa and Iowa State. There's a couple more, but those are the big ones. And then I applied to Notre Dame, the UCs, UC Irvine, Berkeley, LA, Santa Barbara, and San Diego, I believe. Loyola Marymount University. Georgetown University, William Mary, and I think I'm missing one, but I think that's like just the general gist of what I've applied to.

Outstanding. So now let's take a step back. When did you first learn about CollegeReady? What grade were you in?

That's a good one. I think I was in like my sophomore year of high school, I think, because my sister had went through College Ready, uh, when she was applying to college as well. So that's how I learned about it and how my family really like got to know it, and we were like set on it by the time I was applying.

Awesome. So you're a sophomore and your parents are like, all right, Katarina, it's time to get talking about college. What do you— do you remember what was the, the pain point?

What—

why, why did you feel like you even needed help?

I think when we went through it with my sister, like, we knew that we have like the credentials and like we have like the things like we are good students, we are very like well developed, but we like found like trouble selling ourselves in that way and like understanding the ways to like, I guess, like having the resources that you would need to apply to college. I think that's like the biggest reason why we went for that.

And when you first got started, did you know that you wanted to go into the arts, or was that a new thing you added once you started digging deeper?

No, I've always wanted to go into the arts ever since I was very little. I've been very stubborn on it. Um, and so I always knew I wanted to go into the arts, but I did at some point believe that I was probably gonna double major though.

Okay. So it kind of came into maybe a side view. And what part of the arts? The arts are many, right? What was your focus, your specialty?

My biggest interest is acting and theater. I've always loved acting and performance and how you can tell stories. And so that's the biggest reason and the biggest one that I'm interested in. But I also play a lot of musical instruments. I'm involved in my school's choir. But I've always had a passion and love for acting.

So did you apply? To acting at each of the schools, or did you have a different major? This is always what students ask me.

Um, I applied for acting for most of them. I know at the UCs you can also apply for alternate majors, and I did like film studies, or I think one I did philosophy because I also love philosophy, but, uh, mainly did acting. I was kind of going with the mindset of like all or nothing, and so that's like what I really want. To do.

Okay, so what was the dream school as you really started to round the corner of what it is you really wanted?

So I think the dream school was NYU. At first it was UCLA, but then I talked to my parents about it, and I, like, I learned more about NYU. Like, I went there and I saw the campus and I saw New York City, and I fell in love with it. And so NYU was like the big one for me.

Okay, so you knew that was the dream, that's what you were going for, and then you had some other schools that you applied to before you, um, made a decision. Did you have any other acceptances?

Yeah, I got accepted into my two state schools that I applied to, Iowa and Iowa State. Okay. Um, then I got my acceptance from NYU, so Okay, and not only NYU, but it's Tisch, right?

Yeah, and that was the dream.

That was the dream. Yeah, got there.

So let's talk about what it was like. You know, I have a lot of students who do theater and music, and it's like applying twice, right? You have your academia, and then you have your gift, your talent. So what was that like trying to juggle both sides of the application?

I'm going to be honest. It was hard. It was really hard. You don't expect it because everyone always assumes that theater is like an easier major. But then you go into the application and you always have like extra things to do. And they want you to be both a very good student and a very good performer. So I had the academics. I'm a fairly good student at my school. But when I was really getting into like the performance aspect, because for NYU we have to audition and like have this artistic review portion. And so getting into that, that was stressful because I've never really done it to that scale before. And I really just had a lot of support by my family, my friends, my teachers at school. I asked them for advice on my like cuts from auditions, and it was like, it was stressful, but it was fun and it was very rewarding.

So for the students who are younger, you know, freshman, sophomore, they have the dream, the Tisch dream of going into the school, into the department. What could— what would you recommend that they, they do or not do to prepare for that opportunity?

I'd say be involved in any, like, in all arts that you can do, like As much experience as possible is probably the best. And just making sure that you don't put too much effort into everything and focus in and make sure that you're doing great in one thing. Don't put your eggs in too many baskets so you're good at all things, but you're not great at them, if that makes sense. I worded it a little awkwardly. But just really try and have that experience. Do those auditions. Do those plays at your school. Do those musicals. And involve yourself in the arts and be a well-rounded individual. It's probably the best thing I I could say.

I love it. What about summertime? A lot of my artistes, they're like, how do we really use our summertime well? And I know that that's a big part of our program is trying to help you to be that all-encompassing, you know, not only artists but education. So what would a good summer, or what did you enjoy doing over the summer?

