Art Schools: Best Graphic/Communication Design?

Hi,
I am a rising freshman for the year of 2018/19. I was wondering which art school has best Graphic/Communication Design Program.

I went to the RISD and SVA open house (Parsons and Pratt are coming up) and I was definitely more impressed by the program I saw at SVA. However I loved RISD’s campus and they have a great name, but 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 covering the full tuition? Will the other art schools offer me an equal education and job opportunities?

My decision is between (and the scholarships)…
RISD, 0
Parsons, 24,000
Pratt, 21,500
SVA, 20,000
MICA, 30,000

Kid1 is at RISD for Illustration and while she loves it there…no $ would be a big deterrent for me in terms of any debt you might take on. I don’t know much about the GD department tho.

My advice? GD is a field with a LOT of competition and the less debt you have the better.

With that said, my 2 kids have visited and/or applied to the same schools on your list (except Parsons…visiting in a few weeks) and you’ve been accepted into all great schools. Both NYC and Baltimore/DC corridor area are locations that provide a wealth of cultural and employment opportunities. We were just at MICA (again! 2x with Kid1) on Friday for a Junior Visit day with Kid2…we learned on the tour that they’ve expanded their GD department. It’s in the modern Brown Center building - some departments moved out to the new Dolphin building, thus giving GD more space. I teach in an art department (not GD, but Interior Design, however we’re always looking at students’ work!) and I was VERY impressed with the work on display in MICA’s GD department.

So as of now, I have gone to 3 accepted students days (MICA, RISD and SVA). I did the MICA pre-co 2016 and I had fallen in love with their school and facilities. My teacher for GD was fantastic and I learned a lot! However when I went to the accepted students day I didn’t get the same feeling from the program as I did from the pre-co. MICA’s got a great program, but I think it might not be the right fit for me.

I’ve narrowed my decision between Pratt, SVA and Parsons. What are the opinions on each of these schools for ComD/GD?

If my daughter had not wanted a big university with all the perks that come with it, she would probably have chosen Pratt and I would have been more than okay with it. I thought it was a very nice campus and a fantastic location. The ComD program had a few paths (GD & illustration & another one I can’t remember) and career/job placement seemed great. Plus the scholarship brought it down to be competitive with other schools.