@AskExperts Sorry to hear about CalArts. I think he will love Ringling though. From all I have read and heard about it, Ringling is a great school.
@Killerbees18 @sbgal2011 thanks for the kind words. my son is quite familiar with ringling as he attended pre-college there last summer. See you all at Ringling !
I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you. i joined this forum 1.5 years ago. I knew nothing about art school. I learned little by little from all of you. your feedback and comments are very appreciated!
best wishes to all our kids!
@AskExperts congrats on the decision!!! So excited for your kiddo!
@moonpie Thanks!
@moonpie , may i know why did 2 of ypur family friends discourage u from going to SCAD for animation? What r their reasons?
@Killerbees18 Both my older daughters had friends who went there (Graduated in 14, and 15). Both are close family friends. Both are successful graduates working in their fields (one is a photographer, one is a graphic designer) and they loved SCAD, however they both separately messaged and called me about some problems in the animation program. The older one graduated 3 years ago and said none of her friends in animation had jobs, and had extremely high debt. She also said there was constant turnover in the professors. The other friend roomed with 2 animation majors and said the competition for good internships, and favoritism was extreme. I have NO IDEA if this is true, but it completely turned my daughter off. That combined with the “no portfolio required” element for admission, was a big turn off. My daughter strongly felt that schools that require portfolio for admission would give her a more talented group of friends to learn from. I do know that LOTS of talented student go there, do wonderful things and go onto have great careers! She just felt that for a career in animation, she would do better elsewhere. Now, that being said, I imagine there are students who graduate EVERY school with high debt, and don’t get their dream job upon graduation. SCAD’s stats for post-grad employment are very high! But truth be know… my daughter hates hot weather and sweat and I think that’s why Ringling, and SCAD got checked off the list LOL!
SCAD’s student loan default rate is actually a tad lower than SVA’s according to College Navigator (and of course those stats are lagged a few years). This information is readily available to look at for any of the art/design schools - or any college or uni, for that matter.
If you look at the SCAD* fact book http://www.scad.edu/sites/default/files/PDF/SCADFactBook-info.pdf?2017-18 you can see that animation is a sizable percentage both of undergrads and those graduating. So yes, internships and so forth are potentially very competitive. My D16 has been hanging around Monty for a couple of quarters now and had two animation majors for roomies this year - if she’s hearing any disgruntled or unpleasantly surprised student experiences she’s certainly not sharing. In fact, she’s staying through the summer to work on her minor. She did apply to a few internships but, in the words of her roomies, although technically she’s now a junior due to AP credits, her SCAD credits and experience plant her squarely at “sophomore”. However, she just got a paid job working in the tourism industry and will ramp up her hours significantly this summer. W/O going into detail, this job is sweet resume candy for a creative career so we are pretty happy with that (SCAD wasn’t directly involved, but her experience at SCAD w/o doubt helped, as did the numerous student contacts, including her piano student. And I wasn’t even aware D16 was teaching piano!)
I say all this to note that there are opportunities other than the traditional “animation track” internships. My kid is a bit off the beaten path and animation IS a well-beaten path with thousands across the country - and globally - vying for internships with the same high profile employers. D16’s roomies have gotten those coveted positions, but there are no guarantees that going there gets you an animation job. What she’s found is that SCAD has fostered a genuine atmosphere of creativity with multiple paths and multiple possibilities. A BFA is a creative professional degree, after all. She loves the place, the school has been very supportive across many dimensions, she loves her profs and she has met some of the characters who haunt the animation building (and will be registering for their studios).
I’m not well-versed on which profs have stayed or left. I know that my other daughter at Pratt has seen a revolving door of instructors in ComD. It’s hard to form a relationship or follow your prof. to a good job when they leave right after you get to know them. My impression - and it’s only an impression - is that D16 has better luck with these relationships at SCAD than D15 does at Pratt. But how that translates into a good job - no clue. Both girls have succeeded in forming contacts and relationships in the surrounding area to help move their professional development along. I was always under the impression that’s kinda how it works for most art and design students. It does seem that those who really want to work in a creative field end up finding work in a creative field - not sure if that’s naive or not.
I think the superstars there do very well. The beginners are definitely at risk of washing out (and I’ve heard that many of them do). D16 has definitely benefitted from the enormously talented - and wonderfully supportive - students around her but she was a bit more on the “beginner” side when she enrolled. We have no idea how it’ll turn out for her but so far, so good.
Just a personal perspective from a parent whose kid is in the midst of it all.
*This book is filled with pertinent stats. RISD used to publish one as well but stopped in 2016 or so.
@JBStillFlying thank you!! I knew you would be a good resource!!! I think every student who goes into the art field needs to have the “whatever it takes” attitude. I truly feel that anyone can succeed and do very well at any of the schools mentioned on this thread… State schools, private schools, liberal arts colleges, etc. In the end it comes to fit and finance, and then it’s up to the kid! My daughter has seen plenty of students struggle at SVA with the workload, turning in half-ass work, and not doing their best in every class. It stresses her out! LOL. I was impressed with the internship opportunities at SCAD, SVA, PRATT more than any other we visited. I hope in my response earlier I didn’t sound like I was badmouthing SCAD! I was just trying to give an honest answer as to why my daughter didn’t choose it. I will say that the admissions office there was the BEST of all we worked with.
@moonpie - sorry! Didn’t mean to make that suggestion! And by the way my kid wilts in the heat (we live in MN) so this Savannah summer will be a very interesting experience, to say the least. Totally agree on fit and finances! Selectivity is crucial but there’s no way that my kid would have gotten into the other schools given the lack of drawing experience. This is in part why she gravitated to SCAD (the other was the existence of the story boarding minor and, of course, quirky Savannah itself). SCAD is kind of its own universe and doesn’t play in the sandbox with the other schools. It’s kind of a renegade - an anomaly. It suits my kid’s personality very well.
