<p>Hi everyone. I am a senior in high school and I very soon have to start the whole college application process. I am intensely interested in going to school in California, and I want to go for a bfa in acting. I have looked into some schools there, specifically Chapman, but the one problem-money. I simply can't afford that type of school. What other schools with programs of that sort are there...or is it possible to get enough financial aid to go there without going dead broke?</p>
<p>I don’t know what your academic credentials are, but many schools offer very generous talent scholarships on top of need-based financial aid. The state universities in CA are superb, but very selective for out-of-state (which I infer you are), with almost no financial aid available for non-Californians. They are still less expensive than private colleges, but not as much less as you might expect. USC has a fabulous performing arts program, but it is very selective. Cal Arts in Valencia is world-renowned, as well. What about University of Redlands? I think it’s a non-audition BA program. My nephew went to Redlands, and loved it.</p>
<p>Are any of the UC’s or Cal States good for drama other than UCLA? Connections? I know UCLA is fantastic and we will apply there, what about others? My other son attends Cal Poly out of state ( we live in VA)and they are now recruiting for out of state applicants *budget?). Chapman is very selective, right? (also very expensive) My son is a mediocre academic but will audition well, (very well), he has alot of talent but isn’t engage in school (lots of kids feel this way who are creative in my opinion) so audition based is better for us, but with the numbers (like 20 out of 2000 getting in) we would have to audition many many places to have any safety at all…</p>
<p>UCI has some depth in its theater department and it close enough to LA to offer interesting and useful internships. It may be worth a look. It’s largely a computer science school but the campus is beautiful with a park at its center. </p>
<p>UCSB offers the only BFA conservatory program for acting in the UC system. Entry to the program is by audition but I gather you need to be admitted to the school before applying to the program and the school is very competitive. </p>
<p>Chapman is not selective on a level with UCLA or UCSD but it is expensive. I know someone who got a full scholarship for acting to Chapman but she was a top student as well as a gifted actor. </p>
<p>Some students thrive in the most unlikely places but I would not recommend Northern California for theater. Both SFSU and UCD theater departments have good reputations, however.</p>
<p>Last year, when my daughter was looking for drama programs (we had different requirements than you…but what we could get for financial aid mattered quite a bit) she applied to 20 different schools. My daughter is a pretty average student (2.47 GPA) but her SATs were decent (around 1,600, I think) and her acting experience wasn’t that extensive. Her best friend was doing the same thing, except for Dance. Anyway, she applied to 5 Reach Schools, 5 Good Fit Schools, and 10 Safety Schools. She got into 1 Reach School and got on the waiting list for another. She got into 3 of her Good Fit schools and 3 of her Safety schools. BTW, we just wildly guessed what would be a Reach, Good Fit and Safety school. We also got the FAFSA in as quickly as possible though there was a glitch and it was only sent to a portion of the schools…so CHECK to make sure your application for whatever was received. Her Dance friend was accepted at all the schools she applied to. THEN, we started looking at the financial aid offers as they came in. Advice: MAKE SURE ALL THE SCHOOLS ACCEPTING YOU GOT YOUR FAFSA instead of waiting patiently until mid June to inquire when a package would be coming. That is my strong advice. Anyway, Annabel didn’t actually chose the school with the BEST financial aid package…but her friend, who didn’t have a FAFSA glitch, her mother went into action asking and appealing for more money, tuition discounts, et cetera. Our girls were only applying to small liberal arts colleges (I am intense about this issue and got them to agree with me) so the offices were VERY personal and approachable. </p>
<p>Don’t EVER assume you cannot afford a program because of it’s sticker price. I am not sure how far you can appeal aid with the larger institutions, but I would certainly try…if I believed in MONGO colleges. I will post a note about the Drama programs in California in a few minutes. I have children to set in order!</p>
<p>Not sure what degrees (BA/BFA) these programs offer, but here is a pretty good list of theater programs in California. </p>
<p>American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Hollywood
-----accredited with the National Association of Schools of Theatre
American Film Institute Conservatory
American Musical and Dramatic Academy, Los Angeles
-----accredited with the National Association of Schools of Theatre
Azusa Pacific University
Biola University
California Institute of the Arts
-----accredited with the National Association of Schools of Theatre
California Lutheran University
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
California State University, Bakersfield
California State University, Chico
California State University, Dominguez Hills
-----accredited with the National Association of Schools of Theatre
California State University, Fresno
-----accredited with the National Association of Schools of Theatre
California State University, Fullerton
-----accredited with the National Association of Schools of Theatre
California State University, Hayward
California State University, Long Beach
-----accredited with the National Association of Schools of Theatre
California State University, Los Angeles
California State University, Monterey Bay
California State University, Northridge
-----accredited with the National Association of Schools of Theatre
California State University, Sacramento
-----accredited with the National Association of Schools of Theatre
California State University, San Bernardino
-----accredited with the National Association of Schools of Theatre
California State University, San Marcos
California State University, Stanislaus
-----accredited with the National Association of Schools of Theatre
Chapman University
Claremont McKenna College
Columbia College-Hollywood
Concordia University
Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre
-----accredited with the National Association of Schools of Theatre
Design Institute of San Diego
Fresno Pacific University
Humboldt State University
Loyola Marymount University
-----accredited with the National Association of Schools of Theatre
Notre Dame De Namur University
Occidental College
Pacific Union College
Pepperdine University
Pitzer College
Point Loma Nazarene University
Pomona College
Saint Mary’s College of California
San Diego State University
-----accredited with the National Association of Schools of Theatre
San Francisco State University
-----accredited with the National Association of Schools of Theatre
San Jose State University
-----accredited with the National Association of Schools of Theatre
Santa Clara University
Scripps College
Sonoma State University
Stanford University
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Davis
University of California, Irvine
University of California, Los Angeles
-----accredited with the National Association of Schools of Theatre
University of California, Riverside
University of California, San Diego
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of La Verne
University of Redlands
University of San Diego
University of San Francisco
University of Southern California
University of the Pacific
Vanguard University of Southern California
Westmont College</p>
<p>thanks, I can’t find that website that identifies safety, good match and reach schools, do you know which one it was?</p>
<p>Actually, we researched through the Princeton Review web site and various books we had and then I just took a wild guess! If your SAT scores are general near the average scores listed or your GPA is close to those listed, you have a fairly good chance of getting in. Later, we found ■■■■■■■■■■ and ran my guesses through their calculations and we pretty much agreed. My daugher got into every school listed In the Middle or On the Fence and just a couple of the Reach, but not Impossible.</p>
<p>A word of warning: average scores and GPA do not apply in all cases. For example, at Carnegie Mellon, where the average test scores and GPA are stratospheric, students in the college of fine arts are, on average, average.</p>