'Dream School' Left Her Drowning in Debt

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<p>‘Dream School’ Left Her Drowning in Debt</p>

<p>Name: Tassia Bezdeka
Debt: $167,190
Age: 24
Hometown: San Diego, Calif.</p>

<p>I have never had a credit card and yet I have $167,190.78 worth of debt. When I got into New York University, my parents said they could never afford to send me there. But it was my dream school, so I took out loans in my name.</p>

<p>I just assumed that, like I’ve been told since I was little, if I work really hard and do well in school, I’ll be rewarded with a great job. But when I graduated in 2009, I tried really hard to find a job in my field [filmmaking], but I wasn’t hired anywhere. Ultimately, I took a marketing job in San Diego — I had to take any job I got since my loans were coming due quickly.</p>

<p>Because there was no way I could pay off my loans on the salary I made, I’ve been living with my parents. All the money I make from my job goes directly into an account especially for those loans.</p>

<p>If I didn’t have this debt, I would have stayed in New York like a lot of the people I went to school with who didn’t have student loans. They’re now living the dream and doing all the things I want to do, like working in the film field and making a small amount of money that still lets them pay living expenses and have fun.</p>

<p>I’m still optimistic about getting back into the field I chose, but I feel really stuck. Every time I spend money, the decision is very heavily weighed. Because if I continue making the payments I’m making, I still won’t pay off all the loans until 2024. And I’ll do whatever I have to do until 2024 — even if it means still living at home. Because I know that after that, I’m finally free.</p>

<p>Source: [extreme-debtors-cnnmoney:</a> Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance](<a href=“http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/113255/extreme-debtors-cnnmoney?mod=bb-debtmanagement]extreme-debtors-cnnmoney:”>http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/113255/extreme-debtors-cnnmoney?mod=bb-debtmanagement)</p>

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<p>Let that be a lesson, its insame to take on that much debt. No “dream school” is worth ruining your life immidiately after college for.</p>

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<p>NYU is notorious for bad financial aid.
There are other, equally (or more) selective private schools that meet 90-100% of need and have relatively low average debt at graduation. Of course, it’s still a huge challenge for middle class students to get admitted to those schools and meet the Expected Family Contribution. State schools are typically the best back-up (or in some cases, the preferred choice).</p>

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<p>“I just assumed that, like I’ve been told since I was little, if I work really hard and do well in school, I’ll be rewarded with a great job.” </p>

<p>This is so naive that it’s hard to credit. Anyone attending college who has not looked into the career prospects for grads in their area of study is not taking advantage of the resources offered at their school. Talk to the faculty. Visit the career center. Talk to former grads in that field. Do alumni interviews. There is no excuse for graduating with massive debt and being surprised that you can’t get your dream job in film-making.</p>

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<p>This may have been one of those Old-Style Sallie Mae loans where kids didn’t need co-signers and could borrow up to COA…all on their own.</p>

<p>CRAZY! </p>

<p>*“I just assumed that, like I’ve been told since I was little, if I work really hard and do well in school, I’ll be rewarded with a great job.” </p>

<p>*
We still hear kids say this when they’re convincing their parents to co-sign big loans. </p>

<p>This girl is lucky that she found a job in her hometown…some can’t do that and can’t live at home.</p>

<p>2024??? she’s 24 now!!! In 13 years she’ll be 37…and possibly still living at home? Oh my…what a way to ruin the best years of your life.</p>

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<p>Wow, that is a pretty sobering story. I was not even aware that students could take out loans for that much money over 4 years. I was under the impression that loans were extremely limited for individual signature loans.</p>

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<p>Oh New York, New York, I love New York !
PS: “I Love New York” is not my words :)</p>

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<p>vlines…the old Sallie Mae loans used to allow this. Then after the bank failures a few years ago, Sallie Mae loans were changed.</p>

<p>I think they now require co-signers for sizeable loans and interest-only payments are made while IN college…but I could be remembering wrong.</p>

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<p>You really think Tassia’s case is bad?? Please view the video provided below. (And the guy is a Stern grad)</p>

<p>[The</a> Cost of College: Dream school, nightmare debt – American Morning - CNN.com Blogs](<a href=“http://am.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/25/the-cost-of-college-dream-school-nightmare-debt/]The”>http://am.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/25/the-cost-of-college-dream-school-nightmare-debt/)</p>

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<p>It’s important when you go to school to consider how much you will make in the industry you’re going into. The film industry is known for being feast or famine and it is insanely hard to get into. People tend to overlook that when they go to college and assume college always equals a better life and a higher salary.</p>

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<p>If you’re going to be in that much debt, it is important to consider dual majoring. Not only are you getting your money’s worth but you have a fall back option as well.</p>

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<p>I can’t understand how this is surprising to her. How did she think that huge loan obligation was going to be paid off?
She is living rent-free at her parents…she needs to get a second job and accelerate the rate of repayment.</p>

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<p>why did I immediately think of NYU before I even opened this thread? While part of it definitely is NYU, the other part is the starry-eyed 18-year-olds that dream of Manhattan for college.</p>

<p>With stats for NYU, the young lady would have easily received merit money from Chapman, in Orange County, which has a highly-ranked film program. Even better facilities than 'SC (at least until the Spielberg wing opens up.)</p>

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<p>Perhaps they were told so by their parents, school teachers, and school counselors, who went to university back when it is much less expensive (i.e. much less debt for those with financial need) and the job and career value of even a non-specific bachelor’s degree was greater (because the percentage of people with bachelor’s degrees was lower).</p>

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<p>I liked bandgeek’s quote, added to the consensus of the remaining posts:</p>

