<p>Kiddo wants to be film, TV, or voice actor. Should we make every effort to have them go to college in LA or will some east coast schools work? Given overall costs of LA schools, I am leaning towards cheaper schools(that happen to be on east coast) to keep overall costs down. My thoughts are if our plus loan and student debts are considerably lower when kiddo graduates, that will free me up more as a parent to get them out to LA and help them some when they graduate. Any thoughts??? thanks :)</p>
<p>Check out Pace’s film, TV, and voice actor BFA program.</p>
<p>Pace offered great merit aid as well if your child has good grades and scores.</p>
<p>thanks. I forgot about Pace for the moment. I looked at them awhile back and we even chatted with them at a college fair. can I rely on their net price calculator? kids has good grades and very good scores, which I think pace asked about on NPC and even with that info, Pace’s estimated cost was similar to what USC cost on net price calculator. Is Pace one of schools where merit aid can exceed what’s showing up on the net price calculator? and I will get in touch with them directly too to ask about this. kid would LOVE to live in NYC. Any thoughts on Temple or Univ Central Florida? and how about my underlying question about whether we should just bite bullet and get kid out to LA as soon as possible despite close to double the cost?</p>
<p>What I often suggest in this forum is to have your kid research people who are already doing the sort of work your kid wants to do. They may find that an LA degree isn’t as vital as they may have thought.</p>
<p>or as I thought. thanks RealKEVP. I think you’ve been around awhile so I will take your advice to heart. Kid wants to keep college costs down and understands wisdom of doing so especially given how low paying their field can be and difficulty of finding any paying work. it’s more me as a parent who wants to give them the best opportunities. I can speak that from my own field, which has nothing to do with acting, that the big name degree is no guarantee of anything. and my own experience has been nagging me that since LA and its schools are SO expensive, it may not make as much sense as I thought. Since film is so centralized in LA, I wondered if the local LA schools may have better contacts and of course, there would be opportunities living in LA that are not available elsewhere. But what I have been learning on this journey is that professors in smaller schools know people who know people, etc. We are lucky in that the kid should be able to get merit scholarships at some schools so they have some good affordable options due to this. So we shall see</p>
<p>ctl - what I have learned through going through this process twice, with two different children, is that unless they are planning on working while in school, concentrate on the program, not the city. The city will still be there after they have graduated!</p>
<p>True, photomom. We thought LA could open up some unpaid or if we are really lucky paid opportunities to learn the business better so that is a plus of going there. but ur advice is similar to other advice I’ve gotten, including some in the field. and neither the kid or I think it is wise for us to be so stretched financially JUST so they can start school there. so we’ll put in apps and when we get the financial aid info next year, we’ll make the decision. But LA, despite it’s plusses, is seeming less likely given the expected costs. It is a harder decision to make since film TV acting is so concentrated in LA, but at the end of the day, if the family is super strapped and can pay considerably less to go somewhere else, we have to let that be a big part of the equation. and actually the program issue would suggest LA as the LA theatre programs have a lot more classes in film and television. many of the EC schools are more stage theatre focused.</p>
<p>That is wise, ctl, it is so hard to start off behind financially. I think there are so many wonderful, affordable BFA and BA programs that your decision should not be based in a city. We based ours on staying on the East coast but that is for ease of transportation. There are few safeties as any program that requires an audition is not a sure thing.</p>
<p>Yes, kids in schools usually are too busy to do professional work or they are not allowed. It can be nice to be in the general atmosphere where you can find things you are interested in - kids who love theatre love to be near cities, NYC in particular, where they can see plays, etc., but that is only a perk, not essential. </p>
<p>There are many programs that provide excellent on-camera training and experience, even majors in them. Because there seem to be few of those, you’re likely to have more general theatre BA/BFAs on your list, too. Ask what kinds of classes and opportunities exist in any Theatre department, or if there is a film/TV/media department at the school, where a student can get more experience. And as with any school, ask how they would help their students go into the business and make connections.</p>
<p>I’ll chime in here as the mom of 2 kids at LA schools. I would say the benefits of living in Los Angeles are nice–but do not outweigh the realities of paying for 4 years of super-expensive college. Not sure how it works with other schools around LA, but USC allows BA acting students to take outside work but does not allow their BFA students to do so. Kids who get an agent during college and go on auditions may find themselves putting their budding career ahead of school, when the big call comes. Lots to think about, even if this sounds like it would be desirable.</p>
<p>As for the geography of one’s college, I was not surprised to see 2 USC alums nominated for Tonys this season. Even though… they did not attend college in NY. So for kids who have dreams of being on a Broadway stage, I would not rule out a west coast college, either. </p>
<p>In the end, it’s the work and talent and…yes… luck of the game.</p>
<p>Thanks Emmybet and Madbean. emmybet, I realized on a recent visit that at least one school has more under the surface that appears from their catalogue by asking soem of those questions. and one reason we are looking at Tempe is due to their media department, which actually sounds great. I am already aware that Temple had a good theatre department. kid may do combo of media and acting classes if they go to Temple. and madbean, megathanks. Ur advice confirms my thoughts on this topic. in our case, it could be twice as expensive for a LA school and again, it makes more sense to have that money to help kid get set up post graduation than to have whole family super strapped. I did know about USC’s BA/BFA policies and kid will only apply to the BA program in part due to that and due to a lot of other factors too, including difficulty of acceptance to USC as is and then put that acceptance on megasteroids to try to get into USC BFA’s.</p>
<p>UNCSA had 3 Tony nominations providing further proof that location ( Winston-Salem NC) is secondary</p>
<p>Chapman College in Orange county is another possibility. It’s not cheap but it does focus on film and is, no doubt, a somewhat easier admit than USC because most schools are. One of my D’s most talented friends went there on full scholarship, so that is a possibility, and is happy there. They have some diverse and interesting internship possibilities.</p>
<p>theater mom, i did not think Chapman offered full scholarships. Do you know if hers was merit, merit/talent or combined merit and need? Although mine appears to qualify for some merit aid at Chapman, our EFC is solidly middle class so it’s pricey even with merit and some need based aid. However, if they have full or substantial merit or combined merit/talent, we could consider it. thanks for the tip. I’ll check to see where my kids scores/GPA fall in comparison to Chapman’s enrolled students.</p>
<p>I suspect it was both. Her circumstances were not as good as you describe but, as I said, she is very talented. Maybe worth a try?</p>
<p>Def worth a try. They do offer a lot in film and TV.</p>
<p>You probably already know this but, for the record, the schools that offered us the most money were those in which we showed the most interest: early requests for information, visits to both the school and the department, and applying in person or at unifieds (not on the phone) are important.</p>
<p>Interesting u say that and thanks for the tip. I’ve actually been learning that based on some talks/contacts with an east coast school. They basically implied that in a good way. Well, I will def get in touch with Chapman then. Kid has decent to very good stats so academically, they are bound to be very interested. And they are above average actor, of course, so is everyone who applies for theatre. We are visiting Cali and can visit in person too. Anyone know how long it takes to establish residency in Cali?/ It occurred to me we should at least visit UCLA while we are there. there is NO way we can afford UCLA out of state but I would consider moving, assuming i could find a suitable job, to establish residency.</p>
<p>Residency is a year…366 days if I remember correctly. But it’s a very small program and easier to be accepted OOS.</p>