<p>^^^</p>
<p>Oh good. 
Glad to hear that he’d be paying for the 9300. Your dear mom hardly has the funds to even make a small dent in that amount.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids–it’s been so incredibly tough to be raised by a single mom, let alone living below the poverty line, but the chance to attend a private university with a great acting program has always been a dream of mine.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for all then wonderful insight you’ve given. I haven’t slept well at all these past few days about my NYU decision and I think finally I will be able to.
If anyone has advice about being an actor straight out of acting school, that would be great!</p>
<p>Sarah Lawrence is a friggin’ AMAZING school!!! If you can afford it, I’d jump at the chance and not look back!</p>
<p>And you certainly won’t be alone. I know an amazing young actress (with an abundance of off-Broadway credits already under her belt) who’ll be starting at Sarah Lawrence with you in the fall. Trust me, you’ll be in good company!</p>
<p>I got into NYU but where how did you know how much they gave you?</p>
<p>Actress17, good luck and congratulations on your wonderful opportunity at Sarah Lawrence. That is really extraordinary and I’m sure you’ll take full advantage of all the school has to offer. My husband is an actor, and remarkably he’s never had to hold a “day job” since finishing his acting MFA back at the dawn of time… and he’s not some rich & famous dude, just a working theater actor. (He didn’t go to some fancy school or acting conservatory. He went to his boyhood state university for his BA and MFA.)</p>
<p>Sure we’ve had some lean times, but we’ve raised two kids, we own a house, I was able to be a stay-at-home mom for the years when that was important to me and meaningful for the kids… and all on his income as an actor. Sometime in the next 10 years or so he’ll retire with a pension from SAG and a pension from Equity. So it is possible! People do actually do this for a living without having to be hit by some Hollywood lightning bolt of good luck.</p>
<p>Advice for young actors coming out of college: most theater actors who work consistently or are in resident companies have an MFA. It’s certainly not a requirement, but in practical fact, most do. So if you can finish your BA with little to no debt, you will be leaving that option open too. Another reason not to borrow for undergrad if you can avoid it!</p>
<p>dodgersmom–Sarah Lawrence is looking better everyday! Thank you for your insight!</p>
<p>pdslove1–if you log into your home page, go to albert login and there, you can view your financial aid summary.</p>
<p>'rentof2–wow your husband’s story is truly inspiring as an actor. Thank you for sharing that! I have definitely though of receiving a MFA in acting but I might do so if I feel the need to. I hope your husband continues to work in this crazy acting industry!</p>
<p>actress17 - So glad that Sarah Lawrence is looking better for you. Included here some of the tales from NYU. Well, it’s not NYU that’s the problem; the problem is poor planning/unrealistic expectation from students. Nevertheless, if you have any doubt, read them.</p>
<p>[I’m</a> Graduating From A College I Can’t Afford | NYU Livewire](<a href=“http://journalism.nyu.edu/publishing/archives/livewire/money_work/gen_debt/]I’m”>http://journalism.nyu.edu/publishing/archives/livewire/money_work/gen_debt/)</p>
<p><a href=“Another Debt Crisis Is Brewing, This One in Student Loans - The New York Times”>Another Debt Crisis Is Brewing, This One in Student Loans - The New York Times;
<p>[NYU</a> Students: Debt and Debtor - - News - New York - Village Voice](<a href=“http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-11-09/news/debt-and-debtor/full/]NYU”>http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-11-09/news/debt-and-debtor/full/)</p>
<p>Not just NYU. I have a friend whose daughter is now up to the quarter million mark in loans due to late fees and penalties on top of some big time interest rates. It’s making their lives ( mom also signed) very difficult. The young woman can’t even pay the interest on the loan at this point.</p>
<p>actress17 I just want to commend you for your sensible and lovely acceptance of this situation. Its refreshing after reading some of the tantrums on here from kids about finances.</p>
<p>I think you will do great wherever you go, and SLC is a wonderful school.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>$120,000 in loans for a bachelor’s degree?</p>
<p>NO! Not worth it.</p>
<p>Paying that kind of money back is painful. Do you know how big those monthly loan payments will be after you graduate?</p>
<p>That’s before interest. Your payments will be at least $1000 a month once you graduate. Rent is expensive. Entry level jobs, assuming you could even get one, don’t pay enough.</p>
