@cag60093 - by the time your S22 is ready to apply to college, more schools will hopefully be self-reporting, which means he can at least save money on the submission end of testing . . .
@cag60093 My daughter had tons of AP credits, and the policies on only accepting 9 credits really turned her off. She was like “why did I even take all of those classes??”. But in the end, she chose SVA, who does accept her 5’s in AP art, only not to substitute for drawing 1 and 2. She can use those for studio elective credits her junior/senior year. She will be able to take a lighter load both junior and senior year because of “humanities” and “science” credits. However, my daughter is now thinking of adding a film concentration after her sound design class. She was very involved in music as a cello player and singer, and wrote a score for her final project in sound design that kind of blew people away. All this to say, your child might not see the benefit of AP credits for a few years! I will say that my daughter was completely humbled by her drawing classes, and said that AP art was great, but in no way does it compare to a 6 hour human figure drawing class!!!
I would love to hear what this community thinks about Syracuse’s illustration program. My D did not apply to it but was recently invited to apply. She didn’t apply originally because I thought its aid was generally less generous than other schools. She’s has 5 EA school acceptances to date and is currently waiting for RD decisions.
@cag60093 oldest was accepted to SU. She was looking to double major in art/illustration and education. Had a great portfolio review and tour of art department summer before applying. And department heads from both disciplines contacted her by phone after her acceptance and she was impressed with the outreach etc.
Financial aid package kind of decided it for us parents - but a big chunk of it was a SU loan/grant NOT merit money. $20K was Founders Scholarship and $15k was loan/grant.
Also we initially visited in the summer and so went to accepted students day (mostly because I wanted her to understand how HUGE the college is population wise; I’d been accepted there too and know many alum). Drive home she was all ‘nope, I’m going to RISD.’
But this is NOT a dig at SU which is a great school and offered a lot of opportunities, but more my kid within 10mins of being there understood it was not a good fit for her personality and interest wise.
@ArtAngst Thanks for your D’s experience. SU was not on our radar, but it’s recent offer of $20k annual merit for 4 years if she applied soon made us wonder if she should. I contacted them for additional financial aid info. I know SU is a big school with big rah rah style. Illustration is my D’s strong suit and she thinks it will provide a good foundation for post graduation flexibility. However, she applied to different majors at different schools such as Game Design, VR, or New Media if illustration was not an option. My D has 1 big school, our flagship as a backup. She’s not a rah rah student, sometimes I wonder if she can find her people easier at a larger school. She is much harder to peg in terms of what her actual fit will be; my electrical engineer S17’s process was less complication. Partly I’m getting a bit anxious about the RD results on her remaining schools, because so many fill their classes with ED and ED2.
@cag60093 yep, my kid would not be defined at all as ‘rah rah’ 
and that is a big part of the SU vibe. However, one thing that did interest us both is SU’s theme dorms and both the art one and honors program one appealed to D. We both felt that if she went to SU, that’s where she’d find her ‘people’. And there’s a lot of great interdisciplinary opportunities at big schools like that.
Both my kids are most definitely ‘art school quirky’ - so while they’ve done fine in a really big public high school (which also has a big emphasis on athletics…but has great art, music and performing arts programs too) they both were drawn to dedicated art schools. Primarily because they really want the intensive art education, but also they love the idea of 4 years with other intensely artsy classmates.
@cag60093 D’s portfolio was accepted by Syracuse at National Portfolio Day, so we went to visit. Just not the right fit for my D. She did not want a rah rah school and she felt neither the overall academic reputation of the school nor the reputation of the art program were strong enough to justify being there. (I think that Syracuse is very strong in certain arts areas, but that did not impress her. And, for the record, I think it has a perfectly good reputation academically.)
However, one negative for me was that the art studios and classes were more in town and very separated from the rest of campus. Knowing the hours that art students keep, I felt it was too isolated and didn’t want her to be navigating the commute in snowy weather.
@ArtAngst @uskoolfish Thank you to you both for sharing your thoughts and experiences on campus. You confirmed my perceptions and added some insight about where the classes are in relations to the rest of campus. I looked at SU’s campus map yesterday, but it was harder to get a feel since I’m inept at directions and maps ;)) That issue is important to her and why she excluded Michigan from her original list. Michigan’s school of art was on the north campus away from the main campus.
