For those parents who want to be realistic about money- one of the biggest regrets we had was not paying attention to costs and allowing our DS to audition everywhere he passed pre screens. The reality is harsh and allowing a child to take on enormous debt ( or taking it on yourself) is daunting. Had we looked at finances FIRST - we never would have allowed certain schools to be “ in consideration”. In the end, for us, the five most cost effective programs were Otterbein, Coastal Carolina, Missouri State, Xavier (BA) , and University of Alabama Birmingham. We have friends who also chose Western Carolina and Florida Southern because the finances were right Had he been artistically accepted - Webster was also a great deal based on the financial aid package they sent him for his academic acceptance