Film/Video and Photographic Arts at New York Film Academy

The $16,415 first-year earnings from New York Film Academy's film program rank in the bottom 10% of California film schools—and this is in a state where the median for this degree is already modest at $24,840. You're looking at graduates earning roughly $8,000 less than peers at other California film programs, while carrying $31,000 in debt that's nearly $10,000 above the state median. Even among the 426 film programs nationwide, this ranks in just the 5th percentile for earnings.

That debt-to-earnings ratio of 1.89 means graduates owe nearly twice their first-year income, making standard loan repayment extremely challenging on what amounts to barely above minimum wage earnings. Compare this to USC ($34,187 median earnings) or UCLA ($29,696)—students there face similar or even higher debt but start with earnings that can sustain repayment. The moderate sample size (30-100 graduates) suggests this pattern is reasonably reliable, not a statistical fluke.

For families considering this $31,000 investment, the math is stark: graduates would need their earnings to more than double just to reach what typical California film school graduates make in their first year. If your child is determined to study film in LA, California's public universities and established private programs offer substantially better financial outcomes with comparable access to the industry.