@uskoolfish Can you elaborate which art areas in SU are strong?
@VizArt22 @ArtAngst Reading the older posts, I see that your sons were also accepted to Ringling. My D was too back in January, along with Pratt. (She applied to 3 stand alone art schools). What are your sons and your thoughts about Ringling? What is their ideal school? My D went to precollege last summer and really liked her experience. Her art improved a lot and she feels that job placement will be good post graduation. She did receive a nice merit award, but the overall cost still very expensive. She received a much larger merit from Pratt. We are still very much up in the air and are waiting for March RD decisions.
@cag60093, a little late to the game, but if you go to the AP part of the College Board site where you send AP test scores, you will find a really easy way to see what AP scores schools accept. Collegeboard > AP Scores > View Your Scores > Send Scores to Colleges Now > fill a college name in the “Search Colleges and Scholarships” blank > then click “View credit and placement requirements”
You’ll get a full list of the AP exams and scores each school accepts, and the equivalent course. Easy peasy!
@cag60093 – You said your D was accepted to Ringling’s VR major. Does she want to that or illustration? VR is growing tremendously–the job market is growing and Ringling is a good place to be for it if that is what she wants to do rather than illustration.
Oops, much easier method for looking for what AP scores schools accept: https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/creditandplacement/search-credit-policies?affiliateId=ap&fbclid=IwAR36Se16poVB0HdCLhGsJjmjdtEKfQBKRBCQC-P_j5im1LAX2RangSOIH3g
@gouf78 If she attends Ringling, she wants to major in VR. If it’s not a good fit, she said she can change to illustration. VR possibilities excite her and she sees many opportunities. She took a workshop this past summer during precollege. (I just wondered if the major will be narrow and limit her opportunities??? I’m not at a familiar with this industry.). Ringling is still more expensive than her EA acceptance options. We’re waiting to see how RD decision results.
For some of the colleges, she applied to illustration, game design or animation. She applied to a wide range of schools because she’s not always quite sure what aspects she wants in college. She’s academically strong and artistically skilled. Illustrative narrative artwork is very natural for her. She knows how time demanding art projects are and know how to meet deadlines.
@missis. Thank you for the link. I’ll check it out.
@cag60093 re Ringling - it’s probably out of the running for us mostly based on financial aid. S got MUCH bigger award packages from his other picks, almost double! Plus Parsons just gave us even more after a phone call from hubs and we’re waiting on Pratt and MICA for academic & juried things he entered. Also waiting on RD from FIT and RISD.
S really liked Ringling’s academic program, campus etc but was VERY “meh” on the area and FL in general (he really wants to be in NYC and alot of what he’s looking at career wise is more NYC based too). Also it’s not geographically close to us, so that would be an added expense back and forth.
So Ringling wasn’t ever really in his top 3, and the final cost has bumped it off the list.
So basically not a great fit for him and they probably sensed it too in his application. BUT his older sister has classmates who are currently juniors and LOVE it and are getting great experience/internships etc.
@cag60093 If money were no object, my son would have already enrolled at Ringling. He is waiting to see what other schools offer merit-wise. (Zero FA for us.)
He had a lot of contact with Ringling and each and every interaction was professional, encouraging and positive. (This has not been the case with several other art schools.) He was MOST impressed with the school when we visited and, more importantly, found the student work and the companies that visit campus to be top notch.
He is very focused on the post-college opportunities and having choices. (WAY more so than I ever was, I wanted FUN first followed by an eventual job.) He is weighing the job possibilities vs. the amount of debt. All of these will determine his options after graduation.
His acceptance from RIT came this week. Waiting on merit and then we are going to revisit three or four schools. (SCAD, RIT, Ringling and one more LAC) I’ve heard second visits can be the key to really seeing if the school is a good fit. Already having had an overall tour of the schools will hopefully give him the ability to really pay attention to things on campus that matter to him.
He attended a top-notch summer program last year and ruled that school out fairly early. (Enjoyed it but not his place.) He definitely knows what he’s looking for. And I’m certain he’s leaning towards Ringling…unless RIT can make a BIG difference in the $$.
