My real aspiration is to be an actress. I am a dedicated, hard-working young woman. I get excellent grades and I am in the Top 5 in my high school. I have a good singing voice (I’ve gotten far better than what I used to be, and I’m sure I’ll be better before I graduate) and I am a very good actress. I don’t have as much experience in dance as I’d like to, but I don’t have two left feet. I am pretty and slender, and I am represented by a local agency (mind you, I don’t live anywhere near L.A. and New York is a fair ways away). I wanted to state this before you make the assumption that I’m like every other young girl who wants to pick up and go to Hollywood to become famous. Now my issue. I’ll be going to college soon and I have to decide what I am going to do. Option 1: Go to a decent college in California, not too far from L.A. and major in chemical engineering, biology, or business. While I’m in college, I go to auditions and casting calls in L.A. While I’m there I would be continuing vocal classes and taking dance– if my schedule can fit it. My college preferences at the moment are Chapman University and Stanford University. Option 2: Go to college closer to the East Coast (my preferences are Yale and NYU) and double major in Acting (or musical theatre, I haven’t decided) and the one of the majors I stated before. I wouldn’t be auditioning for anything except for maybe my school’s productions. If I did this, I would take two years off to pursue acting in L.A. or New York before either going to graduate school or getting a job, in addition to spending summers in one of those 2 locations.
I need help deciding which action plan is better for pursuing my acting career, since that is what I really want to do. I just don’t want to get stuck being the waitress that couldn’t in L.A. Option 1 gives me more time but less education. Option 2 gives me more education but less time. Which should I follow? Does the education matter in the film world? Does it make an impact in the theatre world?
I really don’t get these options.
Why would you go to Stanford to audition in LA when UCLA is about as competitive and not 6 hours away from Hollywood?
Honestly, most of the colleges on your list are crazy competitive and unless you are in the top 5% of your class are very unlikely choices. Even if you are in the top 5%, these are schools that reject valedictorians.
Education is important, but there are many good colleges close to LA that you aren’t even mentioning- UCLA, USC, CalTech, Pomona, Claremont, Pepperdine, UC Irvine, and UC Santa Barbara are all within driving distance of Hollywood. You could aim for these schools and see where acting takes you. Maybe you won’t like the actual business of acting, maybe you won’t be good enough. Either way, you’ll still have a good degree.
If your aspiration is to be an actress, you should plan on majoring in something that is related. Unless you plan on doing anything with a degree in chemical engineering, biology or business, then you may just be wasting a lot of time. If you don’t double major, minoring in another field is also an option. Also keep in mind that you don’t need to have all the answers once you start college. Things will work themselves out as they were meant to be.
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I read half of what you wrote
I am Impressed
Good luck
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Option 1. Your education should be your main focus.
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college student
If your passion lies in the arts, I say major that way. Why focus on a degree that you don’t plan to pursue, particularly ones that require a tremendous amount of dedication?? Go to NYU and focus on school acting. When you graduate, you can hit the ground running in the Big Apple. Your goal is to at least have a degree, in case things don’t go as planned. Pursuing an arts degree will allow you to hone your skills and get a degree at the same time.
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Just my opinion.
I really don’t get these options.
Why would you go to Stanford to audition in LA when UCLA is about as competitive and not 6 hours away from Hollywood?
Honestly, most of the colleges on your list are crazy competitive and unless you are in the top 5% of your class are very unlikely choices. Even if you are in the top 5%, these are schools that reject valedictorians.
Education is important, but there are many good colleges close to LA that you aren’t even mentioning- UCLA, USC, CalTech, Pomona, Claremont, Pepperdine, UC Irvine, and UC Santa Barbara are all within driving distance of Hollywood. You could aim for these schools and see where acting takes you. Maybe you won’t like the actual business of acting, maybe you won’t be good enough. Either way, you’ll still have a good degree.
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