YTT: College Access

About The Program

Named after the phrase “Y tu tambien” (or “And so can you!”), this tuition-free program provides college application and interview workshops, mentorship, and networking for students and their families, with the goal of increasing college access for New York City high school students.

Using theater techniques such as improvisation and playwriting, YTT students learn how to create and refine their own personal stories for use in the college application process. 

Within the YTT College Access Program are My Story workshops, intensive classes that focus directly on a specific aspect of the college application process, such as the essay or interview portion. 

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Program Stats

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In 2024, YTT enrolled over 250 students.

(The majority of our students are 1st Generation College Applicants)

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YTT Students have a 100% acceptance rate.

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YTT Students attend top schools including: Yale, Harvard, Cornell, Columbia, Brown, MIT, and Williams College.

Our Next Workshop

MyStory: Essays

Learn theater techniques to develop your own personal story for your college essay.

When

April 24 - May 22
Thursdays 5:30-7:30pm

Where

The New Group Offices

240 West 35th Street
Suite 1200
New York, NY 10001

Instructor

Preston Crowder
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How To Apply

Fill out our application form with your contact information to apply to these programs. No acting or playwriting experience is necessary for these workshops. First generation and low-income students are encouraged to apply.

 

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Requirements

  • Students must be enrolled in a New York City public high school. (Priority is given to Juniors and first-semester Seniors.)
  • Students should be academically motivated and eager to learn

YTT Teaching Artists

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Preston Crowder

preston crowder

YTT Instructor - MyStory Essays 

Bio: Born and raised in Nashville, TN, Preston Crowder is a playwright-actor-director-songwriter with a passion for telling stories surrounding the vast experiences of being Black and Queer in the United States. Production history as a playwright includes My Dead Boyfriend Is A Robot (Oberlin College, 2024), Don’t Look Black (Tennessee Playwrights Studio, 2022), Break Your Chains (Juilliard School, 2017), and Flames (University School of Nashville, 2016). Acting Credits include Is God Is (Scotch, The New School), Night Into Morning (Xavier, Short Film), Maidens (Figure 3, Tennessee Playwrights Studio), Sweat (Chris, Humanity Theater Project) and Clybourne Park (Kevin/Albert, Circle Players). Directing credits include At The Wake Of A  Dead Drag Queen (Dobama Theater, 2024), Night Into Morning (Short Film) and Detroit ’67 (Assistant Director, Karamu House). Preston was named as Playwright-In-Residence with The New Group through the TOW Foundation for their 2024-2025 season. Preston is a past Playwriting fellow for the Tennessee Playwrights Studio. Preston was also named a semi-finalist playwright for the 2023 Del Shore Writers Search (Bocking) and 2022 Obsidian Theater Festival for his play Bocking. Preston holds a MFA degree from The New School of Drama and a BFA degree from Oberlin College, where they served as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Theater and Africana Studies from 2022-2024. 

The New Group’s tuition-free education programs are supported in part by the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation

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