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<p>This is why a lot of film majors try to break into the mail room of a studio and try to work their way up and try to obtain face time with execs for their scripts, etc. Or they take a PA job, and do the same. Which is more menial? Probably the PA. Neither obviously is going to pay down the loan.</p>

<p>And there’s no teaching creativity. Many film students think that they’ll be directing major films and writing blockbuster scripts by the time they’re 25. One either has it or not, and if not, then she better shoot for something in production. The extreme vast majority of jobs in the film industry are non-creative types of jobs, with maybe only 0.5% workers with a real creative inclination.</p>

<p>That’s why a lot of film grads at places like UCLA end up going to L-school, and that way they can be associated with the entertainment industry on a peripheral basis, and maybe break their way into production later on. (I don’t know if this is an option for Tassia, with her loan balance.) I would think USC’s film grads would be more hardcore into trying to make it, if need be on the editing or generally the techinical side. This would still probably mean bringing in pretty menial pay at least until they can obtain various designations behind their names. It’s a long process, typically, to gain a name in the field.</p>

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<p>There’s a chance that Tassia was a poster on CC. How many times have you read “I’m going to NYU even if I have to take out loans”?</p>

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<p>Contradicts conventional wisdom</p>

<p>[Student</a> Loans & Bankruptcy | Student Loan Borrower Assistance](<a href=“http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/bankruptcy/]Student”>Bankruptcy - Student Loan Borrowers Assistance)</p>

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<p>A little off topic but I kind of feel like the only that’s keeping NYU from being a top 20 school as opposed to top 30 is their inability to give a generous amount of aid even to their high achieving students.</p>

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<p>She was also in Tisch for film. It is clear that the only people successful in film are the ones that are wealthy. Just take a look at NYU’s top student filmmakers. I sympathize with her because it is a huge debt, but it will be paid off in time. </p>

<p>CC is the first to scream ‘public schools are cheaper!’ or ‘NYU is overrated’ and other condescending slurs. There are students at NYU - and similar top universities - in that much debt, but have landed amazing jobs because of NYU. College isn’t about training a person for a job. College isn’t about saving money. It is about experiencing life, making connections, and figuring out who you are. It is that experience and the name that will launch you to your dream career. </p>

<p>I remember my first internship. I applied to a political consulting firm on a whim, figured that nothing would come of it. I received a response a few days later for an interview. I go to the office and the interviewer tells me that she attended my high school (suburbs of New York). We spent 95% of the interview discussing our high school and then the last 5% as to what I would be doing there. I received an offer within a few hours after I left. Now imagine the connections you have with NYU’s alumni network in the city. </p>

<p>State universities offer an inferior education. There is a huge difference between SUNY and NYU - both in terms of student intelligence, mentality, competitiveness, and success. Some state students do make it farther than the name of their school, but most don’t. And why would an intelligent person waste their time surrounding themselves with them? CC is so quick to think of the financial aspect of it, but you fail to consider the emotional and psychological aspect of it. Money is relative to time.</p>

<p>You always hear stories of how hamburgers only cost 5 cents, and a Coke was pennies. Yes, that was many years ago. But just the cost of burgers, the cost of your education will be relatively less as the years go on. In 20 years, $170,000 in 2011 dollars will be the same as $83,000. 30 years is $58,000. Hardly anything!</p>

<p>Graduates are not going to make the same amount every year for the next 30 years. In just a few years, she will be making more than she is now. Incomes rise in terms of years of experience and the economy. 10K a year was amazing in the 60s. Look at it now - beyond poor. What does that say about her income now and in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years? </p>

<p>I’d say that by the time she is 30, she’ll be in a much better financial situation and she won’t mind the loans. She would have accepted them, and she would have realized that it was a high cost, but it is manageable. </p>

<p>We don’t hear about the stories of people taking out 200,000 and then paying it off without a problem. We only hear about the people who are struggling. And we’re all so quick to call her stupid and dumb.</p>

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<p>This is very true. The problem is that NYU’s endowment is relatively new. NYU only recently started to pick up traction as a contender for the best schools in the world (early 90s, really). The students before there were strong, but not nearly as strong as they are now. NYU has a ridiculously small endowment now, but in twenty years when its current students are successful, it will grow incredibly. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and the like, have all had decade after decade to build their name and reputation. NYU has built their name both nationally and international. NYU is opening up campuses in Abu Dhabi, Shanghai, and extending to Washington and Sydney. </p>

<p>While my parents make over $150K a year, their expenses are just as much as their income and cannot afford to take on my whole NYU tuition. I am taking out loans for my education, but both my parents and me understand that it is a risk and it might not pay off. But it will always be with me. And I’m sure my parents will free up finances for the future. It’s a tough economy now, but it will be improve in years to come. It is inevitable.</p>

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<p>Where were this girl’s parents during the college app process? Why was this girl not advised about the lifetime ramifications of taking on major college debt for a film career? Why do people continue racking up six figure debt for low paying majors? </p>

<p>And why would a southern California kid go across the country to study filmmaking? The industry is right in her back yard. Gotta believe the internships and recruiting are much better in CA. Why on earth this girl didn’t go to one of the many great CA state schools is beyond me. </p>

<p>Furthermore, I can’t understand people’s infatuation with NYU. It has to be one of the most overpriced colleges in the world. I’m in NY, and around here people have always considered NYU as a nothing-special college. I could see going there for business, since that can lead to high paying careers, and the proximity to Wall Street is a plus. Drama is good too, again helped by proximity to Broadway, but that’s a big price tag for a low paying career. NYU’s grad schools (business and law) are first rate, but for undergrad, NYU is just one big ripoff.</p>