<p>You may have to rank what is most important for you. You say you are looking for:</p>
<p>“definitely a lot of merit aid, strong technical theatre program, strong academics, co-ed. As far as size goes, I’m not picky, but I don’t want an extremely small school. I’m living in California, but would love to go out of state. I’d rather not attend school in extremely hot climates (I live on the coast where it’s rarely outside of 55-68 degrees). Honestly, though, I think I can handle a little discomfort for a quality college experience. I’d love to attend a school with a lot of school pride - I want to feel like I’m attending that specific college and loving its unique environment, not just going to school.”</p>
<p>You may simply not be able to find such a school that meets all these criteria. You may have to decide which of these you are willing to give up. It sounds to me like you will need the merit aid, so you can’t give that up. Then what is most important–maybe the strong technical theatre program? If you can find a program that has those two, you can consider the others “bonuses”. You may not be able to find the perfect school, so be prepared to settle for the “least imperfect” school.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>