Paying for Art College

kaii · 04-04-2008, 05:56 PM

Hey!

I got admitted to CalArts for character animation. Anywho.
The tuition is 32k and I got 25k in grants/scholarships (whoohoo!)
However the remaining ~7k is in loans.

If I get this lucky, I'll end up paying 28-30k in loans.
Is this a feasable amount?

How are you guys paying for the crappy private school tuition?

caressemh · 04-04-2008, 06:05 PM

That seems like a lot less than many art students end up paying. In fact I think about that much is about the average indebtedness for most college students nowadays, art students or no. I think it'll be okay, considering you'll probably get a job very easily having graduated from CalArts and being in California. But I'm no expert. Congrats, that's an amazing scholarship!!

*edit: I'm still waiting to hear about scholarships/aid but my parents are paying for some, and I'm taking care of the rest. If I go to SCAD I'll only have to take out about 5k a year (I got a big scholarship) but I want to go to MICA. Like you I don't want to take out any more than 7k or 8k/year.

kalonity · 04-04-2008, 08:31 PM

consider yourself lucky :P RISD's total bill's going to be around 45k and so far I have a 5k scholarship and that's about it in terms of financial aid from the school. We have a grant from Georgetown since my mom works there, and I've received one outside scholarship so far and am hearing back from others soon, but we're going to be paying more than half ourselves, I hypothesize. My parents are pretty wary of loans though, so I have no idea how much I'll be taking out.

kaii · 04-04-2008, 10:33 PM

I'm really scared about how subjective some of the scholarships are. One was from calarts, but it's based on merit and I gotta reapply every year with a new portfolio (meaning I might get a lower amount the next year)!

It's kind of sad that the scholarships I got aren't set in stone for the whole 4 years.

RainingAgain · 04-05-2008, 07:17 AM

////Hey!

I got admitted to CalArts for character animation. Anywho.
The tuition is 32k and I got 25k in grants/scholarships (whoohoo!)
However the remaining ~7k is in loans.

If I get this lucky, I'll end up paying 28-30k in loans.
Is this a feasable amount?

How are you guys paying for the crappy private school tuition?////

That is more than feasible. BTW, it costs as much to go to public institutions, but the tuition and costs are subsidized. Private institutions don't have the same access to funding. In Georgia, the state lottery allows students to attend the state university system tuition free, but all of it is costly one way or another.

kaii · 04-06-2008, 01:17 PM

Lol does anyone have any first hand experience in paying off loans?

evanjones · 04-07-2008, 06:44 PM

Kaii, on another post you said that you got a VA waiver for tuition. What is your Dads disability percentage? Is it 100%? I am a 70% disabled Vet and am always looking for more resources for my kids education. I was not aware of this.

kaii · 04-07-2008, 08:04 PM

Oh, my dad is 90%, I qualify for full ride. VA is for any CSU/UC/CCC in California, not any private schools.

http://www.ucsd.edu/portal/site/ucsd...cdca5105RCR D
^---UCSD's VA info page.

My problem is that I have to choose between owing 28k for CalArts OR go to UCI and get PAID 28k to go there (the money goes straight to my bank account). Because I got a Cal Grant, scholarships and other grants as well as the full ride from the VA, I have 7k more per each school year. So I'm really confused whether to go to UCI and get a regular college education (Not really liking the school) or to to CalArts and work in isolation and in animation (which I'm not sure I even wanna be). Gah.

evanjones · 04-08-2008, 05:41 PM

I have one son who will end up getting "paid' about 20K to attend undergraduate and graduate school. I have another who will end up paying about 80K to attend school. Both are doing what they love and so we assume that they will do well in their careers. Getting paid to go to school is only worth it if you are doing what you love. Likewise going in to debt is only worth it if you are doing what you love, because you actually have to be successful enough to pay off the debt. Even the coolest job becomes a drag if you don't really enjoy the work.

That's my opinion and what I advised all of my kids.

caressemh · 04-08-2008, 08:50 PM

^ I agree with you but as an artist, I think there is a limit to the amount of debt that is reasonable... You can still love what you do and struggle to make ends meet, its not like some fields where you can make a pretty decent salary right off the bat. I'd also like to hear how other people are paying for art college specifically, or for any art grads: how they dealt with their finances after school.

evanjones · 04-08-2008, 10:24 PM

Well, yes, there is a limit. I know of several artists who had a commercial outlet and told us that they were able to eliminate their debt in half the time they had planned on. Animators, graphic artists, and designers seem to have the opportunities to take care of some significant debt. Maybe less so for fine artists, sculptors, etc.

caressemh · 04-09-2008, 04:16 PM

Well, I want to major in painting/illustration

So I don't know what my prospects are...

kalonity · 04-09-2008, 07:59 PM

my amazing art teacher from last summer graduated from RISD in '98, and is now a freelance painter/illustrator. she's actually quite amazingly successful, is rep'd by a chelsea gallery, and has her own studio in NYC.

it's all about what you make of your education.

kaii · 04-09-2008, 11:16 PM

I applied to Character Animation and I'm really not sure if it's my passion, but maybe I'm just ignoring myself because I've always drawn CHARACTERS and always people and ...basically people. I have sketches of all my characters from 4th grade on! I just never ever thought of animating them until now. I'm sure having a degree in animation will open the doors to other arts such as illustration and other commercial work. See, it's my dream to open my own gallery/studio and I think animation could help me get the beginning funds to do so. In my mind I'm a sculptor/installation artist. :/ What do you guys think?

evanjones · 04-10-2008, 09:44 AM

My understanding of the CalArts Character animation program is that it is all about telling stories through characters. Story telling seems to be the core. If you think that you have a passion for telling stories, then the Character Animation program seems like a great match. The Experimental Animation program is more about the art of animation. I think that either of your options is great and you just need to look inside your heart to see where you think you will be happiest.