Student Loans

[Workdawg]

Doing what you want to do is more important than how much money you make. But since this is in the On Point section...

Do you NEED a degree in digital photography? It seems to me that a degree in something like graphic design might be more useful. What does a degree in photography teach you? IMO the quality of your pictures would say a lot more about how good you are at doing it than some piece of paper from a university.

 

[StealthSpeed3]

grrr...is there a reason why everyone is trying to sway me to back out of this now? This is something that i want to do because it's something that i can have fun with. I am already committed to BC, i'm not going to look for another college. Part of the reason why i chose brown was because of location, they had the course that i wanted, and it's really not as expensive as some places i considered. I'll be doing evening classes which works out perfectly with the hours i work at JJ, and the first year is only a little higher then usual because of the extras i'm getting with the class (the laptop & 10MP digital camera). I probably won't have to pay the full $67K because i have most of my generals done. But enough of the negativity please.

 

[mndsm]

I fail to see the negativity. You asked, people answered. They wanted to know the reasons behind it, and the neccesity to pay 70k$ for a school that a lot of people here have had experience with. You ask for an honest opinion, you're going to get it.

 

[StealthSpeed3]

how many others here have gone to brown out of curiosity? I know Josh has...

 

[mndsm]

I have three good friends that went there for music something. One works retail, the other two are servers at The Melting Pot. I have a 4th that is currently enrolled in game design there, he tried to leave the school but basically found out he was screwed no matter what he did. I'm not saying you should not pursue whatever you want to pursue, but I have to admit that I have not heard positive things about the school overall. I applaud you for going after what you want to go after, but be careful.

 

[MazdaMINI]

I have not gone to Brown but have gone to a private college for half of a semester and I wish I would have never done that. I have a $15,000 loan to thank for that and the classes at my state college I was attending prior were just as good. I have also been through my fair share of schools an have realized that you need to enjoy what you do but also need to make sure that there are many opportunities for employment out there. My brother was going to go into Photography at dctc. I understand that Brown has a specific degree that your looking for but you maybe able to get the same types of class somewhere else. I was just recently in the situation where I thought I wanted to go to Argosy because I could finish my degree quickly and the classes were really small I was very impressed with the school. But decided I couldnt pay 20,000 a year for classes. I am so glad that I decided to go to tech school and soon a state school. I think it was one of the best decisions I could have made and love my tech school to death! The tuition being $154 s credit is awesome as well.

 

[ZoomZoom Diva]

We're not negative about your plan to make photography a career. However, when you're asking about how to pay for it at a very expensive school, questioning the need for that very expensive school, and the possibility of reducing the financial outlay are people really trying to help you.

Asking you questions about what the $67K or whatever is really buying you when compared to other options is not negativity.

I went to an expensive private college for 4 years, and I would not trade it for anything. However, I have also come to realize there are other paths to the same place, and the differences are mostly personal rather than professional.

 

[WhiteSpy9]

Exactly.... You have to justify the cost of the degree to the pay of the occupation, as well as, the job market.

You can always do what you love on as a hobby if you are able to find something you at least enjoy and pays well.

We are all talking from our experience of having been in your same situation before and have already taken that long ride down that road.

 

[StealthSpeed3]

i went in for orientation today - 23 credits transferred over, saving me $8000 in tuition. If i take 15 cred in the summer by fall sem i'll be a sophomore. so now taking into consideration i won't be spending the original projected amt, instead 3 yrs of schooling is only going to cost $59K meaning my student loan for my first year is going to be $17K.

 

[WhiteSpy9]

That sounds a bit better!

 

[MazdaMINI]

That still sounds like a lot of money to me but the $8,000 less is a definte plus!!!