Does the college you attended, really determine your success?

[Joviedamian]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 12:32am

Playbill.com has this "Schools of the Stars" column that tells the educational institutions of the performers and creative team. I noticed that a lot of the following schools are represented:

Yale
Columbia
Carnegie Mellon
New York University
Columbia
Michigan
Juilliard

Yes, most of these schools above have had a lot of talent come out of them, but lately it seems like if you went to these schools listed, you're on Broadway and beyond. Does the higher respected/elite school you went to, determine how successful you may become?

What do you think?





Updated On: 3/24/14 at 12:32 AM

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 12:45am

No school will guarantee your success, love. Out of those there are hundreds of graduates who went nowhere with their career.

A good school will give you the experience, knowledge and skill. There is no institution that will make it for you.

[Joviedamian]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 12:51am

Totally agree, Blaxx. Though we can safely say that if you did got to any of these schools, it can look impressive and could lead you to big things. I mean I have read a lot of the Playbill.com column(s) and most of the schools listed in my original post are the only schools I mostly see. To me it reads like "oh wow, all these people went to Yale and Colombia and NY University, well I guess I better go there".

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 12:53am

I think it can only look good if you have what it takes to back it up.

Consider that graduating from these schools also creates bigger expectations. You better back it up or the disappointment will be huge.

To answer your question, it doesn't determine your success. It is also a combo of luck and place and timing. It certainly helps but Broadway and NYC theater is full of people who didn't attend any of these schools or no school at all.

Another con is the sense of entitlement that graduates seem to have. It is a dangerous feeling to believe that your degree and your school will put you at an advantage in the real world. Then the disappointment hits even harder.

Updated On: 3/24/14 at 12:53 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 4:43am

I think some schools position you better for the professional world (showcases, connections, learning about the business side of things -- agents, auditions, etc) but it's certainly not foolproof.

It's more important to find the right college FOR YOU, than a right college.

[ARTc3]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 8:14am

I am surprised that nobody mentioned the network you'll create. Attending one of the above listed universities often means that you'll know others in your class and be looked upon favorably - given a chance - by your alumni. Being well connected can almost be as important as talented when it comes to that "luck" factor - being in the right place at the right time.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 9:41am

The school that you attend decides what opportunities will be offered to you. People who get more opportunities have a higher chance of being successful.

Additionally, the theater world has now become generational. Children of established actors get opportunities that regular people don't get.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 9:50am

This isn't a performance related but whether you realize it or not what college you choose can have a lot to do with what sort of person you become.

When I graduated college I was a completely different person than when I graduated high school. It's important to choose a place where your personal growth is just as important to your professors as whether or not you become a "star".

My older brother went to NYU and that was great for him. He thrived in the hustle and bustle of a large school right in the city. When I was eighteen I was this scared little mouse who was convinced that everyone in the world hated her. I went to a small, all women's college in the Lehigh Valley. They helped me find my voice there and realize that there was nothing scary about my own shadow. I got an education but I also grew up. When I graduated college my adviser gave me a graduation gift. How often does that happen?

[Addison D.]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 10:07am

I'm skeptical that you can harm your career by going to the "best" possible school, and it just might help.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 10:11am

Eris, very well put. I went through the same thing. It was my dream to live in NYC, but when I graduated from high school there was too much fear. I attended a college that helped me grow as a person and find myself.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 12:51pm

I would say that attending one of those top programs can give you a boost at the start of your career, in the form of a better attended showcase, a pre-existing, strong network, etc. It's what you do with those advantages that determine the long-term affect that your alma mater will have. And of course you can go to a smaller, less well-known school, or no school at all (as others have already pointed out), and still achieve a great amount of success.

In the end it's a combination of talent, work ethic, and knowing the right person at the right time. The actors who can work those three things are the real triple threats.

[Joviedamian]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 3:13pm

Thank you all for the responses.

Apologies for grammar and spelling errors, as I am typing from my phone.

Also, I am not just talking about actors. Designers and creative team are equal to the list I posted. I saw a lot of designers and creative staff that attended Yale, Columbia and NYU.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 7:58pm

I don't know that I ever got a theater job because I went to Columbia (though I certainly got better paying "day jobs" along the way).

But having also attended a well-known state school, I am sure the education I got at Columbia made all the difference in the quality of the work I later did. It's not enough to just make art, you have to have something to say. In my view, that means something more than the contents of your own navel. (Formal education is not, of course, the only way to learn.)