NYU Liberal Studies [$90k, spring admission, parent loans] vs UCSD [$40k] World Lit & Culture

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NYU: 90k a year (no financial aid) MADE DEPOSIT
UCSD: 40k a year (haven’t received my fafsa yet but probably won’t get aid)

I have until May 15th to make a decision.
I got into UCSD for world literature and culture (marshall college) and also got into NYU spring admission into the Liberal Studies Core. I’m a senior in southern California, and I am having a hard time making a choice.

I’m not 100% sure what I want to major in. I think it would be cool to make doumentaries for a living because I love journalism and film. At the same time, I also want to make a lot of money and NYU’s LS Core gives me the flexibility to transition to business or even law which are other potential interests. At UCSD, which I know is better for STEM, I’m not sure if I can change from my major of world literature, and switch degrees to something STEM (likely impacted majors). But I am in general a really well-rounded person with academics

I feel like UCSD is a good choice- perfect weather beautiful area, cheaper prices, beach volleyball courts right by my college, and beautiful beaches.
ON the other hand, I cannot deny how much better NYU is in terms of humanities, prestige, and name. It was one of my dream schools for a while and I was going to ED (but went regular). I also think it would be cool to not live in California my whole life and try out the city (although seniors last year that went to the east coast for the most part wished they stayed in cali which worries me). I have a combined 6 weeks experience at east coast cities- manhattan included, and I had a good time, so I don’t think I’ll be miserable in new york city, although when I went to tour NYU (which the tour got canceled from demonstrations so I had to do a self-guided) I did kind of feel like the air and some of the buildings were gross, but the park and library was really cool.
Anyway, my mom insists she can afford NYU, and they want to take out loans just for the tax-deductions. She even offered to pay the loans for me. My dad said they can only pay 50k a year for a school without taking out loans.
The spring start is kind of weird to me, right now I plan on using that fall gap semester to work and take community college classes to get as much credit and grind so the spring transition to college is easier.

My preferences for college are thus: mid size, (ideally good weather at least sometimes), cool people (I have been told I give NYU stuent/would blend in there). Not interested in greek life, good intramural sport opportunities, fun things to do, good teachers, academic.

I was originally going to fully commit to NYU but started second guessing myself when I saw the higher average starting salaries at UCSD, and thought about me missing the nature and weather here in California., also the price difference- which my mom again insists is not a problem.

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You can give one final gift to your parents before you graduate from HS and then give them the REAL gift of appreciation for everything they’ve done for you.

Print out a loan payment worksheet and show them what the ACTUAL costs are of borrowing- what, 40K PER YEAR for NYU? That is a crippling amount of debt. Borrowing 160K per year for NYU?

I know dozens of NYU grads and kids who are there now and not a single one of them would advocate that level of debt.

They can write the check without blinking? Great. They need to borrow the difference between 50K per year and what NYU will end up costing over four years? Crippling. And absolutely insane to boot.

Let them see the actual numbers-- what they will owe every single month. That ought to trigger a very revealing discussion. This isn’t for a house- which god forbid if something happens at least you can downsize. Those educational loans will follow them around no matter what. Muffler falls off the car? Refrigerator dies? No matter what happens, those loan payments are due every single month.

Please print out the loan worksheet and review it with them. Using actual numbers, with actual interest rates from an actual bank. Don’t let this fantasy bankrupt your parents.

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This is the list of UCSD selective majors: Selective Majors . Basically, they are biology, data science, public health, and engineering majors (but some STEM majors like math and physics are not in that list). Other majors should not be difficult to change into if you complete their prerequisites.

Parent loans are generally not a good idea, since taking them implies that the parents do not really have the money (and if they did, they would have saved up the money beforehand).

Also, taking substantial loans when your career directions are likely to be low paid can mean a rather long term debt burden that you will not be able to help much paying off.

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It is?

hmmmmm - it’s not.

Oh, and you cannot afford NYU.

You can afford $50K a year. You can borrow $27K over four years - $5500 the first year.

So forget it’s a dream school (no such thing) - NYU has a stated cost of $93K but you know housing is pricy and costs go up every year. So you’re likely looking at lease $180K in deb - which means you need to borrow $190K or so to get the $180K.

That’s $2200 a month in principal/interest for ten years - think about that.

