<p>I'm only a junior but I have all the colleges I want to apply for next year -- USC, NYU, CalArts, Chapman, and possibly U-Dub. I know all of these are hard to get into especially since I want to major in drama/acting. They're also expensive, and my parents are only willing to pay at most $5,000 because they detest me applying to these colleges and going into what they call "a ridiculous and jobless major." I know they may be right, but I really don't know what I could do other than that, and that's the only clear path I see my life heading toward. Well, I live in AR and I definitely don't want to go to college in-state or any community college either, so I don't exactly have a safety school, except for maybe U-Dub but they don't give out great (or any for that matter) scholarships for OOS students. I'm trying to be as realistic as possible with my college choices, and I know I have a chance with my grades and (hopefully) talent since I'll have to go audition. But if after I apply and audition and I don't get accepted, or let's say I do but I don't get much scholarship money or financial aid, would it be a smart decision to take a gap year? To try to figure out what exactly I want to do with my life and maybe explore other career options?</p>
<p>Also, I probably won't re-apply to the same colleges, maybe one or two if I do something that would be a great change.</p>
<p>The state of WA, like many others, is in a fiscal crisis. There are little to no merit scholarships for OOS applicants (several years ago there was a couple thousand dollars for two years) and you will get little need based FA. Applying there is a waste of time and money unless you are willing and able to pay full OOS tuition.</p>
<p>Rather than thinking about a gap year, you need to run the NPCs for those schools to see if you even qualify for need based FA. If these schools are not reasonable, then you need to look further and develop a realistic list of admissions and financial safety, match and reach schools.</p>
<p>Thanks. I haven’t done the NPCs yet because my parents’ income will be different by the time I apply for FA, but their income will be low so I’m sure I qualify for need-based FA.</p>
<p>I would go where george Clooney went…Northern Kentucky and Cincinatti, but didn’t graduate. How about Brad Pitt…Missouri for journalism. Bruce Willis anyone…Montclair State in NJ. The point here is that it doesn’t matter where you go or your major. What matters is that you constantly work on your craft and maybe, just maybe, you will go far.</p>
<p>How about you try double majoring, to get your parents to increase funding? Also, most people who study acting don’t actually go into acting.</p>
<p>Get your head out of the clouds. If your parents can only afford $5K then you need to be looking at schools which offer scholarships or in-state. You can only borrow $5.5K as a freshman.</p>
<p>Like geo said you can go to a school not know for the arts and still excel. You should not limit yourself to schools that you don’t think you have a high chance of getting into and can’t afford. Also you might want to look at CMU if you apply ED and get in they will meet 100 percent of demonstrated need (something they won’t do during RD).</p>