Weighing the reality of the situation-- hoping to attend college in Portland this spring. I need practical advice. (for rent, credit)

[adeladie]

Hi, i'm distressed. This fall I applied to attend a college in Portland for the spring semester. I'm in a bit of an unusual situation. I graduated high school in 2010 and spent what I had in savings studying art at a school in France for 6 months. This was made possible by a lot of scholarship assistance, but nonetheless it left me with zero savings.
I just heard back today (dec 20th) that I have been accepted to OCAC in portland, and classes start on January 17th. Artistically speaking i'm really far ahead of most people my age from my experience abroad, and thus was able to earn a $5000/yr scholarship. But that only knocks tuition (housing not included) to about $17,614 a year. I would have to take that out in loans. The only money I would have to pay for rent/transportation/supplies would come from whatever job I could find. Now i'm hearing jobs are hard to nail down in Portland. I'm 19, feeling flabbergasted and a little afraid/uncertain, but determined. I really want to get out of the place i'm in. I want to go to college. I don't care about the loans. Where do I start the process of relocating myself? Any advice you're capable of offering is greatly appreciated.

additional info: I'm from New York, so this would be a cross-country move for me. It seems (and it is indeed) daunting, but I've already traveled to Paris by myself-- i'm not paralyzed by fear of distance.

[hamellr]

Contact your school's admin offices. Usually they have information to places that are willing to hire students.

[Leisesturm]

Agreed. Its got to be the school that you use as your main resource in figuring this out. Most schools have work/study programs. You mentioned rent, is housing up to you to find? If so you have work to do on that front as well. You don't have a lot of time. We are just short of awesome here in this little sub-forum but even the awesome have limitations. You need much more directed and interactive processes ASAP. Get off the computer and get cracking.

H

[The Cactus Leaguer]

Just did a quick search:

Oregon College of Art and Craft (OCAC) - Admissions Information - CollegeSolved

Their stated acceptance rate is 89% and they give out almost $5k in "grants" on average. To me what that means is that the college is basically banking on you taking out over $17k/year in government guaranteed student loans (which you can't get rid of, even in a bankruptcy) to pay for your tuition (or more if you use the loans for living expenses too).

I know very little about this school but I have to ask you, do you really want to go to this college so bad that you want to saddle yourself with that massive debt right now in exchange for a degree which may or may not have any tangible value (considering that they don't appear to be selective)? I mean you already went through a program in France and you're from New York, those things alone will probably give you far more artistic credibility than the OCAC degree in this neck of the woods.

Yes, you should contact the school about how to get set up here locally, but DO NOT use them as your sole resource for determining if this is the right thing to do. They are HIGHLY MOTIVATED to get their hands on your tuition dollars that you will be on the hook for later.

Sorry if I'm speaking out of turn. I don't know your whole situation. I just saw your "I don't care about loans" comment and the rushed nature of your post and I felt compelled to say something in case you are on a collision course towards making a tragic financial mistake.

Good luck in your quest.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by The Cactus Leaguer

I mean you already went through a program in France and you're from New York, those things alone will probably give you far more artistic credibility than the OCAC degree in this neck of the woods.

I get that the program in France is good, but are you really suggesting that being "from New York" is a better educational achievement than a degree from what, to the best of my knowledge, is a respected school?

[sayulita]

Originally Posted by The Cactus Leaguer

Just did a quick search:

Oregon College of Art and Craft (OCAC) - Admissions Information - CollegeSolved

Their stated acceptance rate is 89% and they give out almost $5k in "grants" on average. To me what that means is that the college is basically banking on you taking out over $17k/year in government guaranteed student loans (which you can't get rid of, even in a bankruptcy) to pay for your tuition (or more if you use the loans for living expenses too).

I know very little about this school but I have to ask you, do you really want to go to this college so bad that you want to saddle yourself with that massive debt right now in exchange for a degree which may or may not have any tangible value (considering that they don't appear to be selective)? I mean you already went through a program in France and you're from New York, those things alone will probably give you far more artistic credibility than the OCAC degree in this neck of the woods.