And you want to make documentaries. You may not make $2200 a month - and then how about rent, a car, food, etc.

Not to come off as mean but I cannot believe you would even ask about NYU in this case.

It’s such a no no - and you’ve let emotions get ahead of reality.

And for the record, it’s not more prestigious or better in name, etc. as you think. In fact, many are dismissive of NYU and what it stands for outside of business and theatre (but not the UCs).

Good luck.

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UCSD is strong across the board. It’s well-known for strengths in STEM, but it has world-class faculty in every discipline.

You can’t transition to law as an undergrad. Anywhere (in the US). You can choose majors that are law-adjacent, like politics, public policy, economics, and history (anywhere). Arguably any discipline that interests you is law-adjacent, because there’s no pre-law major. I doubt the majors you’ve chosen at UCSD are binding – humanities majors usually aren’t, and it’s generally pretty easy to explore new fields. This page explains the major choice and selection process: How to Declare or Change a Major (Undergraduates)

I understand the temptation to go to NYU, but are the costs and delayed start worth it? I even understand the temptation to explore someplace other than California (I am from SoCal, left for college, and never went back). But you can go to the Northeast for grad school, or you can try out a career there. This won’t be your last chance to do that. But if you take on enormous debt, you’ll find yourself with very limited options after college.

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Please rethink the loan debt NYU will require. It’s just not worth that much loan debt. Try for an internship there in the summers, or grad school. Live in NYC when you don’t need loans to do so.

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Listen to your second thoughts, and listen to your dad.

Your mom just doesn’t want to close any doors for you. It’s very hard for parents to admit to limitations in what they can offer their children. But what your dad is saying is the objective truth: they can afford 50K/year without loans. UCSD is affordable. NYU is not.

If you can’t, I can! You are falling victim to Familiarity Breeds Contempt Syndrome. UCSD is excellent and well-respected. NYU is also well-respected, but for general humanities type stuff, it isn’t undeniably better. And absolutely, irrefutably not more-than-double-the-cost, six-figures-of-debt better. Not remotely. If you had been admitted to an NYU BFA program (film, performing arts, etc.), then this might be a conversation to have (although it would still be unaffordable). But you’re not… and that also means that the film opportunities you’re imagining would really not be accessible to you there. You’d be spending your entire actual college budget, plus an extra $160K+ that you don’t have, to get a general liberal arts degree in the general vicinity of people who get to study film. This makes exactly zero sense. You’d have better film opportunities at UCSD, where you could actually opt to major or minor in film studies if you chose to.

And there are many NYU students, especially those who don’t arrive with NYC cultural competency, who feel isolated at this very-urban campus, even when they start in the fall with their class. A spring start would make it even harder to find community.

The starting salaries data is mostly a red herring, as it reflects the proportions of students in high-ROI majors more than it reflects the effect of attending one school over the other. But would your prospects in particular be any better at NYU vs. UCSD? No.

For 160K, you could move to NYC after graduating from UCSD, and cover your rent for 3-4 years while breaking into the career of your choice.

NYU makes no sense. UCSD at in-state rates is an incredible value and opportunity. You could achieve anything there that you could at NYU, and probably more.

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You can’t afford NYU.
Film makers start their career living hand to mouth so ideally they should have zero debt when they graduate college.
In addition, you didn’t get into the reputable NYU film school AND you got a Spring admission. You will not be able to start on any content or skills for your major for 2 1/2 years!! NYU is really stringing you along and treating you like a milking cow.

UCSD is a reputable university and a top UC. Its reputation is similar to that of NYUs - and UCSD Marshall and direct admission to a major is MUCH better regarded than LS Core. In addition, DOC gives you opportunities to read, write and ultimately research a real problem in San Diego - all of which could then serve as background for a short documentary.

You could major in one these Sociology concentrations (depending on what you’d like to work on and learn about so you have the background to film something of interest):

  • American Studies (SO27) - This concentration is especially appropriate for those interested in careers in American politics, education, and social work.
  • Culture and Communication (SO28) - This concentration is especially appropriate for those interested in careers in education, the media and marketing.
  • Economy and Society (SO29) - This concentration is especially appropriate for those interested in careers in contemporary business.
  • +this minor, utilizing the university’s film&media resources (SoCal is terrific for that!)
    Cinematic Arts and Film Studies
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:100:This!!!

