<p>Your stats are significantly below the median for USC accepted students, For USC to be at least a low reach for you your ACT would need to be in the 32 range. Realistically given your criteria and stats you need to add several colleges to your list. Even then you need some safeties. Most likely these are public colleges in your state. Perhaps you should also consider taking a gap year or two. Move to where you eventually want to live. Then work and start off at a community college and eventually transfer to that state’s public system.</p>
<p>Based on what USC offered my son, I don’t think their financial aid is “great”. USC is tough to gain admittance. Your 28 is too low and look at the cost of attendance. You cannot assume you’ll get funding. Assume loans for the majority of the costs. Apply to your in-state schools.</p>
<p>The film industry seems to be one where the entry level job is a series of unpaid internships (to weed out aspiring employees for true entry level paid jobs). If that is your career goal, any student loan debt is a bad thing to have.</p>
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<p>I dont think the avg student loan debt is that high. I think it is around 20k. And I doubt it will rise by the time you graduate as it has been about the same for awhile. </p>
<p>Either way, anyone who is going into film making (or acting, art, music, etc), should strive for no debt because often it takes awhile to even earn enough to put a roof over one’s head, much less pay any loans.</p>
<p>Those who graduate in those majors with debt often find themselves unable to pursue their craft because they must take regularly paying jobs to make their loan payments. </p>
<p><a href=“http://projectonstudentdebt.org/state_by_state-data.php”>http://projectonstudentdebt.org/state_by_state-data.php</a></p>
<p>So you father is willing to take that debt on for you? I’m afraid you will really stick it to him. Ok a girl who went to Chapman (USC would do got a presidential scholarship but still her parents had to take loans. Her friend snagged a coveted but unpaid internship for a PR firm, entertainment industry Had to work many long hours and had to have a car, in LA you will need a car to get to an internship or job unless it is on campus. The reward was to be placed, upon graduation, at a major talent agency. This is a place that gets stacks and stacks of resumes for these entry level $12 per hour jobs from Yale and Emerson etc. Now the perk of this job is not the celebrity interactions, or the presentable LA clothes you have to buy on you own dime, or the apartment you are supposed to rent in mid city on $12, it is that you get to get a friend a job. So the friend got a job. Now these girls couldn’t take these jobs without having friends and family to buy their cars for them and their clothes and I’m sure helping with the rent. The parents are paying the loans, the grads couldn’t pay any loans. I think it is two years later, placing another friend in a job and maybe a promotion. Oh yeah, one couldn’t get promoted to assistant to an agent because she did too good a job filing papers-- have to pay your dues. Now one has snagged a job she wanted with a production company and things are looking solid. The other is unhappy. This atmosphere is not for everyone. I’m just hoping she is going to click with someone who wants her not type A personality.</p>
<p>So yeah, 4 colleges isn’t enough. Apply more widely. If you don’t apply instate just to have that rock solid backup then I’m gonna have to come through the internet and ground you. Ask your GC for some fee waivers.</p>
<p>Re: <a href=“http://projectonstudentdebt.org/state_by_state-data.php”>http://projectonstudentdebt.org/state_by_state-data.php</a></p>
<p>Looks like DE, NH, PA, MN, and RI get the booby prizes there. NM, CA, AZ, NV, WY, and UT have comparatively lower levels of debt.</p>
<p>You need to have more colleges that offer your major.
In addition, NYC is a major film hub (even though FA for NYC colleges isn’t that good, it’s worth looking into, and most of all there are colleges surrounding the city which you can access fairly easily. You could get as far as Marist/Vassar in Poughkeepsie, for instance, and be in NYC in under 2 hours if need be. And there are lots of schools within 1hour to 1H30, too - some of which are rather inexpensive (SUNY New Paltz) or meet 100% need.
UNC-Wilmington is very well-known for films and lots of TV shows are shot there (Sleepy Hollow, Revolution…) However you’d need to get Honors scholarships, applying early, since it’s a public university (30k OOS roughly, without scholarships.)</p>
<p>Why not got to UIowa and learn to write?</p>
<p>I’d be concerned about targeting these expensive schools. Don’t assume your financial aid will cover it because you are low income. Be advised that you have a limited about of debt (loans) that YOU can take out each year. Like $5500 a year. Best to you. </p>
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<p>I’m not sure the OP has the stats to be admitted to Marist or Vassar, and none of the 3 will be inexpensive for an OOS student. New Paltz is the least expensive (~$22k), but even if the OP gets full Pell (~$5k) and federal loans ($5500), there’s still a gap of ~$10k/year. The maximum federal loans students can get are $5500 (freshman year), $6500(soph), and $7500 (each year for Junior & senior year). </p>
<p>Marist is pretty generous and Vassar meets 100%need so the likely problem is getting in.:)</p>
<p>If anyone is still on the thread or interested, most of you would be happy to know I’ve taken a complete 180 and are looking solely in state now! Here’s the link to my most recent discussion, which I feel many of you would be helpful if you want to take a look!
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1677602-which-of-these-two-schools-would-be-best-for-my-planned-major-s-and-minor-s.html?new=1”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1677602-which-of-these-two-schools-would-be-best-for-my-planned-major-s-and-minor-s.html?new=1</a></p>
<p>How about you apply to schools both in state and out of state depending on the type of school and what the met price calculators indicate ? Make a list with two safeties, a couple matches and as many reaches as you wish or can afford 
Don’t limit yourself to two or four schools. Most importantly after you’ve run the net price calculators talk with your parents and get an exact number from them :)</p>