@magnetnh check out LCAD as well for animation. They are much lower in tuition, and still highly ranked for private colleges with a degree in animation. It also depends if you want to to 2-D, or 3-D, or some of everything. Ringling is more 3-D which is why it left the list after visiting. It’s a great school, and they tried to make an option for my girl, by combining illustration and animation, but she knew it wasn’t for her. One thing she did when touring schools from the beginning was look at the art that was on display in their student galleries and on the walls. It really gives you a sense of what is created there.
@moonpie was your daughter interested in studying both 2D and 3D? We have started to visit some schools and my daughter (who wants a BFA in Animation), said she would like both. Some schools we’ve seen have you pick one or the other, but so far (from the few we’ve seen), Pratt gives you both. I’d love to know of other schools that offer both
@NYCMomof3 mine is mostly interested in 2D (Character animation). Pratt was one of my favorites!!! I loved the campus, the tour, and the faculty were very encouraging. From what I saw, you do kind of pick and specialize, but MOST programs offered experience in both. There are many, many programs that offer a “digital media” type degree, but my daughter is really interested in expanding all parts of her art (oil painting, drawing, water color as well).
SCAD offers both. At some point you decide which you are specializing in (probably by senior year because your reel is going to take awhile to produce). My D16 is in her foundation year at SCAD and at this point wishes to work in the 2D world. However, she also realizes the crucial importance of understanding both genres, especially given the direction of the industry.
@NYCMomof3 I’ve found that viewing the curriculum of these schools is very helpful in understanding what they offer, and many schools even post a representative 4-year plan on their websites. Pratt, especially, is very good about letting you see what courses you’ll be taking for foundation and in your major.
Thank you @moonpie and @JBStillFlying for responding and suggestions. Secretly, I’m hoping she get into and picks Pratt because she would be close to home (we live in manhattan). She also was very impressed with the admissions person from SCAD that visited her school. In fact, we are going to a SCAD admissions event in philly on 2/25. I have to say that I am more than a little overwhelmed with all of this. She is hoping to take an animation class with SVA this summer and I’m hoping that will give her an better insight into which direction she wants to head
The art school admissions process is intense. Once you get through it, you’ll think regular old college admissions is for amateurs.
@JBStillFlying I will take your word for it
@JBStillFlying … yes! It was way more work than my other two (and they are/were both in top 20 academic school). I can’t even calculate the hours she spent preparing her portfolio and preparing slide rooms for each school… and all the essays!!!
@mainebeaches re MassArts - my daughter really liked the school too and we’re also regional (not MA or New England). I hope it’s not the case for your child’s situation, but mine received very little aid. She received much bigger merit aid packages from others, incl. her ‘dream school’. I’m guessing as a state school they just don’t have much to give.
@moonpie RISD acceptances were the very last ones for my kiddo. March 23rd last year. And our mail is delayed via a rural PO so she saw kids getting them for a few days before on twitter. Oh the angst!
Also, to piggyback on other comments that it is VERY important to visit school(s) that your child has placed high on their list. My S had SCAD as his #1 until he went there for a week long art workshop. He thought the school was ‘ok’ but realized he did not want to live in Savannah for 4 years. He said it just didn’t feel like ‘him’. BUT, he had a friend who had not even considered SCAD who he felt would love the school and Savannah and he was right. His friend went to visit and moved it to #1 on his list. It’s good to narrow down the options because it can get pretty pricey applying to a lot of schools; especially schools that might not be a good fit for your child. We were able to do that with SCAD; he didn’t bother applying and saved me an application fee of $40.
Yes! Visiting is so important… my girl loved SCAD the school, but hated the heat. Loved the feel of Savannah (she said it was like New Orleans and San Francisco had a baby) but she won’t decide based on weather unless all other things are equal. The department head was on my girl’s tour that day… took extra time, showed them current students work, took them in "off limits " places… it was her favorite tour. But it was early in junior year… almost wish she could go back!
My MN-D16 had a very difficult time this fall with the heat in Savannah. Hopefully she’ll adjust. She’s enjoying it now but spring is around the corner . . .
Come to think of it, I had a difficult time as well! For some reason it was hotter in September 2016 than in Aug. 2015 when we visited.