Yes, you should contact the school about how to get set up here locally, but DO NOT use them as your sole resource for determining if this is the right thing to do. They are HIGHLY MOTIVATED to get their hands on your tuition dollars that you will be on the hook for later.

Sorry if I'm speaking out of turn. I don't know your whole situation. I just saw your "I don't care about loans" comment and the rushed nature of your post and I felt compelled to say something in case you are on a collision course towards making a tragic financial mistake.

Good luck in your quest.

I completely agree. This is a huge financial decision that you may not yet grasp the consequences of. Please research the employment that will be available to you when you graduate and if it will be sufficient for you to live comfortably AND pay off your loans. In this economic climate, every young adult needs to really examine his educational choices. Tuition is more expensive than ever and the career payoffs are ever diminishing.
I too find it questionable that OCAC has an 89% acceptance rate. Add to that the fact that you were accepted on Dec. 20th for a semester that starts on Jan. 17th. This smacks of financial desperation on the part of OCAC. Carefully examine their job placement claims. We have had several instances of grossly inflated placement claims from business, computer and culinary schools in the area.
You asked for advice here and it's being given sincerely by folks older and wiser. Please take heed.

[Minervah]

You also may want to look into the The Art Institute of Portland. I do not know anything about it except that my friend's nephew attended that school and is now a very successful graphic designer/writer in L.A. I think this school may be a bit more legit that OCAC.

At least it may be one more option. And take your time. You are young. If you make a decision without the means to back it up, you may regret it. It takes time to find a job and get yourself situated. Decisions made while you are in a stressful state never work out for the best.

[karlsch]

Get a degree from an accredited university, maybe even a state university in New York so you can get resident tuition.

Major in fine arts. Minor in something more marketable so you have something to fall back on because you might have a hard time making a living in the arts.

When you are done doing this, then move to your dream location.

[The Cactus Leaguer]

Originally Posted by EnricoV

I get that the program in France is good, but are you really suggesting that being "from New York" is a better educational achievement than a degree from what, to the best of my knowledge, is a respected school?

No, that's not what I'm suggesting at all (not sure how you inferred that from what I wrote). I believe the combination of going through a program in France plus the life experience/worldview of being from New York is a good combination to have in the state of Oregon from an artistic credibility standpoint.

The broader point is that I think the OP should step back and think about what they are doing before dumping $17k/yr in debt into OCAC.

And I completely agree with the poster who suggested getting a fine arts degree from an accredited university along with a minor in something more marketable.

Nothing against OCAC, I know very little about them one way or the other.

From an editorial standpoint, I think there are a lot of underemployed baristas in town who went through the situation the OP is about to undertake, and now they are saddled with massive, nondischargeable student loans and a grim job market and they are spending some of their ample free time participating in protests (which they are perfectly free to do within reason).

[DavidAMIs]

I haven't even been through school yet, myself. I'm 22 now. Took some time off after high school to do some traveling, volunteering and gain work experience. I'm also from the New York area and my sister goes to NYU. On my last trip cross country I stopped in Portland and fell in love. I made some really good friends in the 8 days I was there. When I got home I decided I was ready to start school so I applied to two schools. Warren Wilson in NC and Portland State in Portland. As much as I wanted to live in Portland and be there with the friends I had made, I made my decision based on Financial Aid. Portland State gave me nothing. I still had to cover 15k in private loans and my parents don't have the proper credit to allow me to do this. Instead I went with Warren Wilson who gave me an 8k grant and the rest was covered by Financial Aid. I'll be starting next month and I feel really good about it.

Honestly, Financial Aid should be your biggest concern right now... as well as time! There's not a lot of time to get ready for this move and you don't even have the rest of tuition covered. If I were you I'd take more time off and work to put some money away. Then when the time comes to apply to school again, I'd maybe look into different options for school. You say you don't care much about the cost, but really it should be your number one factor when making this decision.