Comments on: college student finance tips

By: Brochures Printing

Brochures Printing — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:11:16 +0000

Always remember to do research and learn as much as you can before investing. There are a lot of state schools and universities that offer cheaper education than the private ones.

By: How to Be a Frugal College Student | Frugal Dad

How to Be a Frugal College Student | Frugal Dad — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:20:51 +0000

[...] College Student Finance Tips [...]

By: Andy

Andy — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:06:50 +0000

I gave it a shot too, but from a different perspective (more of a finance 101). Your perspective seems more from the type of school to choose in terms on financial considerations. An important aspect which is overlooked by many who are chasing the brand name.

By: guinness416

guinness416 — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:36:46 +0000

But often the people who own the galleries and organize the shows and events are young-buck type partnerships or groups who met at art/film/similar school. Well the ones I go to anyway.

By: plonkee

plonkee — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:18:20 +0000

I think that there are other, better, ways of getting the right contacts, but most people aren't that bright.

I don't know what it's like in the US, but over here most art that you see for sale in galleries is by people who came to art as a career later in life. They may or may not have been to art college, but they had another career first.

By: bripblap

bripblap — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:24:56 +0000

Plonkee, to your point and Guinness416's above, I think a gap year tradition would be a FANTASTIC idea and most Americans don't even think about it for a second. I know if I had spent a year interning for a big corporation, or traveling the world, or whatever, I would have known a lot more about what I wanted out of my life/career/school/etc. than I did. I went over to the Dark Side and jumped on board the corporate ship because of the travel opportunities, because I never really realized I could do it on my own – business travel is not a walkabout!

By: bripblap

bripblap — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:18:17 +0000

Of course you have to look at the lowest “net cost” of education. A scholarship-subsidized education at a private school would cost less than a non-scholarship-subsidized education at a public university. I suppose the “contacts” factor is tough to quantify. I would love to see a survey of people who were successful in the art world who were college-educated and attributed their success to college vs. people who just kept working at it without college. I suspect all the contacts in the world won't remedy a paucity of talent, but I could be wrong!

By: bripblap

bripblap — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:14:34 +0000

Bill – great point. I tend to gloss over community colleges because of my own personal experience, but I do know several people who had great success (more than 4-year college grads) going to a community college first. Community colleges get very little promotion in the US, and that's a shame – for many of the people trying to “find themselves” a community college would be a good (and less expensive!) option.

By: Econ-Math-Chinese

Econ-Math-Chinese — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 20:58:30 +0000

Generally speaking, some private liberal arts colleges can be extremely generous with their financial aid, especially to students that do not come from Middle Class backgrounds. When I graduate school, for example, I will be less than $10,000 dollars in debt. If I had attended my state school, I would be ~$40,000 in debt. Through anecdotal evidence, this pattern seems to be repeated among my peers.

There is also the matter of art school. Many “prestigious” art or fashion design schools are not well known for their education (although it is generally is excellent) but for the post-graduate contacts they provide. In the art world, contacts are everything so a higher initial cost may payout in the long–run. If not, it will at least tend to indifference.

By: Kelly Webster

Kelly Webster — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:03:24 +0000

Great point Bill. This is a much overlooked strategy and one that works well for the people who choose it. I am a huge proponent of spending as little money as possible on your education and then receiving a BIG return on that investment by picking a major that is in demand. It's not important that you be “fulfilled” in your job. No job will ever fulfill you. Every job comes with it's pluses and minuses no matter what you are doing. It is important, however, that you be able to support your family with the profession that you choose (this is where most of us end up; not all but most of us).