Is UCLA Worth It?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello!
So I was just accepted to UCLA Design-Media Arts program! I am super pumped because I thought that was the only school I would not be accepted to. Considering how difficult it is to get into the school and program I feel as though I would be stupid not to go there. However, I am a non-resident of California meaning the tuition will be about $55,000 the first year and I will need to take out a loan. Second year and on I should be able to get in-state tuition because I will live there year-round.</p>

<p>I say is it worth it because I get nervous when I start to look up the average salaries for graphic designers, etc. and it is saying the median is about $55,000. </p>

<p>My mother was unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer about 5 years back which drained my college fund. I haven't gotten my UCLA financial aid packet yet so I'm not sure if they will give me any grants.</p>

<p>I REALLY want to attend UCLA and I believe I can be very successful, but just looking for opinions. Do you think I will get a better job if I go to UCLA? Will I be able to pay off my loans? </p>

<p>My other choices would be Pratt Institute (NY) or Cleveland Institute of Art (OH). CIA is giving me over half the tuition, but then again it is Cleveland...</p>

2

<p>Sorry to be a bummer but taken from the UCLA website:</p>

<p>To establish California residence, an adult student at least 18 years of age must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, other immigrant, or eligible alien who meets all of the following requirements:</p>

<pre><code>has been physically present in the state for 366 days prior to the residence determination date (RDD) of the term for which he or she wishes to be considered a resident
has the intent to make California his or her home (as opposed to coming to California for the purpose of attending school)
is financially independent (see note) if his or her parents are not California residents as defined by UC.
</code></pre>

<p>You will have to pay 55K every year for 4 years as an OOS student unless you get some money from UCLA.</p>

3

<p>Second year and on I should be able to get in-state tuition because I will live there year-round.</p>

<p>No, you will not get instate because you live there year-round. That doesn’t establish residency for UC instate rates. Your parents would have to MOVE there. Your parents do not pay Calif taxes.</p>

<p>Those salaries are not for newish grads. You won’t make much as a newish grad. Plus, you can’t borrow much w/o qualified cosigners, which it sounds like your parents won’t agree to do.</p>

<p>What is your EFC?</p>

<p>Where else did you apply? Pratt is expensive too. do you have any affordable schools???</p>

<p>At a minimum, UCLA will expect you to pay your EFC plus about $22k per year (plus the loans and any work study in your FA pkg.) The cost is about $55k per year, but those most you’d get in grants is about $21k or so.</p>

4

<p>I read the information on UCLA’s site, It says to become a resident you need to have the intent to make California your permanent home (which I do) and several things you can do to show your intent include: Registering & voting in CA elections, getting a CA driver’s license, having a registered CA vehicle, having a CA residence with my belongings, and paying CA income taxes — I will be doing all of these.</p>

5

<p>I am going to LA this Saturday…plan to set up some meetings and discuss the whole residency debate, but from what I am reading on their site I should be able to? I will be applying for my CA license and everything this weekend and I will be working and living in CA this summer which means I will be filing my taxes under CA for 2013. All ties will be severed with my current residency except for the fact that my parents will still live here. </p>

<p>The most affordable school I applied to was CIA because they are giving me over half the tuition in grants…but UCLA seems like such a huge opportunity to pass up.</p>

6

<p>It’s extremely difficult to get in-state residence for non-Californians, and the reality is that you likely won’t be able to. UCLA isn’t worth it, but CIA might not be worth it either. Art schools are notoriously expensive and don’t offer the best job prospects.</p>

7

<p>You missed a very important note about residency:</p>

<p>*is financially independent (see note) if his or her parents are not California residents as defined by UC.</p>

<p>Note: The financial independence requirement makes it extremely difficult for most undergraduate students whose parents are not California residents, including students from community colleges and other post-secondary institutions within California, to qualify for classification as a resident at the University of California. Transfer students who were classified as residents of California at their previous school should not assume that they will be classified as residents at UCLA.*
First of all, you are not moving to CA with the intent of making it your home; you are moving there for the purpose of attending school. Even if you are planning to live in CA after you finish, you are still moving there with the primary intent of attending school there.</p>

<p>More importantly, if your parents are not CA residents, you have to be financially independent to be considered a CA resident. Financial independence is calculated the same way that it is on the FAFSA - you need to be at least 24 years of age, unless you are a veteran, a ward of the court, married, or have your own legal dependents. The only exception is if you are an unmarried undergraduate student who has not been claimed as an income tax deduction by your parents or anyone else for the 2 years prior to the term during which you have begun school, AND can demonstrate self-sufficiency.</p>

<p>If establishing CA residency was as easy as just getting a license and living there over the summer, everybody would do that. You need to expect that you won’t get CA residency - because you probably won’t - and also realize that even one year of loans at $55,000 is both too much money and impossible for you to get on your own. You can borrow up to $5,500 by yourself through federal loans. Anything over that amount you need a cosigner for or your parents have to borrow, so your parents need to be willing to borrow that. UCLA doesn’t seem to be good at giving OOS students grants or financial aid, so I wouldn’t expect much.</p>

