HELP ME OUT....UT VS USC?

College Majors Music Major
1

Hey all…

So I need some guidance on this situation and I really need every bit of input I could get.
Here’s the rundown

-Got accepted as a piano performance major at both UT and USC
-USC did not offer any money (still waiting on financial aid), but UT offered a 40k scholarship (still waiting on financial aid as well)
-I feel like UT would be the obvious choice, as I really like the teacher and they offered me a HUGE amount of money
-But UT is not the ideal place to be a music major. I fit in a lot more at USC, especially due to the fact that it’s in LA, which is the hotspot for music and arts and will probably help me out in the long run in that I will be more likely to find plenty of jobs involving music in LA rather than in Austin.
-Of course, USC is extremely expensive, but I am thinking I will be able to pay off my student loans fairly easy due to the fact that I will be able to find work involving music there. (Also not afraid of a little labor work if necessary.)
-Keep in mind that it simply makes more sense to say “I was a music major at USC” rather than “I was a music major at UT”
-Also, tell me more about transferring schools, if possible. Could I study at UT first and then transfer to USC as an undergraduate?

What do you all think? Like I said, I need all the input I can get.

Thanks so much!!!

2

Thornton is known to give very small amounts of merit aid - aid usually comes as academic merit or pure financial aid. Until you hear from USC for your financial aid package, you won’t have any idea of what the financial picture will look like. They will likely meet your EFC, but the mix of grants vs loans is unknown. If they do meet your EFC, would that make it equivalent to UT?

3

Both of those schools are were on my son’s list, too. I know nothing about piano, and he applied to Popular Music at USC, so we didn’t interact with the classical music side of things there, and in the end they didn’t admit him. He clicked very well with the studio teacher at UT. (he plays bass), and it’s still in play.

I wouldn’t count on transferring - you are counting on an open space in a studio to do that, and that seems tricky. It also might be hard to get scholarship money at that point. Maybe someone here can address that situation.

I wouldn’t sell Austin short on work. It is a booming music town (more popular than classical), and lots of movies are being filmed there. That said, Thornton certainly has a reputation UT doesn’t.

The mom in me says don’t go into a lot of debt. As a musician, flexibility after graduation will be huge asset. Being tied down with a lot of debt limits that flexibility.

Good luck and congratulation on having such great options!

4

I don’t think so. UT rarely hands out scholarships as well, so receiving 40k is pretty much unheard of. Also, I doubt that financial aid will help me out that much, since our family makes a little above average (about 90k a year).

To put this into context, UT normally costs 25,000/year for me to go since I live in Texas. USC costs 70,000/year.

Also, I’m not clear as to how much my EFC will be, but I wouldn’t want my parents paying too much for my college tuition. Y’know what I mean?

5

So are you getting 40K over four years?

6

Yes haha. So in other words 10k/year :slight_smile:

7

Well - that is a ton at UT!

8

You are kinda ■■■■■■ regardless. I’ll help you out tho: http://www.welfareinfo.org/apply/

9

You are kinda fucked regardless. I

10

You will get financial aid with an income of 90K at USC, if all the paperwork was properly filed, and you don’t have huge savings. Did you run the NPC? What was your EFC on your FAFSA? USC is known for loans being a significant part of the aid package, but they definitely do offer aid - the bulk of it just doesn’t come as merit from Thornton. Be patient and wait to see what they offer.

11

I’m not sure what npc is, but my efc on my fafsa says 022283

12

USC is a great music school, Thornton is highly regarded (I don’t know the piano faculty, but I would assume they are high level) and obviously being in the LA region could provide networking and opportunities you might not get through UT.

If you are thinking of using student loans to make up the difference, if your family cannot contribute much, please keep in mind that your assumptions about coming out of school and making a living (in some combination of music and ‘real’ jobs likely) enough to pay rent and food and the debt may be optimistic. It takes a while for a young musician to find their way into making a living, as a pianist you would be competing with a lot of people out there, and with gig work especially that comes about when you establish a network, and that takes time. There are student loan calculators on line, run the numbers for projected debt for either school, that likely will be in the many 10’s of thousands of dollars, and you will find that the payments will be significant. If you hang out in LA after graduation USC, you would also face a pretty high cost of living.

I am not telling you to take either of these opportunities, rather I wanted to point out that getting jobs in music may not be as easy as you think and that even combining day jobs and gigs you can find likely won’t pay as much as you think. The standard line with music school is to take on as little debt as possible, and if you do save that for grad school. These days with music the tendency is kids who graduate with UG degrees going to grad school, so keep that in mind, that on piano especially that is so competitive the MM degree is quite common and becoming more so every day. When looking at your future, be careful to temper your optimism towards being conservative, and also be aware that it may take education/training past the UG level.

13

"but I am thinking I will be able to pay off my student loans fairly easy due to the fact that I will be able to find work involving music there. "

… said the engineering graduates of 2002. (except the music part)

14

Are you aware that, as a student, you have very specific limits on how much in student loans you will be able to borrow? For dependent students (23 yo and under), the limit is $31K total. For independent students or if your parents don’t qualify for a Parent Plus loan, the limit is $57K total. Note that’s total for all four years of undergraduate school, not per year.

