@jbtcat agreed. That is part of that “tricky” combination to achieve. The cheapest isn’t always the best fit (for many reasons) and the most expensive may not be the best either. Have to find the balance that works for you.
@bfahopeful exactly! “tricky” is the perfect word!
@katew529 - thank you so much for that informative list, wow, I really appreciate it, as do we all. It’s really hard to analyze where the success comes from, trust me, I have tried, and it really does come from EVERYWHERE.
@rutgersmom321, and anyone who needs to revisit FA/scholarship packages, I truly believe you approach them honestly explaining your cost of attendance and offers elsewhere, and then explain what level of support you would need in order to attend. I know many folks who have negotiated up their packages. In fact, negotiating skills are pretty important here, so I would write a SCRIPT for the conversation and have your child present it.
I totally agree with all the wise people in this community who say that for artists in particular, taking on debt just for a name school is not always the way to go. I think it is impossible to quantify the “connections” from any school; every school has some level of connections. It’s actually easier to evaluate the training, but even that varies. You can get outstanding training at some non-name brand schools. The best research is probably talking to recent graduates of the programs, if at all possible.
Collect information here, but then trust the instincts of you and your child.
@katew529 and others. Katew529’s advice regarding debt and dream at all costs resonates with me as I have observed these dangers firsthand. I believe I wrote about this before, but it sees time to repeat the story.
I have one sister who is the youngest of 4. She is a very talented classical musician. In short, my middle-class parents invested considerably in her dream. They sent her to the best summer music camps, she went to one of the top top undergraduate music schools at an elite private university, and she earned an masters in performing arts at another top top private school. They also invested over $70,000 in her instrument collection. After graduation she become a professional musician in a large city. She has done fine and, together with her husband’s IT career, their income is solid middle class. The financial burden, however, is multi-generational. First, the enormous debt my parents took on to send her to school and buy these instruments bankrupted them. They had lived in their house for more than 20 years. At the end they owed more on it than they had paid in the first place. They had borrowed heavily from both the house and my father’s retirement plan in order to pay for her education, etc. The house went into foreclosure and they filed bankruptcy. The retirement plan was wiped-out (as an aside, if you think you might be heading to bankruptcy, be very careful about taking assets out of retirement plans as these assets are often protected from creditors in a bankruptcy - get your own legal advice). Today they have nothing other than a little over $100 per month that my mom gets from her pension as a florist for a grocery chain, and they do get social security. It could have been very bad, but, instead, my brothers and I are supporting them. They live rent free in a house that we bought for them and between us we give them several hundred a week. We probably give them a little more than they truly “need,” but none of us wants to watch them live on the edge so that we can instead have the sports & entertainment package on cable TV. I don’t fault my sister in any of this. It is not her responsibility to monitor and moderate the adults who raised her. I believe she assumed they would not do it if they could not afford it. I doubt my parents ever really told her the extremes they were going to in order to fund her dream. Not only did my parents over-extend themselves, but they allowed her to overextend herself. She left school with what I am sure is the maximum amount of debt one could borrow at the time. She is still paying off that debt and she has been out of school for about 15 years. This chokehold of debt has limited what she can do for her own children - all 4 of them. The biggest issue is that they live in an urban home in a bad school district. Because they live more or less week to week, they cannot save up enough for a down payment on a home in a better school district. And renting is even more expensive than owning due to the low interest rates. She has been successful in getting a couple of her children into charter schools. So, I would sum it up this way - The dream bankrupted my parents, allowed my sister to initially enjoy a modestly successful career as a classical musician, but ultimately frustrated her as she cannot provide what she knows is best for her own children because of the mountain of school debt. She is also significantly limited to fund the dreams of her own children. I am pretty sure that they will be limited to ROTC or in-state schools. Nothing wrong with either option, but a limitation nonetheless.
Wow, @VASkydog, what an eye-opening story! Something ALL our kids should read - they’re all so young and starry-eyed about these schools, it’s hard for them to see long-term consequences. Thanks for sharing that story! And kudos to you and your brothers for helping to support your parents. You’re good people. 
@momof2lefties We haven’t received the FA letter from Emerson yet, but the merit award was listed on his acceptance letter.
@actorparent1 I try to be nice at least 1/3rd of the time. 
Thank you for sharing @VASkydog. Such a powerful example of what we could be moving toward if we don’t take a more pragmatic approach to the whole process. And kudos to you and your siblings for helping out your parents - they totally meant well and never envisioned (I assume) what the future would bring.
@VASkydog - what a powerful statement you’ve shared. Thank you! When taking on debt, it’s typical to imagine better times are ahead and the debt repayment will be manageable. However, as your story tells - it doesn’t always work out that way. I feel for your parents. And I applaud you & your siblings for making appropriate sacrifices for parents who were willing to give all they had (and more) to support their child’s dream.
@VASkydog thank you for sharing your story. Really puts things in perspective. Your parents sound like wonderful people. After all who here thinks totally logically when it comes to ones child!
Does anyone know how to decline Pace academic acceptance? FTVC finally sent the dreaded thin envelope…
I really appreciate @VASkydog’s post. We told our D we want to do everything in our power to help her succeed long term and that an essential component to her success is graduating with little or no debt so she is free to take on a part-time flexible job that allows her to audition after college. It is hard for her to hear, and we are all still holding out hope that the dream school will come through with enough scholarship money to make it work. We are fortunate to have a more affordable option at another school with a solid program.
My daughter got a rejection letter from Syracuse this past Friday at 5:30pm. She also, received notification that she is waitlisted at Ball State. Has anyone heard from OKCU yet? She auditioned a month ago.
@rutgersmom321 my daughters college advisor instructed to her to use her best financial aid offers as leverage for other schools. “coastal carolina gave me $44,000 for the first year, can you match that or come closer?”
Anyones kid considering Coastal Carolina University, Marymount Manhattan or Ball State? Also, any insight on the difference between BFA Acting and BFA Performance and Production at Texas State? Thank you!
CalArts? Has anyone else received NO decision from them? Does anyone know the accepted student visit dates?
We thought her problems with the portal were to blame for not receiving a decision earlier in the month but she just called and they said they are still undecided. She’s not declined. She’s not waitlisted. She’s not accepted. And they didn’t give her a date that she would know by. If she gets in I have to plan a cross country flight and hotel room for her to decide as she’s never visited.
Thanks!
@theatrelifemomma Hi. Here is what we were told on Feb 28th by the theatre recruitment department, “I know they are sending out preliminary emails this week, depending on who accepts or not you should hear something back soon.”
So, I don’t know what their definition of “soon” is. My daughter got a not for BFA acting with Texas State.
@cassidysmom , we’re considering Marymount Manhattan. My daughter is going to sit in on an acting class there next week to try to get a feel for the program.
hi @cassidysmom I’ve seen a few post of some recently coming off of WL for Ball State. I hear Coastal Carolina has been producing some well known performers
@VASkydog Thank you so much for sharing your insightful story! It is so hard to think really long term when we want to support our children’s dreams. You are good kids to support your parents. I was a theater kid myself, and my parents were not supportive of me pursuing the arts in college. I was a stronger student than I was an artist, in their eyes and it is probably true, and they were mortgaging the house for college, so, it was an academic degree for me. I have had a successful career, but I miss the arts terribly, and am enjoying every minute with my D who is so passionate about it. I am also supporting my parents, who did not plan well enough for retirement. So, we are walking up the middle, we are supporting her dream, she can get a BFA, but trying hard to find a no-debt option.