<p>Ok, i'm in a dilema.</p>
<p>I want to study business and theatre in college.</p>
<p>My dream is to go somewhere in New York.</p>
<p>But I live in PA, and when you go out of school they are more expensive then staying in state.</p>
<p>I will be paying for college all myself, so should i go somewhere in PA just because it's cheaper and I wont have tons of debt when I graduation, or should I go somewhere in NY but have a ton of loans?</p>
<p>Please give me your suggestions, THANKS!</p>
<p>Penn State</p>
<p>yea i agree...go with penn state</p>
<p>Go where you'll be happy. It's several years of your life - it's not worth it to be miserable. If you'd be happy at Penn State or Pitt, then do yourself a favor and stay in state. If not, go OOS. Lots of people end up having to take out loans - it's not the end of the world.</p>
<p>Also, private scholarships are good.</p>
<p>You give us so little information about yourself, it is impossible to give you any guidance. </p>
<p>1) What's your unweighed GPA?
2) What about your class rank?
3) AP Classes taken?
4) AP exams taken and results?
5) SAT?
6) ACT?
7) SAT II?
8) Special ECs?
9) Anything else you can tell us about yourself could help. </p>
<p>Also, from a financial stand point, you are paying all of the cost on your own because your parents don't have the means to contribute or because they don't want to pay?</p>
<p>4.0 UW g.p.a
2/215 class rank
A.P. History, A.P. Chem, A.P. English, A.P. Calc, A.P. Economics
SAT 1080 /560 Math 520 C.R. (Will retake in October)
Special ECs, Class president, leads in school musicals, peer leadership, BUSTED president (an anti tabaco group), community service.</p>
<p>I'm very outgoing and when i have goal I will achieve it.</p>
<p>I'm one out of 6 kids in my family and only my dad works. My parents can't afford to pay, so I'm pretty much on my own.</p>
<p>If i could find a good school in PA for theatre and business then i wouldn't mind going. But i always did want to go to NY.</p>
<p>So what do you think?</p>
<p>What is it that you like about New York? Why do you want to study there? The solution to your problem might lie in the answers to these.</p>
<p>There are a couple reasons.</p>
<p>There are maqny schools that have good theatre programs there, and i love the city of New York.</p>
<p>I guess i really dont know of two many schools in PA that have good business and theatre programs.</p>
<p>Why do you love NYC? I'm sure there are other cities that could offer the same. And there are plenty of good theater programs out there.</p>
<p>Penn has good business...don't know about theater though.</p>
<p>Though it's private so it may as well be NYU/Columbia from your point of view.</p>
<p>Though the Ivies arms race of financial aid means that it may be more affordable than you think</p>
<p>Kyle, you will get financial aid from most universities because you need it. The first thing I recommend you do is work on your SAT. Your GPA, class rank and AP courseload suggest that you are a very strong candidate, but your SAT suggests otherwise. Try to improve your SAT as much as possible.</p>
<p>The suggestion you were given to work on your SAT scores is an important one so that you have a broader range of options available to you in applying to schools. Since finances are an issue, talk to your guidance counselor about low cost SAT prep courses that are available in your area. In addition, your h.s. may offer SAT prep work to students.</p>
<p>You don't mention whether you are interested in theatre because you envision yourself seeking a career as an actor, are thinking of combining business and theatre to seek a career in theatre (or other performing arts) administration or just want the opportunity to perform in college on more of an avocational/EC basis. Important distinctions when considering schools with theatre programs. In this regard, if you are considering double majoring in business and theatre (or even majoring in one and minoring in the other, you probably should be looking at schools that offer a BA in theatre. BFA's in Acting and particularly Musical Theatre are so time consuming that you really don't have time to double major and in the case of Musical Theatre to really even minor in something else. Some schools offer BA's in Theatre Administration which combines theatre and business into a defined degree program. Or do you really want a degree in business and want to just enjoy theatre and performing while in college. Thinking this through will have a major impact on the schools you should be considering.</p>
<p>While NYC is an exciting city, it is not the only place to go to school if you have an interest in studying theatre. Tons of successful performers or those involved in theatre administration received their college training else where. Plus, the cost of living in NYC is extremely high and you should anticipate expenses in excess of $50,000/year for tuition, room and board and other expenses. There are other cities, such as Philadelphia, with very vital and active theatre and other performing arts scenes and many quality schools that offer business and theatre.</p>
<p>As you look at schools, focus on the availability of both merit and need based scholarships and grants. While loans are available, don't trivialize the impact they will have on you after graduation, particularly if you are looking at any type of career in the performing arts. Salary levels are not what you find in more traditional professions. Coming out of school with $150,000 - $200,000 in loans can have a material impact on your quality of life as you start out in your career in any field, let alone performing arts.</p>
<p>One school you may want to look at in PA is Muhlenberg in Allentown. Very strong LAC with an extremely well regarded BA theatre program with loads of performing opportunities, including musicals. Also strong in theatre administration. Any student, in any major, can audition for shows or participate as crew or administrative assistants. They also have a summer stock musical theatre company that provides students both acting and administrative internship opportunities. Muhlenberg is also very generous with need and merit based scholarships. It is also a SAT optional school out of recognition that some very good, bright students just don't test well on standardized testing. Not my intent to get into a debate here on the value of standardized testing, but you should have no concerns about the academic excellence of Muhlenberg and its student body.</p>
<p>Which brings me back full circle. Really think through what your interests are in theatre and business and what you want to do with them in college and afterwards. The answer to that will heavily impact on the schools you look at.</p>