<p>Hi, I'm a student from Canada (New Brunswick) and I got acxpeted to the music business program at Steinhardt. I was really happy at first, but now I'm starting to worry. I'm an international student, so I received 0 financial aid. I have to pay full tuition, which is like 60k a year. By the time I graduate, even if my parents help I'll be in debt at least 100k and at most 200k. </p>
<p>1) Is the Music Business program really worth all this money? I mean, is it a "legitimate degree"?
2) How much should I expect to make after graduation? Would this number be much higher if I go to grad school? (And potentially put myself in more debt?)
3) NYC is hella expensive... after graduation, can I expect to stay in the village or a good neighborhood, or will I be broke and have to live off Manhattan?
4) What kind of career opportunities will be presented to me?</p>
<p>These are the main questions I have... Please help me!! Ive been so worried lately! I feel like after 4 years of college glamor new York will reveal its true side and my music business degree would not be worth the 200k in debt!!!</p>
<p>Short answer: There is no undergraduate degree worth $100K-$200K debt, no matter how highly respected the school and/or program. That kind of debt will be an anchor that will prevent you from fully living your life.</p>
<p>Longer answer:
1.The Steinhardt Music Business is very well respected in the industry but there are a limited number of jobs available in that field, so there are no guarantees.
2. I think your salary expectations will vary widely based on what type of job you end up finding. One of my daughter’s friends works in NYC as an accountant/manager for a music artist. She told me that he makes considerably less than she does, I believe she said around 40K, after working at the job for two years. I don’t think that grad school is particularly useful for that field, but that’s just a gut instinct and I have no knowledge of relevant statistics.
3. NYC is definitely hella expensive. There is very little chance that you will be able to live in Manhattan after graduating, or even during your junior and senior year if you decide to move out of the dorms, which are also hella expensive. Many upperclassmen in search of cheaper rent end up in Brooklyn, which has actually become a very hip/cool place to live, or in other bridge and tunnel locations. West Village is one of the most expensive zip codes in NYC. Once you move out of the freshman dorms clustered near Washington Square Park you can forget about living in the Village.
4. The instructors at Steinhardt have a lot of connections in the music industry and the internships provide an excellent opportunity to make contacts and get a foot in the door. NYU’s Wasserman Career Center is outstanding, and their job and internship website are a tremendous resource. My daughter (CAS 2011) had three jobs offers upon graduating, all of which came from the Wasserman Center’s job listings.</p>