@James Chen
Congrats!!
Does anyone have any input about SMFA/Tufts? Kiddo just got an acceptance email. She liked the person she met at portfolio day, but beyond that we have no idea…
@missis
We looked at tufts/smfa for my D.
My D didn’t end up applying as it seemed too much trouble to commute back & forth as smfa is not particularly close to tufts.
Are you saying all the academic classes are at Tufts? I hadn’t considered that. Asking because my other kid is doing a BFA at Fordham Lincoln Center and both academic and arts classes are in the same place (Lincoln Center), even though the main campus is in the Bronx.
@missis my daughter received the same email and received the letter by mail a few days later. We got the impression that it is a choose your own path type of art program from the national portfolio day. What draws us to the school is that they meet 100% of demonstrated need and the ability to gain an amazing education at tufts. The reviews about the art program in recent years has not been flattering and they seem to be going through some growing pains as they fully integrated into tufts. They’re going to have an online forum with the dean on 3/14 to answer more questions. We have yet to visit the campus since it’s so far away, and will only make the trip if it can be affordable to attend and make a more informed decision at that point.
I do not know about Tufts, but meeting 100% of need may also include loans per some schools.
DD and I toured SMFA last spring. We were hoping to love it but the tour left us underwhelmed. Certainly the Boston location and chance to take classes at, and get a degree from Tufts were huge draws. But the facilities were only so-so and the tour guide spent more time talking about the sprinkler system and performance art rather than real studio art. DD didn’t apply in the end. YMMV
@Artful4art thanks for your comment.
@NYart15 Thank you~
The appeal of Tufts for me includes the 100% meeting need plus (from the info I have seen) Tufts doesn’t include loans in that calculation.
Thanks to all for the input! It helps.
I will be honest, I am finding the whole financial issue frustrating. We live in a place with a high cost of living ($18k property tax, for example) and to live here even in a paper box in the alley you have to look like moneybags to most schools. In other words, only “merit” aid. So even though kiddo has gotten into every school she applied to, net cost is still close to $30k even with “trustee” or “presidential” scholarships. The idea of loading her with $120k of loans seems to me like a terrible graduation present.
As a result, when she gets an acceptance (and she’s been accepted to every school she applied to), she’s kind of meh, because she is protecting herself from the financial disappointment. I know many of us are in the same boat, But I just had to say it.
Anyway, whinewhinewhine. Thanks for listening to my TED talk. 
@missis I hear you. Daughter has been accepted everywhere so far and even when she has received full tuition scholarships she doesn’t want to attend those schools because of the lack of elite status associated with them. I am just hoping she chooses wisely and enjoys the experience and opportunity.
We registered for the two SMFA informational webinars for admitted students, one this Thursday with students and the other next Wednesday with the Dean, to learn more about the program and student experiences-- perhaps those could be helpful for you and your daughter as well? We visited both the Tufts main campus and SMFA this summer, if you have any questions we might be able to answer.
I am a Tufts grad who took courses at the Museum School back in the 80s before they merged. Back then we took a bus and the T to the museum school which is in downtown Boston near many other colleges and all the fun. I believe at least for their 1st year? SMFA student dorms are downtown close to the studios. Tufts proper is in Sommerville - a close in urban-ish suburb and now there is a dedicated shuttle between campuses. There is also a T stop being constructed on the main campus but it is behind schedule. Hope this helps! I’m curious if the current art students feel integrated with the main campus and make friends on both campuses?
Thanks for the reminder about the webinar! And for the first-person insights about SMFA. I am finding this forum so helpful during what clearly is a stressful time for most if not all of us.
We might end up having to go visit…we also need to visit MICA.
Does anyone here know about regular decision dates for Pratt and Parsons? I see the post here that Parsons was supposed to be 4/12… We haven’t heard. I hope that isn’t bad news for Kiddo.
@missus On a Parsons thread, someone said that the admissions decisions were going to begin to be posted tomorrow, 3/15. In previous years, the decisions were released over a week or more, so not everyone got them the same day.
Sorry, typo there. I meant 3/12. Fat fingers.
@missus If your family is planning to visit MICA, you might want to consider their admitted students Open House event on March 30. As for Tufts/SFMA (and other similar university art schools), one of the things to keep in mind is that there is the pro of a larger, diverse university environment (both in terms of the overall student population and the variety and level of liberal arts classes offered), but also the con of a much smaller artist population (most have 200-300 art students) vs. the much larger ones at schools dedicated only to the arts like MICA, Parsons, Pratt, RISD, etc. (which often have thousands of art students). My D applied to both universities and art schools and is still unsure which environment she prefers, so is continuing to explore both. Based on our research and visits, Tufts was also different than most of the other schools we’ve investigated in that there is no foundation year or any required courses. The student fashions their own curriculum, the school stresses interdisciplinary studies, and everyone receives a general fine arts degree, with no specific majors like painting, printmaking, or sculpture. Also the focus is predominantly on the fine arts, with very little in terms of graphic arts or other commercial arts. So it would be important for a student to think ahead about how they plan to use their art studies in their future career plans.
Thank you, artdreamer. That’s really helpful information.