MagnifyMoney: Freddy Arsenault is a Broadway actor with six figures of student loan debt, thanks to the MFA acting program at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Among actors, Arsenault is one of the “lucky ones”. According to Actors Equity Association, the professional theatre actors union, fewer than 15 percent of due paying members are able to secure work in any given week and only 17,000 of 40,000 members work in a given year. Of those jobs, only a select few carry the prestige and paycheck of a Broadway show.
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This article was really interesting, albeit somewhat exaggerated in some senses. For instance, I'm not quite sure why anyone would enter into a program knowing that they would exit with a six figure debt in the first places, however, to each his own, and I am well aware that unknown financial circumstances do occur. There are so many smaller issues that have compounded to form the American student debt problem. For instance, it's very difficult to pinpoint the responsibility. Does the responsibility fall within the realm of the student? The government? In my opinion, both are responsible. For the student, it's important to do some serious financial assessments before entering any kind of college program, especially if there is any kind of concern that you may need some financial aid. It's also important to be educated on the subject and not get carried away with the excitement of getting into that dream school before you actually take a look at whether or not you/your family can really afford to send you there in the first place. In terms of the government, many a country have provided free post-secondary education for their graduating high school seniors. Much of this legislation has been successful, however, it's obviously hard to recognize whether or not it would be so successful for us here in the U.S., because of the fact that the issue spans so many economic, social, and political factors.
Bless this article. If one were to pay for two years of there BFA at CMU they would immediately be responsible for roughly $126,000 of tuition. I don't think the figures here are exaggerated in the slightest. Financial plans after graduation sit on the back burner while a student is in school, a decision that aggressively competes with plans of where to live and what jobs are available. By that I mean, one doesn't consider how much paying back loans will significantly alter every choice you make after school. You cannot choose living situations or survival jobs w/o considering this if you intend to stay financially stable and not be hit with insurmountable money troubles. 54-102
There needs to be a conversation on student loans. It needs to happen today, and it needs to be nation wide, and include the federal government. Society makes higher education out to be a necessity, but prices it at a luxury if you're not attending a state school. Yes, here at CMU, we have the privilege of our extremely high-quality education, and yes it's definitely worth more than others, but $60k a year is a difficult amount to swallow, especially when starting salaries when we leave are less than that. Am I stressed about these loans when I graduate? Absolutely. Besides the ridiculous prices of educations, we also need to have a discussion on interest. Right now, the standard interest rates for federal loans fall between 4.5 to 7.2%. That's up from a 3.8-6.4% for the 13-14 school year. I'm sorry, but that's too much Personally, I'm a big supporter of fixed interest rates for student loans. And with tuition rising year after year, it's overwhelming. Is my tuition worth the education? I've yet to find out, and that can only be done when I graduate and venture out into the real world. Am I probably going to be in debt for the rest of my life? Yeah. This education better be worth it, though.
While I think that it is admirable that programs exist to help people like artists pay their student debts, these only treat the symptoms, and ignore the bigger issue. No one should have to pay six figures for a conversation. It is dumbfounding how absurd this is. In order to have the best chance at making a career in the arts, you need to go to the best school possible. The best schools are the most jaw-droppingly expensive. Those who go to these top school have slightly better chance at employment, but not even close to the amount needed to pay off these loans. On top of all this, there are hundreds of thousands of people all struggling with the same issue. Art careers are all consuming, make it difficult to get a side job, and even when employment is possible, jobs are underpaid. To make matters worse, people will just turn it around and say "you should have pursued a more lucrative career!" It is a vicious circle that we all must bear. All we can do is brace ourselves for when the future hits.
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