Hi, all, our dd has been accepted to SAIC, CCA, MICA, Ringling, SVA, and Parsons. She is interested in illustration, but of course that may change. She is also hoping to take a few classes here and there that focus on the environment, space, or other science topics… we know that not all schools have this possibility. Right now, we are trying to make a decision, but it would help to have all of your input. The schools are all fantastic, but just in very different areas, and with very different personalities. Which is the best for illustration, in your opinions? Other factors to consider? She liked SVA but no cafeteria poses a problem, time-wise and for practicality. Thanks in advance for your thoughts, everyone!
Congrats on all the acceptances!!! So interesting to see this year’s “crop” and where everyone is going! Just a note of encouragement, my girl at SVA was just awarded an RA position which pays for housing plus $1000 a semester tuition credit. We are SUPER happy and so very proud! She is thriving in NYC and at school! I have second guessed the money Pratt offered her over and over, and now it is truly a non-issue (it came down to those 2 schools in the end for her). She also got a great work study position, so next year she can keep both jobs! I’m so excited to see where everyone ends up!
And as far as internships, yes, it can matter where you go to school, but it also matters how your student does with persisting, jumping at opportunities, and how well she/he interviews.
My son wants to be an animator for gaming. HIs dream job is Blizzard Entertainment. He was in COMMUNITY COLLEGE last year and got a 6 month internship with a gaming company locally doing some concept art for them. He is going to try to work there again this summer, even though he is a Sophomore in college (and because of the way his credits transferred, he is just mid-sophomore year.)
Every opportunity matters, and there are so many small companies and internships around.
My son only applied to SCAD. He considered some others but ultimately, with him being on the Autism spectrum, he (and we) decided it was best to be close to home. We live 4 hours away and can pop down for a weekend as needed. We are 4 hours from Atlanta and 4 hours from Savannah, so he could go to either campus and be fairly close.
He only applied to SCAD. He got in. He got a good scholarship.
One and done.
I actually wish there were something available locally, but there isn’t.
@CalGirl17 my D16 is at SCAD and loves it (animation). She is also on the spectrum and the school has been wonderful about supporting her and getting her the accommodations she needed. She is thriving there now and just got a part-time job in Savannah so will be there over the summer taking courses for her minor and working (we are desperately searching for off-campus summer housing but she’ll just dorm it if need be. Stuff fills up quick and we are late to the game . . . . ). PM me if you have any questions whatsoever. The Hive is now finished, I believe, and has a pool and gym, among other amenities.
Congrats to your son!
This was actually my plan for SVA if my was to go there. I’m currently conflicted because I got a presidential scholarship from Pratt and I got nothing from SVA other than financial aid. They do match scholarships but only up to $2,500 (wow). So it’s hard that my second choice likes me more than my first choice. How did your daughter choose between SVA and Pratt?
Wondering how everyone deals with the non-food plan situation at SVA?
@bsue913 and @francoamerican99 I’ll answer you both here! My daughter also got the Presidential Scholarship at Pratt, but the Chairman’s merit at SVA. There were several things that went into her final decision. The biggest one for her was starting animation classes right away. That was one thing she looked at for every school. She didn’t love the idea of a foundation year. Yes, she has foundation classes, like figure drawing, but she also has animation classes, storyboarding, etc. She didn’t want to get into her sophomore year and decide she didn’t like it!. Also, at Pratt they didn’t accept her AP credits. That was kind of a deal-breaker. She worked too hard in high school for that to be an issue. As far as the food goes, my daughter loves having her own kitchen! She says she would hate to have to go to te dining hall in a blizzard. She shops at trader joes, or whole foods, both are within 5-7 blocks. She has a stove, oven, and microwave in her tiny kitchen (all freshmen live in the 23rd st dorm which has kitchens in the room). She loves to cook and often cooks for her friends. Now her roommate, on the other hand, is afraid of the stove, so her meals are usually from the fridge or microwave. I’ve been amazed at how little she actually spends on food! I will say that she has friends who have uber eats delivered, and get take out a LOT and they spend way more. Just remember in NYC you can have LITERALLY anything delivered. I know they have also gone out for pizza in their pajamas at 2:00 in the morning (there is an all-night pizza place 1 block away). Most of the restaurants offer SVA discounts, and Amazon Prime Pantry is THE BOMB. I have had surprise groceries delivered a few times, and she uses it for all her dry goods, and just gets cold foods at the grocery. My daughter has a good friend who chose animation at Pratt, and she loves it there as well! She is a sophomore, and the work she is doing is wonderful! I truly think you can’t go wrong with either! If a more traditional college campus is what you’re looking for, that may be better. Both have great professors, great internship potential, and talented students! Pratt was my favorite school we visited because it checked all my “mom” boxes, but ultimately when my girl looked at the senior work that was put out (there are tons of youtube videos, and links on their web pages) the style of animation and end products of the seniors at SVA were what my daughter felt matched her goals as an artist! So far she is very happy with her decision! Also she LOVES being in the middle of Manhattan!
Did anyone else here get in/ are planning to attend RISD? If so, what majors are you considering?
@moonpie could you tell me more about Pratt & AP credits? Kid2 is planning on applying there next year. Is it that Pratt just doesn’t take AP credits at all or do you have to have a specific score? Or is it subject specific? Thanks!
And good points re foundation year. Kid2’s also a bit wary of foundation year after seeing what his sis experienced during hers. 
