UCSD vs. NYU

College Search & Selection
1

For UCSD, I’m in Muir college in the Visual Arts Media major, but I can easily switch to Economics major and probably will if I go there, and then end up declaring a double major in Visual Arts Media if I can still graduate in 4 years. I’d have to pay $47k/year since I’m out of state.

For NYU, I got into Tisch School of the Arts for Film Production and might double major in Economics in CAS. I would be a commuter and not dorm and pay $10-20k/year (still waiting for an updated financial package from them but net cost should be within that). I am definitely concerned about the lack of campus and not having my ideal college experience.

I am interested in studying economics although I’m not sure what I’d do specifically with that degree. I’m also somewhat interested in studying film, but my dream is to act and maybe do some screenwriting, but mainly act. NYU is definitely more renowned for that, but SD is 2 hours away from LA! I plan to move to LA after I graduate college regardless of which school I end up attending. I’ve done my research and the education, although it definitely doesn’t hurt, is not essential to pursue such a career. I could make some very valuable connections at Tisch and UCSD doesn’t have many alumni famous in the film/tv industry compared to Tisch, but I can be pretty stubborn and I’m not afraid to carve my own path.

I have visited both campuses and my heart definitely wants UCSD. When I visited, it was raining and cold and I hadn’t even been to the beach yet and I already knew I loved UCSD, so you can tell that I genuinely loved the atmosphere and not just the SoCal weather, although I do love that too. I was kinda worried about the “UC Science Department” rep at first, but after visiting I felt like I would fit in anyway and be really happy there. It’s so laid back for a competitive school. The school would make me smarter but be comfortable. The whole six college system would really create a community that I’m looking for since I’m coming from the biggest high school in my city. I’m really into surf culture, and UCSD would be perfect for that. They also have a snowboarding team! I was pretty stoked about going to some water polo and basketball games too. They’re the best Division II school, which is fine by me. I grew up in the city but I’m ready to leave that behind and start something new in the state I intend to live in. Plus Sun God!!!

I won’t be bored by NYC by any means, but I’ve been here my whole life and honestly there’s not much to do here unless you have money lol. The film program is amazing but I’m not sure if I will be very good at/enjoy film production at a conservatory like Tisch’s. I submitted a creative writing piece instead of a film, so I don’t have much experience. From what I understand, they have a film studies major and a film production major, and the latter(the one I got into) would lack theory. It would be difficult to transfer to a different school within NYU and I would lose my scholarship since it is specifically a Tisch scholarship. I’d also be living at home and not get to have a cohesive campus and community, which sucks. When I visited, everything just seemed so…impersonal. But they did give me amazing aid and it is by no means a bad school, just probably not the right school for me in terms of campus life/environment.

My biggest and possibly only roadblock right now is $$$. With the career I wish to pursue, I will not be able to handle that kind of debt. I genuinely believe I would be happiest at UCSD, but I know I can’t undermine the massive burden of loan debt. A lot of people regret the debt, and I don’t wanna make the same mistake.
I guess the big question is: is UCSD and the happiness it’ll bring me worth all that debt? People have also suggested to me going to NYU then transferring to UCSD to save money…but transferring to a UC from an out of state 4 year university is hard since CCC’s have priority. I would definitely consider it though if it’s possible.

Sorry for the essay thanks in advance! any sort of insight or advice on my situation would be appreciated!!!

2

You’re saving $27-37K per year at NYU.

Imagine all the theatre tickets. It isn’t hard to do. Nothing to pass by or wait for. And no burritos, too.

3

I’m not interested in theatre tickets though. I guess I’m just hesitant to commit somewhere I’m confined to a specific focus in a place I don’t intend to live whereas I have more options at ucsd and California is a better fit for me

4

I vote you to be the spoke person for UCSD. Sorry I worry about the money aspect.

5

UCSD!!

We see a lot of these posts from OOS kids, and as a CA resident I’ve decided to raise $1 million for UC. I just need to help persuade 10 kids to come to CA. If you choose UCSD over your much less expensive instate option there’s no benefit to you, but it means $100K in OOS tuition for UC.

