How are you paying for this?

[dancaylor]

Now that you're in, how are you paying for this?

For me:
$13,000 will be Student Loans
The rest will be personal money and loans co-signed by family

I have no idea beyond the first year. Here's hoping for a scholarship!

Anyone else in my shoes?

[Classeye]

ah, the inevitable 'affording it' thread


I'm still waiting to hear about my financial aid but I'm pretty sure a good deal of it will definitely be paid for in student loans.

The first year is going to be a killer, but I've heard that it gets easier as you progress and resubmit your (hopefully) improved body of work in the following years.

[embra]

Oh, I'm really glad someone started this thread.

I'm also waiting impatiently to hear what my financial aid offer will be from Cal Arts, the office says we'll know by April 1st. I'm on my own for this (it's an MFA degree), and counting on student loans to pay for most if not all of my tuition. I'm looking for new scholarships through fastweb everyday, so I'll be applying to a few of those. I hope it will get easier after the first year to get scholarships from outside sources, if not from Cal Arts.

[R.A.McKenzie]

hopefully some of you can come up with an awesome solution for international students. So I can actually take an interest in this school again

[cookiedough]

same problem here. being an international student really isn't fun.
I'm scouting the internet for some sort of scholarship, but in the end it will probably come down to a massive loan, all of my savings and hopefully some support from my family.
And I'm not even thinking about the second year.

[Decker]

Loans, Loans, and more Loans, I'm going to be so broke by the end of this it's going to be disgusting, yeah!

[Cine]

I'm an international student, so I won't be getting any financial aid from the US, obviously. I will be getting some money from my own country, but only for the three last years. So the first year is completely out of my own pocket.

I have $10,000 saved up. The remaining $35,000 are loans, loans and loans. :/

I don't even know if I'll get into CalArts yet, but all the other schools I've applied to are about the same amount of money, eek. Though if I decide to go to CCA, they're giving me $6,000/year in scholarships – that's starting to seem extremely tempting, even though I'd rather go to CalArts...

And I'm not even thinking about the second year.

I know, right. I'm so focused on financing the first year, and just that's hard as hell... Sometimes I forget that I'm not going to be paying just $45,000, I'll be paying $45,000 times FOUR.

[dancaylor]

Holy crap! Your country is awesome! It's going to pay for the last three years?!

How is immigration? I might move there...

My country will give me $10,000/year in student loans.

My bank won't loan me anything beyond $50,000 at a time in personal loans. Meaning I have to pay it back before they give me another 50. So yeah, aside from somehow coming up with the money, so far I'm going for the one year degree.

[Cine]

No, they definitely won't pay for everything! I'll look up exactly how much I'll get now.

I'll get $18,720 in student loans and $9,000 in financial aid, per year. It's really just the latter that's awesome, since that's what's FREE MONEY.

After all, the only difference between the regular loans I'm getting for my first year, and the student loans, is that I don't have to start paying down the student loans until I graduate. The regular loans start running immediately... Ugh.

The most fucked up part is how we can't work while we're in the US. :/ I've been working since I was 15, so that will be really weird. Not to mention that 4 years with no income will just further my insane debt.

[piper]

No, they definitely won't pay for everything! I'll look up exactly how much I'll get now.

I'll get $18,720 in student loans and $9,000 in financial aid, per year. It's really just the latter that's awesome, since that's what's FREE MONEY.

After all, the only difference between the regular loans I'm getting for my first year, and the student loans, is that I don't have to start paying down the student loans until I graduate. The regular loans start running immediately... Ugh.

The most fucked up part is how we can't work while we're in the US. :/ I've been working since I was 15, so that will be really weird. Not to mention that 4 years with no income will just further my insane debt.

Back in college, I had a friend who was an international student here on visa. She was only allowed to work under workstudy. She has this social security card that says "Not allowed to employment without authorization, blah, blah..." Well since workstudy is so shitty, she photoshopped that phrase out and found work at retailer somewhere. I don't know how much of this will apply to you, but there's definitely ways around it.

[Cine]

No, they definitely won't pay for everything! I'll look up exactly how much I'll get now.

I'll get $18,720 in student loans and $9,000 in financial aid, per year. It's really just the latter that's awesome, since that's what's FREE MONEY.

After all, the only difference between the regular loans I'm getting for my first year, and the student loans, is that I don't have to start paying down the student loans until I graduate. The regular loans start running immediately... Ugh.

The most fucked up part is how we can't work while we're in the US. :/ I've been working since I was 15, so that will be really weird. Not to mention that 4 years with no income will just further my insane debt.

Back in college, I had a friend who was an international student here on visa. She was only allowed to work under workstudy. She has this social security card that says "Not allowed to employment without authorization, blah, blah..." Well since workstudy is so shitty, she photoshopped that phrase out and found work at retailer somewhere. I don't know how much of this will apply to you, but there's definitely ways around it.

That is pretty interesting! I know I'm allowed to do work-study on campus after 9 months, but it does seem pretty shitty and underpaid. I'd love to be able to work retail, but Photoshopping off a part of your social security card has to be illegal, right? It sounds pretty sketchy, haha!

I mean, it would suck to be deported after already spending 40 grand.

[phi]

international student here as well!

I also have no idea how to pay, I'm still waiting for a response from financial aid office, have you heard back from them already?

I'm thinking about trying for a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship but I have no idea if that would work out ever. If anybody else has some tips, please let me know!

@ Cine, why are you only allowed to do work study after 9 months? I thought we could do that right from the beginning?

[dancaylor]

It just gets more and more impossible. Here's some specific animation scholarships:

Teletoon Animation Scholarship: $70,000 (must go to Canadian School)

Rhythm & Hues Grant : $25,000 Doesn't exist anymore

Sony Imageworks IPAX : $50,000 CalArts is not a member (but Animation Mentor is!?)
http://www.imageworks.com/ipax/schools.php

Warner Bros. Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera Animation Scholarship : The only one I know of that's still out there, but I can't find a website. I know of one student at CalArts that won it. You get $10,000k/year and 4 paid summer internships to Warner Bros.

Anyone know of any others?

[piper]

That is pretty interesting! I know I'm allowed to do work-study on campus after 9 months, but it does seem pretty shitty and underpaid. I'd love to be able to work retail, but Photoshopping off a part of your social security card has to be illegal, right? It sounds pretty sketchy, haha!

I mean, it would suck to be deported after already spending 40 grand.

Well yes, it probably carries some risk with it. But my friend managed to avoid any trouble in her 4 years of college, she's back in England now. I guess you'll need to weigh the risks and benefits of your own situation. I think if you are allowed workstudy, you can ask the school to authorize you for off-campus work. I don't know how that works though.

[dancaylor]

Just find a bar or a pub. They always pay cash in hand.