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2023 Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k

8 Ranked Colleges
512 Degrees Awarded
$31,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Acting is the 323rd most popular major in the country with 1,793 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.

Across California, there were 512 acting graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree in acting. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent acting programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the acting program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 8 Best Value Colleges for Acting (Income $30-$48k) in California

1

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - San Diego. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k. University of California - San Diego is a public institution located in La Jolla, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 8 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our california acting students whose families make $30-$48k list, UCSD has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Acting Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $11,176 for california acting students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of California - San Diego.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.0% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full University of California - San Diego Acting Report

2
USC crest
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of Southern California is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 71 ’s acting degrees to qualified students.

USC also took the #1 spot in our “Best Acting Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $17,345 for California Acting students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of Southern California.

The undergrad 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 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive undergraduate 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.

Read more about Acting at USC

3
Chapman crest
Chapman University
Orange, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Chapman University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Chapman is a medium-sized school located in Orange, California that handed out 14 ’s acting degrees in 2020-2021.

Chapman not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Acting Schools in California” list. It costs about $32,071 for california acting students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Chapman University.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.1% 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%. 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

4
Pepperdine crest
Pepperdine University
Malibu, California

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Pepperdine University landed the #4 spot on the list. Pepperdine University is located in Malibu, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8 ’s acting degrees to qualified students.

Pepperdine did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Acting Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Pepperdine University is $25,909 for California Acting students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Acting at Pepperdine

5

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Institute of the Arts. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Valencia, California, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 37 degrees to qualified ’s acting students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our california acting students whose families make $30-$48k list, CalArts has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Acting Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend CalArts is $51,512 for california acting students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read full report on Acting at CalArts

6

With a ranking of #6, American Academy of Dramatic Arts - Los Angeles did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 150 diplomas to qualified ’s acting students in 2020-2021.

American Academy of Dramatic Arts - Los Angeles also took the #6 spot in our “Best Acting Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for American Academy of Dramatic Arts - Los Angeles is $40,220 for california acting students whose families make $30-$48k.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Full American Academy of Dramatic Arts - Los Angeles Acting Report

7
Academy of Art University crest
Academy of Art University
San Francisco, California

Academy of Art University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Academy of Art University is a medium-sized school located in San Francisco, California that handed out 34 ’s acting degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Academy of Art University, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Acting Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Academy of Art University is $32,975 for california acting students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 5.0% 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%.

Read full report on Acting at Academy of Art University

8
New York Film Academy crest
New York Film Academy
Burbank, California

With a ranking of #8, New York Film Academy did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Acting Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. New York Film Academy is a small private for-profit school situated in Burbank, California. It awarded 170 ’s acting degrees in 2020-2021.

New York Film Academy also took the #8 spot in our “Best Acting Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $43,683 for California Acting students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend New York Film Academy.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read full report on Acting at New York Film Academy

Notes and References

References

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