Saving up for college in 20s - stupid idea?

Paying for College
1

Hey guys

This is my first post here, so I’ll try to be brief.

I am currently 22 years old. I want to major in animation/illustration - I know, artists don’t make any money, so I decided that I wanted to get into the best art schools North America has to offer. After working my ass off, I actually did get accepted to the California Institute of the Arts animation program, which is arguably the top animation program in the US and one of the best art schools in the US. Sadly, my goals have reached a screeching halt - my parents make over $100,000 so I received no aid whatsoever. In addition, I had absolutely no college savings and so I am looking at easily over $150,000 of debt. I did receive scholarships, but I am still looking at paying over 30,000 a year out of pocket. This school costs well over $50,000 annually, all costs considered.

This was devastating to me - I have been working at a call center in the 2 years since I was accepted. My plan at this point is to save up until I am 30 - I calculate I will have over $100000 saved by then.

I am so frustrated with the current state of tuition in this country. To get that acceptance letter and to visit the school of my dreams and the promise of incredible opportunity dangled in front of me, only to be snatched away. I barely make over poverty wage at my current job. I guess I’m just bitter - I have been pretty depressed since then. I kinda wished I never got accepted in the first place.

I guess my question is . . . am I just crazy stupid for even doing this? Saving up until I’m 30 to go back to college that is? I know that college isn’t the only way to leading a successful life, but working dead end, low wage jobs when I have so much more potential. . . seems like such a wasted opportunity. Is it even worth saving up money? I hear that your savings actually counts against receiving grants. Also, school costs are inflating ridiculously every year - am I losing money by not going to college now?

Anyways, I’m done complaining. That is all.

2

The school is allowing you to defer enrollment for EIGHT years? Really?

I’ve never heard of such a thing.

3

Not deferred - I am in the process of building the most badass portfolio so that I can guarantee acceptance by the time I do apply again. I have 8 years to do it. Getting accepted isn’t the issue, just the finances.

4

At some point you will stop being a dependent of your parents and their income will be moot. Talk to the financial aid office at that school and see exactly how it works.

5

I think it’s worth a try if you think you can save up the money. I personally would struggle with the demands of working for low wages and trying to stay afloat and probably wouldn’t be able to save up $100,000 but since you have the discipline to make that work it’s worth a try. I agree that it’s frustrating how quickly college costs can inflate; the last estimates I saw were about 3-4% a year increase in college costs. However, if you have a solid chunk of college savings that can help since you can always borrow the difference on your own.

Does this school have good financial aid? If it does, it might be worth seeing if your financial aid eligibility will change once you turn 24 and can become independent – your parents’ income and assets won’t matter then, and you might not need to wait until age 30. This is a two-year program, right?

6

4 year program. Financial aid at this school is frankly . . . a piss poor joke to be honest - it isn’t rare to see kids leaving calarts with over $100,000 in debt, and for an artist, that is criminal. Saving up until 30 is an act of desperation for me, but it is the only way I can see affording this school without being in crippling debt after I graduate.

I guess the reason I am so desperate to get into this school in particular is because they have a monopoly of talent and industry connections - a huge percentage of students who go to the animation program end up directing and animating their own content. At the very least, i could at least get a job as an art professor if my industry goals fail. If I can avoid being a “starving artist”, I feel that this is the best route to do it.

I am considering the whole, after 24 thing. . . I am also considering marrying during school - I hear you receive decent financial benefits during school. Any loophole, legal financial benefits, etc would be greatly appreciated. I would like any ideas on how I can achieve maximal aid.

7

If the financial aid is a joke then becoming independent (either by waiting until age 24 or getting married) wouldn’t help much unfortunately. Without significant institutional aid (aid given directly by the college) your best bet as an independent student would be to fill out the FAFSA and qualify for about $5000 in Pell grant funding per year which doesn’t sound like enough. (You can always draw from the Federal Stafford Loan program though - as an independent freshman you would get $9,500 for the first year.)

(There aren’t any real ‘benefits’ specifically associated for being married. You get your parents’ info off of your FAFSA but that doesn’t mean much if the school doesn’t offer good financial aid to any student. All it means is that you would be theoretically eligible for more aid due to having a higher need).

It sounds like the school actually costs $200,000 in total for all four years, not just $100,000. If you did have $100,000 already saved, how would you pay for the rest of it? If you were independent, the maximum you could borrow over four years through the federal Stafford loan program is about $57000. Would your scholarships be enough to cover the rest?

8

Oh, for the love of goodness, don’t marry to save money! The rest of your plan sounds pretty solid, though. And it sure as heck beats graduating with a ton of debt. The less debt you have, the more flexibility you’ll have to take the jobs that are most interesting to you. So, hang in there - and good luck!!!

9

That is pretty much the reality I am facing - the costs are overwhelming …

Realistically, the school will cost over $200,000.
If I save up to at least $100,000, I assume I could possibly get $20,000 of pell grants over 4 years, which leaves another $80,000 to cover. Now, when I was accepted, I did get an ok $8000 scholarship directly from the school so over a 4 year period, that is $32,000. So that leaves $48,000, which I hope I can cover with some scholarships, but I have never been an academically minded performer, which most scholarships seem to be based on. I guess realistically, I would still have $40,000 unaccounted for, which I hope I can cover with federal loans. But as an added bonus, I have over $15,000 in community college debt I have already amassed. I am paying off just the yearly interest… so theres that.

The whole thing is depressing really. I am losing my mind working at my current job - trying my best to find better paying positions, but I feel like I am losing 8 years of my life doing things that I could actually do better, but I am substituting that with a low end job. Life situations are out of anyone’s control I guess. Makes you a lot more cynical in the meantime.

