Just accepted to USC's Film and TV Production MFA! How do I pay for it!?

[jessepinho]

Hey all! New member here ??

I was just accepted to USC's Film and TV Production MFA program. I'm beyond thrilled, but the cost of attendance is prohibitive, at about $70k per year including living expenses! That means graduating with at least $200k in debt, plus interest — and the average starting salary of USC cinema grads in the industry is $48k.

If any of you go to USC (or a similarly priced school), how are you funding your education? Are you simply using loans? And if so, how do you expect to pay that back while on a relatively low film industry salary? I’m applying to a number of scholarships (e.g., on Bold.org), but even if I win all of them, it won’t come close to covering my total cost of attendance.

Penny (or actually, $200k) for your thoughts!

Jesse