<p>I agree that with $40 k in debt, you may not be able to afford working in a career that you love.</p>
<p>Not only would you have to repay your loan, but you also would have to pay rent (extremely high even for a "box" in a place like NYC), and if you went to LA, for instance, you'd need to have a reliable car, which also means you'd be paying lots for car insurance. </p>
<p>If you don't want UVA, consider taking a gap year and applying to a place like FSU, which has an excellent film school and also is relatively low cost even for out of staters.</p>