Okay, so for the summer, I think, well, I have to bring up the project for Empower Education. I think it's a very important project because we have a Visual and Performing Arts Committee, so we can work on things like theater and the arts and things, and you can make an impact in other people and share it, which really shows that you have the drive to share your passion with other people and that you like have a true passion for it. So spending your time and like volunteering and helping others to share and doing community work in your community doing some theater. I think that's the best way to spend your time. Or also, I did like a UCLA seminar at some point, and I learned more about film and like the power of music in film, which was a really interesting seminar. It was really fun to do. So it really just gets to expand your knowledge on all things like theater, music, whatever you want to major in at Tisch. Mm-hmm.

You mentioned Empower Education. Maybe you can go into that a little bit deeper because our listeners may not know what it is.

Yes. Okay, so Empower Education is this volunteer organization of a bunch of high school students who get together every Sunday, and we really just work on our passions to help children in Uganda and Oaxaca really, like, get the resources they need to learn that they don't have. So I'm the president of the Visual and Performing Arts Committee, and we're currently working on making videos for children in Uganda about theater, I know someone was like working with crocheting and it was super fun. I was really excited about that one, or like music and like playing guitar or the piano. And I think it's just like a really great way to not only meet other people who have the same similar passions with you, but also make an impact on children and other kids who are like very much like you, but just don't have the opportunity to do that.

You put that so well, so well. So it has been so fun working on that with you and so grateful for all your effort. Do you think it had a place in why you might have gotten accepted when you shared that, or how would that have impacted your acceptance?

I think it did. I talked about it during my artistic review. When you step into the thing, into the abrum, they make you do your two monologues. They're contrasting, but then they sit you down and they want to get to know you as an artist.. And so they ask you a couple questions. They're like, what does art mean to you? What do you wanna do with it? And when I responded, I said I wanted to spread my passion for art and all these things, because again, growing up in Iowa, we have access to theater and performing arts, but not to the skills that kids in New York or LA do. And so a big thing for me was I spoke about empowered education and how I was like, I didn't have as many opportunities as those kids do. And then I put it into perspective that I have 20 times more opportunities than the kids in Uganda do and how I think it's my responsibility to bring it to the kids in Uganda, to share my passion and something that brings me so much joy and possibly share that with them.

That's brilliant. You know, being part of something bigger, obviously I can see your passion just light up. So that's super fun. Let's switch gears to application season. What is it really like? Right. Everybody talks about Nobody gets in anywhere, and it's just, it's just not fair. And here you got into your dream school. So please share with families that it is possible and maybe give them some encouragement.

It very much is possible, and I think NYU was one of the very first applications I turned in because I applied early decision. And it was actually really fun to do. I think that was the application I had the most fun on, probably because it is my dream school. But it's also the way and the perspective that you take your application. If you're going into your application dreading it and being like, oh, they're probably not gonna accept me, well, then you're probably not gonna have that good of an application. If you go into your application and you're like, oh, this is gonna be fun. I'm applying to something that I want to do. And you really just work on it and I think the biggest thing is doing it early because then you have school that gets in the way and can be a little difficult. You'll have greater chances and more fun doing your applications. Mm-hmm.

And so how did your College Ready consultant support you through this process?

My consultant, she was amazing. She always helped me out whenever I had any questions about my applications and what I need to do. She also encouraged me to get it done early, and that's what my family did. I started, I started my personal statement back in like May of my junior year. And so I was like ahead of the game, and I had a lot of time to really nail that personal statement down and make it really good. Because that's like, if you're applying through the Common App, everyone's going to see that essay. So you should really take the time and make sure that that essay is really good. And having the support that my consultant gave me, whether it was through knowing like volunteer opportunities and like the awards that you can get with volunteering or the different, just like knowledgeable and resource that, that I would need to apply and like apply like prepared. It was just really helpful for me.

Yeah, just having the information and not having to seek it and hope it's right, I think is, is part of that success. And then as you were applying, did you ever think that NYU was still going to be the one? Did you ever have any doubt, or did you go in there full confidence, you've got this?

Um, I'm usually a person who doesn't go in full confidence in that I got it, but for some reason I had a really good feeling about it. Now, do you always have like the moment of self-doubt? Yeah, of course, we're all human, so we're always going to have that like little moment, but generally I was actually fairly confident that I was, I was gonna do well. I had tried my best. I'm like, I knew I had a good like GPA, good academics. I volunteer and I try my best. I was, there's no reason not to take me at that point.

That's the confidence I love. And that's why you're a performer and successful. Um, would you mind sharing approximate GPA, approximate test score? Did you even submit a test score?

So I did submit a test score on the ACT. I got a 32, and then my GPA was a 4.2. So I'm like generally very involved. I didn't have as many APs as I would have liked, but I still have 6 APs down.