Please let me know I can count on your help raising this money for UC!

6

Go to NYU. This is a no-brainer.

7

Five years ago D faced the same question, UCSD or NYU, but we are in state CA, so UCSD would be cheaper. In addition she was into neuroscience, not Tish vs UCSD.

In your case, NYU hands down with Tish and economics. The opportunity for Tish students in NYC is much better than SD.

8

everyone keeps telling me nyu is the obvious choice but I think yall are forgetting that i don’t really like my major there and plan to transfer out of tisch…and probably lose my scholarship

9

No, we’re not forgetting. UCSD is not worth it out of state.

10

You never said that you were planning to transfer out of film. In your OP, you said that you were planning to double major in economics in CAS.

Is your family wealthy? How are you planning to pay for UCSD? Are your parents paying some of the cost and you are just borrowing federal loans, or are you expecting to take out private loans to finance the entire thing?

Because if you have to finance (read: borrow loans) for the entire costs for both, UCSD simply is not affordable for you. That’s nearly $200K in debt. You would have to have your parents co-sign that kind of debt for you, which they should refuse to do, because in your chosen field - and really, the majority of fields - you will struggle and fail to repay that and they will have to do it. Borrowing $10-15K a year at NYU is a much more manageable amount that you can realistically pay off. I think $60K is pushing it a bit honestly, but you seem to have no other options and Tisch is excellent for what you want to do.

You say that you want to move to LA. That’s great - you have your entire life to move to LA. Assuming that you are 17 or 18 now, you’ll be 21 or 22 when you finish college and you will have your entire life to move to LA - once you have a bachelor’s degree. In fact, going to NYU might afford you more freedom to move to LA. If you are only $40K in debt, which is a reasonable amount to repay, you can wait tables or sell coffee while auditioning and living in a shared apartment with 3 other aspiring actors just like all the other under-30s do in LA, lol. If you have $200K in debt, you will not have that kind of freedom. You might have to move back in with your parents because you can’t afford to pay rent, and all of your disposable income will go towards paying down those loans. Remember that private loans don’t have income-based repayment and hardship forbearance and all of those things that federal loans do.

Tisch is much better for what you say you want to DO (acting and maybe some screenwriting) than UCSD, and it’s cheaper, and will leave you better suited for where you want to live in the future (aka, having lower debt and thus the freedom to move out vs. having high debt).

Now, let’s address social life. First of all, you shouldn’t put yourself in life-crushing, dream-crushing debt because you want to surf and go to some water polo games. I know that it sounds harsh boiled down to that - but that is essentially what you are saying.

But second of all - you know it’s false that there’s not much to do in NYC without money (I lived in NYC for 6 years on less than $40K a year as a young adult, and I had tons of fun). NYU’s campus is not that cohesive, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t have a cohesive community of other students to socialize with. You will - particularly in Tisch, where all of your classmates will be aspiring artists just like you. I have a friend who commuted to NYU from home for 2 years and she has lots of friends from her NYU days still in the city. (She became an RA in her junior year and was able to live on campus for free after that, so that’s something to consider, although don’t bank on it of course). A lot of students believe that they have to have a “traditional” live-on-campus, campus-quad, Frisbee-playing college experience in order to make friends and grow as a person - but that’s simply not true! Wherever scads of 18-25-year-olds gather there will be plenty of opportunities to foster social relationships, have fun, and get into some stuff.

Also. UCSD may be 2 hours away from LA, which is pretty meaningless especially if you won’t have a car. But at NYU you will actually be in New York, which you surely know is the East Coast hub for filmmaking. In 2014 alone there were 230 movies (just movies - not including TV) shot in the city. The mayor actually has a special commission for filmmaking; I know you’ve seen the subway ads about how the film industry in NYC creates jobs. There are like a bazillion film festivals that happen here annually, including the Tribeca Film Festival. Next to LA NYC has got to be the best place to be if you are interested in film. (And honestly, it’s not too shabby a place to be for economics, either :wink: )

Wow, I just made myself kind of want to move back to New York, lol!

