NYU Tisch Special Programs Dance Summer High School Program

Classes run Monday to Friday from about 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and evenings and weekends are often just as busy. In Tisch's sample week, mornings bring 90-minute blocks of ballet and contemporary technique, with Pilates or yoga at 9 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. After lunch you spend three hours either on Creative Research, where you compose and rehearse your own solo and group work, or on Repertory with a guest choreographer. Fridays swap in improvisation or partnering and special workshops in Dance and Technology, Physical Therapy and Movement Science.

On Tuesday and Thursday evenings the group goes to a 7:30 p.m. performance in New York, and the other nights are free until the 11 p.m. curfew. Weekends add workshops, rehearsals, and lectures and demonstrations by guest dance companies. The sample is based on previous summers, and you get your actual schedule at orientation.

You need to be at least 15 and a current high school sophomore or junior when you apply, with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 on an unweighted 4.0 scale, and Tisch gives preference to juniors. There's no audition or portfolio, so your written application carries the weight, though you can link performance videos in your creative résumé. Places are tight: Tisch accepts about 30 dancers, from more than 800 applications across all its summer high school tracks.

• Written responses

  Three answers of up to 250 words each, plus any program-specific prompts.

• Creative résumé

  Your training, awards, projects, community service and work experience, with links to video if you have it.

• Transcript

  A PDF covering every year of high school, including fall 2026 grades if they're available. Homeschooled applicants have the parent in charge of their schooling email a summary of coursework.

• Two recommendations

  At least one has to come from a high school representative, and the other can be a community group leader, mentor or coach.

• English test

  Only if English isn't your native language and you haven't completed three or more consecutive full-time years in English-only schooling.

• International applicants

  A passport valid at least six months past the program and, if admitted, a U.S. F-1 student visa.

Plan on $15,841 for summer 2027, which is Tisch's tuition for 6 units plus the required fees for housing, meals, activities and dance tickets. Housing and the 10-meal-a-week plan aren't optional, because every student lives on campus, though you can pay for a bigger meal plan.

On top of that come the $75 application fee, which Tisch waives for families who email to explain financial hardship, plus travel to and from New York, laundry through a paid app and spending money in an expensive city. Domestic students need their own health insurance. International students are enrolled in NYU's plan, which cost $392 for a month in 2026, and pay a $115 international student fee plus the U.S. government's SEVIS fee.

Once admitted, you confirm with a $1,500 deposit that counts toward the total but is never refunded. Drop no later than four days after classes start and the rest of your tuition and fees comes back, but cancellations only count when sent by email. NYU doesn't take tuition payments by credit card, and payment plans aren't available for most of its high school programs.

Scholarships. Tisch offers a limited number of need-based scholarships that generally cover tuition, fees, housing and meals. You qualify only as a dependent of a parent or guardian who filed U.S. federal tax returns, and the scholarship form is due 11 December 2026.

You leave with 6 NYU college units and a letter grade from A to F, made up of 4 units for Dance Studio Practice (DANC-UT 1403) and 2 for Creative Research in Dance (DANC-UT 1404), plus the repertory you perform in the final studio showing. Tisch calls the credits transferable, but whether they count toward a degree or replace a required class is up to the college you eventually attend.

If you later enroll at NYU as an undergraduate, the credits apply automatically and your summer grade goes into your NYU GPA, so the grade matters. Grades are posted by September, and transcripts aren't sent automatically, so you request one from the NYU registrar. Tisch doesn't say the program counts toward admission to its Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in dance.

Every student has an 11 p.m. curfew every night, weekends included, and hands their NYUCard to the front desk to prove it, with quiet hours in rooms from 1 a.m. Each floor has a Program Assistant, an NYU college student who's the main day-to-day contact, and professional staff run each building. Family and friends can only come up on move-in and move-out days, and overnight or weekend leave needs a request from the emergency contact at least two business days ahead.

The point parents should weigh is that NYU's campus is open. Staff go along on program events, but in free time students can leave campus on their own, so NYU asks families to agree on boundaries before the summer. The Student Health Center handles urgent care but has no pediatricians, so some under-18s are referred to outside clinics. The full rules are in the NYU High School Programs Handbook, and breaking curfew or the zero-tolerance rule on alcohol and drugs can mean dismissal without a refund.

• Rooms

  Double rooms in four-person suites that share one bathroom, assigned at random with no roommate requests.

• Medication

  Students bring enough for the whole program and take it themselves, since staff don't administer it.

Applications go through Tisch's SlideRoom portal.

1. 1

   Enter your two recommenders in the portal early, since they get an emailed form and Tisch suggests giving them one to two weeks.

2. 2

   Complete the SlideRoom application with your written responses, résumé and transcript, and pay the $75 fee.

3. 3

   Fill in the NYU Tisch Supplemental Profile Form, because both parts must be in by 1 December 2026 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

4. 4

   If you want a scholarship, submit the form Tisch emails you once your profile is processed, by 11 December 2026.

5. 5

   Watch for your decision by email on 28 January 2027, checking spam and promotions folders.

6. 6

   If admitted, confirm your place with the $1,500 deposit by 19 February 2027 at 11:59 p.m. ET or the offer is withdrawn.