<p>I’m not sure where you got that $55,000 number from. According to the BLS, the median pay for graphic designers is $43,500 per year. That includes graphic designers who have worked for some years. The average STARTING salary for a graphic designer seems to be in the $30-37,000 range. That is also a very competitive field to get a job in, as there are many people in it.</p>

<p>If you have a good package at CIA or Pratt, you should choose one of those.</p>

8

<p>Thank you that was very helpful! Disappointing, but helpful…</p>

<p>My parents would be willing to cosign, but I don’t know if it is smart now that I will most likely have to have 4 years of $55k plus interest.</p>

9

<p>It is not smart. Don’t do it.</p>

<p>[Majoring</a> In Debt: College Students Struggle Under The Weight Of Loans](<a href=“Majoring In Debt: College Students Struggle Under The Weight Of Loans | HuffPost College”>Majoring In Debt: College Students Struggle Under The Weight Of Loans | HuffPost College)</p>

10

<p>My parents would be willing to cosign, but I don’t know if it is smart now that I will most likely have to have 4 years of $55k plus interest. <<<</p>

<p>Your parents may not QUALIFY. Are they high income? If not, then they likely won’t qualify to borrow $220k of loans.</p>

<p>Do you have any idea how much the monthly payments would be? Do you understand that the debt would ruin YOUR LIFE? </p>

<p>Since you’ve said that Calif would be your home, that means that you wouldn’t be able to live at home rent-free to pay back those HUGE monthly payments. So, how would you pay for rent, utilities, car, insurance, gas, cell phone, etc AND pay those huge loans?</p>

11

<p>No I don’t understand loans at all that’s why I am on here asking these questions!!! I know absolutely nothing regarding loans. </p>

<p>My dad has his own company and my mom is disabled.</p>

<p>BUT…
I would be living rent free in California with my Aunt & Uncle.</p>

12

<p>UCLA is a great university, and worth the price tag…if you can afford it. But you are speaking of taking out large loans. No university is worth that.</p>

13

<p>I would be living rent free in California with my Aunt & Uncle.</p>

<p>Do they live very close to UCLA? Or would you have to commute thru a LOT of traffic?</p>

<p>What is your FAFSA EFC?</p>

14

<p>Well, even if you borrow a total of $100k ($25k per year), your monthly payments would be about $1300 per month for TEN LONG YEARS…depending on interest rate. That is way too much.</p>

<p>*It is estimated that you will need an annual salary of at least $145,593.60 to be able to afford to repay this loan. *</p>

<p>See that income you’d need to be able to pay that debt and still live a normal life?</p>

<p>How much will your parents pay each year towards college?</p>

15

<p>Really? Rent free? Someone else would be supporting your housing, so you still would not be considered an independent student. OOS students pay full fees. Sorry, sad but true. The UC’s are not going to fund students whose parents aren’t paying into the system. </p>

<p>My dd goes to Davis, we pay full fees subtracting her $5500 in loans. We’ve been SO. CA residents all of our lives and CA is not a cheap place to live- ESPECIALLY-LA. So with her in-state tuition and fees, we pay roughly $32K. </p>

<p>Getting a license and working part-time will not get you residency; that residency determination date is stuck with you for 4 years. And working here, (if you can find a job) will not get you anywhere near what you need to pay in tuition and fees. </p>

<p>DD earned $4000 this past summer but she had a higher than average minimum wage. So the rest of the money has to come from somewhere and that would come from your parents and you would be their dependent. Did you not look up this information when you applied?</p>

<p>Oh, and neighbor is a graphic designer, steady work has been inconsistent.</p>

16

<p>Its not worth the OOS tuition. </p>

<p>Congrats on your acceptance, that shows you have real promise. Now go and develop that promise at a college you can afford to attend. There was a widely reported study a few years back (Krueger et al) that tracked students who got admitted to top colleges, looking at the differences between those who enrolled and those who went elsewhere. In terms of income, which the study looked at, there was none. In other words having been identified as someone with high potential made the difference, not the college attended. Presumably those high-potential students who didn’t enroll at the top colleges still busted their buns where they did go and made the most of what they had available.

Maybe by now you’ve got it, but I can tell you the answer. They do not give grants to cover the OOS portion of tuition. That is 100% loans. The whole point of enrolling OOS students at UC is to bring in extra revenue, and grants would reduce that.

Welcome to the adult world. People take jobs where they are offered, not necessarily where they’d like to live. And so on. It sounds like you have an opportunity to get a fine education, albeit in a place you don’t prefer. So decide what is most important to you… where you live for 4 years in college, or the career field you enter.</p>

17

<p>

That just killed your chances of CA residency, which were pretty much nil to begin with anyway.

</p>

18

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<p>Zero chance of that happening. Sorry.</p>

19

<p>Thank you everyone! I know now I will not be able to get in-state tuition. So most likely I won’t be going there unless I get a good amount of money which again I know is unlikely. I get it.</p>

<p>Mikemac,
Thank you! Very good to know :slight_smile: I will probably be deciding from CIA or FIT. Possibly Pratt too depending on my financial aid from them. </p>

<p>I also applied to a TON of scholarships so hopefully I get a few.</p>

20

<p>Hey, not to be weird or anything but im also from Ohio and I am debating whether or not to go to UCLA lol you wouldnt happen to be from Columbus would you?</p>