text: what acting school or university is best to go at in the us, without bein' to expensive?   act (american conservatory theatre) in san francisco comes to mind.  it's very well respected.  also, there are world-renown acting schools in new york and los angeles that aren't affiliated with universities; i just don't know the names off-hand.  i don't know how the independent drama schools compare in cost to the university drama programs, like yale, nyu, ucla, etc.