11

Lmao alright fine my bad correction: I would transfer out of tisch and probably pay 70k a year since my scholarship is for tisch students only so either way I will end up with immense debt
Tisch is terrible for what I want to do because I have no idea what I want to do; I change my mind everyday.
Uh I’m not going to put myself in debt for surfing and water polo games…Thats not remotely close to what I’m saying wow many of the things you’re saying are based on completely incorrect assumptions and you’re misinterpreting everything I said so let me clear things up with this post those are just small bonuses
I don’t understand why you are correcting me on what I know about nyc when you’ve lived here for a few years whereas I’ve grown up here. I grew up in the hood here so yeah it’s kinda different and I guess I forgot to mention I am miserable here
I don’t care to make films though I am not interested in film which is the problem . I mentioned surfing because I was considering working for World Surf League or doing some freelance work for surfers. SD is the best place for that.

I was also wondering if anyone has more information about the last part of my original post. Thanks!

12

How are you going to pay for SD?

13

You might not have to transfer out of Tisch to find an area that you’re happy with. I suggest you look over the Freshman Program again to see that it’s not all hands-on production. And I’m sure you can transfer to Dramatic Writing or Cinema Studies (within Film/TV), if you want more of a theoretical program. These are like English programs tailored to film, so you’d be picking up valuable communication skills. Plus, if you plan on double majoring in economics, this is essentially the same academic program that you’re contemplating at UCSD. (At NYU your primary major would be in Tisch and your workload might be higher with the double major.) NYU econ is one of the top econ departments in the nation, too. Academically, I think you could make it work at NYU. It’s a great school and there’s more flexibility there than you bargain for.

The real issue is that you want to be in San Diego, no? Do you think being located in San Diego is worth $100K+ in debt? San Diego and LA will still be there in July 2019. Go for it if you think CA is what your soul demands, but understand the risk of spending that kind of coin on location. You said yourself that you change your mind as often as your socks, so be careful that you don’t get out to CA and discover that you’re bored in February 2017, when you could have been bored in NYC without $100,000 in debt hanging over your head.

14

@DrGoogle my parents opened up a college savings account for me a long time ago

@juillet i forgot to thank you for your condescending and presumptuous input so thanks

@Dunboyne I might hate film/tv in general is what I’m saying and I’ve never even written a screenplay in my life so screenwriting is probably not a serious endeavor in terms of career path. CAS econ is pretty standard isn’t stern the top notch one? anyway I will review the program.
Nah I don’t care about location. I can live in California whenever I want in the future. like I said, I liked UCSD regardless of location. Just wanna go wherever it is I belong is the real issue. Thanks for taking the time to post though. I’ll hit up a Tisch film professor with my concerns

15

@Qwerty568 but NYU is worth 75k a year for 3 years?

16

How would it be worth 75K? I thought you stated that you are a commuter?
Regardless, if you lose your scholarship, no, it’s not worth it.

17

Take a gap year and think over what you want to do. If you change your mind every hour! If Tish is not for you do not go. Apply to a more affordable option next year. For god sake.

18

If you have money to pay for college then I don’t see why not. One of my daughter’ roommate from Chicago and her dad is paying full fare for UCSD majoring in Psychology.

19

So does that savings account really cover ucsd completely or not without scholarship. If so pursue your dream with impunity, and let someone who actually would love the tisch opportunity have it. No offense, but Juliet gave you good advice, you seeing it as condescending reflects more on you than her. You should go to college to explore/pursue/find what you love. But, if your true passion is acting in California, be aware you need to be willing to struggle economically for years with no guarantee of ever making it. It’s really not clear from your posts that you will graduate with low loan debts, and trust me you don’t want big debts hanging over you if you want to pursue an arts career.

20

Why don’t you face the obvious? You are too immature for college. You are not open to learning anything from anyone with more experience and knowledge, defensive like a teen. You just want to do what you want to do and do not seem to have a grasp on finances or numbers bigger than you can count on your fingers. It is just funny money to you. Why don’t you start working and do some more research about different colleges and costs and think about what you might be interested in studying. You applied to Tisch and now you don’t like it. So maybe you can get it right next round, gain an extra year to consider your plan.