My guess is that it would depend on a school-by-school basis. The Theatre Studies program at SMU has a lot of academic requirements, so maybe that is one that wouldn’t be in the ‘starting over’ category. I know BU and DePaul have similar programs, but not sure what they will allow in terms of transfer.
There are probably some BA theater programs that would also not require starting over, because of the academic needs of those programs.
For an affordable, four-year program, the BA in theater at the University of Northern Colorado, even for out of state students is very BFA-like, and only moderately competitive. It’s a small school in a small town, but has produced some excellent talent. Similarly, Texas State, while an extremely competitive program, offers in-state tuition to all BFA students accepted to the program.
There is also the BA-to-BFA program at Southern Oregon University. Again, not an astonishing price tag. The BA program is a DVD audition and then after Sophomore year, you can audition for the BFA program. You also have the chance to work with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which is a real treat.
Another school that comes up a lot with a strong BA program with proximity to NYC, is Drew. If your son has strong academics, I’ve heard they are VERY generous with aid and have a solid program where students thrive and have many performance and other theater opportunities.
Muhlenburg—also a program with an audition-for-scholarship which seems to be quite generous. I know a few students who chose Muhlenburg over other BFA programs because of the training/affordability balance.
Montclair I think also now offers in-state tuition to all those accepted to the BFA programs. I don’t know much about that.
I guess what I am saying is this: If your son wants to pursue theater from the get-go, but cost is a concern, there are options out there, but it probably is a challenge to try two years of gen-eds at another school and hope to transfer without at least tacking on one additional year at another school.