For what it’s worth, I like your daughter…yes, she’s writing as a naive 18-year-old (and we all were) but she’s thought out the reasoning behind this (in her own mind).
What I wouldn’t want to see happen here is for you to be cast as the bad guy…
Wow, this is a tough situation.
Here is a list of colleges still accepting students for fall 2015 -
http://www.nacacnet.org/research/research-data/College-Openings/Pages/College-Openings-Results.aspx
I don’t know the expenses or reputations but a quick glance shows Columbia College in Chicago and Columbus College of Art and Design, still have openings.
Also have her research for profit colleges, and what a bad idea they are.
I’m sure most community/state colleges have art and graphic design programs. Again I know it has been said here before, but have her find out where the grads have been placed and call those companies.
It really seems like you are being placed in a no win situation and I am so sorry. Hopefully through the boards here you feel supported.
You are really not to blame here. This is just exactly what happens when the whole college process is not handled intelligently. The folks who were helping out your daughter (mainly her mom, it sounds like), did not do the research ahead of time to understand the college application process and she/they just got taken in by the sales pitch of one school that is sadly unaffordable. What should have been done nine months ago was to have a talk with the daughter about affordability and fit, and then develop a list of several schools that would hopefully pass both tests (affordability and fit), and then narrow down the choices to one school that the student was happy with and the family could afford. Because your ex has so dramatically mis-handled this, your daughter is now in a really bad position, and begging you to help her make the biggest mistake of her life. Don’t let her do it! Her best options now would be to see if any state schools will still let her enroll for next year, or to try to go to community college next year, and then hopefully transfer to a better school the following year. I’m sorry for all of you, this sucks. 
I didn’t understand until now that we’re talking 2 years of college rather than 4…hmmm…I’m actually not against the career-orientation of this…sometimes it makes more sense. The Columbus College of Design (cited above) is $30,840 per year (not counting room & board) so then you’re looking at $120,000 for the course of the whole thing. The $50,000 is for the complete program? Or is $50000 a year so $100,000? (which is nuts).
if it’s $50,000 for the certification, then that would be akin to paying $12,500 a year for a more traditional 4-year program.
Yes, but the family still can’t afford that. 
Did anyone up-thread suggest that she take a gap year and concentrate on her portfolio? With an improved portfolio, she would have more options when she applies to college again.
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This school is expensive because it’s a good school.
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NO, it’s expensive because it’s private and FOR PROFIT.
They had a 100% job placement last year and the past years had 93%-100%. The school is connected to big business and they help their soon to be graduates find a job before they graduate. Right now the students graduating are on their internships and let's say if I don't like what I'm doing at a certain place I can go back to SAA and they will help me find another place. I know I can't rely on the school for everything but it's a good start. So it's expensive because it's a good school and what they do and it's nationally recognized. So it's not like once I graduate I will be looking for a job for months and not be able to pay off my loans. I understand that paying them off is my top priority. The average starting salary is $39,000. I don't know how much you made annually but That's a lot for a 20 year old who just graduated from college.
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so WHAT!!! $39k per year is NOT high enough to pay for her living expenses AND to make payments on $58k of private loans PLUS the federal student loans that she will ALSO have.
The reason that the mom (and the D) have been VAGUE about how her living expenses will get paid is because they don’t want to tell you that she’s taking out fed student loans ALSO to help pay for rent/food.
And no one is asking you to cosign for the whole two years. Mike and my mom said if you could do the first year then they could do the second
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LOLOLOLOLOL
Absolutely NOT! That should not EVER BE ON THE TABLE. That step-dad is “covering his fanny” by telling his wife they’ll co-sign for the second year which lessens their risk…and exposes YOU (what if she never finishes, what if THEY can’t qualify to cosign, etc).
I also suspect that THEY have some credit issues and THEY are hoping to get THOSE straightened out so that the “could” qualify next year.
Don’t be a sucker!
58k total for 2 year program, not including room and board
Youngstown State is still accepting students, 16K per year including room and board, fully accredited including by National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), an organization whose membership includes 250 schools out of approximately 2,000 art departments nationally, accredits the Department of Art.
Dad - find some good options - I just picked from the Ohio list using PUBLIC not private options, in-state
YSU or similar would be a fun four year experience with teaching and other options, they have over 100 majors and enough students for all the college experiences.
And she would not have to live at home and could probably find work during summers and find contacts …
Sounds better than sitting with 35 starving artists in a for-profit school.
She doesn’t need to take a gap year…she can start at her local CC. Many CC’s have Advertising concentrations within the Art Dept.
What are the names of the CCs that are within driving distance to her mom’s home.
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if it’s $50,000 for the certification, then that would be akin to paying $12,500 a year for a more traditional 4-year program.
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Not really. This school is not accredited by the typical big-regional entities. the credits would be worthless if she ever sought a Bachelors at a traditional school.
If your daughter takes ANY credit courses after she graduates from high school most colleges will consider her a transfer student and she’ll lose the opportunity to get freshman grants. The best aid comes from the colleges & goes to freshmen, so she needs to carefully explore all her options before jumping in somewhere.