@ArtAngst @VizArt22 I feel relieved that I am not the only one thinking Ringling is very expensive even with a merit award. Like @ArtAngst my D also received larger merit awards from other schools to date, many offered $ to reduce tuition to half the cost. Ringling’s touts their students job prospects and she really thinks that’s important because she wants to be employed after completing her degree. However, she is very mindful about not taking on debt.
I liked Ringling’s campus too, but generally don’t love FL. She said she doesn’t mind the heat since most students are indoors most of time working. One aspect she didn’t love about Ringling was the food. She hardly ate during precollege because the options were not pleasing to her. She has a wide range of palette, but does not like food that is not well prepared and that doesn’t taste good. This issue alone makes me think a more urban setting where more option is important.
The challenge of trying to find schools where there is a good balance of art/academics/social/daily living ease & food/finance package is giving me a headache. I know there is no perfect place and we will have to prioritize what’s really important.
She has communicated with my friend’s contact who has been in the game industry for over 30 years. His advice to her was it doesn’t matter where she goes, but she attends a school where she’ll learn about lots of different things that she enjoys. The most important aspect of job opportunities is her final portfolio. He told her his company hires people who have degrees or no degrees, but they all have outstanding portfolios.
One thing my D said last year is always on mind too. Wherever she goes, she said she ready to led by teachers and students who are really talented. She’s has been leading in her small HS and she doesn’t want that role in college. She wants to be among other students who are very artistically talented and driven so she know what that bar is and figure out how to achieve it.
This is for all of you who have done this before - Is there a way to “negotiate” for more money? D got decent amount of scholarship from the school(s) she wants to go to, but we could def do with more. If it can be done what is it negotiated with? other schools offer? her more recent work? or just say we could use more? Please any tips will help. Its making me so nervous to commit to expenses for four years. Any little extra amount helps! She is pretty much decided on PrattMWP and that is far from home we have to take the few travels and other expenses into account. We are visiting the school and have taken appointment with the financial counselor. Thank you so much!
@SomaRathore Unfortunately, I don’t have any advice. Have you received Pratt’s final financial aid package already? I was told that has not been sent out yet. My D only received the merit aid with the acceptance letter. Since most art schools do not meet 100% need, I am not expecting too much in need aid. I know Ringling won’t offer more to us. There they offered $10K in merit and $6k in need. It’s not enough.
For Pratt MWP, a local young man I know became a RA this year to reduce his overall expenses. I don’t know what his situation will like next year when he goes to the Brooklyn campus as a junior.
For my S17, most schools did not offer room for negotiations. We have high EFC and he is our first to attend college. He turned down several selective schools for a school that offered the largest merit award. He’s happy with the decision and is doing very well academically and has no student loan. But I wonder at times if he should have taken on some debt for one of those selective schools. With his offers, there was a similar pattern in financial aid packages. Whether he received merit or need aid, the COA for the family was very similar at the end, which was very close to our EFC. I don’t know if our case is typical.
@SomaRathore I’m kind of a worrier and was afraid it would create ‘bad blood’ but hubs is braver than me.
He has twice tried to negotiate package with varying results…
First time was with RISD for D. He called financial aid office and reiterated what are EFC was and that their package did not meet it and was there additional merit aid that could be offered (Background: D had solid portfolio, lots of figure drawing etc, very high test scores, GPA etc). They countered with that they were already offering her the largest package they have/offer (which over the years we discovered was true). So we bit the bullet and got a small loan to make up the difference in their package and our EFC.
Yesterday he called Parsons for S (his portfolio received very well at NPD, also EA for many schools and test scores even higher than big sis). Currently Parsons has offered the largest merit aid so far, but also included a “medium” size loan and son was getting reminders to fill out loan asap etc. Hubs called yesterday and explained our EFC again (this time it’s a bit lower since it will be 2 kids in college that first year) and that we did NOT want the loan through them (rates not great, tho we may still need a small one for him too). Hubs was put on hold for awhile and they came back adding $7 merit to the package. So that was a productive lunch break phone call!