Your parents already paid CA taxes to keep the cost of UCSD at the level you can afford. Let that investment pay off for you and for them.

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Go to UCSD, explore film internships, production companies in the area, on campus opportunities, etc. Move to NYC when you graduate. It’s a lot more fun to live there when you are 21+ and employed.

I can’t stress enough how expensive NYC is — not just school, but everything. I moved from San Diego to NYC when I was 25 (in 2000) and I was shocked at how quickly money flew out of my wallet. I had a blast, truly. It was the best time of life to move to the city and I don’t regret it for a second. I stayed for 10 years and moved back to CA with a husband and 2 kids and a career.

Enjoy sunny San Diego, being a humanities major at UCSD and saving a ton of money.

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Just adding another No don’t do it

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Your family cannot afford NYU (at least not without an onerous amount of loans).
Your family can comfortably afford UCSD AND you like the school.
Seems like an easy choice.

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UPDATE both my parents have since told me that affording NYU will not be a problem, and just want me to make the best choice based on the college offers themselves without thinking about money at all.
So I need help with choosing the best school that will offer the best experiences for me and my future success.

The main thing keeping me from fully committing to [NYU] is the spring start, which is kind of weird to me, right now I plan on using that fall gap semester to work and take community college classes to get as much credit and grind so the spring transition to college is easier. I’ve also talked to other spring admits who had for the most part a good experience with it, so idk how bad it would really be, it would just mostly suck to not start college while all my friends are.

My preferences for college are thus: mid size, (ideally good weather at least sometimes), cool people (I have been told I give [NYU] (student/ and would blend in well there). Not interested in greek life, good intramural sport opportunities, smaller class sizes, fun things to do, good teachers, nice dorms, academically motivated ppl, and security after graduation.

also, my mom really wants me to go to [NYU] because she knows a lot of students doing well from there and have went on to go to [Columbia] for grad school and have an elevated “worldview” compared to [UCSD] graduates she knows. But both my parents will support me with whatever choice I make

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I also really appreciate all the thoughtful and realistic answers!!! Thank you guys

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UCSD is a fine choice. NYC will always be there either for an internship, grad school or a job.

I still suggest going to NYC when it’s really affordable and not a financial big to do that requires parent loans

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This is an example of a general college ranking that places UCSD, at 43rd nationally, ahead of NYU, at 50th:

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Neither NYU nor UCSD is mid-sized. They’re both large, and not meaningfully different in size.
The weather is indisputably better at UCSD.
There are good teachers and cool/motivated people at both.
I’m sure there are plenty of fun activities at both.
Neither offers any guarantee of security after graduation; you can equally work toward that at both.
Spring start is a social setback.

You seem to be looking for people to tell you that NYU is better.
Your parents have told you to choose what you prefer, so, I guess, choose what you prefer.

But if you go to UCSD, where will the extra $160K go?
You can say “don’t consider cost”… but in reality, the comparison should not be NYU vs. UCSD as if that $160K didn’t exist.
It should be NYU, vs. “UCSD+X” where X is whatever that money would be spent on. If you do that calculation and NYU still wins, enjoy and good luck!

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I really wouldn’t pick NYU Liberal Studies core with spring start over UCSD.
Do students from Nyu do well? Sure, from Stern, Tisch, if -like at all colleges- they hustle and stay on top of things. There’s no magic to NYU (I know many HS students really love the NYU mystique plus the attraction of NYC✨️! IT’S UNDERSTANDABLE). NYU’s also the college that students most regretted choosing due to high cost and low ROI (if you love NYC, use money saved when you attend UCSD to spend a summer there, even an unpaid internship would be manageable).
In addition, you will be able to freely choose from CAS majors - which would you choose?
(Virtually all students transition to CAS, Gallatin, or Global liberal arts. Gallatin&GLS don’t match your goals at all so I assume you’d choose something in CAS.) After exploring CAS majors, what have you found from that list that would be suitable?

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Really only you can decide this…UCSD will have a campus and campus life. Not sure that’s equal at NYU.

You can go to Columbia for grad school from any school in the country.

You want to make documentaries - you won’t need grad school.

Well until after you decide you want to earn a true living.

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There’s 100% consensus that UCSD is the right choice!

Also – as someone very attuned to prestige – you are giving too much weight to NYU.

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