<p>Congratulations MOD!!</p>
<p>Yay MOd and hang in there Sadi
MOD your story is so encouraging, keep on celebrating and give a high five to Milky for me please!</p>
<p>OMG YAYYYY MOD!!! I know you are so excited for you guys!! Thanks for the inspiring story of her sticking with it and getting it!! So going to pass this on to my S! Keep in touch and YAYY again!</p>
<p>MOD…I am absolutely delighted for you and your daughter!!! Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate!!!</p>
<p>MOD CONGRATULATIONS TO YOUR D… I think you have communicated such a wonderful thing for all these young adults… if you don’t get the DREAM school, go to your best option and then try again. </p>
<p>The other day while going through WAY to much stress over this college stuff and problems with my other child’s special ed teacher NOT following through with programs properly; I opened a fortune cookie that read: “FAILURE IS NOT DEFEAT UNTIL YOU STOP TRYING” perfect timing!</p>
<p>SadieK were you given a number for your waitlist?</p>
<p>CalArts financial aid offers are up this week. I got mine today. Very small merit scolarship. Not expected, but greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Glad you received a scholarship, Milkshakespeare.</p>
<p>Did you change your location information? Are you involved with Kurt Weill’s Mahagonny in some way?</p>
<p>NJTM - I did change it because it was making me a very easy person to find on facebook, and I wanted more privacy. And no, I’m not, although it is one of my favorite plays, Kurt Weill one of my favorite composers and I think some of Mahagonny’s critiques are still valid nowadays.</p>
<p>S emailed about his letter suggesting re-audition. They were great and told him to call in May and they will go over his audition notes and such and discuss future audition. Very nice.</p>
<p>Hi everyone, we just returned from CalArts Accepted Student Event last weekend… It was wonderful and fully convinced all of us that going there is the ONLY right decision for my daughter. </p>
<p>While in LA we decided to visit AADA, my daughter was also accepted there among other places, but we had not visited. My husband had been very impressed with their people at the Chicago Unifieds. Well I am so glad we attended, because after doing so we were so unimpressed with their facilities and staff (and the students) we saw there. The posts here had pretty much convinced me, but it was still good to tour.</p>
<p>So now we have sent in d housing deposit and commitment form. She did receive a scholarship, but I am starting the search for “loans”… I was blown away at the high interest rate for the federal Parent Plus loan - 7.9% I think! I really expected it to be 2.??% based on another mom’s Parent Plus loan a few years ago. So if anyone has advice on where to get a good rate and terms, let me know.</p>
<p>CalArts is Fabulous and I think my d will flourish there.</p>
<p>Just curious - after 4 years at Cal Arts most students/parent will be up to $200,000 in debt with a degree that is not nearly as “valuable” as an engineering degree from a school that has the same cost. I understand how great Cal Arts is, but who can afford to go into so much debt. A kid from our school got accepted into the animation program but could not go because his parents thought it would be a terrible business decision. Are kids going to Cal Arts from rich parents? or living in fantasy land happy to pursue something they love to do that may put the rest of their life in debt???</p>
<p>I really can’t adequately respond to animation2017, except to say that I prefer for my S to study something he is passionate about rather than major in something he is miserable studying just because it is a good business decision. My S told me when he was four that he wanted to be an actor and has never varied that desire. Why would I turn him into an engineer?</p>
<p>There is basically no guarantee for jobs in any field with young college graduates from all fields unemployed and older college grads from surprising majors laid off and unemployable. Who is to say that with the emerging new media, gaming, social media, web based marketing that degrees in theatre, film, animation and acting will not provide a significant portion of graduates with satisfying and lifelong careers.</p>
<p>Actingforfilm, Happy to hear that your visit left you validated that CalArts is the right place for your D. It was my D’s first choice for several years and she was heartbroken that she did not get in. But very soon she was able to divert her love to Pace such that there was no envelope that she could open that mattered until she heard from Pace. Best of luck to your D.</p>
<p>I think animation is just questioning how people are able to afford a CalArts education, when they are less assured of the steady income needed to start paying the hefty loans he/she is envisioning needing in order to go. </p>
<p>I think the answer is that most students either qualify for the needed FA or have parents who are able to pay. It is a big sacrifice that not all parents are able to make. You will see this all over CC, in all academic fields–private colleges are incredibly expensive. Many people make the choice to seek out cheaper options–schools where they will qualify for merit scholarships, or state schools. </p>
<p>There is nothing wrong with following one’s dream, and there is certainly nothing wrong with following that dream in a financially responsible manner.</p>