<p>Early_College…
You are right that you do not have to go to college to become a professional actor. </p>
<p>However…
IF you are going to pay to go to college and put effort into the education, then that really ought not to be the time to be trying to get work outside of college as an actor that would pull you out of college. The decision ought to be, in my opinion, to either go to college or to pursue work in the field. While a degree is not necessary to become a professional actor, it surely helps to get that kind of training, such as a BFA program will provide, in order to be a better actor. As well, the college degree itself can serve one better in life just in case, compared to having no degree. </p>
<p>One need not attend college in NYC or LA. The location of the college in terms of opportunities to get work should not be the issue. Location is a matter of personal preference of course. But the idea is that you are going there to be educated and to get training. If you just want to be in LA or NYC to try to get work and audition, it would be a LOT cheaper to move there without paying for tuition while you hit the audition circuit. Another consideration is that most BFA programs involve school all day long and strict attendance policies making it more difficult to audition outside of school even if you wanted to. There isn’t even a ton of work for actors 18-22. A 22 year old with training who can play age 19 is likely gonna be more successfully cast than an 18 year old who can play age 19 without training .</p>
<p>Schools like CMU, NCSA, Tisch, UCLA, CalArts, BU, Purchase, etc…train actors. Many of these actors do go on to work on screen. You need not attend a program specifically for screenacting.</p>
<p>Getting a degree in journalism is cool and great but if your goal is to become a professional actor, then training in acting is going to make your goal more attainable. At one extreme, you want to move to NYC or LA so you can audition and at another extreme, get a degree in journalism. A happy medium for someone who wants to be a professional actor would be to get a degree in acting and then hit the professional audition circuit. Also, IN a college program in theater, many contacts are made. Don’t discount those. My kid has made many at her college and it has led to professional work, as well as agent inquiries, and so on.</p>