<p>tnjello - every school and department has different departments. Transferring into BFA programs can be tricky, but certainly not impossible. If money is an issue (as you suggest it is), then you shouldn’t embark on a career with the intention of transferring. That makes sense for people who start off at public colleges, for financial reasons, but most merit and talent awards are non-transferrable. You might find yourself transferring, for any number of reasons - many people do that, and are happier for it - but I think you should apply to colleges with the expectation that you will attend one of them for four years. NYU only allows you to apply to a single college within the university, so you don’t have the option of pursuing a BA if you are rejected by Tisch for the BFA program. DePaul has a similar policy, but other colleges will accept you into their general colleges even if you don’t get into the auditioned BFA. I don’t know how strong your academic credentials are, but you should probably consider Pace, and - if you have solid grades and test scores - Fordham-Lincoln Center. They are both as costly as NYU, but they will admit you academically, even if they reject you for the Acting/Performance major. Mason Gross School of the Arts, at Rutgers University (New Jersey) is one of the most prestigious and selective theater schools in the country, but you can also apply to Rutgers School of Arts & Sciences simultaneously. MGSA has additional audition and resume requirements, but you have to submit a university application, which can be used for up to three divisions of Rutgers. EmmyBet (a regular contributor on these pages) has a daughter at Adelphi, on Long Island. She can tell you more about their programs. There is a brand-new undergraduate theater program at The New School, in NYC, which is also worth considering. I don’t know what their policies are regarding cross-applications with Eugene Lang College (New School’s undergraduate liberal arts division).</p>
<p>The American theater scene doesn’t begin and end in NYC. Chicago, Philadelphia, Minneapolis (if you can tolerate the cold), Pittsburgh, Boston, and LA, all have thriving theater scenes with very strong colleges in the area. Some of those cities actually have more exciting, emerging, creative communities, because they are more affordable for “starving artists.” </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>