Officially have heard back from all my colleges, for people looking, I will give an outline of all my college decisions:
I am an illustration major but for my in-state schools I had to apply as different majors due to the fact Texas does not have any schools that offer illustration (other than the Art Institutes, lol)
Accepted:
-University of North Texas (cheapest option and in-state safety, applied for communication design)
-University of Houston (Also a very affordable option and another in-state school, more to please my parents haha, applied as graphic design)
-California College of the Arts (19k per year merit scholarship)
-Art Center College of Design (7k per year merit scholarship)
-Laguna College of Art and Design (11k per year merit scholarship)
-Otis College of Art and Design (15k per year merit scholarship)
-School of Visual Arts (Can’t remember exactly how much, it was the Silas H Rhodes one though)
-Rochester Institute of Technology (just accepted today, don’t see any scholarship info yet)
-Maryland Institute College of Art (12k per year merit scholarship plus possible additional scholarships that will be known next week or so)
-Savannah College of Art and Design (2k per year merit scholarship…hahaha)
-Ringling College of Art and Design (10k per year merit scholarship)
Waitlisted:
-The New School- Parsons School of Design (I think it’s because I really rushed my Parsons Challenge and my essay didn’t show enough interest in the school)
Rejected:
-Pratt Institute (Honestly, no idea for this one. May have been too much variety in my portfolio but, in the least arrogant sounding way possible, I was kind of shocked. Kind of good that it made me lower my expectations for RISD though)
-RISD (this was my dream school, but in my heart I know my skill level isn’t up to par with their standards…it’s always good to have a reach school though!)
In the end, it was between MICA and Ringling…though I am still waiting on the additional merit scholarship information from MICA, in the end I realized that even with the additional scholarships, I would be happier at Ringling.
Therefore, I am Ringling College of Art and Design class of 2022!! 
Congratulations, @pastelrain ! I’ve enjoyed following your journey and think you’ve made a great decision with Ringling – all the best to you!
@pastelrain Congratulations! You are fortunate to have so many options to consider. I enjoyed reading about your journey and am super appreciative that you shared merit aid info from all the schools. Keep us posted even next year about your college experience at Ringling.
@madgemini4 @cag60093 thank you both! and I will keep checking back on CC next year to give prospective students advice CC has been a lifesaver thanks to all the parents such as you all, as my parents (not bashing them) really haven’t done much research on art schools haha.
@ArtAngst My daughter is a third-year student at Pratt. Of her five or six AP courses - US government, European, a push, calculus BC, studio art And possibly one other that skips my mind at the moment - Only the BC calculus transferred in. She received three credits of math and science. We found Pratt to be pretty restrictive When it came to transferring academic AP credits. I think they do allow you to either skip the freshman English lit class or take a higher level if you transfer in AP lit and comp. But my daughter never took AP English so that didn’t pertain to her.Obviously the AP studio Didn’t surprise us. You might want to check the website now. This was three years ago.
My son is getting very similar scholarship (animation major):
Accepted:
SVA - 15k/year
MICA - 14k/year
SCAD - 15k/year
MCAD - 18k/year
Art Center - don’t know yet
Ringling - 10k/year
LCAD - 8k/year
Still waiting from CalArts.
Quite stressful to wait for the acceptance/rejection.
@moonpie I think your daughter and I have the same way of thinking. Just by going to the 2 different websites for SVA and Pratt I one could tell that Pratt had a very traditional feel, and SVA is more modern and the design is more appealing in my opinion. Same thing with both of their theaters and etc. One thing that I noticed just from the open house was that SVA is much more diverse than Pratt. Diversity is very important to me because I’ve been studying at an all honors program in high school which has kids coming from all kinds of different backgrounds and it was something I was used too. One of the most appealing things about going to school in Manhattan is the fact that its a melting pot, and you will learn a lot from many cultures. Although Brooklyn is still in New York for some weird reason there were only Caucasians and Asian Americans at Pratt, which was a red flag. I’m a latina so going to school with a majority of caucasian and asians would me feel like a sore thumb, vs SVA where everyone is different and we all share a creative mind. I may be overthinking it but honestly SVA seemed like perfect for me, but Pratt gave me more money, and all of my peers are reminding me that student debt is not very pretty. I have to wait for financial aid from Pratt because comparing my Pratt scholarship to my SVA financial aid, SVA is still cheaper, but I suspect that the Pratt financial will add up to be less. I just have to choose between my dream school and the money, which is hard. My mom also prefers Pratt over SVA which makes it even harder for me to choose the school that gave me less money. I will also look into the issue with APs, because I’m currently taking AP Statistics, which is an awful class and I don’t want to have taken it for nothing. It seems weird that Pratt wouldn’t accept the credits since they are so particular about academics. Thank you for your input and I’ll stop rambling now.
@pastelrain Congratulations!!!
@JBStillFlying thank you for this information. I’m not shocked because this is what all my AP teachers have trained me for, over and over again I’ve been given lectures on how useless AP’s are because at the end of the day only local colleges or state colleges accept the credits, and even then not so much. I had a different vibe about Pratt, but I will look into what the 411 on APs is with Pratt now.
Thanks @JBFlying for extra info re APs - with older child we weren’t necessarily counting on them being taken, but it has been a perk for her since RISD took 3 classes (9 credits in all, also didn’t take Studio Art or Art History which was expected, but it did make Art History much easier freshman year) as her liberals which has allowed her more flexibility in her course selection and pursuing a potential minor/concentration.
In a good way, my kids’ teachers have given the same warning, as in don’t count on them as actual college credit but rather take them to show a school you like to challenge yourself and/or have interest in other subjects in addition to art. So I think it definitely helped my oldest in clearly demonstrating strong academics (and several schools asked her more about them in personal interviews etc).