Wow. D sounds pretty manipulative if you ask me. TIme to stop the self-pity train. Tell her exactly how much $$ you will contribute each year with whatever parameters you feel are necessary and tell her when she is ready to work within those boundaries you will move heaven and earth to make something good happen and then start researching! Give her options and then step back…most likely she will refuse them. This sounds like it is going to turn into a nightmare but its a life lesson. Just one week ago today, I had to tell my D that she couldn’t go to her first choice (or her second or her third) regardless of what her father thinks is affordable. If I’m putting a share in I get an opinion on “affordable”. And yes, she too is caught up in the middle and I feel bad but we can’t always shield our kids from the nasty. But we can protect them from their immature selves (and I mean that in the nicest way).
I was talking to my mom a bit ago. She is fairly well off(from dad dying unexpectedly a few years ago ). She’s like “I want to put this back in <my ex’s=”"> court". She mentioned the fact that I have offered to pay my daughter the child support I was giving my ex while my daughter was in college. she said this should be brought into consideration. Then she said to ask my daughter to ask my ex if my daughter was written a 15k check to go towards the tuition if they would consider cosigning a 35k loan for the rest. Between that and the support I will be giving they should be fine with that if they are so onboard with this. I love my momma. <3
That would still put my daughter in a lot of debt though, which is the main thing I have a problem with at this point. It’s still enabling her to take on a huge burden.
She sent a lot more texts. To make a long story short, its go to this school or bust in her mind… She has a magic crystal ball and just knows she will get a decent paying job and will have no problem paying this off…she know her and her friend will be able to rent an apt and work and go to school and its all just going to be fine. All this has given me a tension headache.
this is my concern for that plan…
The ex will only have to borrow for ONE year at first (and not much)…what if the ex can’t qualify for the second year?
At most, the checks should be two checks…7500 for each year.
The loan will NOT be for two years…the loan will be for one year…and then the second loan will be when the second year starts.
You don’t want to get burned because you may not understand how loans work for school. There will not be a $35k loan at one time.
mom2collegekids…Thanks for that info. I didn’t even think of that. So basically with th 15k check in mind my ex would have to cosign two loans for 17500. Or 10k for the first year and 25k for the second.
I guess either way it would be on her to cosign anything. But like I said, it still doesnt get rid of the huge debt my D is going to have. It would be less but still quite a lot.
If you all couldn’t tell already, I’ve never been to college so I really have little experience with any of this. I received my job training and experience thru the military and have been fortunate to make a good living(relative I guess, but I’m comfortable) without the expense of college.
@Maintainin, Your mom sounds sweet. Do not let her do it. Your daughter is full of drama and, if I were you, I wouldn’t buy into it. If she refuses to do anything else if she isn’t able to go to this school, fine. Wait her out. She won’t want to sit home forever. But don’t put the idea of appealing to grandma into her head.
If your daughter is so confident that this school is that good, she should have no problem spending 4 years at a school you and your ex can afford and taking out loans for it on her own after she gets her BA --when her credit is the only one on the line – kind of like a grad school program. She’ll have a degree that will give her experience and skills when she attends this art school (should she still care to attend) and should be able to get a steady job so she can work to save the tuition.
I would quit looking for ways to make this work. Your daughter needs a degree from an accredited college, not a for profit entity. Spending anything on for profit schools is a colossal waste, in my opinion.
I’m coming into this very late and have not read all of the posts.
My cousin and his wife went to Fullsail in Orlando which is a for profit arts school. My cousin HAD to go there and NO other school would do. He wouldn’t even entertain any other option. He met his wife there. Fortunately my aunt and uncle could afford to send him there.
At no time has my cousin or his wife ever worked in the field that they went to school and graduate from. I personally felt that the placement was a complete scam. The “job placement” was an unpaid internship and when he went to the unpaid internship, he found that there was no chance of a job for many many years because they had tons of interns. My cousins, cousin also went to Fullsail, he finally got a paid job after years (yes years) of couch surfing and unpaid internships.
My cousin is now a police officer and his (now ex) wife is a dental hygienist. Things they went to school for after Fullsail. They are in their early 30’s now.
@austin. She is a sweet woman. I think my mom is thinking what a lot of us are thinking. That she thinks my ex and her husband really aren’t on board with this and wants to she if she can call them on it. She’s upset because I’m going to be the bad guy. The only problem is they may really be on board with this(idiots, gullible, blindly optimistic…all three?) whole thing and bam my daughter is still on the hook for a large amount of debt.
I’m not really looking for ways to make it work. I’ve told her I’m not cosigning any loans for any amount and have told her at least 20 times this morning how I feel. It bugs me because I think I’m the only one who has told her any of this but yet everybody I know and have talked to is just like “You’re totally right.” Whats her family and friends around her telling her? Does she hold this much power over them? Everybody I know around me has common sense. What about the people around her?
@maintainin Insist that your ex-wife pay the first year. That puts the ball back in her court. What does your daughter say when you point out the school is not accredited? That is a huge problem.
Oh and @maintainin No more texting. She should have the decency to talk to you in person. Write everything out. Be prepared to meet her point by point. But MOM pays first. And how much is she earning over the summer and during the school year for college?
Instead of telling her no, I think I’d focus on what I’m willing to do. I’d say, “I will foot the bill for you to attend CC next year to study art and live at home. I expect you to get a part-time job and contribute rent to your mother and step-dad while you are living there and in school. And a year from now we will reassess.”
To me this is positive, fair, and gives her the opportunity to see how hard all this will be. The art school isn’t like a regular 4-year BA college. They will certainly be willing to consider her for admission next year, so time is not of the essence in the way that it might otherwise be.