Thanks to everyone who suggested colleges/universities to aid me on my path as a Comedian. I gave a helpful start to everyone who helped. Again, thanks 
Must… Resist… Saying… College… Of… Hard… Knocks…
Yes, @“Erin’s Dad” , I can’t believe people are saying “go to college to be a comedian”.
Just go be a comedian. Save your money. There is no barrier to entry for that career if you don’t have a degree.
It’s like asking the Victoria’s Secret runway models where they went to college. I mean, really. Just go do it. You either have what it takes or you don’t-no college can teach you how to be a comedian (or a model).
Well, that is a matter of taste. Stephen Colbert went to Northwestern (as a theater major), got his start at Second City.
Stay in-state and get your plan B degree, saving money. Writing/creating, how you see the world is the main driver behind any success you might have, and you can work on that anywhere. You need connections after you have the material and after you develop your talent/routine. If your parents would pay for NYU, tell them you want to save dough in TX but you expect some money when you graduate. Then go to Chicago or LA or NYC with your degree and cash in your pocket (i.e. no debt or parental expectations to make that expensive degree pay off). Find a job to pay the bills. Work on your stuff. If you have the type of talent and material and ambition required in the business, you’ll meet the right people.
@Motherofdragons “Go be a Comedian” Well that’s what I plan on doing, but thousands of other people want to become a comedian too. Some really good comics get overlooked and never make it. Which is why I made this thread to ask, where can I pursue comedy, yet get a good education just in case I don’t make it, and still be able to land on my feet when I graduate college. If I find the right people? Great. I achieved my life long dream. If I don’t? At least I have a degree so I can get a decent paying job. I guess going to a college located in NY, Chicago, or California is a good start since a lot of corporations are located there. I live in Houston. Not much going on here. There are comedy clubs here but, again I’m only 16, and they’re all in downtown. I live in the suburbs, my mom won’t let me drive that far under any circumstances. So basically I wanna start in college, but I just want to at least have some sort of game plan and not just jump in hoping someone will notice me.
@pault289 I think you have to decide. Am I going to go get a good education in something that I’m good at, or am I going to become a good stand up comedian?
My personal opinion is you don’t do stuff half-assed. Either you give yourself a set amount of time to become a successful stand-up comedian and you go at that full-bore, or you go to college and you focus on that. You can’t be the mistress to two lovers and be good at both.
I don’t have an opinion to which one is better; I just thing going to college TO become a comedian makes no sense.
@intparent personally, I think Will Ferrel is only funny in some cases, yet people like Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Kimmel, Louie CK, Chris Rock, and even Kevin Hart look like they do it without trying!
I recently became a fan of this young comic named Pete Davidson, he’s the youngest cast member on SNL and his stand up is hilarious. He’s only 22! I highly recommend you check him out. If I ever make it, he will definitely be in my list of “Who I look up to”. I’m in no rush to start my comedic career. Really really really really really don’t want to drop out. My parents couldn’t comprehend the words “Mom, Dad, I’m dropping out of college.”. Asian parents are freaky crazy when it comes to bragging about their children. And they sure as hell don’t want to brag about a son who dropped out of college. It’s bad.
The “College of Hard Knocks”
@pault289 check out Aziz Ansari. It sounds like your track may be similar to his.
@MotherOfDragons Well I guess I should have rephrased my question.
Your suggestion is scary to me, I guess I know far to many starving artists, some are 40 are still hoping to make it someday. I strongly believe in pursuing this kind of stuff while keeping a day job.
Look at some of your favorte comedians and see wehre they went. I bet you there is a variety.
OP, I think you need to reframe slightly. I know a lot of comedians (in part b/c of where I went to school, actually), some of whom happened to go to the laundry list of super elite schools you’ve mentioned, but they didn’t make it as comedians b/c they went to those schools–they went to those schools b/c they were top students with interests/fit that landed them there… and then a series of life related things took them in directions to become comedians. Meaning, correlation isn’t causation, though certainly it’s worth looking up comedians and seeing where they went to school.
You need to look at a wide variety of schools (in large part b/c even if you have good grades and scores–check these forums; it’s carnage out there in admissions to the top schools), and I would recommend you look into majoring in film, television, media, screenwriting, journalism… in that ballpark. I mean, go for business if you really want, but every comedian I know majored in something related to communications. Comedians are usually writers: you don’t just end up on SNL because you’re funny on the fly–you start in the writer’s room and end up on air, or you’re hired for on air and you have to write and pitch your own sketches. You don’t just become Jimmy Fallon or Conan–you start in the writer’s room (which is what they did) and it’s a LOT of writing (long hours, crappy pay!). Personally I would major in television and/or screenwriting.
Look for schools that have comedy scenes on campus. That could be comedy groups/improv, etc. It’s a bonus if those schools are in cities with lively comedy scenes, but that isn’t a dealbreaker. You can always move to one of those cities post grad and takes classes at UCB, Groundlings, etc. (I mean, do that either way). You should also really investigate the schools’ internship opportunities, alumni network, etc. You can find these at a wide variety of schools, and usually the best schools for comedy aren’t the tippy-top ones you name. Like, I do NOT think of UCLA as the place to go to network for working in comedy. I know a comedian from UC Berkeley (he’s a senior editor at Buzzfeed), but I just don’t really think of that as a breeding ground for comedians. shrugs NYU, yes. USC, absolutely. Harvard, yes, though again it’s that correlation/causation thing–Harvard wasn’t some golden comedian ticket, rather, some super smart people who were able to get into Harvard went there and then ended up successful comedians (Conan). I mean, Conan majored in US History, and I don’t think he went to Harvard going “I’m going to be a comedian!” That said, if you can get in there are some great comedy resources at Harvard. But getting in is hard.
Look at the Boston-area schools: BU, Emerson, BC, Northeastern. I went to BU–one of my contemporaries is now a writer for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (after writing for SNL), and the other is a writer for Late Night with Seth Meyers (after a stint as the Editor of The Onion)–they both majored in TV and were in a sketch group on campus (I used to go to their shows). I know five other BU guys who are at varying levels of comedy career–they majored in either TV or journalism (one writes for Silicon Valley & Always Sunny–he’s doing pretty well!). A comedian I love who is more in the Twitter comedy brand/book-writing space, Sara Benincasa, went to Emerson & I know Emerson has a bunch of other stellar alum. Amy Poehler went to BC.
These are just examples–you need to look for schools with vibrant creative cultures (which is what I think they all have in common–they attract smart, creative, funny people), and ideally with comedy groups on campus. Use college to grow as a writer and person and to explore your style. Then use that as a springboard for where you land post college–take jobs that are interesting and intersect with comedy, where possible, take classes at the famous schools if that interests, do standup, etc. Be in the scene, network… and you’ll find your college network can be hugely helpful.
Another avenue would be to get a degree in English/Film Studies/Media and become a comedy writer. You would need to do internships in LA and make connections. Most comedy writers come from top colleges
Aren’t there comedy clubs in Houston? Why don’t you just start doing open mic nights there? You don’t need to go far away to start working at what you want to do.
Wherever you go, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a Business Law, Contract Law or Corporate Law – whatever your particular school calls it – class. In such a class you’ll learn the basics of contracts and the pros and cons of different business types, which could really come in handy as you work your way into your comedy career.
@happymomof1 I did mention comedy clubs in Houston, however they are all located downtown which is about a 45 min drive from my house. I’m only 16, and I just got my license. My mom won’t let me drive that far.