Abat17

All my life I have wanted to become an actress. Acting is my passion. Any time I would mention going to college and majoring in theater, my mom would always be against it. For some reason, my mom has changed her mind and supports my idea of majoring in theater. She suggests, however, double majoring in something else in case acting does not work out. I am thinking about double majoring in theater and accounting. I have a couple questions about this, though. How much longer would it take me to do this compared to getting a single major in one or the other? If I decide to double major, I plan on taking classes in the summer and always taking at least 4 classes. In addition, how much more money would it cost since these two subject areas are not really related?

I have the drive to complete a double major. In high school I am very competitve with a 4.0 gpa and first in my class. I am also really good at time management. These things would not be an issue for me. The only things I am worried about are costs and extra years added to my schooling.

wisdomsomehow

I think it really depends on the school and programs you're in. A BFA in acting at most schools is incompatible with a double major, but you might be able to swing it with a BA. I know at my school, the BA Theatre is 52 units, and I believe a BS Accounting is 68 units. That adds up to 120 units for both majors—before gen eds, which are another 32 (unless you get out of two or three with AP/IB credit). There's also a diversity requirement, which can be fulfilled by a theatre class or another class and three semesters of a foreign language (which you can test out of), which can be up to 16 more units. If you didn't do well enough on the math placement test or your AP/IB math, you'll also have to take MATH 117, which is another four units.

So double-majoring in theatre and accounting at USC can be anywhere from 140 units (if your high school work works out fortuitously enough) to 172 units. USC lets you take up to 18 units per semester at a flat rate (though they don't encourage taking that many, I have every semester, with no problem—but I think that's because of which classes I'm taking). So, theoretically, it is possible to graduate in four years, without even taking summer classes. I don't know if it's possible practically, though, due to scheduling etc.

I'd imagine it would be much easier to do an accounting minor than a double major.

TheRealKEVP

My belief is that folks who succeed as actors are people who have committed themselves completely to that goal. SO that's my suggestion to you. If being an actress is what you want more than anything, I think now, while you are young, you should commit yourself to acting.

If "it doesn't work out" or for some reason you change your mind, you can always get your accounting credentials later. Or some other credentials. In the U.S. getting an undergraduate degree in a specific subject (like theatre) does NOT commit you to a career in that subject.

I've spoken to a woman who works in my building who is studying accounting, she tells me that you don't even need a bachelor's degree to sit the CPA exam!

Remember that acting is very competitive. You will be competing with people who during the time you were studying accounting were instead getting more acting training and experience.

KEVP