Thanks for posting this @Gyokoren --especially the list of LA instructors!
I think your advice is fantastic. I see a lot of parents here worried about their child getting into a big name school, but we took a different route. My son is a junior theatre performance (straight acting) major at a large Midwestern state university connected to a regional repertory theatre. He made the choice to go the college degree route close to home for lots of the reasons you mentioned (solid foundational training with professors with industry experience, plus with in-state tuition, merit & talent scholarships we can help him graduate with zero debt for either of us). He’s being cast regularly, and he’s earning EMC points and gaining professional credits through work with the repertory theatre and summer apprenticeships. He’s found through the apprenticeships that he can hold his own as an actor with kids from “top” schools. We were lucky that we had a solid foundational training program nearby, even if it isn’t glamorous or well connected.
When my son graduates, he and his classmates plan to move where the work is, and join classes (thanks again!) to advance their industry training and build connections. He loves stage work and plans on working as much regional theatre as he can at first to break in, but he knows in straight acting he has to be successful in commercial or TV/film to survive. Without student debt, and with a little help from us, he should be able to live on survival jobs until opportunities start to open up for him. If that doesn’t happen, he can always go the MFA route and try again, or look at a career teaching or directing on a university level. Plan B’s are important. He would have loved to go to a very expensive school on either coast for his undergrad, but we couldn’t do that without a great deal of debt. He decided he could go another route to gain the same connections, and that would give him the financial breathing room to try to build a career. I think every student considering a career in the arts should always be open to simultaneously preparing for other options.
I also think a degree vs. studio training is hugely important because of career flexibility. So is the concern about student debt. We have a young friend who headed to New York for two years of studio actor training. His family has fairly modest means. He borrowed as much in private loans for tuition and living expenses for two years of training in NYC as the cost of four years at a state university, and then “graduated” without a degree or transferable credits. Now he’s living at home with his parents, far from the industry, and working two jobs to pay off student loans with no degree to show for it. Without an undergraduate degree, his job options are limited. He’s trapped financially, and it breaks my heart. Acting is a risky career choice, and even the most talented don’t always make it. It’s always smart to plot out a career and training path that gives you the most flexibility and options down the road. It’s tragic when talented people are held back from success because they just can’t financially afford the time it takes to build a career.