<p>We all know that NYU's financial aid is horrendous, but what really spelled it out for me was Saturday at the Square. It's ironic, Saturday at the Square is supposed to be the day to talk kids into attending NYU, yet for me, it might have just talked me out of it.</p>
<p>When I was invited to this gathering I was extremely happy. I figured that NYU really appreciated me and was willing to fight to have me attend. But when it comes right down to it, they couldn't care less if I attend. They would love to average in my SAT numbers for next years pamphlets but they couldn't give two ***** for me as an individual trying to pursue what I love. The Tisch Scholarship earns me all of $5,000 a year in a household where my mother makes about $20,000 a year. And I'm, expected to pay a $200,000 bill. This is simply not in the world of reality. We fought with the financial aid office and they might add another thousand or so in scholarship. Peanuts in the bucket. </p>
<p>I find it very interesting how Tisch explains how much they respect us for following our passions and they want to do everything they can to help us pursue our dreams. Well, then why could they care less about lessening the financial burden? Other top schools say the same things to their students: we admire you, respect you, want you to achieve,etc. and you know what, they put their money were their mouth is. They give grants, scholarships, etc. They want to invest in you, and they trust their own programs enough to do so. NYU does not. They do not trust that you will succeed. This is part of the reason why you have to fight them to get an extra couple thousand of a $200,000 bill.</p>
<p>And then there was the financial aid rep who made a joke of her chance to speak. She spent more energy trying to entertain and distract the audience then give them the facts and discuss the realities. I find the deception very very inappropriate.</p>
<p>Now I don't know what to do. I want to be a filmmaker more than anything else in the world. But NYU really doesn't care. They tour me around and give free cookies to try and get their hands on my stats, but if I can't pay the bill now, well, too bad for me. They'll find someone else with deeper pockets who can. </p>
<p>Hey dude, one thing you need to do is realize what a huge organization NYU is. I went to Saturday at the Square for film, too, and I was really impressed with the faculty, and, as you said, how they seemed very interested in helping us develop as creative individuals. But you've got to remember that these people are NOT the ones who decide how much money to dish out. The financial aid office does that, and with as many people as there are going to NYU, I'm sure it's difficult to get enough money to people who need it. NYU simply doesn't have that kind of money. Their endowment is less than other schools, from what I've heard over and over again from various sources. </p>
<p>And I highly doubt that the reason they don't give us more money is because they "don't trust that we will succeed." If they didn't think that we would succeed, why the heck would they admit us to the school anyway, one of the most well-known, well-respected film schools in the country (and probably even more than just America)? They simply don't have the funds. Yeah, I agree that it totally bites that CAS and Stern kids are eligible for more scholarship money than we at Tisch are, but I'm under the impression that each school within NYU gathers their own funds for scholarships, and Tisch has some of the least, I would assume because not as many former students give back.</p>
<p>Anyway, I just wanted to respond to your long, overdramatic post and say those things. The lack of aid sucks; we're all trying to figure out how to pay for it. But if it ****es you off that much, you shouldn't be there anyway, because you're right, the financial burden will distract and stress you. But just don't try to make it sound like these people are trying to deceive us into thinking they care when they really don't (according to you). I was at the same presentation and I was impressed, and can't wait to go get to learn from them and be in that kind of environment.</p>
<p>(And by the way, I didn't hear any financial aid lady talk, so I'm not really sure what you're talking about there. There was one in the parents' discussion while we were elsewhere, but I don't know how you would be able to describe her demeanor if you weren't there.)</p>
<p>I understand your frustration, in fact I'm not attending NYU for the same reason but you must try to understand that they aren't doing this with bad intentions or out of spite.</p>
<p>It stinks that NYU hasn't really perfected their financial aid program but honestly, complaining isn't going to do much good. I'm going to have so much money in loans if I end up at NYU but I honestly think it will be worth it.
I also second basically everything scrapnel said...</p>
<p>I was at Saturday @ the Square for film too.
While it is frustrating to deal with NYU, i think the fact is that they simply don't have the money to give us - they met with every single family that waited in that auditorium individually to discuss options and take notes in order to put in an appeal. The lady we talked to was very nice and understanding of the situation, and she said she would do whatever she could.
