We understand all of the loans and how much they would end up being over time. I would end up with ~$115k in loans after graduating (most of which will have interest). Most people here are telling me that I should go to Davidson or DePauw, but given my several interests in film, it seems like those options are probably very poor. Yes, I would be saving money, but I would also be spending 4 years of time and money moving towards no particular goal because none of my other options offer a film program that isn’t just “film studies” (which is not the same as a film program). I would not be building a network in LA, which is generally important as far as I’m aware in my areas of interest. Like I can imagine I’d be infinitely closer to doing something like stunt work, for example, if I had an LA network in film than if I had a Davidson College network in “film studies.” It’s absolutely a huge gamble, but truly in my eyes (and my parents for the most part) at this moment, it seems like the only “smart” choice if I want to at least attempt to pursue my interests. Please prove me wrong because I would love to be wrong.
Yes, we’ve been reading the posts. My family’s financial advisor doesn’t seem to be as adamant about avoiding UCLA. I just posted another comment before this expounding a bit on this thought process, but going to a more affordable college seems like an even bigger waste of money to me because I wouldn’t be progressing in the fields I’m interested in progressing.
You will not have $115K in loans, you can take out a max of $27K in student loans over the 4 years of undergrad. The rest will be on your parents, either directly or as a co-signer. $115K in loans will be at least $1,100/month in payments, every month for 10 years. Do you understand the salary you would need to pay off $115K in loans? If not do that math here: Mapping Your Future: Student loan repayment calculator and here: Mapping Your Future: Debt / salary wizard
If your parents have $90K or so in loans that may hurt their credit rating, and prevent them from accessing other debt instruments like a mortgage, or taking out loans for a sibling, just to cite a few examples.
If this is how you feel, then defer somewhere affordable (just to keep one ace in the hole) and take your gap year, because your application strategy no longer fits your goals.
UCLA is not affordable. Your family’s financial advisor isn’t the one who will be stuck with those loans. Further, you have no assurance - none - that you’ll be able to switch into a competitive major like film.
If what you want is to network in LA and build a career in the entertainment industry, you should be looking at schools like Chapman, Loyola Marymount, Cal State Northridge, and maybe USC if the net price calculator is favorable. Run the NPC’s for all of these schools. (Well, the private ones - you won’t get need-based aid from the CSU’s, but at least they are a LOT cheaper than the UC’s, and the networking opportunities are still there.)
If you are interested in changing majors into Film at UCLA, make sure you understand that is it more highly competitive than CS. I would contact the TFT department and ask about chances of changing before committing and also you stated you want to defer, so make sure you know all the details.
Coming out with $115K in loans to repay and trying to work in the film industry is definitely not compatible. You will be in debt for a long time and posters are trying to help you understand and avoid this situation.
If you can defer at UCLA, go ahead and take a Gap year, rethink your priorities and maybe you will come to the logical conclusion that UCLA is unaffordable. If film is of interest, consider reapplying to USC, Chapman and LMU where you have a better chance for decent financial aid and possibly merit aid.
Your family needs a new financial advisor….Yours, if the info you provide is accurate, is practicing malpractice.
Btw a lot of the film industry no longer sits in LA. Just yesterday my daughter worked on a show I never heard of…The Outer Banks…in Charleston SC. Lots of film is in Ga, LA, etc….not that it matters. And lots of people from a lot of colleges in the film industry. I see both professionals and interns from Davidson. A quick LinkedIn search shows that.
Btw check out rents in LA. Where will you live when you are off campus and graduate ? A shared apartment will cost what you earn…if you are lucky enough to earn. I don’t stay at the Ritz Carlton. Can’t afford it. Wait til your parents employer checks their credit and learns of theyr loans…then what (for them if going for a new job) ? That’s part of an employment check at many places.
Why didn’t you apply to schools like NYU and USC that meet need ? Or private schools that offer aid. You applied to public schools with no aid. Btw
I know you are just 18 but it is frustrating you would do this to yourself and family l.
In part because I did. I went to Syracuse for broadcasting and wasted my dad’s money. Fortunately he could afford it (unlike this case) but I could have done the same program elsewhere. For less. And either way I’d still have been with the 90% that didn’t make it. And the success rate out of film school is likely similar.
Good luck.
DePauw
Davidson
Lake Forest
Webster
Do a deep dive at all of these. Any department where you think there might be classes that interest you, explore them. See what special majors, minors, certificates, etc are available. Look at the extracurricular options. Are they available to everyone, or is it competitive to get in/only for majors (particularly for things like music, film, etc). What kind of internship and career support is available? Some states (and North Carolina used to be one, and still may be) have a lot of entertainment productions made in them (film/movies). Lake Forest is right by Chicago which has a long theater history and certainly has options for music and such.
The beauty of these colleges is that you don’t need to know what career you want to have. You get a chance to explore and try things out and see what’s out there.
Once you’ve done the deep dive, which colleges are you most excited about? Reach out to their financial aid offices about impending medical bills, etc, and see if any will do more to sweeten the pot.
Then if you’re still interested in a gap year, see if you can get a deferral from your top choice. Or, go on ahead and enroll for this fall and start having the time of your life.
I just spent less than 5 minutes on DePauw’s website. Its Film Studies major is also for students “to create their own films.”
This links discusses some of the centers at DePauw:
There’s the center for student engagement that helps students figure out what they’re interested in and link that to internships and careers. There are centers for contemporary media, technology, and a 21st century musician initiative, all offering various experiences and internships.