Would absolutely recommend the visits. So fun to see all these campuses and ponder the opportunities. Plus it’s really great to get a feel for student life and life in the community. Eat in the dining halls, use local public transit, etc.
Thanks for everybody who replied about Mass Art. It certainly makes sense that the in state kids would get the money first. We’ll look at all her offers in a month and see what happens. She still has some we’re waiting on…SMFA, Alfred University and RIT. Alfred and RIT would make a very long drive (8 hours). Not sure how my daughter would do without 3 Starbucks to choose from but Alfred is a beautiful school. Haven’t been to RIT. Anybody heard from these schools yet? Also, anybody have any information on Lyme Academy of Fine Arts. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anybody speak of them. They are now owned by New Haven University. Daughter was accepted but we haven’t made the trip yet. Only 100 or so students in the entire school.
Yes, visiting schools is very important. Top on our list were NYU, SVA and Pratt. All in NYC, but all with very different feeling communities.
SVA’s tour made it clear how independent students needed to be from the onset and how they really would be spending a lot of time navigating the city alone. Dorm and dining life left much to be desired and was available on a very limited basis. Felt it would not have much community and could be overwhelming and lonely. (And I say that as a New Yorker and D had already lived in NYU dorms for a summer.)
Pratt on the other hand had a lovely campus but it was in Brooklyn and more removed from the city than D wanted. Yes, it’s filled with young adults and certainly growing by leaps and bounds, but not exactly the vibe she wanted full-time. Plus she wanted a more diverse community of students.
On the other hand, NYU provided exactly what she wanted. An art building and senior studio space in the East Village. A faculty of working artists who were exhibiting all over the city and abroad. Plus dorm-life and dining halls and a large student body with majors across the board. Turned out she had many good friends that were music, theatre, film and art majors who collaborated on work together. Plus she was able to take private voice lessons and stage make-up classes as cobbled together “minors.”
So even though people may initially group those schools together due to their proximity, by visiting , one can really see the differences.
So glad that most everyone has successfully made it through the arduous process that is art school admissions and is now waiting for the good news. Having had to go through the process with my oldest daughter last year, I know the relief you’re all feeling…the finished portfolio uploaded; the additional essays done and sent! I have to say I’m glad that my younger daughter doesn’t want to apply to any artistic majors because I know how much easier the process will be. But in the end, it was worth it and my D16 is a happy freshman at Tyler. I think it’s been said before, but visit on accepted student days if at all possible. It really helps in the decision, especially if you’re torn between two or three schools.
@mainebeaches We thought Alfred was a beautiful school and the art department was very impressive but the (in our case) 10 hour drive to what seemed like the middle of nowhere was not what anyone of us wanted! Same for RIT (although she disliked the campus there as well) and I thought how difficult it would be to drive during the winter months.
Hope you all hear from your schools soon!
@moonpie oh the heat…didn’t think about that. My daughter has issues with heat. I mean she physically gets ill when she’s too hot (too hot for her isn’t for what it may be for others). She gets lightened, dizzy and nauseous. We will have a talk about this. Thanks for bringing this up.
LOL. My kid spent so much time in the computer labs that she didn’t know if the sun was even still shining!
@gouf78 I expect that’s true!!! Although with SCAD being spread all over the city… some heat is inevitable. Also, @uskoolfish I was a little unsettled by the lack of meal plan and the dorms at SVA. However, my daughter seemed so comfortable in the city! Truly navigated the subways and people like a pro. My best friend lives in Hell’s kitchen and would be there in minutes in any emergency. I loved the real college feel of Pratt… but like my girl said 1000 times, the “college feel” is not what she’s going for… she wants to be the best artist she can be, and she is going for the program that gets her there. We did get an increase by $5500 today from SCAD… so the heat is getting a little easier to deal with LOL
@moonpie living in the city (manhattan) is easy. I’m glad she found the traveling around easy. I was born and raised and still live in the east village. SVA would be great for my daughter…she’d be less than a mile from home but unlike you’re daughter, she wants a campus. She will take animation this summer at SVA and I’m hoping that helps her get a better idea of what it would be like being a student there. Congrats on the Increase from SCAD