2023 Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k
8
Ranked Colleges
512
Degrees Awarded
$32,600
Avg Net Price*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
In 2020-2021, 1,793 people earned their degree in acting, making the major the 323rd most popular in the United States.
Across California, there were 512 acting graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 8 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in acting. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great acting programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the acting program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
One Size Does Not Fit All
The acting school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k”.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k.
Top 8 Best Value Colleges for Acting (Income $0-$30k) in California
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in La Jolla, California, this large public school handed out 8 degrees to qualified ’s acting students in 2020-2021.
UCSD did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Acting Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - San Diego is $9,823 for California Acting students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Acting at University of California - San Diego
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Southern California. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k. USC is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 71 ’s acting degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our california acting students whose families make $0-$30k list, USC has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Acting Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for USC is $17,287 for California Acting students whose families make $0-$30k.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Acting at USC
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Chapman University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Orange, California, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 14 degrees to qualified ’s acting students in 2020-2021.
Chapman not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Acting Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Chapman University is $34,946 for California Acting students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Read more about Acting at Chapman University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Academy of Art University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. San Francisco, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out ’s acting degrees to 34 students in 2020-2021.
Academy of Art University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Acting Schools in California” list. It costs about $33,484 for california acting students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Academy of Art University.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 5.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Academy of Art University Acting Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Pepperdine University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Pepperdine is a private not-for-profit institution located in Malibu, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 8 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Pepperdine not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Acting Schools in California” list. It costs about $36,264 for california acting students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Pepperdine.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Full Pepperdine University Acting Report
California Institute of the Arts ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Valencia, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s acting degrees to 37 students in 2020-2021.
CalArts did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Acting Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend CalArts is $52,801 for california acting students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read more about Acting at California Institute of the Arts
With a ranking of #7, American Academy of Dramatic Arts - Los Angeles did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. American Academy of Dramatic Arts - Los Angeles is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 150 ’s acting degrees to qualified students.
American Academy of Dramatic Arts - Los Angeles also took the #6 spot in our “Best Acting Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend American Academy of Dramatic Arts - Los Angeles is $32,887 for California Acting students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read more about Acting at American Academy of Dramatic Arts - Los Angeles
With a ranking of #8, New York Film Academy did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. New York Film Academy is a small school located in Burbank, California that handed out 170 ’s acting degrees in 2020-2021.
New York Film Academy also took the #8 spot in our “Best Acting Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $43,567 for California Acting students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend New York Film Academy.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Acting at New York Film Academy
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Notes and References
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
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