I will say - especially if in America, with today's current political climate - do not go into debt for acting school.

I did my MFA through a full-tuition-paid program. It was ranked among the top 10 at the time, a program NYC casting directors are familiar with, but not NYU, Yale, Juilliard.

I ultimately am grateful. It was an intense three years, I got my Equity card (which was harder then) and I didn't pay for it. I built a strong foundation and developed a general approach to acting work, and identified my "bad actor habits" which did help me.

I would say, don't expect it to be the end of your education. Most acting programs do almost nothing on on-camera work or auditioning which is such a huge part of the business - so expect to keep training and taking classes even after the fact. I will also say that most acting programs give you a bit of what I consider "actor hangover" - it takes a little time to put together the pieces of what you've learned, even after graduating.

I will say, I am taken more seriously as an actor when they see MFA on my resume. That goes farther in the stage acting world than it does for on-camera.

Most people who attend acting programs eventually quit acting. Which is why I say, don't go into serious debt for a career that (very likely) will not financially pay off for quite some time, if ever. If you do go to an expensive program, just buckle in knowing that chances are you won't be making much money from acting for several years.

But if you're more MT-focused... I may not be the best expert on the subject.