You’re not crazy for wanting to pursue your dreams. However, taking that much debt for undergrad in the field you want to go into is crazy. College costs are crazy.
Tisch can definitely help you. I graduated from Tisch film and the fact that I went there definitely helped my get the job I have now. However, while I do make a living doing film related work, the level of compensation is and will probably never be anywhere near commensurate with the cost of a Tisch degree. And the scary thing is that I’m one of the successful ones. Many of my classmates are only doing sporadic freelance work or working non-film related jobs three years after graduating.
Meanwhile, when I post casting calls for very low paid work, I get hundreds of responses from people who spent tens of thousands of dollars on acting schools.
It’s not worth it, especially if you have to go into that much debt. Many actors work low-paying jobs for the sole reason that they allow them the flexibility in their schedules to go to auditions. If you have six figure debt, you won’t be able to do that. You’ll need to work and the time you spend focusing on that will be time you’re not focusing on acting.
There are other options besides Tisch. There are other schools. There are tons of workshops in NYC. I know for film Tisch offers summer classes, which aren’t cheap, but are nowhere near the cost of actually going there for 4 years.
Just because you have not received a package yet from Rutgers does need mean you are not receiving aid at all. Call their FA office and talk to them. Isn’t Rutgers FAFSA only? In that case, if your mom is your custodial parent (and it sounds like she is), you likely will get some aid from them (at a minimum, you ought to get a similar Pell grant, but you may get more).
I assume you filled out the FAFSA and CSS Profile with your mom’s info if she is your custodial parent, and your dad did the non-custodial parent form for NYU. If this is not the case, please clarify.
I do not agree that $160K of debt for Rutgers is a better plan than $120K for Rutgers. Both are honestly crazy, but one is more insane than the other.
Bottom line - I think NYU is unaffordable to you. They pull this all the time – draw kids in, then give them crappy aid. If you focus on what they gave you, you feel that they were generous. But if you take a hard look at what it means to you (and your dad) if you borrow that much money, it is not generous at all. It is nuts.
The sad part is there is no in between for me- none of the school’s I applie to in the city would cost less. In fact, anything out of state would be similar in cost. That’s why i said my only other option was Rutgers.
I will make sure to double check if I got aid from Rutgers- but I know full tuition would not be covered. I would at least have to pay 15000 a year for my BFA from there, and there are a lot less opportunities with Rutgers than with Tisch.
Do you recommend I go to Rutgers and commute to the city and take classes at a private studio on weekends/breaks? That’s what I’m doing now- every Saturday I commute to Manhattan and I go to the Herbert bergof studio for a Saturday class. It’s doable, but I have to say it’s tough traveling all the time and hard to make connections when I’m not always there.
NJ students often end up at Rutgers – it isn’t the end of the world, Rutgers is a fine school. But NJ students are often just itching to get away.
What people are saying is, DO NOT TAKE ON THAT KIND OF DEBT. If you can avoid it, don’t go over your federal debt limit ($5,500 freshman year, $6,500 soph, and $7,500 each for jr and senior year). You are not going in to the kind of profession where you will be able to pay it back – even if you don’t stick with the acting track, you aren’t going to be able to pay it off. And that kind of debt will NOT be forgiven because you have a low paying job. It is like buying a house at 18, and will damage your get an apartment of your own, eventually buy a house, raise a family, etc. Those seem like far off ideas at 18, but believe me… when you are 30, you will be so sorry if you do this.
I am curious, what does the Rutgers net price calculator show? You haven’t actually confirmed – your mom is your custodial parent, right?
I honestly don’t know much about acting, other than occasionally casting films and commercials. I just wouldn’t underestimate how difficult it’s going to be after you graduate with that amount of debt. At least you’re in communing distance from NYC, which is more than many aspiring artists can say.
It sounds like you are a NJ resident - is that correct? And are you talking about Rutgers-New Brunswick?
In state tuition and fees is 14K, add R&B and it’s 26K. Would you be able to live at home and commute? If your dad could contribute 10K per year, you could cover the balance with a loan. If he could cover 20K you could live there and cover the rest with a loan and part time work.
You say that you also have applied to Fordham, some ivies, Sarah Lawrence, Boston college, U Chicago, UC Berkeley. Have you heard from any of them? It is possible that if you get in, a better package might be forthcoming, perhaps from Fordham. Prod Rutgers and see if you can get any more information about fin aid.
I sense that your family’s financial situation is complex. If your dad’s “side businesses” are independent ventures then that will skew your family’s financial aid profile. Is NYU a CSS school? If so, they might have taken the value of your mother’s home into account when calculating your package.
Honestly, I just don’t see how you could possibly pay back a 160K+ loan on a BFA’s starting salary. That would be crushing.
Well, Berkeley is not going to give you any aid, as you are OOS. NYU is a CSS Profile school, and requires NPC information. The OP has not been completely clear, but the impression is that she lives with her mom, and her parents are not married – dad makes more money. Is this right, OP?
I feel like you’re getting a lot of answers to a question you didn’t ask. If you’re choosing between 160K in loans for NYU and 120k for Rutgers go with NYU. Both schools will leave you with debt might as well choose your dream school.