<p>So I was recently accepted to my dream school NYU Tisch as a drama major..but I was given an awful financial aid package. I applied thinking I would not get in given the competition of their acting program but I was fortunately accepted. I am a minority and I have been raised by a single mother that makes around $14,000 a year. My gpa is 4.2 btw. Because I am a minority and it's hard enough being an actress and a minority, I believe that NYU has the resources I need to do well in the acting industry. </p>
<p>My issue is that I know for a fact that my mother will not be able to take out a loan for me. Her credit is really bad. What to do about that if I plan on attending NYU?</p>
<p>Below is my package:
Tisch Scholarship: 27,550
Pell grant: 5,595
Federal work study: 3,000</p>
<p>Total without loans:36,145</p>
<p>Loans to take out:
Federal Perkins Loan: 2,400
Subsidized loan 1: 3,500
Unsubsidized loan 1: 2,000
Federal PLUS loan: 24,451</p>
<p>Total loans for total of 4 years: 129,404 (I know, crazy!)</p>
<p>Total payment to school a year including loans: 68,496</p>
<p>You really can’t afford to go to this school. How will you repay your loans???<br>
They do ask for their money back. NYU is a very expensive school. Schools don’t guarantee to meet your needs. You could ask the Financial aid office to double-check their figures, but it doesn’t sound like you can afford this school.</p>
<p>What are your other school options? (That is an impossible amount of debt.) I have known many NYU drama majors. Trust me, it’s not going to launch your acting career any better than another Univ with a good theaater program.</p>
<p>If your mother doesn’t qualify for the PLUS loan, you’ll be able to borrow an additional $4k/year. That’s it - and that isn’t enough to cover your coast of attendance. (And, frankly, even that amount of debt would be excessive for an aspiring actress.)</p>
<p>If your mother does qualify for the PLUS loan, it will ruin her life and you will not have the resources to be able to help her - at least not any time soon.</p>
<p>NYU is notorious to awarding applicants far less financial aid than what they actually need to be able to attend. This is what happened to you. Yes, they admitted you . . . but they also know that they award they’ve given you is not enough for you to be able to attend. And they don’t care.</p>
<p>Find another school that actually WANTS you as a student. It’s out there, somewhere . . . and it’s not NYU.</p>
<p>Hi everyone!
Thank you for taking the time to provide me with advice.
I’ve started thinking much more rationally and I have gotten into 10 schools so far and the schools I’ve narrowed down to is Sarah Lawrence, Emerson and NYU. (which might be eliminated)
Sarah Lawrence has given me a phenomenal financial aid package…only $9,300 a year which is basically just room and board. I have yet to hear back from Emerson about my aid which was my top choice before my NYU acceptance.
What it really boils down to is the quality of my acting education alongside cost. I am willing to pay more if it means I leave college a better actor and well prepared to pursue it as a career.
It’s just really tough because NYU has been a dream of mine for so many years and it’s heartbreaking for me to not be able to attend.</p>
<p>Can you clarify what you mean by this? Do you have a source of money so that you could pay more? If not, then how would you “pay more”? </p>
<p>As a student, you’d only likely be able to earn about $5k per year, and some of that will be going towards “pocket money”…not all would go towards college costs.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids–I meant taking out a not so crazy amount of loans in order to pay my tuition. But not to the extent of what NYU is asking…for example and extra $3000 in loans.
I’m slowly starting to let go of NYU as an option and look at Sarah Lawrence and Emerson. If NYU really wanted me, they would have given me a better financial aid package.</p>
<p>Emerson might not come through either, plenty of kids in our high school have taken Emerson off the table, due to lack of financial aid. SLC must want you very badly to have given you such a great package, it sounds like SLC is showing you the money!</p>
<p>$9300 is still a lot of money per year - Sarah Lawrence is a great school with a limited endowment. You could be in debt in the range of (if you can secure that kind of money) $40,000 by the end of your undergraduate years and acting is an unstable profession.</p>
<p>Thanks again for all the advice everyone!
Emerson releases their financial aid decisions this week. Hopefully it will be good.
I think as of now, Sarah Lawrence might be the best package thus far. SLC is known for awful financial aid but they definitely showed up for me.
I guess all it takes is time to heal the wounds of getting into a dream school and not being able to pay:(</p>
<p>My son is a working actor in NYC, considered successful because he can cover his rent, barely. He is living hand to mouth and it’s getting old for him. It’s a tough go. And he has plenty of company with those who graduated from Tisch, Emerson, CMU, all of the great programs. But one thing that he does not have are student loans as some of them do. Some of these young people have the loan gorilla on their backs and after their parents as well for those loans that were taken out and they only increase each year when you can’t pay on them. not worth it.</p>
<p>cptofthehouse-- thank you for your insight! I definitely don’t want to be auditioning around New York or la with loans looming over my head…especially the turmoil it would cost my mother. I see now that it’s definitely not worth it.</p>
<p>Believe me ,you are embarking on a tough journey. We are not as strapped as your mother, so we’ve helped out our son, plus we live close enough that he could live here, but he absolutely wanted and wants to live with friends in Manhattan, and it’s been tough for him. But at least he doesn’t have the loans to repay. He stays out of debt so it’s pay as he goes. That has been a big plus for him. You do not want to be in the arts and in debt… It’s hard enough to make ends meet.</p>
<p>Because I am a minority and it’s hard enough being an actress and a minority, I</p>
<p>With the loans in your current pkg, you’re already on the road to graduate with about $35k in debt. That would create a loan payment of over $400 a month. As you know, you’ll likely be a “starving actor” for awhile, so not likely going to have an extra $400 a month to put towards loans…much less larger loans </p>
<p>Somebody on CC once gave some wise advice about loans and actors. The person commented that these young hopeful actors end up not being able to go to auditions because they can’t afford to take the time off work.</p>
<p>I live in NYC and know many actors. The one thing they all value is flexibility. You can’t take a commercial shoot on short notice or go off with a touring company at the last minute if you have a ton of debt that you have to prioritize.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids–fortunately, that $9,300 will be payed thru a payment plan by both my mother and father.</p>
<p>I know that being a “starving actor” is what is expected but luckily I’ll have no loans to pay when I am.</p>
<p>I’ve discussed this package with close friends and I’ve gotten mixed reactions, some say do it others say don’t. But at the end of the day, I can’t let the naive 17 year old get the best of me. Right?</p>
<p>My son has lost so many jobs when he has to go for a call back or other opportunity that arises in his main profession. He really has a tough time making ends meet. There is no way that he could swing even a hundred a month in loan payments. He’s usually short that amount as it is. This is the reality of the way things work in that field. ANd this is with family nearby that helps out when we can.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids–fortunately, that $9,300 will be payed thru a payment plan by both my mother and father.</p>
<p>That’s at least 9300 per year for 4 straight years. Since your mom only earns $14k per year, does that mean that your dad has a MUCH higher income? </p>
<p>9300 per year paid in a payment plan would be $930 a month for 10 months (the typical school payment plan). Are you sure that your parents can afford that? Your dad would surely have to pay nearly all of that. If he makes a high income, then it won’t be a big deal. But, if his income is average, then paying that much would seem impossible.</p>