Okay.

And I just like take a point to prioritize my academics as well, because NYU does too. It is very 50/50 at NYU.

And so as you started to focus on your audition, the performance piece. Is there any recommendations you can give to a student? Because that has to be just in itself a lot. And the pieces that you chose, are you happy you chose them? Your performance obviously was impressive. Um, but maybe, you know, a student who's really thinking that's kind of scary, maybe I won't do it because I won't be good, or You know, what can you share with them? Because that's an important piece of that application.

Yeah, I think, well, for the "I won't do it because I don't think I'll be good," immediately don't start it with doubt. Because to be completely honest, in all the performances like that I've been at my school, I've never gotten something more than ensemble at my school until this year where I got a supporting role, I think. Yes. And when you go in with doubt and like when you're stressed and you're worried about it, you're not going to perform as well. You have to be who you are and be true to yourself and do your best. And when picking monologues specifically, I picked one from the play that we did at my school this fall, Radium Girls, and they asked for two contrasting monologues. So I did one where I was like angry and crying. It was my character was dying. And then I did one about this girl who was getting tired of her nerdy boyfriends. So there was like contrasting and I could have fun with this one, but then I could really feel emotion with this one. And so when you get both contrasting sides, you have to pick something that you're going to enjoy to do. And I also recommend doing something that you're going to hear several times because that monologue from the play that I did, I heard it several times. So even if I didn't have a lot of time, I already had it memorized by the time I needed to go. Right, right.

So it sounds like all the way through you put the pieces together and when you decided to apply, How did you come down to your final list? A lot of people are like, I, I'm not even sure what schools to apply to. Was that something your consultant helped you with, or did you have it all figured out?

So I think my consultant did help me. She gave me the resources to see like what would be like some safety schools to look into, some schools that maybe have like more risk than others, like my reach schools and all those things. She gave me the information. It was really helpful. And then I sat down with my parents. My parents were a very big support for me. They were always getting me and keeping me on track, no matter how many times I might have wanted to like sit down and not do my essays. My dad did not let that happen. So, okay. I think getting my parents and sitting down, we really narrowed some things that were maybe in our area. My parents both knew that I kind of wanted to not stay in the Midwest. I wanted to go and explore and go see the East Coast or West Coast. So we also based it off where I want to go. And then we based it on really like the best programs for what I want to do. And so we really figured it out soon in the game.

So speaking about what you really want to do, so let's fast forward. You've now graduated from Tisch. What is, what is that dream career?

The dream is I want to act in film and television. I think that's like my biggest goal. I would also really like to write for film and television and do some backstage technical work. I'd like direct or like produce things, or I really just love stories and filmmaking. And I think that being able to reach audiences on a large scale is like my ultimate goal.

Do you prefer to make them laugh or cry?

I prefer to make them cry.

I've always wanted to ask somebody that question.

I do love being able to make people laugh. Like, I remember my 6th grade play. It was like the very first time I performed on stage in an audience and I made everyone laugh. And it was the best feeling in the world. So I do love making people laugh, but sometimes I feel like you can make more emotional connection and really impact the person and change their life through making them cry rather than laugh.

Mm. That's so powerful. For sure. That's a powerful emotion. So if you had to sum it all up, when you think about hiring College Ready or doing it on your own, What would be the reason that it benefited you to have the support that you received?

One, I really love the portal that you have. It helped me keep organized. The editing, uh, the access to the editors, super helpful. Helped me really understand where, like, what they're looking for and how to format it because I had things to say. I just didn't really like understand how to like express it and the editors really helped me with, hey, maybe you might want to switch this and do this thing, which was really helpful for sure. I also think just having the resources, knowing about the Presidential Award, which I didn't even know about before CollegeReady, or the Congressional Award, I think all of those things are very important for an application and really is what sets apart from using CollegeReady and having the resources of CollegeReady versus doing it by yourself. Yeah.

So final words of wisdom. If you had a younger sibling, what would you say to them as they— maybe 8th grade, 9th grade— as they prepare for this journey?

I think start early, prepare early, and make sure that you're applying to do what you love, because if you're not doing what you love, it's not worth it. So I can apply to this program even though it's incredibly hard because I want it. If you don't want it enough, you're not going to get there. So really just want it.

Wow, that's powerful right there. I have a lot of students who are just going through the motions of applying, and I would love to share that wisdom with them. So thank you, Miss Katarina. And audience, thank you so much for tuning in to Parents, Is Your Teen College Ready? We are so excited to watch you shine. Thanks, Katarina.

Thank you.