Traveling from west to east and north to south my son and I have taken university tours at a great many of the “best” acting programs on the east and west coast. Questions: If you have a student currently enrolled in a BFA program for screen acting or theater where are they and are they happy? I don’t mean like Pollyanna happy. Do they enjoy the program they are in and do they feel that they have landed in a place where they are supported and challenged professionally? If so why?
@notenoughcoffee - you’ll probably get more replies if you put this on the Theatre/Drama major board but let me give you my prediction - you’ll only get enthusiastic responses. It’s very rare that a Theatre parent admits to being anything but thrilled with their kid’s school. Part of it is basic retail mentality - the kids worked SO HARD to get where they are and it was an expensive and difficult process so it’s important for the parents to feel the program is good/worth the effort - and part of it is that Theatre kids are generally happy in Theatre programs!
The BFA degree involves a lot of work but in general the BFA students (my kid is class of 2022) seem happy to do the work and satisfied with where ever they land. Students will sometimes drop out and transfer between schools but it’s rare that the program is to blame… it’s usually that the student wants a different type of program than they originally thought: more/less academics, more/less theatre arts, too far from/close to home… or finances become an issue.
If I were to give advice to someone looking at various BFA programs I would say 
1. Make sure you look at the financial commitment and work to minimize debt.
2. Think about what’s important to YOUR kid and not what you see in top-whatever lists.
3. Have an acceptable back-up plan if the BFA application process doesn’t pan out.
4. Make sure your child understands that she/he doesn’t need a BFA to act professionally but this is a unique chance to train and learn their craft and it requires a huge commitment.
If he/she wants to make that commitment and you choose schools based upon what matters to them (and what you can reasonable afford) it’s a pretty good bet they will be happy in any of the BFA programs they get into.