<p>Don’t assume or count on dad/mom being able to pay your student loans in a few years. You never know if they’ll be able to at that point, whether they want to or not. Assume you alone will be paying those loans. Besides, student loans have 25 years worth of payments… surely dad/mom won’t be paying 25 years worth of loans at $1000+ in monthly payments. On top of which, you’re in a very risky field where-- let’s face it-- nearly all of people in the field don’t make much money. Don’t assume that either your parents can pay your student loans, or that you’ll “make it big.” Both of those things may or may not happen. Don’t count your chickens before the eggs hatch.</p>
<p>$120,000 adds up in interest on those loans. You’ll have paid a LOT more than $120,000 just for a college degree after you’ve finally finished paying off those student loans after 25 years. </p>
<p>The 17 year old might think “aww, my dream school yayaya i wanna live in NYC.”</p>
<p>Don’t let emotion outweigh logic.</p>
<p>The 27 or 37 year old you might think “I’m so TIRED of paying $1000+ a month in student loan payments… it’s hard making ends meet after paying student loans and rent. How can I save money for retirement, vacations, or even food? How can I save money for a wedding, baby, or buying a house?”</p>
<p>The 50 year old you might look back and regret paying $120,000 plus interest every year since you graduating college. Just think of what all you could buy for $120,000. That’s your mom’s salary for 10 years. That’s a house in the midwest. That’s a trip around the world many times. That’s tons of acting classes elsewhere or makeovers or clothes or acting-related things or travels to auditions and time off to attend those auditions without having to have a job interfering for years. That’s money you could invest and retire early. That’s a massive chunk of change.</p>
<p>You can always attend another school, and move to NYC later when you land a full-time job. You can always spend a summer in NYC during college. You can always go to the cheapest school you can find now, and attend NYU for graduate school (get a full-time job at NYU and get some tuition benefits/free tuition).</p>
<p>P.S. — I have over $100,000 in private student loans from a bachelor’s degree at GWU.
Don’t repeat my mistakes. Seriously, NO college degree is worth $100,000. NONE!</p>
<p>Go to Sarah Lawrence or elsewhere. You don’t need to pay $100,000 for a better acting education. Plenty of schools have good theater departments. NYU won’t guarantee your success any more than Sarah Lawrence or elsewhere in terms of acting. With acting, you’re selling yourself… not your alma matter… at auditions. You can obtain an acting education anywhere. Focus on participating in theater groups, practice, learn, intern.</p>
<p>jvtDad–thank you for linking me to those websites! I read each one and felt so bad for the people who took out those loans. Those loans hounds your back for years! I really appreciate you taking the time to do that.</p>
<p>cptofthehouse–wow that is really unfortunate. It definitely made me think twice!</p>
<p>Jamiecakes–thank you so much! I’m trying my best to be mature and rational about my college decision. In the beginning, I thought “I’m just going to take out the loans! It’s my dream!” but after discussing with you all here, I don’t think it’s a good idea anymore.</p>
<p>gwgrad–Wow, I really appreciate you sharing so much insight and experience. I thought about the future and the future of my own kids, and $130,000 in debt is in no way worth it. Again, thank you for replying on this thread and giving me advice. Without everyone’s advice on here, I could be a naive teenager taking out WAY too much loans.</p>
<p>Do read some of GWgrad’s posts on other threads. He is living the reality of repaying loans. But he has and is in the market for full time work. As an auditoning actress who will be juggling jobs and parts, you will not be in the market for full time work most likely, if you want to keep your options open. And even if you get a great role or position in your field, it tends to be temporary. So need to keep your expenses as low as you can while living in NYC or where ever you are going to give it a go. It’s very difficult. My son is fortunate in that we live nearby and help out here and there, though I won’t pay rent for him since he could live here with us, something he won’t do. He has siblings and friends, which is why he keeps afloat, and also because every cent he earns goes towards living expenses, like rent, transportation, utilities, some food. He sponges off of us for a lot too, but he can does not have to come up with a loan payment each month. Just think about trying to make ends meet, audition AND pay those loans. Not doable in a city like NY when you are working part time and trying to get fleeting jobs in your field. Not at all.</p>
