<p>I was noticing that some professors at art schools attended Alfred University in Alfred NY.Although they seem to be very strong in Ceramic science and ceramics in general, I was wondering what the school was like? Moreover, they have what seems to be a decent program in expanded media, print media and graphic and digital design. Anyone with experience with these programs?</p>
<p>I don't have any direct experience with Alfred University, but my daughter and I visited it as part of her art school search. I often wonder why it doesn't show-up more as an option on this board. My daughter attended a private arts high school and her sculpture and ceramics teacher received his master's from Alfred. One of her school's 2004 grads attends Alfred as a ceramics engineer major. The art and ceramics engineering program is part of SUNY, but within a private small university. The art making facilities were amazing and Mom loved the idea of a true college experience with strong liberal arts combined with a true fine arts BFA. The campus was beautiful, but very much in the middle of nowhere. In the end, my daughter decided it was too much in the middle of nowhere. I do think for the right students it is very much a great bargain; an liberal arts education at state university prices. Even for my daughter an out-of-stator, the cost would have been in the low 20's for tuition-room & board prior to scholarships that her grades and SAT's would have qualified her for.</p>
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<p>My wife attended Alfred for one year, and couldn't take the nowhereness.</p>
<p>Two very talented students from my son's high school attended alfred last year, one in painting, one in photography. Each is apparently very happy with her choice.
My son seriously considered Alfred. Beautiful campus, outstanding facilities, supportive administration and faculty, amazing job placement statistics, incredible prices. Great reputation withinn the art world. A hidden gem!
Ultimately, he opted for The Big City where he could also pursue other performing arts interests. Sigh.</p>
<p>My sister-in-law found Alfred too remote (and small) and transferred. When we went to Syracuse U's Open House, we met a girl who was transferring in from Alfred. She said she wasn't unhappy at Alfred, but decided to change her major from ceramics to interior design. Since Alfred didn't offer that major, she had to go elsewhere. Small schools will offer less choices. I would caution that the location isn't for everyone and a visit is necessary (but that goes for all schools).</p>
<p>My daughter is a rising junior at Alfred in the School of Art and Design. She loves the school. The campus is gorgeous, but yes, it is in the middle of nowhere. Being from Northern Virginia, Alfred is quite a change, but my daughter is very happy there. A lot of kids do leave because of how remote Alfred is. The art facilities are fabulous. What my D likes the best about the program is that you don't have to pick a specific art major. You can take a variety of studios to get experience in different areas of art. She had a glass blowing course last semester and has determined that she doesn't like glass blowing. It is just as important to find out what you like as it is to find out what you don't like. What drew my D to the school was the fact that she wanted an art school within a University setting. She also wanted a small school. She is in the honors program which lets her interact with students who are in majors other than art. She knows all her professors by name and most of the students at Alfred. For her it is the right choice, for others, too remote and too small. I would be happy to answer any questions you have about Alfred.</p>
<p>Thanks Novamom, if Allie applies to Alfred, I will certainly ask more questions.</p>
<p>Learning more about great schools for art everyday! As my son begins to talk about colleges, let me again say thanks to all of you who have traveled this road ahead of us and who share such good information about the schools you looked into/ are looking into. My S and I had not heard of many of the schools we have come across on the art major forum. Being from Richmond, Va. (not too far from you NoVAmom!) most kids matriculate to the big four: Va Tech, UVA, JMU, or W&M. Nothing against any of those schools, but if he wants to pursue art, he has been told VCU is his best bet....and he and I are not big fans of VCU's location nor academic standards. </p>
<p>NoVAmom, if you don't mind my asking, how did your daughter hear about Alfred? Do they offer much in the way of merit scholarships or good financial aid packages? My S is interested in many of the same qualities your daughter sought in a school: fairly small in size, not strictly an art school, but with a strong art program. He also thinks he wants to continue swimming in college. I don't think the remoteness of the campus would bother him- but maybe the cold NY temperatures would :) </p>
<p>Anyway, again thanks for all of your help everyone!</p>
<p>Kandksmom, you are correct in judging that there are very few good art and, design programs ouitside of the stand alone art schools.</p>
<p>I would like to know if your son is more interested in art or design.</p>
<p>We also did tour VCU and was very underwhelmed with the location and the facilities. WE ruled it out because of our visit. </p>
<p>There are some schools that I would like to recommend for your further investigation: Syracuse University, who has a great art program of almost every variety, and RIT for design and crafts). Skidmore is a very good fine art school that also has a strong liberal arts element. You might also want to check out Bard college.You should also consider RISD. I do know that RISD is a stand alone art program; however, it is widely considered the best overall art school in the nation. In addition, RISD kids interface a lot with BRown kids. You even get a Brown-RISD card allowing each school's kids to use the other school's function. You can take any of the liberal arts courses at Brown too. </p>
<p>UCLA has a good art program,but is quite difficult to get into from out of state. ONe possible good choice is to apply to both TUFTs and Museum School in Boston. This gives you a Tufts degree, lets you live on Tufts campus,but you can take a number of art programs in the Museum school. The catch is that you just be admitted to both schools.</p>
<p>Hope this gives you some ideas. </p>
<p>I should note that I was actually thinking of writing a book that does an indepth review of schools that have strong visual arts programs, sort of a "Fiske Guide" to art programs. I wonder if I can sell a lot of it.</p>
<p>KandKsMom to answer your question about how my D found out about Alfred - I actually found it in a college guide whose name escapes me now. It was specifically for music, dance, and art programs. I found the guide on Amazon.com. The guide went into a lot of detail about all the art programs. The description of Alfred really got my interest up. My D definitely wanted a BFA and she did not want to go to a stand-alone art school. She ruled out VCU when one of their profs wasn't too nice to her at a portfolio day. We went on a trip to see Syracuse, RIT and Alfred. D liked Syracuse a lot, and did not like RIT's campus, so that was ruled out immediately. She really didn't want to bother visiting Alfred, but we did. She found the people there very, very, nice. A student saw us walking with a portfolio, and took the time to come up to us and talk to us about the school. D qualified for their highest level of scholarship and she also received a housing grant. She got money from Syracuse, but in the end Alfred won out. The only VA school she applied to was JMU, which offers a BFA, but really isn't known for their art. They do have a good graphic design program. Also, D wanted to go somewhere where she didn't know anyone, and she would have known a lot of people who were going to JMU. Let me know if I can answer any other questions.</p>