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2022 Best Value Acting Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

6 Ranked Colleges
239 Degrees Awarded
$32,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Acting Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Making $0-$30k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Acting Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Acting is the 319th most popular major in the country with 1,944 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across California, there were 570 acting graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 239 acting graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Acting Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 6 colleges that offered a degree in acting. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great acting programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the acting program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The acting school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Acting Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Acting Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Acting Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 6 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Acting (Income $0-$30k) in California

#1

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Acting Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. USC is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 63 bachelors’s acting degrees in 2019-2020.

USC also made our “Best Acting Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend University of Southern California is $14,668 for California Bachelor’s Degree Acting students whose families make $0-$30k.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Acting at USC

#2

Chapman University

Orange, California
#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Chapman University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Acting Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Chapman is located in Orange, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 15 bachelors’s acting degrees to qualified students.

Chapman did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Acting Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $33,219 for california bachelor’s degree acting students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Chapman University.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Acting at Chapman University

#3

Pepperdine University

Malibu, California
#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Pepperdine University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Acting Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Pepperdine University is a medium-sized school located in Malibu, California that handed out 7 bachelors’s acting degrees in 2019-2020.

Pepperdine also made our “Best Acting Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $31,185 for california bachelor’s degree acting students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Pepperdine University.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Pepperdine University Acting Report

#4

California Institute of the Arts

Valencia, California
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Acting Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, California Institute of the Arts landed the #4 spot on the list. Valencia, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s acting degrees to 29 students in 2019-2020.

CalArts did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Acting Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for CalArts is $43,576 for California Bachelor’s Degree Acting students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 4.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read more about Acting at California Institute of the Arts

#5

Academy of Art University

San Francisco, California
#5 in overall quality

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Acting Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Academy of Art University landed the #5 spot on the list. Academy of Art University is a private for-profit institution located in San Francisco, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 27 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Academy of Art University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Acting Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Academy of Art University is $29,390 for california bachelor’s degree acting students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full Academy of Art University Acting Report

#6

New York Film Academy

Burbank, California
#6 in overall quality

New York Film Academy ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Acting Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. New York Film Academy is a small private for-profit school situated in Burbank, California. It awarded 98 bachelors’s acting degrees in 2019-2020.

New York Film Academy also made our “Best Acting Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #6. The estimated yearly cost for New York Film Academy is $40,748 for California Bachelor’s Degree Acting students whose families make $0-$30k.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Acting at New York Film Academy

Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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