<p>I am considering applying to the Art Institute of Boston's (at Lesley) precollege program. (focusing on fine art painting/drawing or illustration) Before I did so, I was just wondering if anyone had heard anything/attended/read about the program. I just want to make sure it is worthwhile.</p>
<p>also, any other programs you recommend?</p>
<p>If you are commuting, people seems to say Masart is better overall. If your works are conceptual and money is not the issue, SMFA. Someone said BC or BU does art pre college as well, I haven’t checked.
If you want to travel and live in dorms, should try the school where you want to go eventually, some give scholarships or credit to summer kids.
But you have to remember that pre college is not actual college, kids will be different, classes, teachers will be deferent, just give you the idea how’s the area, food, climate (but of course it will be summer, when you won’t be in the college. Be careful if you’d go to NH or ME, even Boston.)
If you got the nastiest roommate or instructors, do not get turned off because of that, then again, s/he might matriculate and will cast dark shadows on your campus life…</p>
<p>I attended this program as a commuter last summer and I would definitely recommend it to someone looking for a decent (no so much intensive) art program at a low price. The staff at AIB are very knowledgeable when it comes to preparation for art school, though like I said the program is not as intensive as I would imagine a program such as RISD would be.</p>
<p>In terms of the location, Cambridge, MA is a great city (I do live there so I am slightly biased). Harvard Square is full of quirky shops and restaurants and is literally minutes from Boston.</p>
<p>If you have any specific questions just ask, though I was a commuter so I didn’t get the full pre-college experience.</p>
<p>Mollie14- thank you for the information! Did you take any of the painting classes? I am curious to see if they use oils or acrylics or both. (and I’m perfectly fine with it not being particularly intensive, just a good program with helpful instructors)</p>
<p>Musikken, unfortunately I did not, so I have no idea what medium was used.</p>
<p>sorry i don’t really know about AIB, but I went to MassArt studios and just in case you are considering it, I would not recommend it. If you are looking for an intensive, more rigorous environment, MassArt Summer Studios is not the place. But it does give you a good feel for if art school is the right place for you. One of my friends in the program with me found out that she actually didn’t want to go to art school.</p>
<p>My D went to NH for pre-college last year, I was afraid she might have teachers brought in from high school, or adjucnt, but she had teachers that were heads of the dept. at the school. Instruction was excellent, and altho there were some kids who were there mainly for the fun, D quickly got in with the serious students.</p>
<p>chanelno5,</p>
<p>Can you say more about why you didn’t like Mass Art? My D is thinking of going there this summer. Were most of the students commuters or did they live inthe dorms? Why do you feel they were not serious?</p>
<p>Mom of D</p>
<p>I was just curious, various people have said that a program “was not intensive.”
what do you define as intensive? It’s a rather broad word.</p>
<p>I never said i didn’t like MassArt. It was just not helpful in creating portfolio pieces. For example, we did not have a lot of time to create finished pieces- I got some good figure drawings, but that was about it. I was a commuter, so I am not sure if most students stayed in the dorms. I think more than half lived on campus. If you are looking to create good pieces for your admissions portfolio, it’s not the right place. By “intensive,” I mean that you are really pushed to create and really delve deep into the artmaking process. When I was at MassArt Summer Studios, I could tell the work being produced wasn’t really high level work since you do not need to submit a portfolio as part of the application for MassArt. A lot of the students there were not really serious. But going there will give you a good feel for the art school environment, if you are unsure if art school is the right path for you. It also depends on what elective you choose.</p>
<p>musikken – About “intensive”. To use a different example, my daughter went to 2 different summer art programs last year. </p>
<p>Program A: Oil painting every day, life drawing and art history/enrichment every evening. Expected to create a painting every day, at least. Students had 24 hour access to studios. Daughter used to spend early morning hours assembling her canvases, then painted all day and into the late hours. Produced very strong work that has been repeatedly commented on her portfolio. Felt like what it was – a college class crammed in 3 weeks. </p>
<p>Program B: Painted in acrylic 2-3 hours a day. Produced less than 1 painting a week. (The first week they just talked about technique and did color wheels.) 1-2 hours of studio time after regular class, but no studio access after 7 PM. The feel was more summer camp than college. Produced no work worthy of her portfolio. </p>
<p>Program A = intensive
Program B = not intensive </p>
<p>:-)</p>
<p>sorry i wasn’t as clear about my definition of “intensive” as TrinSF was…</p>
<p>thank you for your help! :)</p>