Anyone made their final decision yet?!? My daughter is just about ready to call it official with MICA–though the final award letters/academic scholarship letters apparently went out yesterday so we’re just kind of waiting to receive that to make a final, FINAL decision. She was registered for an accepted students day at Bard on the 14th, but is probably going to cancel. I think she just wants to be DONE with the process!
My DD has officially decided, and has accepted Drexel’s Westphal College of Media and Design - animation major. It was a very very very tough call between Pratt and Drexel, both of which offered her a nice merit package. MICA also offered her merit $ (still waiting on the results of two other scholarship possibilities there), and she was accepted into the art program at VCU, as well as a number of art programs at public and private unis (Fordham, UMd, Loyola, Catholic U, etc.) but it was apparent quickly that the two schools that really spoke to her were Pratt and Drexel. Personally, I loved Pratt and thought it would be a great fit for her, and she loved it too, but she loved the URBN Center at Drexel. When she and my DH went for Early Admission Student Day there, she saw a lot of collaborative work and high spirits between the animation and film and screenwriting kids - just a warm and positive atmosphere. Unfortunately, Pratt did not hold an early Accepted Students Day, so while she knew she was accepted from December, they are not holding their Accepted Students Day until mid April. I really think the lack of a chance to get on campus with other new admits at Pratt partly swayed her towards Drexel. By February, she was ready to make a decision and just did not want to wait any longer. I also think that she liked the fact that Drexel offers an Honors Program and more crossover into non-arts classes. I hope she will be happy there! I really loved Pratt and thought the campus was gorgeous and offered a lot of opportunities being so close to NYC. But the co-op program at Drexel also had a lot of appeal, so it looks like she will be a Dragon next year!
My D has committed to UC DAAP for Industrial Design. The tour in March sealed it. She also toured Cleveland Institute of Art on the same trip and she really preferred the university type campus over an art school. She feels like she’s getting the best of both worlds with DAAP.
Congratulations to everyone on having such great options. I was so impressed with everyone’s acceptances!
Congratulations to everyone who/who’s child has committed!!
Have you settled on Ringling?
I am having a hard time deciding between MICA and Ringling for Animation/Game Art major. The schools are in so many ways different, yet both excellent, and they cost about the same. I am not sure that MICA’s additional merit scholarships will help me decide.
@LESS18 I am committed to Ringling! And were you accepted to Computer Animation or Game Art for Ringling? Both majors are outstanding at the school, but if you’re in CA I feel like Ringling is always the winner. The facilities, instructors, everything about the department is just top tier, and it only has a 15% or so acceptance rate. I don’t know what it’s like at MICA, but you really really can’t go wrong with CA at Ringling. As for Game Art, when I was at precollege, my friends who were in the game art classes did sooo much cool stuff in just four weeks! I was so impressed. Again, I don’t know about much of the MICA side of things as I’m not a game art or animation major, but again, you really can’t go wrong with Ringling.
I was actually stuck between MICA and Ringling as well, but for illustration. I ended up choosing Ringling due to the fact that I felt like I clicked more with the students and vibe there, but also I was super impressed with the connections to the industry Ringling had shown. Though I am sad I won’t be studying in my favorite region, the northeast, I know it’ll be worth it for me.
Accidentally posted my message twice here. Whoops lol.
I was wondering which art school is believed to have the best Graphic/Communication Design Program. I am struggling to make the choice between several art schools especially as May 1st is quickly approaching. I went to the RISD and SVA open house and I was definitely more impressed by the program I saw at SVA. I loved RISD’s campus and they have a great name, however, one of my greatest concerns is that they didn’t offer me any merit/financial aid.
Another concern I have are rumors that they’re lacking the facilities to hold all the GD students (as each year the class increases in size and popularity) and that there is not enough work/studio space for these students. My next question would be, is the education from RISD worth forfeiting my concerns and the worth covering the full tuition?
My decision is between (and scholarships)…
RISD, 0
Parsons, 24,000
Pratt, 21,500
SVA, 20,000
MICA, 30,000
All of those schools are tops for GD/ComD so you won’t go wrong with any of them. Crowding can easily be remedied by allocating more space to GD and away from less popular majors so unless they are increasing overall class size you probably won’t have much to worry about. However, access to studios is a great way to compare these schools. Also, curriculum, how many electives, etc. Some of these are going to be more “structured” than others. Wintersession is a great feature as is RISD’s very high placement rate. Existence of a campus is important if you need that (some do, others don’t). Whether the school has a traditional foundation year might also be a consideration. Finally, whether you have already been admitted to the major vs. admitted to the foundation year is a consideration, since it’s always possible to change your mind once you get on campus (you pretty much have to declare by end of foundation year anyway but sometimes the foundation experience opens up a whole new set of possibilities you haven’t considered).
Finances are going to be important as well - RISD might be worth the lack of scholarship if your experience and opportunities are significantly better there than the other places. RISD is still the most selective and highest yield by a long shot - its stats resemble a regular selective college. That does signal the caliber of student you will be working with.
Nice choices - well done, and good luck!
So DD got accepted to NYSID for BFA in Interior Design and now we are torn between SCAD(same course) and NYSID. She really wants to go to NYSID so hopefully we"ll be deciding soon. Does anyone here Have any experience/suggestions re NYSID as i havent read too much about that particular school here Thanks for any info!