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<p>Sure thing. You’ll thank yourself in the future, to say the least. Not having to pay 25 years of student loans will mean you’ll have freedom. That means you can travel and take more time off for auditions and doing what you really want to do in life, too. Heck, maybe you can retire very early, or buy your own house young, buy a BMW, take whichever job you want regardless of location or starting salary, live in a nicer NYC apartment while auditioning for acting stuff, or some other better option you’ll have by not being in huge debt. 4 years of fun at NYU isn’t worth 25 years of sacrifice to pay those loans. And, you’ll still have plenty of fun in college at Sarah Lawrence too.</p>
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<p>I definitely am the reality of paying such huge loans, and fortunately my income is fairly good/decent. It just gets eaten by loan payments. Thankfully my housing isn’t overpriced too.</p>
<p>Great point about auditioning actresses usually working part-time and gigs being temporary. Yikes. Glad your son has you nearby to fill in the gap in his current income. I’m sure glad acting wasn’t my field. Big potential, but lots of risk and waiting and retail jobs and all of that.</p>
<p>My son is really getting tired of being poor and living hand to mouth at this point in time. He loves acting and being in a productions is what he loves to do above all things, but he is not getting enough roles that pay enough and last long enough for that to be his way to make ends meet. But he’s had a few years of giving this a go, without having school loans over his head. He had that luxury of going through the audition process for a few years now, as all he has had to do is meet immediate needs. No loans is a big deal when you are in that situation.</p>
<p>My other son who has a decent salary is finding it very difficult to save. He moved back home last year, to save money, took a second job and is finding out that the gremlins are out there to take every cent you set aside. He’s not going to a friend’s wedding that he so wanted to attend because it’s out where air fare is expensive and a two night stay imperative. No flights out of the place and it’s more than two hours from the airport where the wedding is held. Hotel is not cheap and if he rented a car even more of a cost, and the distance to the airport is too much to to take the chance of ride sharing. Also he works a second job weekends and would lose the pay for that if he went. He and his SO were going to go there, but now she’s in a master’s program that costs a lot and takes up time. FOr her to make any more money, she needs to do this, but she did not get into any state programs—tried two years in a row, so she’ paying private school prices for this, but is doing it without loans, just living very frugally this year which means my son picking up any of her costs for anything as the program costs about what her take home pay is. But neither of them have student loans. Can you imagine what it would be like with them? oh, and the catalytic converter for his car needs to be replaced, There really are not many breaks out there. If they get through this year and half of next, they just might meet their goals.</p>
<p>cptofthehouse–wow. I really appreciate you sharing that. Acting is such an unstable career to pursue but just like you son, I love acting with all my heart. I never wanted to grow older and look back on my life with regret because I never pursued acting. It’s nice to know that without the debt, it can make such a crazy and unpredictable profession, a tad easier.</p>
<p>If you go to SLU, you’ll meet a lot of folks staying in the NYC area later, and a lot of kids couch surf whereever they can find a contact until their welcome wears off, during that first year. Someone is always living in my son’s living room. A lot of hobos go through his apartment as he and his roommates are the lucky ones to even have a place of their own in Manhattan. Without set bills, like loans to pay, you can make a little go a long way. But once it gets so that you need to pay for something regularly, it gets tough. The MTA pass, a must is over $100 a month. You have to have a computer and a cell phone because you have to always be reachable and able to do quick research. These are all essentials for an auditioning actor. Plus decent shoes and audition friendly clothes.</p>
<p>And actress17, talk to you professors about alternatives to NYC as a place to launch once you finish school. You’d likely be much better off in a place with a lower cost of living, and a lively non-profit and professional regional theater scene. Chicago, Seattle, St. Louis, Denver, San Francisco, Minneapolis… there are a lot of places where you’d likely work more, get paid more often, and get better roles. NYC and LA are better places to go after you have some substantial credits and can get a good agent.</p>