Should You Go To College For Acting?
No. I don’t think you should go to college for acting. Let me explain why though. Unless your family is rich and is paying for your education, then okay sure go, but if you have to take out student loans to pay for college and you’re wanting to go for acting… absolutely not!
Acting Is Freelancing
An acting degree is more than likely NOT going to lead you to a job where you are going to be making A LOT of money that will make the student loan debt a good investment. I’m not saying you can’t find a job with an acting degree, but the chances of that occurring for most people is very slim.
First of all, acting isn’t a normal career path. It’s basically freelancing. I’m not in favor of going to college for any freelancing job in general because you could make better use of that money to actually invest in your business or skills as oppose to putting that towards overpriced tuition.
Plus, the idea of getting a degree for acting can be misleading when you don’t fully understand how the film industry works. You’re not going to go to college, graduate with an acting degree, and then apply to star in movies. It doesn’t work that way.
Is a degree useful as an actor?
If you did go to college for acting and graduated with a degree, you’re going to end up being in the same spot as every actor who moves to LA with the only difference being that they didn’t spend the last 4 years in college or have student loan debt, so you’ll just be older and poorer.
You’re going to be at the same level as them taking acting classes, getting headshots, building a reel, trying to get an agent, and auditioning auditioning auditioning.
Nothing about your degree will have placed you at an advantage over them. At no point will anyone in the film industry take a look at your degree to determine whether or not you will get the part. Literally no one cares about a degree in the business, so why waste time and money when there is a less expensive time consuming way?
Who Cares About Acting Degrees?
The ONLY people who care about degrees are the people who graduated from prestigious colleges like UCLA, USC, NYU, and payed thousands of dollars for something that was so useless that they need to find comradery with others who also made the same decision to feel like it was worth it.
These people who went to school to get their degrees in acting either did it because their parents had money and being educated is a part of their ethics or because they just wanted to pay to network with people who might be someone someday.
Those are the only reasons I’ve heard of actors going to college specifically for acting. I’ve never heard of someone relying on acting training from college.
Is an acting degree worth it?
If you feel pressured by your parents or society to go to college, but your passion is acting, then I think the worst mistake you can make is going to college for acting mainly because it is not a financially smart decision.
Remember, in my other articles I’ve said I do not advise anyone to begin an acting career if they have any debt. A degree is supposed to be an investment. You’re supposed to know when it will bring in a return of investment: money. Being an actor does not guarantee you will make money.
So what happens is now you have a useless degree where you will struggle to find a livable job with, you’re in LA like every other actor, but now you just have more debt and therefore more crippling stress.
And the stress will affect how you perform as an actor and even limit your abilities to be able to perfect your skill because when you have money on your mind you automatically enter into survival mode and unfortunately artists often cannot thrive in a survival mode mindset.
So go to college for acting if it’s paid for, but don’t go if it means you have to take out student loans.
Brandon Andre - Headshot Photographer
Brandon Andre is considered by many to be the foremost authority on Acting Headshots and the acting industry. He is dedicated to helping aspiring actors with his regular educational articles, videos, and guides about headshot photography and the acting business.
If you are in the Los Angeles, Phoenix, or Washington DC area and need professional actor headshots with an experienced top headshots photographer, contact Brandon Andre. Brandon Andre is one of the best headshot photographers in Los Angeles and the headshot industry today. He delivers quality headshots that will get you booked!