10

Pay off the 15k from community college faster. Find a different school which does offer aid.

11

Here is the current FAFSA formula. Print it out, and work through it on paper, and see what you might qualify for under various scenarios: http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/090214EFCFormulaGuide1516.pdf

If you have 100,000 in savings, you probably won’t qualify for one cent in Pell Grants, let alone the $20,000 you are hoping for.

How much of that $15,000 in student debt that you currently have is from federal student loans? There is a maximum lifetime limit on federal student loans, so whatever you have already borrowed is money you can’t borrow in the future.

Cal Arts may have a near monopoly in the industry, but it is not a complete monopoly. There surely are other ways for you to achieve your long-range goals. Start looking for one of them, and find a way to achieve your goals without going over your head in debt.

12

If that $15K was from federal loans then that will eat into your loan eligibility though.

I agree that it might be worthwhile to explore other schools. Is it really true that this school has a monopoly on job placement??

I think you’re not planning to live on campus right? Are you able to stay with family for free or will you have to get an apartment somewhere?

I did do some research and it does look as if CalArts has some interest-free loan options that you can use. None of them are for a lot of money but could help defray costs. The core of the issue though is that there is this huge, apparently insurmountable gap between how much you need and how much you can reasonably earn and save.

13

If the school is $50K per year now, how much will it cost 8 years from now? At the rate tuitions are going up, it could easily cost $75K by 2023. The $100K you will have saved up won’t go very far then.

14

Pardon my complete ignorance about the field of animation, so this may be a stupid question:
If you are able to put together such a badass portfolio, then why do you need a college degree to work in this field? Can’t you just show a potential employer the portfolio?

15

I think it’s going to be very hard for you to save up to attend this school working in a call center doing legal things.

How much can you borrow?
Will your parents co-sign?

$150K of debt is a lot of money, but if it’s the only way to your dream, what’s the worst that can happen? You default, live on the streets, your parents go bankrupt, lose everything and you all live on public assistance. Could be worse.

Is there some other school that offers better aid? costs less?

Is there some other career that you can pursue first to generate cash flow?

I mean, life is hard.

16

Manofgifs…why get married? To gain financial independence? You are 22 now…and when you are 24, you will be financially independent in terms of financial aid.

If you marry, the income and assets of your wife will be included on your financial aid forms.

But I digress. The school you want to attend does NOT NOT NOT meet full financial need for all. So the very most you are guaranteed to receive as a financial aid independent student is the Dorect Loan amount plus $4000 in additional direct loans a year, plus any amount of the Pell Grant to which you are entitled.

17

USC has a great program for animation and does provide merit aid for those with great portfolios. They have an undergrad program and a fantastic grad school program that rivals CalArts. Son’s girlfriend was able to get her undergrad at an in-state public (not CA, she moved to another state) with a degree in Fine Arts. She developed a wonderful portfolio during that time, had access to great labs at her in-state uni and was able to work part-time while doing so. She is now at USC for grad specializing in animation and her 3 year program is being partially funded by USC and her summer internships. She also can still work part-time, so very little debt for her. And she is doing it now, not waiting for 8 years. Her parents are unable to help her at all, all financial responsibility is on her shoulders…has been for all undergrad and now grad school.

I think you should look outside your box and see if there are other avenues to get to where you want. It can be done.

Kat

18

Why are you looking at schools that cost half your parents gross income when there are schools that cost much less? I wouldn’t spend the next 8 years working a minimum wage job when you could be in school earning a degree. You may not get to attend your DREAM school, but few students do.

What state are you in? There are over 100 colleges in the US that offer animation degrees. There are several whose cost of attendance is $18-20K in state (~$25 OOS). Did you get a community college degree? If so, you should be able to transfer with junior status (which means you can borrow $7500/year for the next 2 years). Can your parents contribute at all?

19

@katwkittens, Is OP in state for California? If not, I think the cost of CA schools will be out of reach for him.

20

@ GMTplus7

Getting a good portfolio isn’t the hard part. It is the connections. You can have really good art, but without connections, your talent doesn’t mean squat. Without connections, which there are none in the state in which I live, it really doesn’t matter.

Anyways, I have looked into other options for other schools. SCAD, Rhode Island, Art Center, Sheridan - all top schools for animation. The problem is all of these schools cost as much, if not more than Calarts. Not to mention, they don’t have nearly the same amount of connections into the industry. If you look at the majority of animated films and shows being produced today, it is no exaggeration that many, if not most (not exaggerating) are directed by students from this school. That is why I have my heart set on this place. I know I should expand my horizons, but with another school, it is hard for me to really consider, especially since all the good ones cost the around the same ballpark. I could care less about the degree frankly - I’m looking for the connections, and I’m starting from a place where I have none.

I mean, I could for example go to the for-profit Art Institutes, pay about the same amount, but get royally screwed over due to the fact that nobody really takes the Art Institutes seriously … I would produce the same quality work, but once again, doesn’t mean jack. A friend of mine actually did attend, and although I would say he is a hell of a lot more talented than I am, and he is struggling. His portfolio is gold, but he doesn’t work as an artist - he didn’t have those connections. Damn shame really.

@ katwkittens

USC might actually be a good option for me, since they are a state school and I have actually heard really good things about their program, not to mention, they are quite a bit cheaper than calarts. I will definitely investigate this as an option.

Regardless of which school I go to, my life has pretty much hit rock bottom. All I can do is save up and work until I get enough money. I guess I just came here to investigate alternative financial options, and to bitch about my problems. But alas, complaining doesn’t get me anywhere. Nothing to do but work toward my goal. I might be 30 or older by the time I can afford school, but I guess I have to accept the cruelties of life and make the best of the options I have :slight_smile: