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2022 Best Value Acting Schools for an Associate For Those Getting Aid

7 Ranked Colleges
322 Degrees Awarded
$28,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Acting Schools for an Associate For Those Getting Aid

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Acting Schools for an Associate For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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

At the associate degree level specifically, there were 322 acting graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,082 and $17,678 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Acting Schools for an Associate For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 7 colleges that offered a degree in acting. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality acting programs that also have a lower cost than 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

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Acting Schools for an Associate For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Acting Schools for an Associate For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for associate degree acting students with aid.

Top 7 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Acting (With Aid)

#1

Nassau Community College

Garden City, New York
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Nassau Community College. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Acting Schools for an Associate For Those Getting Aid list. Nassau Community College is a public institution located in Garden City, New York. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 3 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our associate degree acting students with aid list, Nassau Community College has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Acting Associate Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Nassau Community College is $4,594 for Associate Degree Acting students with aid.

Read full report on Acting at Nassau Community College

#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northampton County Area Community College. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Acting Schools for an Associate For Those Getting Aid. Northampton Community College is a medium-sized public school situated in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It awarded 11 associates’s acting degrees in 2019-2020.

Northampton Community College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Acting Associate Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Northampton Community College is $9,053 for Associate Degree Acting students with aid.

Full Northampton Community College Acting Report

#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend KD Conservatory College of Film and Dramatic Arts. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Acting Schools for an Associate For Those Getting Aid. This small school is located in Dallas, Texas, and it awarded 26 associates’s acting degrees in 2019-2020.

KD Conservatory also took the #5 spot in our “Best Acting Associate Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend KD Conservatory is $21,528 for Associate Degree Acting students with aid.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Full KD Conservatory Acting Report

#4

Academy of Art University

San Francisco, California
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Acting Schools for an Associate For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Academy of Art University landed the #4 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 7 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our associate degree acting students with aid list, Academy of Art University has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Acting Associate Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Academy of Art University is $34,145 for Associate Degree Acting students with aid.

Read full report on Acting at Academy of Art University

#1 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Acting Schools for an Associate For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, American Academy of Dramatic Arts - New York landed the #5 spot on the list. New York, New York is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out associates’s acting degrees to 121 students in 2019-2020.

American Academy of Dramatic Arts - New York not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Acting Associate Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend American Academy of Dramatic Arts - New York is $47,801 for Associate Degree Acting students with aid.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full American Academy of Dramatic Arts - New York Acting Report

#6 in overall quality

New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Acting Schools for an Associate For Those Getting Aid ranking. New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts is a private for-profit institution located in New York, New York. The school has a small population, and it awarded 112 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Acting Associate Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts is $37,168 for Associate Degree Acting students with aid.

Full New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts Acting Report

#7

New York Film Academy

Burbank, California
#7 in overall quality

New York Film Academy did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Acting Schools for an Associate For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #7. Burbank, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out associates’s acting degrees to 21 students in 2019-2020.

New York Film Academy did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Acting Associate Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for New York Film Academy is $45,280 for Associate Degree Acting students with aid.

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 more about 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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