Affording Art School in New York?

[ry4991]

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>I am currently in the college application process, and something keeps eating at me. I've worked extremely hard on perfecting my skills in my artistic field, and have had the opportunity to have work featured in galleries, and contacts with much experience; my reviews on portfolio day went extremely well, as I was told I received the highest score possible. I want to go very far with my career of choice. Everyone has told me I am capable, but that college, preferably in New York, is a very important step to becoming a reputable name in the industry. I really am excited at the idea, both of college, and finally getting to New York, as I have dreamed of living there for a very long time. I try to be one who ends up making unlikely situations happen, because I never stop pushing for the opportunity, even if all odds say otherwise. My small family of three doesn't make a lot of money in a year, but we plan on getting financial aid, as many people say it can make the cost of college affordable to specific families. But as I'm applying and looking into the good schools (Parsons, SVA, Pratt), and notice a yearly price, tuition and room included, of around $30,000-$40,000 consistently. I've read many articles on the matter, and they seem to say that anyone can go to the college of their dreams. I know in reality, this is an idealistic statement, but my question is, just how far can one go with financial aid, loans, and other forms of assistance? I've heard of people in my same situation being able to go to those schools, and they must have been helped. Of what I've read, the EFC formula is supposed to make a family's required contribution one that is actually possible to manage, and not force them to pay a vast majority of the cost.</p>

<p>I'm really not sure how it all works, and I tend to over-think these things. But if there's a will, there's a way, and I'm set on school in New York. I just need to figure out what advantages I can take, and what other options are at my disposal for reaching my goals.</p>

[juillet]

<p>I think probably 60% of the population between the ages of 16 and 25 dreams of living in New York. It’s not all it’s cracked up to me, but it’s exciting between those ages I guess, lol.</p>

<p>Those articles are lying to you. Not anyone can go to the college of their dreams if that college is unaffordable, and many middle-class families drown themselves in debt trying to make that fiction a reality. The truth is that college educations are just like houses, or cars, or any other product or service that costs money. There are some that are too expensive for you and others that are the right price. What would you think of a family who made $30,000 a year but bought a $300K BMW on credit because they thought they “deserved” it? Or tried to get a $700K house? Most likely, they wouldn’t even get the financing to do so. But for some reason, they can get the financing to purchase a $300K college education that they also can’t afford.</p>

<p>Parsons and Pratt are VERY expensive art schools. They are much more than $30-40K per year - the tuition at Parsons alone is $40K per year, and even if you live in a cheap Brooklyn apartment with 3 roommates, you’re still going to pay about $8-10K per year in rent. Add the cost of books, supplies, food, and other miscellaneous expenses and you are easily looking at $60K a year. Pratt estimates its total cost of attendance at about $60K as well - check here: <a href=“http://www.pratt.edu/uploads/2012-2013_Undergraduate_Cost_of_Attendance.pdf[/url]”>http://www.pratt.edu/uploads/2012-2013_Undergraduate_Cost_of_Attendance.pdf&lt;/a&gt; Neither is particularly well-known for giving the best financial aid. Even if you wanted to borrow that much money, you can’t, and your parents will probably not qualify to cosign for you even if they should (which they shouldn’t!) The EFC is simply a number the federal government uses to give you federal monies. Individual schools are not required to honor it, and many schools recalculate your EFC using their own formulas. And even if they see your EFC, that doesn’t mean they will give you enough aid to close the gap. People in your situation who go there may be borrowing massive amounts of money, which is ill-advised.</p>

<p>The truth is, you have your ENTIRE life to live in New York AND New York is not the only place with an art scene. Certainly it has one of the biggest, but there are successful artists living in many other cities in the world. Austin has a thriving art scene, as do Portland and Atlanta, and both of them are far more affordable than NYC. If you’re dead-set on NYC, there’s no reason you can’t complete art school somewhere more affordable and the move to NYC and try to make it with the thousands of other struggling artists in the city.</p>

<p>Where do you live? Your state’s flagship college may have a good to great art program that you can work within for an affordable price. Or you can think about schools that are less expensive and in or near New York. For example, SUNY at Purchase College is well-known as an “artsy” school for aspirating art majors; they have an EXCELLENT School of the Arts and a BFA program. 40 percent of Purchase College students are in the School of the Arts, so it’s a school with a big arts representation. You can major in graphic design, painting/drawing, photography, printmaking, or sculpture, or an interdisciplinary program. It’s an 1.5 hours from NYC by train, easily reachable on Metro North. Total direct cost of attendance is estimated at about $28K per year, which is significantly cheaper than Parsons or Pratt.</p>

<p>Another option is to attend a community college for two years and then transfer to Parsons or Pratt, but even doing that will net you $120K of debt (maybe slightly less, if they give you some financial aid).</p>

[cptofthehouse]

<p>Also, if you are accepted to Cooper Union, the cost is very low. Very competitive process, however. </p>

<p>When you are looking at private schools, unless you can get THEM to give you a break in their prices via financial aid, it can be a very expensive proposition. Pratt and Parsons do not tend to meet need and charge top prices.</p>