One thing to think about is how much NYU has to pay in real estate. It is a prime area of NYC and they have over a dozen various buildings. That in itself is probably a HUGE expense for the school. I don't think NYU holds back money for the sake of holding back money - they are working on it, and they are understanding even if they can't do much.</p>
<p>yes, nyu has the stingiest financial aid of any university... this is true, but also think about how much it costs to run this school. people who live in nyc complain about the price of renting a one-bedroom apartment in the city... try being the 3rd biggest property owner in the city. think about how much it costs to own as many buildings as nyu does.... 23 of which are residence hallls. when you decide to pay that huge sum of money to go to nyu, you are paying for the education as well as the environment. people pay top dollar to live in nyc... it makes sense that it would cost just as much to go to school in nyc. </p>
<p>also, not to be mean, but there are THOUSANDS of ppl who want to go to nyu... think of it as supply and demand. the demand for attendance at nyu is so high, but the number of spots to supply is limited, so why would they lower prices. if you wanna be here, you have to be willing to pay for it, otherwise someone else is going to get your spot. and unless you are like th BEST applicant they've seen this year, they have hundreds of other talented aspiring film students who would give anything to just get in to nyu... so why would they invest more of their money into you specifically?</p>
<p>Yeah real estate would be another factor. Plus, the buildings I saw (granted, I only went in the two they took us to and the place where financial aid was...my dad didnt wanna do the tour cuz of the rain) were incredibly nice. The other colleges I've seen throughout, well, life, were almost decrepit. I was super impressed by how well kept NYU's buildings were (and I hope that's true for the other ones I didn't see as well). So that's another place their money goes into (personally I'm okay with that trade off).</p>
<p><edit> and i also agree with VanessaAnne's points.</edit></p>
<p>elvenqueen, complaining only does no good because people continue to remain apathetic. People will still pay the loans into their late-20's / early 30's for the NYU brand name.</p>
<p>so you people who plan to go and take on the debt --how are you going to do it? Can your parents handle the PLUS loans? Are you financing privately? How are you going to finance the $200K in cash plus interest that your degree will cost? I reckon after graduating it will be about $2400 a month to pay this debt back. Do you have a plan? Pls share.</p>
<p>as of right now, the majority of my loans are citibank student loans and like $5000 of it is PLUS loans and stafford loans. my mom is paying off the interest every month on my citibank loan, but besides that, i plan to pay off the rest myself after i am done with school. After all 4 years at nyu i will be about 80k in debt and i plan on paying it off very slowly.</p>
<p>NYU is not "stingy" - that word implies they dislike giving students money. NYU is relatively endowment "poor" - they don't have the money to give to students. NYU's currently trying to fundraise 2.5 billion, with 600-some million of that going to financial aid.</p>
<p>As for alumni giving, I certainly plan to do so once I've established myself. Heck, lately I've been having grandiose dreams of creating a scholarship fund of my own.</p>
<p>NYU's goal of expanding in NYC is just more important than its goal of attracting highly qualified students right now. That's just the way it is. If you cannot pay for NYU, the wise thing to do is to go somewhere else. Not everything in life works out the way you want it to :)</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure USC's film school gives better financial aid (I don't know first hand cuz I didn't apply there, but I seem to remember hearing of several people comparing the two packages), but I mean, Hollywood is right there, they probably have an easier time convincing people to give to them. And also, another thing to consider for USC vs NYU film (that I just found out this weekend), is that USC gets the rights to whatever you make =/ So they're giving you more money, yeah, but they get to keep the rights to your hard work....</p>
<p>Hey look, I never said the film faculty itself was at fault, I said the NYU financial aid office was. </p>
<p>And yes we sat down with an officer to discuss the money, and yes she was very nice, but she was just a functionary. There was nothing she could really do except say "take it or leave it." We were under the impression that there would be room for some legitimate appeals and dealing, but it was just confirming what we already knew - you're going to be paying off a lot of loans for a long time.</p>
<p>I still think it's a high tier school, but if it really wants to improve its image it's gotta start covering some financial ground for its students.</p>
<p>You are going for training. I would gladly sign away rights for the four years to walk away without $200K of debt. But also --graduate school can be done faster, and at less cost. I mean afterall, you are going for Tisch but meanwhile you are paying at the same rate to take those giant lecture classes at CAS as well. That's a waste of coin even if Tisch is not. </p>
<p>$80K of debt is one thing. For $200 K I think that, hands down, it is the better decision to study film elsewhere and do NYU or USC in a more concentrated way, as a grad student: You can be an RA, a TA. You kids are very young. I don't know if you understand exactly how entrapping --and I mean artistically strangling-- that much debt can be.</p>