For loan amounts greater than the above, you would need to be able to show credit-worthiness – and that’s current worthiness, not based on potential earnings after you graduate – or your parents would need to co-sign the loan. For them to co-sign, they would need to qualify for the loan.

There is often a misunderstanding that students can just get a “student loan” for whatever debt amount they’re willing to take on, but that’s just not the case.

You need to choose a school that you (and your parents, if they’re part of the picture) can afford.

15

I think you should be patient and wait to see USC’s offer. Both my sons applied to USC and I was able to review financial offers for both - they met the EFC - but had more loans included than some other schools. They also received academic and music merit. After you get the offer, then you’ll be able to compare - but not until then.

16

My D also considered the Thornton School of Music/USC. The school allocates a lot more of their funds to graduate students so don’t be offended. USC music graduates are all over the LA music scene so the school has a clear and dominant position when it comes to job placement. I would wait for your financial aid package before deciding. Congratulations on your acceptances. This is a very difficult decision for you but most would be envious to be in your position. Good luck!

17

Thanks for the info everyone! So I understand that jobs are a huge factor as to paying off debt. One of the reasons I applied to USC is because it was in LA, and I feel like LA is more “music major friendly” compared to Austin, Texas. In other words, what I am trying to say is that LA, being the hotspot for music and arts, I feel, will fit in more with me.

Basically, I have three options. I could play it safe, not be in (that much) debt, stay in my home state and live with the name “Music major at UT.” (If this is the case, I may double major in business and start my own piano studio…just food for thought :slight_smile: )

I could what they call “yolo” it and gamble my money on USC for the thrill of it. The benefits and the downsides would both be tremendous.

OR I could transfer from UT to USC, ultimately minimizing the huge debt from USC and going to UT pretty much for free.

@musicprnt Yes, I am certainly aware of the many hardships that await for young musicians. I know a teacher who went to Julliard and eventually moved back into his home state (Texas) to teach little kids. I even talked to him about majoring in music long ago and his exact words were “Don’t major in music, even I have a hard time finding gigs and finding places to perform.” I guess it’s because classical piano is extremely competitive, so competitive that even the best of the best are disappointed with the results.

Because of this, it is worth mentioning that I am most likely going to move away from “Classical” piano and move into the business side or “Popular” piano, meaning instead of focusing on things like Carnegie Hall, international competitions, etc., I will focus on things like performing in a band, making connections, and perhaps even looking into the business side of things and start my own little piano studio and start teaching.

Anyway, my question is do you think I will able to find as many music jobs such as gigs and performances in Austin compared to LA?

18

In all honesty, I don’t think the location will matter much as a recent graduate. In fact, I think you’ll be extremely lucky if you’re managing to make a real living in music just out of school, much less making enough to be able to pay off school loans on top of that. LA may be a bigger market but competition will be tougher and cost of living higher. I think you’ll make good contacts at Thornton that may prove helpful in finding opportunities but, in the popular music world, no one’s going to care that you went to USC vs UT. It’s about your playing.

USC will meet need and I agree with SpiritManager, I think you will get financial aid. The NPC is the “net price calculator.” It’s a tool you can find on the USC website that estimates your cost to attend USC. I suggest you run it – it was pretty accurate for my son.

19

@ScreenName48105 I see. Even with financial aid we can still expect it to be pretty expensive right? USC costs $70,000, and with financial aid, would we assume the cost maybe knocked down to, say 45,000-50,000? The original post is wrong in saying that our family income is about 90k…I checked my FAFSA and it’s more like 70k.

I don’t know…It seems like “debt” isn’t really all that it’s cracked up to be. High school hasn’t really prepared me for this, so I’m having to research this for myself and I may not know what I’m talking about lol. To me, I feel like everyone has to deal with debt, and that it’s just part of life, so it’s not really that big of a deal, right? You’re not going to be living on the streets even if you’re in debt.

So, I don’t know. Is it a good idea to go to USC with that much money on my shoulders? One of my friends got accepted to Berkeley and is also paying 50k a month, but his situation is different in that he is majoring in computer science. Wouldn’t the competitiveness be just as difficult for computer science in Cali as it is for music?

Again, sorry for all the questions. I know it’s a lot of info, but I’m kind of having an existential crisis right now…

20

@LordWill, don’t randomly guess, use the NPC:
http://financialaid.usc.edu/undergraduates/prospective/net-price-calculator.html

Just need to do the math.

The average salary for a musician in LA is $46K per year. After deductions and taxes, that’s probably about $36K take home, or $3,000 per month, out of which you have to pay rent, utilities, food, transportation… I would bet that rent in LA is going to be at least $1,500.

If you borrowed $15K a year, you would graduate with $60K of debt. Interest rates for federal student loan is 3.76%, parent PLUS loans are 6.31%. Loans typically have 10 year terms. Your payments would run you $638 per month for TEN years, assuming $30K in federal student loans plus the rest in Parent PLUS loans.

Engineering and computer science is in a completely different realm in terms of entry level salaries. (I’m an engineer.)