Don’t base your decision on preconceived ideas and hearsay. Learn about all the options each of these colleges have and how you can satisfy your interests at them.
Done…I hope this reflects what you want.
I’ll bite. UCLA costs $65,000 a year or so. That’s $260,000. You say you will have $115,000 in mostly interest. Who is paying the majority of your UCLA costs?
S’s friend graduated from UCLA in film last year. She was a strong student and has what is considered to be a good starting job in the industry, but pay is only $30K per year and she’s still subsidized by her parents. That’s because rent is $1200-$1400 per month plus utilities for a shared 1 bedroom apartment.
Must be a dump !! For that price…yes x2. But she’s lucky she got a job.
I assume no debt or she’d be forced out of the industry bcuz she’d be digging a deeper hole.
You have grossly underestimated your chances in finding a living in film in LA.
FWIW: A lot of current film work is done in Toronto because of reduced productions costs as well as a hospitable and workable film environment, and, in Atlanta (Tyler Perry Studios).
Okay, I know of several former students who went into the film industry. It is tough. They are STILL “unemployed”, still competing for jobs, still living wherever they can to eek out a living. (Rents in the LA and SoCal area are astronomical!) I left my high school job around 2010. Yes, it’s been 12 years and I still hear from the parents who have to send money to their adult children to supplement with rent and expenses. They are all driving their parents older cars.
My youngest sister attended USC ~20 years ago. She was in the USC marching band with a friend who went into Television and Film. He’s still trying to “break” into the industry and get a full time job (in anything on the sets). He gets part time or day work doing construction for sets. He does not see the inside of a studio or an outdoor set.
My other daughter’s classmate attended NYU for Film production (another very expensive school) and his parents (my neighbors) recently said that they are continuously venmo’ing cash to their son. It’s all part-time or day work. But you keep on thinking that an expensive UCLA dream school education will solve all of your problems.
You need another financial advisor who is not reckless with your parent’s retirement.
Film and Television is an unstable major. It’s a lot of part-time work and sometimes, it’s only for a day. Where will you get the money to repay $265K+ interest for your loans?
Assume $2-3K per month rents. There are no affordable rentals because the market in California is limited. You will need a reliable car, insurance, and a lot of patience on our freeways to get around LA. Get used to couch surfing in various areas of LA. You’re going to need a strong back.
The only thing that I can think of why “it’s UCLA or nothing” for you is because of your age and naiveté. We live here, and you don’t.
In your case, I don’t mind telling you, “Thank you”. I will be more than happy to get your loan dollars. Our state needs the money.
Agree! I’m surprised she found a job! (Or the place is in Boyle Heights or Compton).
ETA, I originally felt sorry for this poster because he just doesn’t know the California environment. Now, I just feel that he and his parents should learn an extremely hard life lesson because some people just wont listen to reason.
His parents have been conned by their naive child and a very complicit financial advisor.
So the moral here is that this kid will be going to a very expensive school. He probably wont be able to afford to get to a graduation date because they will run out of money. Everyone in the family is wearing rose-colored glasses.
Sometimes you just have to let people make their own HUGE mistakes.
OP, I would suggest you take a gap year since you said you’ll be having surgery and you don’t seem to sure of what you want to do. Take some time to think about what you want to do, come up with a more cohesive group of schools to apply to, and give it another shot next year. You must have some talent in CS because you got into one of the most difficult to get into majors at the most applied to school in the country. Make sure you don’t toss that path away on a whim.
Yes, they pay $1200-$1400 each (ie $2400-$2800 total) and share a bedroom. It is a dump.
Parents paid OOS tuition to be in a great place for film. But they are very wealthy and can afford to subsidize her for the next few years. She has no debt and they bought her a car but she still can’t break even.
She was very lucky to get a job in the middle of Covid. She graduated early to take it - she had been an unpaid 20 hour per week intern at the same place for the previous year.
You don’t need a degree to do stunt work. You don’t need a degree from UCLA to get into film in California. You need a pedigree.
Please research and look/read the credits on movies and film. Note that “Hollywood” is the epitome of nepotism. Families work on films. They bring their kids with them when the kids are around 10 years of age. Then the grandkids come up through the system. Set builders, carpenters (journeymen/apprentices), caterers, boom operators, sound, etc. The studios love consistency and good work. They can’t go above budget, so they bring in people that they know who are good, fast, efficient and cheap.
My HS friend’s son does special effects for movies. Dan graduated from our local instate public. He had a lead from his Mom and used it to get a job.
Our financial advisor ran the numbers and said attending UCLA (for four years) will leave me with $600 per month for 30 years. Sounds not ideal, but my “plan” was to see if I could get more scholarships (considering I was invited to apply for alumni and could find more smaller ones) or become an RA after the first year, and if I couldn’t I would transfer out to another cheaper LA institution. This plan would prevent me from needing to take a gap year, it would still give me a small chance at being able to stay in LA, and it would probably make it a bit easier to transfer to another good LA institution that could offer what I’m looking for.
Ì will run those NPCs today, thank you. Of course, it’s too late to apply to them now, so I don’t know really how I should go about this.
Thank you everyone for all of this help. Trust me, I am actually in agreement that UCLA is unaffordable. I just want to explore all possible outcomes where this could even potentially be a possibility. I’ve worked so hard that I’ve catalyzed significant mental health issues in these last couple years, and it’s very hard to let even the slightest chance of my many sleepless nights finally paying off go. It’s very frustrating, and I feel like a complete failure who let their life go to complete waste in the span of two years, but I’m not going to knowingly make a decision that will cause harm to my family’s future and security.